Building A Loyal Audience On Instagram: Stop Taking Shortcuts

This is not my typical blog post. However, I have been thinking this for quite some time, so I figured I might as well voice my opinion. While I am far from an expert in this department, I hope I can offer some valuable advice.

When it comes to growing an audience on social media, and in this case I am talking about Instagram, a myriad of people are so impatient and are looking for instant gratification, and overnight results. Rather than putting in the work and delivering high quality content on a consistent basis, engaging with their audience, and building their credibility and brand, they are taking shortcuts. One interesting trend I have noticed over the past while is that many people have taken to employing a strategy where they follow a bunch of totally random accounts, and immediately unfollow them the second these people follow them back.

Perhaps I’m living under a rock as I had no idea people were playing this game. It became very apparent to me (and I’m assuming many others) that some people in the industry who were following very few accounts, were suddenly following thousands of accounts, and their own number of followers had increased exponentially. I’m talking by the thousands.

Follow, then unfollow. But why?!?!

As I was pretty mystified, a few days later I spent several minutes playing detective. I looked and the number of accounts these fitpros were following had dropped by the thousands, yet their number of followers remained the same. It took me a paltry few minutes to observe that these people were following many completely illegitimate accounts, and others that have no relevancy to their industry. And it was very clear the only reason they were following these accounts was to get the follow back.

Don’t get me wrong, the majority of accounts I follow on Instagram are cute animals, travel/photography accounts, and friends. Who am I kidding, I could look at cute animals ALL day long! But I do follow some incredibly smart, talented, and genuinely awesome people in the industry. I learn a lot from these people, and they have absolutely helped me grow my audience in one way or another.

I’m not writing this to be all high and mighty. To be very clear, I still have so much to learn.

I have good reasons for writing this blog. I think so many talented people in the industry (and I’m guessing in all industries) are doing themselves a huge injustice by skipping key steps and focusing on audience size over audience quality. There is a huge difference. Maybe its due to ego, or perhaps the mentality of thinking bigger is better.

Case in point, I recently read that an “influencer” on Instagram who has two million followers was unable to sell a measly 36 t-shirts to her audience. That is very telling. I think there is plenty of space for all of us to thrive, so if I can offer any useful advice I gladly will. I am certainly grateful to the many people whom have gone well out of their way to help me. Now it’s time to pay it forward.

While I am far from an expert in social media marketing, and I am certainly not that “popular” on social media, I have built a very loyal and amazing audience.

I have done so by putting my head down, consistently creating quality content, and engaging with my audience. My audience knows I care. I have been doing this for years, and my hard work and consistency have paid off. I am not seeking popularity, nor am I striving to build a massive following. I want to foster an audience that enjoys my content and overall message, engages with me and my posts, and buys my products as I do need to make a living. I want to educate, empower, and excite. This is my game-plan.

While my audience growth did not occur overnight, and perhaps this is not sexy enough for many people, what I have done is build an audience that is extremely loyal, engages when I post, and purchases products I create.

Perhaps most importantly, my audience seems genuinely excited about my content, overall message, and even my own personal journey as I have been pretty transparent. Every day I receive many kind messages from people of all genders and backgrounds, and I am often tagged in amazing videos. These messages and tags really do make my day! I feel very lucky, yet how I have achieved this was not due to luck. My success has been due to hard work, consistency, and passion. Also, my “success” pales in comparison to that of many others. I still have such a long way to go, and have so much to learn. Every day I really do learn just how little I truly know…

Here is a great example of content paying off. This recent post of mine brought me 100 new followers, and has been saved over 1100 times. I spent about 10-15 minutes creating this post.

I talk about this all the time. Size is not everything.

I say this jokingly, and I am talking about audience size, but this is the truth. I would take a smaller and more loyal and engaged audience over a larger and indifferent audience any day. While many people are chasing after huge numbers, it is so much better to get there by building a solid foundation, not by taking shortcuts. To quote one of my favourite movies, Field Of Dreams, ‘’if you build it, they will come.’’

So I challenge the many people out there who primarily seem to care about their audience size. When you are chasing after numbers, and totally random followers, do you think these people will be loyal, engage with you, and purchase your products and services? I can safely say that the chances of this happening are slim to none. I also can’t even begin to imagine how exhausting, time consuming, and downright monotonous playing the ‘’follow then unfollow’’ game is.

Why not spend this time educating yourself so you can better yourself as a coach and professional, creating high quality content, engaging with your audience, building your audiences trust and loyalty, and growing your brand and credibility? Yes, this might seem like a slow and painful process, and a lot of hard work. But I can assure you, it will pay off in the long run.

Here are a few actionable steps you can take that can help you build an awesome audience:

Create and share high quality content on a consistent basis. You do not need to post 3 times per day, or even daily. Do not worry if you do not have the time or energy to do so. Even aim for several good posts per week. Personally, I like to set aside blocks of time where I will mass produce content, and I will often film a bunch of exercises at once.

Don’t fret if your content isn’t “perfect.” Your content does not need to be perfectly edited and scripted. I know my content certainly isn’t. Create content that educates, empowers, and excites. Select one of these three “E’s,” but the more you can address at one time, the better!

Find good hashtags and use them when applicable. This can lead to many relevant accounts following you. Your goal should be for relevant, not random accounts, to follow you. In the photo above, over 75% of the people who saw this post came via hashtags.

Engage with your audience and show them that you care. I like to set aside blocks of time to do so. This helps keep me on task as social media can be an abyss of distractions. In my case, these distractions usually come in the form of cute and fluffy cats and dogs, and amazing travel destinations. I’m planning a trip to Singapore and Vietnam with a friend, so these are my “distractions.”

Follow accounts of other awesome people in the industry. First of all, you will likely learn a lot from these people. I know I certainly do. But these people might also follow you back and engage with you and your posts. This will help you grow your audience, and at the very least, drive traffic to your content.

If you are looking to grow your audience, engage below posts of other relevant people in your industry. I admit, I never really did this so I don’t always practice what I preach, but this is an extremely valuable strategy, and is certainly better than the follow then unfollow game.

Stop following fake or spammy accounts in hope that they will follow you back. It’s very glaring, and doesn’t reflect well on you, your brand, and your reputation. If anything, these accounts will just weigh you down. And do not buy your followers!

Be authentic. No, you don’t have to spill details about your personal life if you don’t want to, but if you are real and not robotic, you will likely be more relatable to your audience. Also, remain true to your message and beliefs. This might not always lead to audience growth, but you will attract your tribe.

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