Do you HATE doing engagement as much as I do? Wouldn’t it be so much easier if you could continue gaining followers WITHOUT having to do a ton of engagement before and after your post? To me, engagement is one of the most tedious parts of Instagram, and I’m always looking for ways to continue gaining followers without engagement. 

 If you’re in the same boat, you’re in luck. Today, I want to share how I got 46 followers in one day without doing a single minute of engagement! Ready to know my secret?

It was simply THIS carousel! (Click the image after reading this blog to see the post on Instagram). Isn’t it crazy that if you continue to provide your audience with juicy, valuable information, they’ll be interested in it without you having to constantly engage with and remind them you exist?? My analytics speak for themselves! I got 132 profile visits and 46 new followers, plus the post reached over 1,000 accounts and prompted 200+ interactions! 

Engagement will always be a great tool to add to your marketing strategy, because it builds community. However, I feel like engagement has turned into this ‘get followers quick’ Instagram growth hack. 

Really, you shouldn’t rely solely on engagement to grow your account and generate new leads. Creating super valuable content and binge-worthy carousels will easily grow your Instagram without requiring a ton of additional engagement. I strongly recommend focusing on your content and content strategy rather than the amount of time you’re spending on engagement.

All that aside, it is way easier said than done to create that “juicy, valuable” content! That’s why I wrote this blog. To give you all of the tips and ticks on creating those juicy carousels.

What Does Your Audience Want More Of?

Take a MAJOR step back and really think about your audience. If you were in their shoes, what would stop your scroll? Ask yourself, “What would MY target audience really want to see? What burning questions do they have?” Putting your audience back at the center of your content creation, regardless of how many followers you have, ensures that every piece of content you create will be valuable for someone. Instagram loves content that brings value to users, because it keeps them coming back!

Do Market Research

After you ask YOURSELF what your audience wants to see as a baseline, try actually asking your audience. You can use story polls, past questions in your DM’s and comments, or Facebook Group comment threads, for great content ideas. Figure out what your audience is actually interested in, and what types of questions they’re asking. Then, structure your content around that information!

Work Smarter Not Harder

I don’t know about you, but one of the most stressful aspects of content creation for me is actually making the content look original, aesthetically pleasing, and on brand. To make things easier on myself, I LOVE buying templates to keep things simple. That way, when it comes time to write the binge-worthy content, I don’t have to worry about creating original layouts–I just have to make some adjustments, input my copy, and alter the colors to match my branding!

Skip The Fluff

Don’t include any fluff in your post, just the juicy stuff! Your audience will not want to binge your content if half of it is unhelpful or just “extra” that you added to make the carousel look longer. In order to keep my posts super concise, I outline them ahead of time, write them out, and then edit them down a few different times. This allows me to make sure I have only the best parts of my content, and my messaging is super clear. 

Remember, not every carousel will be a hit. However, every once in a while, you’ll post one and it will TAKE off. When you have a reputation for creating great content and helpful carousels, there’s a higher chance for success. At the end of the day, it’s all about consistency and VALUE. 

Sidenote: I’m definitely not recommending that you stop engagement altogether! I’m just saying that it may be helpful to shift some of the time you spend on engagement toward researching and creating valuable content. 

Need Someone To Take Instagram Off Your Plate?

If you’re totally overwhelmed thinking about coming up with a content strategy, or creating content, my Social Media Management services were made for you! My IG management service is perfect for the business owner who just hit a growth spurt and no longer has the time to create content or do engagement. IG Management will allow you to get back to your business without sacrificing your social media reach. Click here to fill out an application to work with me!

 

Part of the reason why I started doing these blog posts was to help new VA’s, Pinterest and IG managers. I wanted to be a resource, someone you could look to for help and advice. So, in an effort to be more transparent with my followers, I’m going to give you some advice as to how I find and retain clients!

To find new clients, you have to look. I know, easier said than done, but it’s the truth. It took me eight months to get to where I am now. It was a tireless journey but I’ve come out the other side and now consistently booked with five plus clients a month. I recommend you start looking for an online community of people who are all engaging in the same kind of content creation as you. You can do that in one of two ways. By either joining a Facebook group in the same niche as you are;or by a Facebook group  managed by service providers as these usually have hundreds of job postings for you to choose from. By joining a community of people doing similar work they can refer new clients to you when they are unable to take them on.

In order to retain them, I adhere to a strict schedule, that way they’ll always have new content being published and they don’t have to worry about losing their engagement. I also work extremely hard to communicate often with my clients so they feel like they can always reach me. I want my clients to know that I’m always available to talk, and answer any questions whenever they need me. I also like to go the extra mile for my clients. I like to send them progress reports, little gifts, and referral discounts. Anything that you can do to stand out from the rest and make your clients feel like they matter to you is also a really good way to keep them! Lastly, I have found that offering custom packages to new clients in order to work with them anyway possible has greatly improved my retention rate and intake rate.

Now, you’re probably wondering how I stay booked out. I have included a clause in all my contracts that any client must provide me with fourteen days notice before they cancel my services. This allows us time to wrap up any pending work, and allows me to find a new client to replace them. I work hard to communicate regularly with any new potential clients, and I have a few client applications waiting for a second look at any given moment.

There you have it! These are the tips and tricks that I have found have worked the best for me and my business. I hope that they can help you with yours! Every business is different! But if you’re new to VA or Pinterest and IG management and you’re looking for a little bit of guidance you can book a strategy session with me via this link. We can talk about all things VA. I’ve been exactly where you are before. Or feel free to DM me on IG if you have any other questions or are looking to chat!

PS if you’re a VA or small business looking for Pinterest coaching or guidance, I’m launching a new “Pinterest Support” service in August! I will be offering voxer and loom support 5 days a week to anyone that signs up on a month to month basis! If you sign up in July as a beta tester, your first month will be heavily discounted! This is a great option for anyone that is interest in learning Pinterest but just can’t seem to figure it out on their own! Click here to inquire!

You can do a lot but you can’t do it all

Girlie, I see you trying to work every facet of your business on your own and I can feel the burn out coming FOR you. No one can run a whole ass successful business alone. You have to ask for help every once in a while and THAT’S OKAY!

I learned this the hard way. I am a headstrong, stubborn, uber-independant DOUBLE Aquarius and the things I hate most in this world are 1. Asking for help and 2. Surrendering control.

I started my business back in September of 2020 and at first, doing everything myself was a breeze. I only had one or two clients a month, I had a ton of time to educate myself, come up with stellar content, do engagement, build my own website, manage my own finances, write my own copy, do my own marketing, etc etc etc. However, at a certain point, more inquiries started coming in. My business started growing & by February, I was drowning.

I couldn’t keep up with my own business anymore. I was working 30 hours a week corporate, 30 hours a week split between 7 clients and my business was majorly suffering. I didn’t’t have time for engagement or outreach anymore, I couldn’t manage my own Pinterest, and I struggled to make time for content creation. So, I did what I never thought I would do & I hired help.

In February I hired a Virtual Assistant to do engagement for me and in March I hired a copywriter. It was such a relief. Such a weight off of my shoulders. I didn’t have to worry about engagement or copy anymore and I started to feel more in control again.

So, if you’re feeling burnt out or like you just don’t have time to do everything on your own anymore, if your business is growing at a rate that you can’t sustain alone, this is your sign to outsource.

Lucky for you, you’re in the right place. I am an Instagram and Pinterest manager! I offer full Instagram management services—content creation, planning, caption writing, and hashtag research. I also offer full Pinterest management—Blog writing, post scheduling, content creation, e-mail marketing and analytics reports. So, if you just don’t have time to market your business anymore, fill out a client application and let me take something off of your plate.

Are you a small business owner trying to market your business on Instagram or social media in general? Are you struggling to increase your engagement rate, grow your instagram, or gain followers? Read this blog post and learn how I grew my Instagram from 0 – 1200 followers in just a few months as a new small business owner!

Tip #1: Use ALT text

You might be wondering….what the heck is ALT text?? Well, it’s alternative text for screen readers. So, if someone is blind and they are using a screen reader & you have included ALT text in your post, the screen reader will read the description you have written out loud. This feature makes Instagram more accessible AND it gives you an AMAZING opportunity to use keywords! In order to add ALT text to your posts on Instagram, create a new post, scroll down to the bottom of the page on which you write comments, tag other accounts, and tag your location, click on advanced settings, and then scroll down and click “write ALT text.”

Tip #2: Tag your location

This tip may seem a bit obvious, but tagging your location on Instagram can increase your reach the same way that hashtags can! When you tag your location, your post will show up on that location’s explore page and therefore, will show your content to an entire audience that may have been missing out on it. You do still have to rank to show up at the top of the page; however, the same rule applies to hashtags.

Tip #3: Use all 30 of your hashtags

If instagram didn’t want us to use all 30 hashtags, they wouldn’t have given us the option to! A great way to grow your instagram account is by using hashtags & using them correctly! You HAVE to do hashtag research if you’re going to use hashtags. Make sure you’re using hashtags specific to your business & your post. Use as many as you can because the more you use, the more of a possibility your content has of being seen by someone that wouldn’t have seen it otherwise!

Tip #4: Use reels

I know you probably hate Instagram reels, but you HAVE to start using them. People that post reels regularly grow exponentially compared to people that continue only posting static graphics. Instagram always pushes their new features & rewards users that give them a shot. So, get inspired and start recording!

Tip #5: Do engagement before and after you post

DUH! If you want people to engage with your content, you have to engage with theirs! If you engage for 15 minutes before and after you post by replying to instagram stories & liking/commenting on people’s posts, your post will show up in more active user’s feeds and will be engaged with more than it would have been had you posted and ghosted!

Want more instagram tips & tricks? I post them daily on stories & my grid, so follow me on Instagram to keep learning! Don’t have time to manage your own socials? Fill out a client app and let me do it for you!