There’s no questioning what a strong social media presence can ultimately do for your business. Whether you’re looking to attract leads, network, or share your work, social media—Instagram specifically—is a great place to be.

We know, 10,000 followers a week seems crazy. But look, we’re not trying to reel you in with clickbait, and we’re definitely not about to share some slimy sales tactic. We actually have a proven method that you can easily apply to your content marketing strategy. You can even start as soon as you’re finished with this article.

So what does it take to amass thousands of followers on a weekly basis? For starters, you don’t need a 6-pack of Redbulls on your desk, and you definitely don’t need to turn yourself into a content factory.

All it takes is unlocking the method to the Instagram madness, and understanding how you can connect and engage with your audience.‍

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Understand How Social Platforms Work‍

There are three major social media platforms dominating the Internet right now. And the chances of you having an account on “The Big 3” are pretty high.

Currently, Instagram, LinkedIn, and YouTube are the most popular and widely used platforms. That could change in time, but these are the main ones we’re looking at.

Regardless of what social platform you’re on, all three have the same purpose: to keep you online. Platforms win by having a stronger hold on user’s attention spans. The more time you spend scrolling, the more the social app has the potential to grow.

When users are more engaged, it also gives social apps the chance for users to adopt new features, and keep the engagement cycle going.‍

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Use the New Features. Ignore Them to Your Peril.‍

Once those new features roll out, the algorithm changes to favor them. Take advantage of these features because they’re usually the ones that get picked up by the algorithm more frequently.

The algorithm’s in charge of who gets to see what, so if you’re not posting accordingly, your content will get left behind.

Take Instagram’s carousel feature. It’s the perfect way to get your followers to engage with your posts. Plus, you have 10 slides of photos you can use to keep them swiping.‍

Our tip? Use all 10 slides. Use the carousel. Use whatever feature Instagram’s got that will keep your followers absorbed in your content.‍

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The Content You Post is Not for You‍

This one might seem strange because, well, how could it not? It’s your profile, anyway.

Here’s the thing, though. If you’re trying to build an audience, you have to build your profile for them. The content you post has to be engaging and interesting enough to keep them coming back.

And speaking of them, who exactly is your audience? It’s important to determine who you’re trying to connect with so you know the content you’re sharing is relevant and potentially making an impact.

Start with the three W’s to narrow down your follower base:

• Who are they (leads, clients, like-minded creatives)?
• What do they need?
• Why does your content fit?

If the content you’re creating sparks something in them, they’ll organically share it with others, helping increase your follower count.

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Stick with AIDA

AIDA is a common acronym in the marketing world that stands for Attention, Interest, Desire, and Action. Your content should be able to hit every piece of this acronym and clearly convey some sort of benefit for your audience.

The content should ultimately answer why the audience should care about what you’re posting. Is it entertaining? Educational? Encouraging? Give them something that sticks in their minds once they scroll past it.

If you’re using the Instagram carousel and using all 10 slides, think of stretching out AIDA to A, I, I, I, I, I, I, D, D, A. Grab their attention, hold their interest to get them past the third slide, then go into those details that highlight the benefits of what you’re sharing in slides 8 and 9. Finally, end it with an action. This can be a like, comment, follow, or engagement with another piece of your content.
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‍Final Thoughts‍

While there’s no cut-and-dried method to accumulating thousands of followers per week on your Instagram, there’s one way to get started, and that’s understanding the platform you’re using.

Once you’ve figured out how to use Instagram to your benefit, just start posting. Frequency and consistency of your posts are especially important to sustaining that growth online.

Don’t just collect numbers, though. Engage with people. Give their effort and work the same attention you would want others to give to your page. And use the conversations you have with your followers as inspiration for future posts.

All in all, post regularly, make sure you’re consistent, and keep the conversation going with your followers.

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