WHY YOU’RE NOT GROWING ON INSTAGRAM

*Outfit Details with affiliate links: Blouse (MVN) | Skirt (Narciss) | Shoes (Charles David) | White Bag (Ellia Wang)

Let’s face it, we all want to grow on Instagram whether we want to admit it or not. I used to be a little obsessed with my numbers and would overwhelm myself if I wasn’t getting a certain number of likes or if my following would reach a plateau. Through my few years of blogging, I have learned to focus more on my brand rather than the numbers. And with Instagram’s new algorithm, it is evident more than ever that it is extremely difficult to grow. I can proudly say that I’ve changed my mindset and my numbers don’t affect me mentally as much as it did a year ago. I am satisfied with my following and I can now pour my passion into my content and focus on my goal as a brand.

I wanted to list 3 reasons why you are not growing on Instagram and hopefully these can help you change the way you look at this social media platform. Some of these reasons are definitely ones that hindered my growth and I think we are all guilty of doing at least one of the below actions.

1. Your feed is full of sponsored posts: Kudos to you for landing sponsored posts because not many bloggers can! I say this with the most respect because it means that a brand sees your potential and worth and ultimately wants to work with you on a paid campaign or project. However, your whole feed should not consist of sponsored posts because at the end of the day, you are basically a walking advertisement. I also find that those who do a lot of advertisements lost authenticity because it seems like they are just saying yes to every opportunity. Do a self assessment and take a look at your feed and ask yourself if the sponsored posts are helping you reach your ultimate goal. I like to limit my sponsored posts to maybe 2-3 maximum a month. I now focus on long term partnerships with the same brands rather than one off projects with multiple. I understand that money talks but you have to also weight the long term results compared to the short term compensation.
2. You are not engaging with your followers: If you are only posting content and not engaging with others, then you will not grow. Some people are consumed with their follower to following ratio but I think if you truly like someone’s feed, then it’s okay to follow them. The whole point of the platform is to be active and engage because the more you give, the more you receive back. I’ve noticed a huge growth in my engagement when I leave genuine comments to others and reply back to their comments or even stories. It’s definitely time consuming, but when you are actually doing it because you want to, it takes the stress out of feeling like a chore.
3. Your content is average: Within the last few years, I’ve seen content increase in creativity and quality and I am always amazed by what people create. In order to stay in this business, you need to be doing something different. As much as I think candid shots are great, I also do think the more creative ones do better on Instagram. I used to do a photoshoot here and there and just post the photos, but now I am really thinking more in my content creation from the photoshoot location, to my outfits, to the colors/ theme, etc. I think once you start putting more effort into your Instagram and look at it as a reflection of your brand, it will translate more and people can see the work behind it.

I hope that this post will help you do some self assessment on your Instagram and perhaps you can see a change in your growth if you change some of the habits. Let me know your thoughts and if you have any tips on how to grow on Instagram!