It's easy to think that to be “Instagram famous”, you have to have one of those faces or bodies.
You have to be a borderline model.
Well, I'm here to tell you that's far from the truth.
In fact, I'm going to show you how a brand got 3 million followers on Instagram posting mostly quotes.
I'll be using Foundr Magazine as the example.
Here are 10 strategies they used to get those 3 million followers on Instagram:
1. Post more often
One thing I noticed that Foundr Magazine does differently on Instagram is they post more often.
Many marketers I followed in the past recommended you only post 1-2 times per day on Instagram.
Yet, Foundr posts 10-11 times, or about every 2 hours.
2. Post quotes your audience loves
When you look at Foundr Magazine's Instagram profile, it's pretty clear they rely a lot on quote posts.
The great thing about quotes is anyone can make them, they don't have to be original, and they can be applied to just about any industry.
Plus, they always seem to perform well on social media and get lots of engagement!
3. Use Canva to make posts
In an article on the Foundr Magazine website, they actually mention using Canva to create high quality posts for Instagram.
Canva is great because it is an all-in-one graphic design tool that includes templates, stock photos, easy customization, etc.
So, if you use Canva, you don't need any graphic design talent to create high quality Instagram posts.
4. Build email list using bio
Another thing Foundr does to grow its following on Instagram is build an email list as well.
An email list can be one of the greatest assets your business can have.
It allows you to build an audience off of social media that you can use to sell products to, drive traffic to different profiles, etc.
Foundr does this by having a link in its profile that usually goes to a landing page offering a free ebook, webinar, etc. that might interest their audience.
You can do the same thing by having a service like ClickFunnels for creating landing pages and offers, while using an email marketing service like GetResponse to collect emails and communicate with subscribers.
5. Use video quotes
If you want to break up the quote posts on your Instagram account, try using video versions of quotes.
For instance, Foundr might have short clips from entrepreneurs talking during interviews, speeches, etc.
You can find these clips on YouTube, TikTok, Reddit, and many other sites, trim them and post them on Instagram.
To download YouTube videos that contain a clip you want to use, you can use the 4k downloader tool and then trim the video in a video editor like Camtasia.
6. Do quotes from the most popular people
What's nice about Instagram (and social media in general) is you can see the engagement numbers on every post and get an idea of what posts work better than others.
So, if you look at the Foundr profile, you'll notice that they will have more quotes from certain people than others.
For instance, you'll usually see more from recognizable people like Jeff Bezos, Elon Musk, Tony Robbins, and Gary Vaynerchuk.
These are icons that more people would recognize than maybe some of the owners of smaller businesses that they quote on there.
Check your engagement numbers.
If your audience tends to like quotes from certain people more than others, give them more of what they want.
7. Post infographics/lists
Another creative type of Instagram post you can use without being on camera is an infographic.
Foundr uses infographics from time-to-time with success themselves.
Here's an example of one:
You can also use Canva to create high quality infographics like this one using templates.
And these posts can get above average engagement as well.
This one got 12,223 likes on Instagram whereas the average for Foundr is a little over 4,000.
8. Call to action
If you want to get more engagement (especially comments) on you Instagram posts, use a CTA in the description.
Here are some of the most used CTAs used by Foundr:
- Thoughts?
- Tag a colleague
- Tag a friend who needs to see this!
- Do you agree?
All of these short statements or questions get the audience more engaged than just describing what's in the quote.
9. Collaborations
Another strategy you can use to pump out more Instagram content without working more is using sponsored posts, collabs, user-generated posts, etc.
Some Instagram profiles will curate content from their audience and post the best photos.
For this, you could just have a submissions page on your website.
You can also do collaborations.
With collaborations, you can promote another brand's profile while they also promote yours.
And with sponsored posts, you can actually get paid to let people give you a post to use on Instagram.
All of these methods allow you to pump out more content without having to create every single thing yourself.
If you look at Foundr, I think it's safe to say they do at least one of the above methods.
Imagine how much many entrepreneurs would love to get their brand/name recognized by such a large audience.
They'd gladly to collaborations, sponsored posts, etc. for that kind of branding.
10. Brand your posts
When you're trying to become more recognized on social media, you usually want to put your branding or link in a lot of your posts.
Well, with Instagram, it's tough to have people go to a link to your blog post, video, or anything else.
So, the next best thing to do is put your logo/brand name at the bottom of all your posts like Foundr does.
This makes sure that when people scroll through their feed, they recognize the brand the post came from instantly.
Also, it makes it less likely another brand will copy your post and paste it on their profile, because your branding is already on it.
It's just another good practice for posting on Instagram.
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