Maximize Your Instagram Growth by Defeating These 3 Myths

Want to overcome the Instagram algorithm and boost your business? To to maximize your Instagram growth, increase your brand exposure, and boost your profits?

There’s one thing I know about Instagram:

It is CONSTANTLY changing the rules — which makes it tough on brands, businesses, and bloggers alike to gain a foothold.

That’s why when I tell people how Instagram has been such a huge benefit to my business, I’m often met with disbelief.

You may be wondering how anyone can keep up with:

• the new features
• the algorithm updates
• frequent rule changes
• the endless expectations of your audience

Despite all the chaos, I’ve somehow managed to grow more in a single month than most people grow in a whole year (my current record is 19,000 new followers in one month).

But does having a lot of followers mean anything anymore? Not if you don’t know how to convert followers into brand advocates and appreciative customers.

There are a lot of questions about Instagram especially as it relates to using it for your business, and consequently there are a lot of myths floating around out there too.

I’m here to clear things up for you and dispel some common Instagram misconceptions so that you can go back to focusing on the things that matter — namely the tasks and strategies that actually help you increase your Instagram growth, boost your brand exposure, and bring in the cash.

Instead of spending your time wondering if you’re wasting your efforts.

The biggest problem I have is that these myths are holding a lot people back. 

So without further ado, here are three common myths people believe about growing their business on Instagram.

MYTH #1: You need to spend a lot of time to see decent Instagram growth

It will take some effort yes, but you definitely don’t need to be on Instagram 24/7. How does 15 minutes per day sound? Or one hour once per week?

Running a small business can be hard work. If you’re anything like me you’d rather spend more time on the creative side of the business (creating and designing!) than promoting it on social medial. I feel ya, I really do.

And you can totally do that – if you use the right strategies and systems, and you put them into action in an efficient manner.

What I do: I personally never spend more than an hour per day on Instagram doing things for my business. Though I do quite a lot, you can start seeing results by putting in a quarter of the time that I do.

Some growth strategies require you to login sporadically throughout the day to get the best results, but it’s never for more than a couple minutes at a time.

First: Create and curate your content, then pre-schedule your posts with an app like Later. That way your posts are all ready to go for the week, and you don’t have to spend time choosing the right content and caption combos at inopportune moments.

(Psst! You can use an app like Later or Plann to do this! Later is free for up to 30 posts per month)

Nothing’s worse than having your workflow and focus interrupted because it’s time to post to Instagram! Social media is supposed to be a tool to help you with your business, not distract you from it.

Second: Find and use only the most effective growth strategies, that have the greatest rate of return on gaining followers. That way, you can spend as little time as possible on putting this into action and still get good results.

Efficiency is so so so so important to keeping your sanity.

Get My Instagram Growth eBook for 50% Off!

You’ll get instant access to the top 5 most effective strategies for growing your Instagram following from scratch — the EXACT strategies I used to grow my Instagram audience to over 100k followers in under a year.

Grab your copy of the Complete Guide to Instagram Growth

MYTH #2: Instagram’s algorithm makes it nearly impossible to reach your audience and Instagram growth goals, especially if you have a small account.

I know a LOT of people were super frustrated when the algorithm first came out and Instagram started moving away from the chronological feed. Many were worried that their audience would no longer see their content, and their engagement levels would suffer as a result.

Though this may be true for some people, as a whole the Instagram algorithm is actually a GOOD thing for you and your business.

You see the Instagram algorithm has a purpose, and that purpose is to get people to spend more time on Instagram. This is achieved by showing people more of the content they want to see, and less of the content they don’t want to see.

See the example of my Explore Page below, after I’ve gone and liked a bunch of puppy and dog content on Instagram:

Lots of puppies and dogs showing up on my Explore Page.

Content that someone engages with has a higher chance of appearing high up in someone’s personal feed, and really popular content shows up on the Explore Page where it gets exposed to an even wider audience.

The result of the algorithm? It truly favors GREAT content and gives it a boost.

So if you’re creating amazing content that your audience really relates to and feels compelled to interact with, then you’re going to get even more exposure on Instagram than you were before the algorithm took over.

The algorithm helps reduce the amount of crappy low quality content on the platform as well.

If you’re struggling, then you probably need to work on your content strategy or get to know your target audience a little better. Find out what it is they REALLY want to see more of, then give it to them. Your growth and engagement will go through the roof!

Do some research on the super successful accounts in your niche, and see what kind of content is performing really well for them. Look for the content that gets 2-3x more like or comments than usual, and you’ll find out what’s resonating with their audience. If your audience is the same or similar, chances are that kind of content will do well for you too. Try to post more of it!

I was able to 4x my follower growth on Instagram when I started to focus on this. There are things you can do to strategically increase your chances of your posts going viral and getting exposed to thousands of people on the Explore Page. 

*Hint: try posting more videos, they have a tendency to go viral.

We’re talking potentially 100,000 views and 1,000s of new followers in one day. One. Day.

WHAT?!

I couldn’t believe it at first either.

But it’s actually a really simple concept that can get you there, and you can read more about it in this blog post (which goes over how I gained over 900,000 views on a single Instagram video).

MYTH #3: You need to have a huge following in order to make money on Instagram.

So. Not. True.

Making money on Instagram has less to do with number of followers and almost everything to do with targeting and understanding your ideal audience. Getting them on your email list will help you out a lot too.

You can make money with 10,000 followers. With 2,000 followers. With 500 followers.

Obviously having more will help you, but you could have all the followers in the world and it won’t matter if you don’t understand what they want and how you can give it to them.

You need to understand who your audience is, what their lives are like, what their pain points are, and what goals and desires they have.

Then you need to offer them something irresistible, something that will HELP them with their struggles, or propel them towards their goals. This could be an ebook, a cheatsheet, an email course, or a small discount on their first purchase in your store.

I offer a free email course as incentive to sign up for my email list.

The whole process of turning followers into customers goes something like this:

You tell your followers about a cool freebie you have to offer them in a post on your Instagram account, directing them to your bio link.

Your followers click on through and end up on a landing page — I use LeadPages to create mine — where they must sign up for your email list in order to access the awesome free thing you’re giving them.

Now they’re on your email list. Hooray! Now if anything happens to Instagram in the future it won’t matter because you can now contact your audience at any time through your email list.

You continue to provide value via email, letting your audience know about new blog posts, deals and discounts you’re offering, and anything else of value.

You occasionally send them info about your product or service, and ask for the sale.

Your audience who now appreciates and trusts you, are more willing to buy from you! Congrats, now you’ve started making sales.

Click here to read my case study on making a steady stream of income by selling branded t-shirts to my Instagram audience.

Pretty simple in theory, right?

You also need to know how to sell to your audience without turning them off, get them on your email list, and get them from Instagram onto your sales page or shop.

In my paid course Instagram Launchpad, I show you how to do it all. From finding your target audience, gaining tons of new followers, creating awesome content, and turning your Instagram followers into paying customers.

I’ve personally managed to successfully grow and monetize two Instagram accounts in two different niches. I did it first with @lobotany, opening up a shop that sells branded gardening merchandise and sending my Instagram followers to it. And I’m doing it with @gorattlethestars by selling digital products and courses.

Don’t let the myths hold you back!

Start now. You’d be surprised what you can do if you have a good Instagram strategy, a good product, and a good relationship with your audience.

Ready to take your Instagram to the next level?

Get My Instagram Growth eBook for 50% Off!

You’ll get instant access to the top 5 most effective strategies for growing your Instagram following from scratch — the EXACT strategies I used to grow my Instagram audience to over 100k followers in under a year.

Grab your copy of the Complete Guide to Instagram Growth