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I haven't dropped a new thread in a while and wanted to give back on something...
So here is how I have grown on IG over the last year.
This will be for normal style content you can build an "expert" following with. So, not random flexing content - but instead something you can get paying customers from.
1- Pick a niche and get focused.
You will want a dedicated page that focuses on one core subject matter. You don't want to be combining personal stuff or trying to reach a bunch of different people at once. Instead, you want to be the person for one type of user who is looking for a certain style of content.
The more focused you are (as long as there is demand), the faster you will grow.
This is because your page will be a clear source of specific information. And also, your total watch time will be much higher than a normal page with more varied (random) content.
2- Pick your core topics.
If you are stuck, go to some other similar expert pages and see what posts and reels are outliers for them. Look at their baseline views - and then spot the top 10% of content that hits a way higher level. What were they talking about, and why did people respond to this the most?
Look at the content, listen/read carefully to what was covered, look at the comments, etc. - see what your ideal audience is into.
You will want to find around 10-15 of these topics. These are your "hot button" topics that you will only make content on. This means your page has a high chance of growing - just keep hitting these topics from different angles.
(Ignore obvious one-off things like a certain event in time that is now gone by- you want the timeless classic topics, then you can always connect it to something recent if it makes sense. This is about finding what people react to the most as a concept.)
3- Figure out your template.
Your template is the 1-3 ways (max) you represent your content. You will want a format that is proven to go viral AND that you feel you can do a good job at creating yourself. Again, see what other experts have done and look for a style proven to work over and over.
This is the "box" you will be dropping your own content into - so you want a winning way to present yourself.
As an example, I went with a back-and-forth style of conversation between an amateur and a pro. One guy says something, the other guy says something back - and so on. I thought this was a good format for sales, and it has been proven to work for a few top creators.
If possible, try to find something unique. Like, a LOT of guys go with the podcast-style setup or talking directly at the camera like Hormozi. The more clichéd your template, the harder to stand out. So, you want something proven to work... but that not everyone is using either!
4- Study your template.
Look into the exact examples that went viral before:
Also, dial in your lighting, sound, tone, hand gestures, etc. If you can improve 20 things by 20-50%, you give yourself a MASSIVE chance of success. Keep looking at every small thing and trying to make it better.
5- Make your hook.
Okay, you now have a really good base to make content. So, you next want actual ideas.
Start with your core topics above and then try to think of what people will react to the most.
This is way better than just trying to teach something up front - because there is no emotion, and no one cares yet. You need to start with something that people will respond to HEAVILY, and then you follow up with the actual "meat."
How you actually do this does depend on your content template, but just study the best relevant people and their most viral reels. What did they show/say/tell/write in the first 5 seconds? Study that and learn how to make strong hooks and get people to keep watching.
So, let's say for me the topic is "sales"... so how about a scenario where a client is close to paying you $10,000, but then they change their mind? ...And then we follow that up with some lesson around why that might have happened. This would get people interested and emotional off the bat.
So, since I do a conversation style reel, I might start off with...
"Hey man, I was about to close this $10,000 deal... and now the clients saying they changed their minds... they don't want to go ahead!"
^This would get my target audience interested: Why did this happen? What could have been done differently? Ahhhh, I hate clients who do this too!!!
6- Second hook (advanced).
I have learned that it pays to hook twice. So, I usually work in another layer of a hook right away also.
Again, this will really depend on your format, but it does pay to make sure people are invested emotionally before you move into any kind of teaching or lesson payoff.
With my example...
First hook: "Hey man, I was about to close this $10,000 deal... and now the clients saying they changed their minds... they don't want to go ahead!"
Response: "Did you ask them why not?"
Second hook: "I asked if it was about price, that I could do it cheaper - but they still didn't seem to care!"
...this works well because now people are getting really invested in what comes next (and hopefully a bit emotional also). We have a juicy potential deal, a client issue, a potential price problem, and a confusing scenario - all within a few second.
Compare this to a reel that just starts off with "Here are 5 things you need to know about pricing a deal..."
It is okay... but it is kinda boring. You want dramatic hooks and emotional concepts.
7- Actual content (the payoff).
Next, you want your lesson, or advice, or story, or insight, etc.
Keep it sharp, make it sound good, and make people want to save and share it with others as much as possible.
If you use some kind of template, or system, or "5 steps", then this also increases the chance that people save it. Which isn't always possible (depends on the content), but it really boosts the algo if you can do it.
What has worked well for me is email/conversation templates and processes to get X result.
8- End the reel fast.
Don't delay the point - say your advice and then end it asap. You want 100% watch time... so don't do some outro or double explanation.
This can be hard to do because you probably want to cover subtle points or give more context when you teach. DON'T!
Just say a strong point and then leave it at that. Yes... some people will tell you that you missed X, Y, and Z points. But whatever - this isn't an hour-long podcast; it is short-form content. You don't have time to cover every scenario. You want emotions + one strong lesson.
9- Engagement boosts.
Hashtags, etc., don't do much (or anything). What matters is comments, shares, saves, and watch time. Make content that gets people engaging and reacting emotionally. Don't try to game the algo - try to learn to get a strong human response. The algo changes; people stay the same.
10- Be consistent
Instagram doesn't want to promote people too early. They would end up with pages with lots of followers, but the creator never came back. So, they wait to see who will stick around, and then, once they feel confident you will, they boost you massively.
So, be super consistent at the start. Make one piece of content a day for at least 100 days in a row. Every day.
This is another way to be improving your odds of success and playing to win. All things being equal, the page that uploads every day will be the one IG picks to share and promote. It is just better for them.
11- Improve 1% every day
Go back over your content every time and look for all the little ways to make it just a tiny bit better. It will add up over time, and it gives you a massive competitive edge. I see a LOT of people with good content ideas but with bad sound, lighting, or who are dressed terribly, etc.
Dial in what you can control and keep in mind your content is only like 50%. How you present yourself and your production matters a lot.
Also, there are other small hacks to get a new page growing at the start, but I will cover them in a follow-up post.
Hope that helps for now.
So here is how I have grown on IG over the last year.
This will be for normal style content you can build an "expert" following with. So, not random flexing content - but instead something you can get paying customers from.
1- Pick a niche and get focused.
You will want a dedicated page that focuses on one core subject matter. You don't want to be combining personal stuff or trying to reach a bunch of different people at once. Instead, you want to be the person for one type of user who is looking for a certain style of content.
The more focused you are (as long as there is demand), the faster you will grow.
This is because your page will be a clear source of specific information. And also, your total watch time will be much higher than a normal page with more varied (random) content.
2- Pick your core topics.
If you are stuck, go to some other similar expert pages and see what posts and reels are outliers for them. Look at their baseline views - and then spot the top 10% of content that hits a way higher level. What were they talking about, and why did people respond to this the most?
Look at the content, listen/read carefully to what was covered, look at the comments, etc. - see what your ideal audience is into.
You will want to find around 10-15 of these topics. These are your "hot button" topics that you will only make content on. This means your page has a high chance of growing - just keep hitting these topics from different angles.
(Ignore obvious one-off things like a certain event in time that is now gone by- you want the timeless classic topics, then you can always connect it to something recent if it makes sense. This is about finding what people react to the most as a concept.)
3- Figure out your template.
Your template is the 1-3 ways (max) you represent your content. You will want a format that is proven to go viral AND that you feel you can do a good job at creating yourself. Again, see what other experts have done and look for a style proven to work over and over.
This is the "box" you will be dropping your own content into - so you want a winning way to present yourself.
As an example, I went with a back-and-forth style of conversation between an amateur and a pro. One guy says something, the other guy says something back - and so on. I thought this was a good format for sales, and it has been proven to work for a few top creators.
If possible, try to find something unique. Like, a LOT of guys go with the podcast-style setup or talking directly at the camera like Hormozi. The more clichéd your template, the harder to stand out. So, you want something proven to work... but that not everyone is using either!
4- Study your template.
Look into the exact examples that went viral before:
- How many words did they say total?
- How long was the reel?
- What was the hook?
- How did they end it?
- How many cuts in the edits?
- How were the captions?
- What was the lighting and camera setup like?
Also, dial in your lighting, sound, tone, hand gestures, etc. If you can improve 20 things by 20-50%, you give yourself a MASSIVE chance of success. Keep looking at every small thing and trying to make it better.
5- Make your hook.
Okay, you now have a really good base to make content. So, you next want actual ideas.
Start with your core topics above and then try to think of what people will react to the most.
This is way better than just trying to teach something up front - because there is no emotion, and no one cares yet. You need to start with something that people will respond to HEAVILY, and then you follow up with the actual "meat."
How you actually do this does depend on your content template, but just study the best relevant people and their most viral reels. What did they show/say/tell/write in the first 5 seconds? Study that and learn how to make strong hooks and get people to keep watching.
So, let's say for me the topic is "sales"... so how about a scenario where a client is close to paying you $10,000, but then they change their mind? ...And then we follow that up with some lesson around why that might have happened. This would get people interested and emotional off the bat.
So, since I do a conversation style reel, I might start off with...
"Hey man, I was about to close this $10,000 deal... and now the clients saying they changed their minds... they don't want to go ahead!"
^This would get my target audience interested: Why did this happen? What could have been done differently? Ahhhh, I hate clients who do this too!!!
6- Second hook (advanced).
I have learned that it pays to hook twice. So, I usually work in another layer of a hook right away also.
Again, this will really depend on your format, but it does pay to make sure people are invested emotionally before you move into any kind of teaching or lesson payoff.
With my example...
First hook: "Hey man, I was about to close this $10,000 deal... and now the clients saying they changed their minds... they don't want to go ahead!"
Response: "Did you ask them why not?"
Second hook: "I asked if it was about price, that I could do it cheaper - but they still didn't seem to care!"
...this works well because now people are getting really invested in what comes next (and hopefully a bit emotional also). We have a juicy potential deal, a client issue, a potential price problem, and a confusing scenario - all within a few second.
Compare this to a reel that just starts off with "Here are 5 things you need to know about pricing a deal..."
It is okay... but it is kinda boring. You want dramatic hooks and emotional concepts.
7- Actual content (the payoff).
Next, you want your lesson, or advice, or story, or insight, etc.
Keep it sharp, make it sound good, and make people want to save and share it with others as much as possible.
If you use some kind of template, or system, or "5 steps", then this also increases the chance that people save it. Which isn't always possible (depends on the content), but it really boosts the algo if you can do it.
What has worked well for me is email/conversation templates and processes to get X result.
8- End the reel fast.
Don't delay the point - say your advice and then end it asap. You want 100% watch time... so don't do some outro or double explanation.
This can be hard to do because you probably want to cover subtle points or give more context when you teach. DON'T!
Just say a strong point and then leave it at that. Yes... some people will tell you that you missed X, Y, and Z points. But whatever - this isn't an hour-long podcast; it is short-form content. You don't have time to cover every scenario. You want emotions + one strong lesson.
9- Engagement boosts.
Hashtags, etc., don't do much (or anything). What matters is comments, shares, saves, and watch time. Make content that gets people engaging and reacting emotionally. Don't try to game the algo - try to learn to get a strong human response. The algo changes; people stay the same.
10- Be consistent
Instagram doesn't want to promote people too early. They would end up with pages with lots of followers, but the creator never came back. So, they wait to see who will stick around, and then, once they feel confident you will, they boost you massively.
So, be super consistent at the start. Make one piece of content a day for at least 100 days in a row. Every day.
This is another way to be improving your odds of success and playing to win. All things being equal, the page that uploads every day will be the one IG picks to share and promote. It is just better for them.
11- Improve 1% every day
Go back over your content every time and look for all the little ways to make it just a tiny bit better. It will add up over time, and it gives you a massive competitive edge. I see a LOT of people with good content ideas but with bad sound, lighting, or who are dressed terribly, etc.
Dial in what you can control and keep in mind your content is only like 50%. How you present yourself and your production matters a lot.
Also, there are other small hacks to get a new page growing at the start, but I will cover them in a follow-up post.
Hope that helps for now.
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