Are you still blaming the algorithm for why you’re not growing on Instagram? Yes, that’s probably not it. In today’s episodes, I’m highlighting the three main reasons you’re not growing on Instagram. Listen in as I share how you can start growing as a content creator and reaching a larger audience on the Instagram app!
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Whether you’ve been doing this for a while or you’re just getting started on Instagram, there may come a time where you feel like you’re simply not growing. From losing followers to limited reach, there are so many things that factor into your growth on Instagram (or lack of). Let’s review the three things that you’re doing that are holding you back from growing on Instagram!
Consistency is key in growth on the Instagram app. Now, here is the caveat—consistency does not equal frequency. Consistency is a stand alone idea that is says you will show up and build trust with your own realistic expectation for frequency.
While many of us blame the algorithm for not growing, oftentimes, you’re just not posting content that provides value to your audience.
How can you make your content inspiring, entertaining, or educational? If you can entertain, educate, and inspire, that’s where the magic happens.
One of my favorite sayings is, “If you fail to plan, you plan to fail.” It is so true in content creation as well, because the internet moves so fast. When you plan out your content ideas, it makes it so much easier to be intentional. Don’t forget, you have the room to throw in new ideas and trends, but don’t let the lack of plan keep you from posting.
Content is king, so you have to plan for it. One way I love to plan is in seasons—for example, holidays and themes throughout the year are important. As content creators, this means you’re planning and posting a little early too.
So what’s the 411 on what to post? Here are a few content ideas based on the time of year that I like to plan for:
*Brands are looking ahead for seasonal content to sponsor so you can give them idea that make them want to work with you.
As you’re creating content, remember that you can be inspired by others on Instagram, but make sure you credit them and tag them for their ideas. Whether you’re working with crafts or styling a sweater, make sure you put your own unique spin on them.
The final tip I have around your plan is to actually batch your content. From shooting all of my photos to writing my captions, doing this in one big batch has saved so much time and energy throughout the month!
If you’ve enjoyed this episode and are ready to start growing, just hit post. The more you do it, the more you’ll enjoy it, and the better your content will get!
Key Moments:
2:06 – Reason 1: You’re not very consistent.
8:55 – Reason 2: You’re not providing super valuable content.
15:38 – Reason 3: You don’t have a plan in place.
Review the Transcript:
Hello everyone. And welcome back to the third episode of a confident blonde podcast. I am your host, Kellyanne Schwartz. And today we’re going to dive into. Three reasons why you are not growing on Instagram. So being a business owner, mom of two, I feel like Instagram is such a huge challenge for me just about every single day.
I wish I could tell you that it gets easier because it absolutely does not. So I build out my content calendar. And then the Instagram gods decide to just change the algorithm again, or my video isn’t being pushed out to my followers. It’s very frustrating. I am though, very grateful that I’m still growing on the platform, just cause the platform is very competitive and I feel like when a lot of people.
Honestly, master the Instagram app. They’re extremely gatekeeping about their info, but I hate that. I hate when people are secretive about the information that they know. And I truly just want to help as many people as I can. So today we’re just going to go over. Three reasons why you are not growing on the Instagram app and just some tips and tricks on the app if you want to post on there.
So you might be a stay at home mom that decides that she wants to start posting on Instagram, grow her business on Instagram. Maybe you have a small business that you want to grow or maybe you work for a corporation that’s thinking about adding Instagram into their strategy. So you just want to learn more about the app.
I’m going to help you with all those things today. So Reason number one. Why you’re not growing on the Instagram app is. You’re just not very consistent. So consistency is key. Consistency is key. So say it with me, if you’re listening to this, it’s all about consistency and what consistency means to me as a full time content creator is going to be completely different for someone that’s just starting out on Instagram.
Maybe consistency for them is just one post a week. Whereas consistency for me is stories just about every day. And then. Five to six in feed post a day in feed reels a day That is just a way different type of consistency than it is for someone just starting out So if you can only post once a week that is consistency for me like that is plenty.
That is great That is fine. And that is what you need to do when you’re first starting out You don’t want to be too intense at first and post 5, 6, 7 posts a week, because you’re going to get burned out, you’re going to get sick of it, and then you’re not going to stay consistent. So, when you are consistent on the platform, you gain trust with the audience.
You are doing what you say you’re going to do, which is showing up, and that builds trust, and that is one of the most important things. So, I’m really big about this, but if I tell my friend I’m going to be there, I’m going to be there. So I have a friend that texts me every morning at five o’clock and she’ll be like, Hey, we’re going to the gym.
Are you going to be there? And I will be there because I told her I was going to be there and it’s just about trust. Right? Like, if somebody is expecting me to show up or expecting me to be at that meeting, expecting me to be there, I’m going to be irresponsible. And I’m going to show up because I don’t want to waste someone’s time.
Time is very precious. Time is important to me. You know, we can’t get back time. So if I say I’m going to be there, I’m going to be there. So it’s the same with Instagram. If you tell your audience, you’re going to show up once a week. You got to show up, you got to be there. You don’t want to be a flake on your audience.
And why people fail on Instagram is because they post and only a hundred people see it, so they’re like, nobody cares. I’m not going to keep showing up, but like, you got to start somewhere, you know, like I would never judge someone. For only 100 people looking at their posts, like I started somewhere, right?
Only 100 people or 50 people saw my post at first and then it turned to 200 people, then it turned to 300 people and there’s still posts that I post that I think in my head, I think tanks, which, you know, for someone just starting out, it would be a great number. You have to be able to show up and be consistent, no matter what.
There’s a little bit of resilience that plays into this, but even if you think no one is looking, a hundred, can you imagine walking into a room and seeing a hundred people there? So a hundred views is something. That’s a hundred accounts. So you have to stay consistent, no matter what. And like I said, consistency to me is going to be completely different than you, because I’m a full time content creator.
So what I say is try to commit to One post a week. Once you get in a great go groove, you can start posting twice a week and then you can go to three times a week. So when I was a dental assistant and I wanted to grow on Instagram, I started posting once or twice a week. Then I quickly realized that if I made a plan and I batched a ton of content on Saturday, me and my husband would.
Carve out about three hours, one Saturday a month. I still remember it. It was fine, but then it was also a little stressful because I would be changing outfits in my car. So first of all, I wanted to be modest and make sure that like people didn’t see, you know, anything while I was changing. So I remember he would like either throw up a towel or try to guard me some way in the car.
I got really good at like changing outfits under outfits. It’s It’s kind of hysterical. Also I was putting on fall outfits in the dead heat of July. So you can imagine like me trying to like put jeans on. I am pouring sweat everywhere trying to like put these jeans on in the car where no one could see me.
I still think about those days and laugh because now we can kind of take videos inside our house and we don’t have to do that, which is really nice. That is the 1 great thing that has changed about posting reels. That we didn’t have to do these, like, super curated aesthetic posts, like, out on all these different walls or in the streets, different places.
But the point of this is, is I would just carve out 3 hours a time and try to knock out as much content as I can. So that. When I was working my full time job, I could just sit on the couch and post the content that I had. So, batching content is still super effective. Even today, I’m still batching out content.
I mean, even this podcast, I batch out content for the podcast as well. So, That’s a good way to get started if you’re wanting to start Instagram is just maybe a side hustle or a side income for you for me that the business has grown now I’ve batched all my content on Tuesdays, and I just try to shoot as much as I can in four hours Reels do take a little bit longer than photos, but It’s weird.
It’s like once you get the hang of it, you’re like, okay, I think a reel actually is quicker than photos. I really can’t tell, honestly, I feel like once you get, like I said, once you get in the groove of reels, and start practicing reels and editing reels, I do think that it probably evens out the same.
So if you’re a stay at home mom and you’re like, when am I going to find time for this? Nap time is a good idea, Where you can shoot a ton of content, plus all the babies are quiet, usually, unless they wake up for a nap, or you might be a mom like me, my kids aren’t taking naps, so I like to shoot content while they’re at school.
Also, I love batch shooting content, because that means I only have to do my full hair and makeup. Like once a day, like, so I batch all my content on Tuesdays and now I’ll only have to do my full hair and makeup that one day, which if you’re a girl like me, you know, hair extensions, you got to wash all.
It’s just a process. So I like being able to wear comfy clothes the other days of the week. So that’s another incentive of batching content. Also like. With batching content, there’s going to be sometimes a trend that you might want to hop on, so you have to be super flexible and I’ll go over that later.
But, so just to reiterate, the number 1 reason why you’re not growing on Instagram is just you’re not being consistent. So, try to build out a schedule where you can be super consistent and you can. At least I would say at least if you can do one post a week, that would be helpful. Reason number two, are you’re not posting on Instagram as you’re not providing super valuable content.
People miss this bucket a lot. A lot of people like to blame it on the algorithm, which is what I did at the beginning of this video. But I literally do this. I blame it on the algorithm when at the end of the day, which is, is hard for me to hear. I’m hard for anyone to hear. It’s just the content.
Maybe the content just didn’t resonate with the audience. It wasn’t valuable. So whenever someone comes to me and they’re like, The algorithm changed again, or I’m just not growing on Instagram, I say, Okay, what’s your content look like? How can you change it? How can you make it more engaging? How can you make it more valuable?
Is it teaching someone something? Is it making someone laugh? Is it making someone stop to think? Is it making someone engage with the content? These are really questions that you need to ask every single time before you hit the post button. I like educational, tutorial, inspirational content that’s Typically the bucket I like to hit.
That’s not to say I won’t do a really funny reel every once in a while. What you want to look at for Instagram specifically is saves and shares. Saves and shares are going to be the two things that are going to help get you pushed out in the feed. So, what I have noticed is if I do a really awesome tutorial on a cute craft, or something seasonal that people are thinking about for Valentine’s Day, it gets a lot of shares, especially like a drink recipe, it gets a ton of shares.
Those shares boost me on the content, You get more views and things like that. So that is definitely 1 of the things always say you want to look for the 3 E’s before you hit the post button. So that’s entertainment, education, or inspiration. I know inspiration doesn’t start with an E. This is just something I heard once and has always stuck with me.
So entertainment, you see right now that Instagram is kind of changing to this very, like, entertaining, relatable. Top of raw video platform. People want to be entertained. They’re scrolling at night. They’ve had a long day. They truly just want a little, little laugh or a little giggle. So there’s some creators that are really growing from just that entertainment bucket.
So anytime you can find something with the entertainment space, I’m not a mastery at the entertainment. I do think my, my, I think I’m funny, in stories and a lot of people will confirm that I’m funny in stories, but honestly, I don’t know. I have tried the really funny reels and some will do very well.
Some will not do very well. I do like doing them every once in a while. I just like having a mix of content with my channel, but entertainment does do well if funny’s your thing. If you’re good at making people laugh and coming up with really funny ideas. Like I said, I love the education and the inspiring kind of buckets with my channel.
Just with the kind of content I produce. They say if you can hit all three though, if you can entertain and educate and inspire someone all three, that’s like the money maker. Like that’s The real that could go viral, even though you shouldn’t post to make something go viral.
You should just stay consistent. So it doesn’t have to be perfect. I don’t want you to be caught up in like, oh, she’s saying my content’s not good. That’s why it’s not doing great in the algorithm. I need to be more perfect. Being perfect is definitely not the goal. I just say, if it’s awesome, if you think it’s good, if you think it’s going to help someone or entertain someone, I think you should hit the post button.
But think of this every single time before you hit post, like, and even now I am constantly always thinking about how I can make my content better, especially for my reels. Like, how can it get better? How can it get better? Every single time that I hit post? So that comes to the next point of you should always shoot in natural light if you can.
So I like to shoot near windows where the window with a natural light is coming in and facing me. Obviously right now with this terrible Tennessee weather, I’m laughing because all my stories today, I was like, do we live in Forks, Washington, or do we live in Tennessee? And I don’t know where you’re tuning in from, but I live in Tennessee around Nashville, Tennessee.
And it is so rainy, which is terrible for content because I’m not getting much natural light in my windows. So I will literally reschedule my content shoot days to where I have natural light or I will shoot with, my light. I’ll put the link in the show notes. It’s the famous clip on iPhone light that’s super trendy right now.
You do have to charge it, but it’s nice to just clip on and it helps brighten everything up. Especially like a glow light. Those things help, but what I have noticed This is just me. That natural light just does it. It just does the best. So I do try to shoot natural life as much as I can. This isn’t like as huge of a thing like it used to be.
Back in the day it’s like all about content, super aesthetic feeds. But I’m just giving you guys some tips on What has worked for me in the past and what I think will help your content. So, yeah, definitely go through a narrow window if you can. And I also use the app and it will help. really brighten my videos.
I also use the Lightroom app to help edit my photos and it just adds a really great preset to them basically. I create a preset and I keep it the same. And I just love the bright airy look. Like, I just, I just love that. So those are some apps that I use and tools that I use.
So, like I said, back in the day, I had to have this super aesthetic, perfect feed. It’s really not the case anymore. Honestly, you don’t have to worry about it being super aesthetic. But. I do think that if you’re wanting to monetize on your channel, which you might want to post on Instagram just cause you enjoy it and you want to connect with people, or you might post on Instagram cause you do want to make some money from it.
I do think people appreciate the natural. light aesthetic looking content. So reason number two why you’re not growing on Instagram is that you need to work on posting valuable content. So don’t be afraid to change your content strategy up, help solve a problem. At the end of the day like just help solve a problem if you can.
Help provide tips for people. You know, or help engage with them, like help connect with them. There is an influencer that I absolutely love following. She’s also one of my pretty good friends and she really is just so authentic. Like she hits that authentic content bucket. And so what Instagram is craving right now is just awesome authenticity.
And that’s how you can also provide value. Just being your authentic self, connecting with your audience. Those things are always going to shine. Reason number three. Why you are not growing on Instagram. You don’t have a plan in place. So my favorite famous line is fail to plan, plan to fail. I say it all the time, but it’s so true.
And it’s truly the, if you ask me, like, what is the one way that you’ve seen any success with posting on Instagram? And I would have to say. It’s because I plan. I’m plan. A girl that has a goal and a dream, she makes a plan. You know, she’s not gonna just wake up and say, I’m just gonna hit a goal. Like, she got a plan for it.
So you really have to have a content plan in place. You can be flexible in that plan. Like, just because I make the plan doesn’t mean I always stick to it, like pretty regimen, but I barely like defer, like get off the plan. which is something I’m kind of working with because if there’s a really fun trend going around, I’m not saying you shouldn’t just try to add that into your content strategy.
, Because I do that sometimes. If there’s a fun trend that I think will fit my niche, then I will just post it. And those tend to do pretty well. So you do need to be a little flexible with that plan. I don’t like to be too flexible. I’m just, everybody that knows me knows I don’t like for the plan to not go according to plan, which is something that I’m working on because I’m a mom and like, not everything’s going to go exactly how you plan it.
So how I content plan might be different from other people, but I use the notion app and then I have a social media calendar template. You can also use platforms like Trello or Asana or even your Google calendar app. You could just go, what I do, and I’ll just kind of go over the process on how I content plan is you want to start with Instagram or Pinterest and just scroll and get some inspiration.
See what people are posting about, see what’s trending on the app. See what, see what the 411, like the mean girls, mom, what’s the 411, what’s everybody talking about? You just imagine her also. Not to be a side note, I want to stay on point, but the new Mean Girls movie came out, and I want to see that so bad.
I heard it’s really good, but Yeah, what’s the 4 1 1? What’s everyone talking about? What’s trending right now? Is it Valentine’s Day? Is it gift ideas for your kids? Is it, You know, little classroom treats. Is it Superbowl? I always think of like, what are people searching for? What are they thinking about?
You know, do they have a Galentine’s day event coming up? Is it new year? New you like think about what people are thinking about. I really plan out a theme every month for my content. And I will go ahead and just tell you guys, like I will give you the. Content plan theme for each month for me so that you can use it.
Like I said, I don’t mind sharing my mind with you guys and helping you out any way that I can for you to grow your business January, I always really focus on goal setting. That’s why I launched a podcast, right? I was like, when’s the perfect time to launch a podcast probably in January when everyone needs self development and is thinking about revamping themselves, setting goals and all those things.
So in January, I do new goals. Organization content. People are really looking for organization in January. And they’re also looking for Valentine’s Day. And if you’re like, Kelly, why would you post Valentine’s Day in January? That is so soon. Well, brands are typically looking for, That type of content in January to run their campaigns.
And I want to stand out. So that’s one of my secrets is I’m always like ahead of the curve. I do a lot of seasonal content, things that women or moms would just love to see. So January, like I said, organization, Valentine’s day goal setting for January for February, a little bit of Valentine’s day in the beginning, maybe some super bowl stuff.
And then I start getting right into all the spring things for March. We’re. Hitting spring heavy. So we’re talking travel ideas, travel inspiration, places to go. We’re talking spring outfits, spring hairstyles. Easter, all the, all the spring things. April, we’re still hitting spring, but we might be doing a tinge of summer towards the end of April, and I know what you’re saying, like, why this is so soon.
But, you gotta be ahead, you gotta be ahead of the curve. If the retail is putting out Valentine’s Day in January, we are shooting content. Over Valentine’s day in January. So I do a lot of summer things in June and July, June. I’ll start doing 4th of July ideas. Again, swimsuits, think summer, think vacations, travel tips, all those things.
What people are doing. August back to school. So in July, I will start focusing on back to school and giving some tips for back to school. Maybe meal prepping lunches for the kids or really cute lunchbox notes or what to shop for back to school. August More back to school, but we’re starting to hit fall when August comes around it starts getting crazy It is like fall baby fall, okay?
The fourth quarter for influencers is the busiest Craziest quarter because you’re trying to push out all this content that people need that are shopping for They’re looking for plus you probably have more campaigns around that time So I’m hitting fall in August and you know fall outfit ideas Fall treats, fall decor.
So October, November is maybe a tangible once November first hits. It’s honestly Christmas. It’s just, and I know, I don’t want you to think I’m skipping holidays. I’ve mixed in a little bit of Thanksgiving in November, but it’s mostly Christmas. December, a little bit more Christmas. And then the end of December.
We start doing organization, New Year’s and goal setting fitness and things like that. So that’s kind of my themes and how I plan out content. And also what we’re seeing in Instagram is things are trending farther than just a few days. So back in the day, you’d post in the post would last like 3 days.
Now we’re seeing things last longer, which is so nice, which makes me think you should even be more on top of the trends and just be a little bit early. Now, that’s how I content plan for somebody that does seasonal content, but I just wanted to give you guys an idea of how I make a theme for a month.
So when you’re content planning, you want to get inspiration, either Pinterest or Instagram. You want to make a board, keep it secret. You don’t want people to know what your idea is, what you’re thinking of. Just keep it secret and just write down 10 to 20 ideas you think Your audience with like, I love to map out just like 30 ideas.
Sometimes I even have my audience vote on stories to see what they want to see. So I’m constantly pulling, looking at the past videos, seeing what got best engagement, asking my audience, what they would like to see on the channel. The audience is the customers. Okay. The audience is the customer.
They pay your bills. Okay. The, I say the trust of my girls is everything. So. You know, I want to make sure I’m just constantly producing content that they want to see that they like also people are asking you questions In the DMs, take screenshots or even in the comments, if people are asking you questions in the comments and DMs take screenshots and then keep a folder of like, these are your questions.
Just you could make an entire content calendar over just answering questions that people are asking you, like, within your niche. So, like I said. My content, is really important to me. It’s something that I just think is king. Consistency is key. Content is king. Like it’s number one, baby. Like you got that content has got to look good.
It’s got to look good. And you got to plan for it to look good. also with. Getting inspiration from people on Instagram, just tag them. You know, if you get an idea from someone, just tag them. Like I made this really cute ghost and I saw it from another creator’s account and I just tagged her. I was like, Hey, like I loved this ghost.
And I also kind of made it my own. I added like a hat and a pumpkin to it. So I just made it a little bit of my own, but I got the idea from her, gave her credit, credited who I got it from. So that’s a big deal. Plus. Just take the idea from the creator and make it your own. That’s the biggest deal. But don’t be afraid to just kind of tweak it and tag them.
Like I am by all means saying, do not copy them. I really. Make a point not to copy creators. Like I want to give you the credit for all the work that you are doing. That is super important for me. But like I said, just make sure give credit where credit is due. If you find a good idea or something that they influenced you on.
But it is a social app, you know? So sometimes things are going to be trending and it’s not that you’re copying, but there’s literally a sweater. That’s just so trending. But take the sweater and then style it your way make it your own You just really want to stand out and be your own account and be different so like I said, I am sticking to that content calendar and notion I’m also going in once a month and i’m writing all my captions for the month Which is so crazy that I started I did this one day.
It took me about , I think it was two hours, but I wrote Every single caption for every single reel for the month. And it was so nice because I could just sit down and post it. Like I didn’t have to think about hashtags. I didn’t have to think about what the captions should say.
I already wrote it. So I will write all out all my captions before I even shoot the content. So I put my idea in the caption and notion. I line it all up. It’s in my workflow and then I will start shooting content. And if you’re like Kelly, I just don’t have time for this. Like. I totally get it. I noticed that my consistency isn’t the best and my channel isn’t growing as fast when I don’t have this plan in place, I think the, the biggest like aha moment for me with this is we were on the way to Disney world.
With my family, I know that I wanted to, cause I’m a travel influencer. I really don’t like the word influencer actually, by the way, I’m a travel content creator. I like content creator better. I don’t know why. I just like side note. I just like the word content creator better. Influencer gives us feel like I’m better than you.
I don’t think I’m better than anyone. I think, you know, I don’t know. I just don’t like that word for some reason. It’s a new thing of mine. But anyways, the biggest moment is when we were, Driving down to Disney. It’s pretty sure it’s like nine hours. I can’t even remember it’s long. And I was like, I don’t want to be on my phone constantly at Disney.
I want to really enjoy Disney. I want to see my kids enjoy Disney, but I want to shoot content and review this. And so what I did was I scrolled through Instagram, found all the audios that I wanted to use, put all the ideas into notion. Did all the captions, and then I was able just to like, in between us doing things, I was able to shoot a few pieces of content.
It wasn’t like I was shooting content the entire time. And I remember my friends like, being like, how did you do that while you were at Disney? Like, it was kind of crazy. And I’m like, I just planned it out. And then, I really didn’t do much. Cause I already did all the back end work. On the way down there, so that was like a real aha moment for me.
And so when I do the content workflow, put it into notion, put all the captions in there, all the ideas, order everything I need for the content. It just flows so much better. I’m more consistent. I’m providing for my audience way better. And the channel is just growing. That’s. That’s all I can tell you for that.
So reason number three, why you’re not growing on Instagram is you don’t have a content plan. So I hope this podcast helped you today, especially if you’re wanting to start, like I said, girl, just hit post. I say this every time to everybody I meet. There’s a lot of like, people are just scared to hit post.
I hate that because I’m like, why would you be scared to hit post? Like, what if I was scared? Like, are you scared of what people might think about you? Do you think they’ll make fun of you? Who cares? Like they’re not paying your bills. And you don’t, I wish I could tell y’all like how many opportunities have truly opened for me because I just stay so resilient and I just keep posting, even when I feel like my videos don’t do the best, I just try again.
I try again tomorrow. I have that power. Stay positive. Keep trying. If you like it, then keep posting. You don’t know what could happen. There’s so many. I mean, I never would have dreamed in a thousand years that I would get to meet Carrie Underwood because I posted on Instagram. I mean, it’s just kind of crazy.
So that’s all we have time for today. I really love keeping these podcasts around 30 minutes, just because it, it takes me about 30 minutes just to go pick the kids up at car on her lawn. And so I’m like. You know, as a woman that’s got a lot going on, I just love the 30 minute podcast. I feel like you can get some good information, but it’s not too long.
I really loved having you here today. And if you have any other questions about Instagram, please reach out to me at A Confident Blonde on Instagram. I answer every DM. That is a big deal to me. I was even talking to my, brand agency today, and I was like, I answer every email in every DM and every, I try every comment, not 100 percent on every comment, but I truly try.
And that’s a big deal, even as, as we grow and I might get. More team members. I will always answer DMs. That’s just so important to me. So don’t feel afraid to reach out to me out there. I love talking to y’all in DMs and there will be way more Instagram tips and tricks. If you’ve loved this, you know, make sure you follow me because there’s going to be a lot more valuable information.
So thank you so much and until next time on a confident blonde podcast.