Complete Guide to Growing on Instagram in 2024

Introduction

• Presenter: Ishan Sharma (@ishan7290)
• Overview: How to grow your Instagram audience in 2024
• Experience: Ishan has grown his Instagram following to over 600k followers and posted over 800 pieces of content.
• Purpose: Share tips and strategies learned from personal experience.

Why Instagram?

• Cultural Relevance: Essential platform to stay culturally relevant in India.
• Brand Building: Crucial for building a lasting impression and personal brand.
• Discoverability: Enables greater social discoverability.

Profile Optimization

Optimizing Your Name and Handle

• Simplicity: Keep the username simple, memorable, and brandable.
• SEO: Add keywords to your name to improve searchability (e.g., Ishan Sharma | AI).

Crafting an Effective Bio

• Interests and Identity: First line should mention your main interests and keywords.
• Career: Second line should describe what you do (e.g., podcast host).
• USP: Third line should mention what sets you apart.
• Contact Info: Include ways for people to get in touch (e.g., email).
• Bio Link: Mention a relevant link (e.g., Linktree, YouTube channel).

Content Strategy

Reels

• Focus Areas: Sharability and engaging hooks in the first 3 seconds.
• Emotional Impact: Make content that evokes emotions, like a reel on communication skills.
• Information Density: Pack valuable information in short duration to encourage replays.
• Trending Content: Utilize popular trends and music but add your unique twist.
• Engagement: Use strategies to keep viewers engaged (e.g., screenshots, captions).

Carousels

• Purposes: Educate, inspire, and get saves and shares.
• Design: Use the AIDA framework (Attention, Interest, Desire, Action).
• Content Types: Quotes, tutorials, free resources.

Content Calendar and Trends

• Notion: Use project management tools like Notion to track and plan content.
• Balance: Aim for a content mix (e.g., 60% broad appeal, 30% personal brand, 10% niche).
• Consistency: Be consistent with posting content.

Editing and Storytelling

Tools

• Mobile Apps: VN Video Editor, Inshot, YouTube Create.
• Professional Tools: Adobe Premiere Pro, Final Cut Pro.
• Templates: Utilize Instagram templates for trending formats.

Captions

• Importance: Keep captions long for better engagement and ranking.
• Keywords: Use relevant keywords in captions for search purposes.
• Interaction: Ask questions and urge actions (e.g., follow, share, save).

Instagram Features

Stories

• Engagement: Use polls, questions, and sliders to make stories interactive.
• Frequency: Post 4-5 interactive stories daily.

Highlights

• Showcase: Use highlights to showcase important aspects of your life and interests.

Collaboration

• Find Peers: Collaborate with people in your industry to mutual benefit.
• Example: Ishan collaborating with a designer to create engaging content.

Monetization

• Brand Deals: Reach out proactively to brands for collaborations.
• Rate Benchmark: Educational content creators can charge 1-2 rupees per view.
• Barter System: Useful initially, but eventually switch to paid collaborations.

Final Tips

• Build a Brand: Aim to build a brand, not just gather followers.
• Human Connection: Share your personal side to connect with the audience.
• Launch Strategy: Have at least 12 pieces of content ready at launch.
• Discoverability vs Sales: Focus on discoverability over direct sales on Instagram.

Summary

• Consistency, relevancy, and engaging content are key.
• Optimize bio and content for discoverability and engagement.
• Leverage different formats like Reels, Stories, and Highlights efficiently.
• Collaborate and monetize smartly, maintaining your unique brand identity.

Call to Action

• Subscribe: Follow @ishan7290 on Instagram.
• Engage: Leave questions/comments and share the video on social media.