Kristin Dashiell - Instagram: From 0 to 10k

Instagram: From 0 to 10k

How we grew 2 accounts to 10,000followers in 3 months

By Kristin Dashiell and Simon OwenRogers

Copyright 2017 SiDashTravels

Smashwords Edition

Smashwords Edition, LicenseNotes

This ebook is licensed for yourpersonal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or givenaway to other people. If you would like to share this book withanother person, please purchase an additional copy for eachrecipient. If youre reading this book and did not purchase it, orit was not purchased for your use only, then please return to yourfavorite ebook retailer and purchase your own copy. Thank you forrespecting the hardwork of this author.

Contents

INTRODUCTION

I started to seriously grow myInstagram in January 2017. I had an advantage because I'd worked insocial media marketing for five years prior, so I knew the waythese games worked and my brain was already used to thinking inthis space - constantly analyzing, brainstorming, and tweaking foroptimum results.

It took me one month to reach 1,000followers, and three months to arrive at 10k. A few weeks later, ataround 14k, I believe my account finally took off - meaning I'mable to maintain steady growth without constant attention andwork.

As my account grew, I started to getmessages from other Instagram users with questions.

How was I growing myaccount?

How was I gettingengagement?

Did I have any tricks toshare?

I never intended to get into thebusiness of teaching Instagram or social media. That's still notwhat I want - I like travel writing, and I honestly just want tostick to that (and maybe fiction and poetry down the road). I'm notinterested in writing too much about marketing or socialmedia.

But I also want to respond to myfollowers, and this is what I'm currently being asked. So I'm goingto write everything I've done in my journey, and this eBook can bethe answer to those questions going forward.

CHAPTER ONE: A NEW MINDSET: YOU'RE IN MARKETING!

As soon as you decide to seriously workat Instagram (or any other social media account) you have enteredthe world of marketing. You need to be ready to shift your thoughtprocess accordingly - to think like a marketer.

You are officially a brand!

Every decision needs to be made withthis in mind.

Instagram is constantly changing -their rules, algorithms, and platform are never permanent. That canmake life hard for you.

But your foundation never needs tochange, because no matter what Instagram throws at you, the basicsof effective marketing are always the same. These five principlesshould guide every strategy you create:

1.Know who you want toreach.

2.Go where they alreadyare.

3.Know what you want themto do.

4.Let them know what's init for them.

5.Make it easy for them toact.

I will go into each point with greatdetail and provide real, practical strategies a littlelater.

But first, a word about flexibility andpatience.

Because you've got to have some! No twoaccounts are the same, even if they seem very very similar. Thismeans that what works brilliantly for one account may workdifferently for another.

When I used to manage social mediaaccounts for businesses, I once had 11 accounts that were nearlyidentical. Same industry, same location, same target audience, samevoice behind their content (mine). You'd think I could create onestrategy and use it for all 11 accounts.

No. Nothing worked the same fromaccount to account.

I say this because there is a ton ofadvice for Instagram out there. Experts or people who have clearlysucceeded at Instagram will say "this is the strategy that works!"But it might not for you. Or they might say "this is a waste oftime!" And it might be your most successful approach.

Actually, it's worse than that - evenyour own results won't be a steady indicator of what will work inthe future.

When my Instagram account was very new,I was always reading about a certain growth strategy. Big accountsclaimed they used it. Smaller accounts excitedly shared that theygained 20 new followers in the first five minutes. I excitedlytried it - I gained one follower. He unfollowed me shortlyafter.

A couple months later, I tried thatstrategy again - and it worked! The reason I gave it another shot?All my old tricks gives had stopped working and I wasn't sure whatto try next. I had nothing else at the moment - so what did I haveto lose?

You can never get too comfortable.Instagram (marketing) is a fickle friend! Save all your ideas, anddon't expect anything to carry you to success for the long-term.You need to constantly watch your own results and always be readyto brainstorm new approaches or give an old idea anotherwhirl.

Are you ready? Let's begin!

CHAPTER TWO: KNOW WHO YOU WANT TO REACH

The first step is always to know whoyour ideal audience is.

Think about their gender, age,location, career, relationship status, education, interests, andpersonality.

What do they want? (Are yougiving it to them?)

What do they need? (Do youhave it?)

What problems do they have?(Can you solve them?)

What dreams are theydreaming? (Will they see them in your account?)

How are they entertained?(Are you doing it?)

Most importantly - why are they goingto follow you? What's their motivation?

The biggest shift in going from atypical Instagram user to someone with a marketing mindset is thatyour perspective shifts from being self-centered toaudience-centered.

Answer all of the above questions -even if some of the answers inspire a more specific answer thanothers. For example, you might not want to target only one gender,but at least you thought about it and can explain why you'veanswered the way you have. The point is to be as intentional aspossible. Constantly ask yourself "why?" If you don't have ananswer, maybe this is an area you should think deeperabout.

Some people even create 1-3 imaginarypeople who would be their perfect followers. They give them names,backstories, and hair colors. Then they have a solid visual of theperson they are seeking out and creating content for.

Many people find that their idealaudience member is someone very similar to themselves. That'sgreat! You know yourself better than anyone else. Think about theInstagram accounts you enjoy the most. What do you like and why doyou like it? What do you not like and why does it bug you? Huntaround in your niche and take some notes based on your own opinionsand thoughts.

CHAPTER THREE: GO WHERE THEY ALREADY ARE

Your ideal audience is already hangingout somewhere. Your mission is to find those spaces and makeyourself visible there too. On Instagram, people are congregatingaround their favorite accounts and hashtags, so that's what youneed to find.

If you are starting from the verybeginning and don't know much about your niche's Instagramcommunity yet, hashtags are the best place to start. Looking aroundthose pages will help you find the accounts that are already bigplayers.

CHAPTER FOUR: MY HASHTAG STRATEGY

Hashtags are a great way to get yourposts in front of more eyes. Getting found in the right hashtags -the ones your ideal audience are using and browsing through -should definitely be a goal.

Instagram allows 30 hashtags per post,and I use every single one.

If you go to the search page, andsearch for hashtags, you can see how many posts are already in eachtag.

Your goal is to find the sweet spot,where you are likely to get in the top posts (the lower the count,the better) and where the tag is popular enough to attract as manypeople as possible (the higher the better). So it's a carefulbalance!

I recommend starting with tags thathave a low post count and and gradually getting higher as youraccount grows.

When I was new, I only used hashtagswith under 100,000 posts. As I gained followers, I was able togradually increase, and as of writing this I am currently at500,000 count tags. As you grow, this strategy will grow with you.You might see minimal results at first, but it gains momentum withtime.