You’ve heard the stories before. You’ve come across the Instagram profiles of influencers and brands that hit it big early on. While it’s possible that you could join this group, the fact of the matter is simple: it typically takes time to reach your growth related goals.
Instagram is anything but a “get rich” or “get famous” overnight endeavor. In fact, if you’re not in it for the long haul, you might as well stop where you are. You’re going to become upset soon enough, as fast growth doesn’t typically happen. Although it takes time to reach your goals, there’s something you should always remember: with the right approach, you can speed up the process while learning a lot along the way.
With all that in mind, here are five tips for helping you maintain a straight and narrow course on your way to reaching your goals:
1. Open Your Mind
You would think that opening your mind to new ideas would knock you off course, but it can actually do the exact opposite. When you experiment with a variety of strategies, you begin to better understand where to spend most of your resources. And with that understanding, you can more easily stay on track.
So, for example, if you’re doing everything organically right now to grow your account, look into services that allow you to buy followers. For example, this website is a good place to start, as you’re able to secure high quality, real followers at a reasonable price.
It’s easy to fall into the trap of thinking that what you’re doing now is the only way to achieve results. That’s particularly true if you’re seeing the type of progress you want. Just make sure that you’re also willing to open your mind to other ideas.
2. Track Your Progress
It’s one thing to set goals, but another thing entirely to have a system in place for tracking your progress. This doesn’t have to be anything complex. It can be as simple as a spreadsheet or business dashboard that tracks your follower growth day over day.
As you track your progress, you’ll see what works, what doesn’t, and the steps you can take to make more of your time and resources in the future.
Don’t just track your progress for the sake of doing so. Do this with the idea of understanding how your account is progressing, as the knowledge you gather will help you alter your course.
3. Chart Your Competitors
While you may not have any direct competitors on Instagram, as there is enough space for everyone to succeed, there’s nothing wrong with charting your competitors so that you know exactly what they’re doing to make progress.
In addition to tracking their growth statistics, pay close attention to the type of content they’re sharing and the engagement they’re receiving in return. All of this data can help you improve your strategy, which will put you in position to outdo them in the days, weeks, and months to come.
Tip: it never hurts to chart your competitors, but don’t get so hung up on this that you lose sight of what you can personally do to better your account.
4. Set Goals
How can you reach your goals before you know what they are? You can’t, and that’s why you need to set both short and long term goals as early as possible.
This can be something as simple as stating that you want to obtain 100 followers within the first month of creating your Instagram account. And if you’re thinking long-term, maybe something along the lines of 1k followers within six months. Be realistic when setting goals, as you don’t want to set yourself up for failure.
5. Ask for Help
There are plenty of people out there who have had great success on Instagram and would be more than happy to show you the way. And if you’re lucky, they may even share some tips that can change your approach for the better.
But remember, these people aren’t going to show up out of thin air to assist you. You need to seek them out through any means possible. Maybe you reach out to them on Instagram. Or maybe you use LinkedIn to get in touch. Or perhaps you find a direct email address or phone number. It doesn’t matter how you get in touch as long as you do so.
The worst thing that can happen is the person ignores you or tells you that can’t help. At that point, move onto another batch of Instagram professionals who may be more willing to assist. It only takes one connection to change things for the better.
Final Thoughts
No two Instagram marketing strategies are the same. This holds true both in approach and results.
Once you create a profile and begin your journey to Instagram influencer status, many things will pop up in front of you. From challenges to opportunities, you must be ready for everything that comes your way.
It takes time to reach your goals, so give yourself a break. Don’t push so hard that you put unnecessary stress and pressure on yourself. Relax, have fun, and enjoy the ride. It can be tons of fun to reach all your Instagram goals.
What are your thoughts on Instagram marketing and how to set reasonable goals? Share your feedback in the comment section below.