By Samantha Brunson, GoSadi Early Access User
Congratulations! By now you’ve read Instagram 101 & 102 and are ready to take the next step to improve your Instagram account, content, and engagement strategy.
As always, I want to remind you that Instagram is an ever-evolving platform. It’s one of the things I love most about it. That means as a business owner you can’t become complacent on the platform but rather need to be ready to make changes and adjustments to grow. Stay curious! I encourage you to take the techniques that work for YOUR platform and YOUR audience and leave the rest.
If you haven’t read our previous Instagram posts, I recommend you do that first to get caught up and then come back to keep growing!
Further Reading…
10 Action Steps You Can Begin Taking to Grow Your Instagram and Improve Engagement
1. Create Shareable Content for Instagram Growth
Adam Mosseri, Head of Instagram, recently emphasized the importance of shareable content. Shareable content is posts that users send to their friends through DMs or share publicly in stories; these are now confirmed to rank highly in the algorithm.
To benefit, think about what your ideal customer would want to share—whether it’s a pattern promotion or a reel featuring tips and tricks. Include simple calls to action like “Share this with your knitting circle!” to encourage engagement. Less gimmick and more shareable content that your audience will connect with.
2. Stay Ahead by Using Instagram’s Latest Tools
As I mentioned in the intro, Instagram constantly rolls out new features, engaging with these tools can boost your visibility. Instagram wants to be a platform that its users enjoy using. When new features roll out they monitor the public’s reaction to them. By being an early adopter, you increase your chances of higher reach.
Stay up-to-date with Instagram’s latest updates by subscribing to the GoSadi newsletter, where we share the latest social media trends and strategies.
3. Embrace Instagram SEO to Boost Discoverability
Optimizing your profile and content for search can make your account easier to find both on Instagram and Google. Simple updates, like adding keywords to your bio, captions, and even your username, can drive organic traffic.
- Use specific keywords that reflect your niche or products.
- Add descriptive alt text to images for better accessibility and search visibility.
- Refresh your bio to make your purpose and audience crystal clear.
4. Build a Clear Instagram Brand Identity
Your Instagram profile is where a potential follower will land when they are deciding whether or not to click on the follow button.
This window of decision is typically only a few seconds long. Ensure your visual identity is clear, cohesive, and memorable. A new follower needs to be able to quickly tell who you are and what you are about when they land on your page.
If this seems like a daunting task, don’t worry! GoSadi created a style guide tutorial for your brand to help you out.
Once you are happy with the style decisions you are making, confirm that your links and landing pages are easy to find. Instagram now allows you to list up to five links. This may sound like a lot but if you have a newsletter, website, and more than 3 patterns, those five links go rather quickly.
GoSadi’s Designer Landing Page can help streamline your links, ensuring your brand stands out while also giving you the room to add even more links to your Instagram feed.
5. Create a Reliable Instagram Content Library
Life can be unpredictable, but your social media strategy shouldn’t suffer because of it. Stockpile high-quality images and videos, creating a content bank that you can leverage on busy days and deposit into when you have more time or rich content on your hands.
Whether it’s behind-the-scenes footage or product shots, this library will ensure you always have something valuable to share, even when you don’t feel camera-ready.
6. Diversify Your Content Mix for Instagram Growth
Sticking to one format can limit your reach. Brands that see steady growth mix images, carousels, and Reels every month—averaging 10 images, 4 carousels, and 6 Reels.
- Images: Perfect for products or quick inspiration.
- Carousels: Great for tutorials, tips, or storytelling.
- Reels: Best for trend-driven content and higher reach.
This variety keeps your audience engaged and signals to Instagram that you’re consistently active, helping to boost visibility in the feed.
7. Engage and Respond to Build Instagram Loyalty
I will never suggest that you post to your feed every single day. In fact, if you choose to do that, you may hurt your overall engagement by giving your followers post fatigue. BUT I will always recommend posting stories every day.
Stories offer a more casual, behind-the-scenes glimpse of your brand. Leverage this by sharing quick updates, polls, and community content. Stories don’t need to be perfectly polished—what matters is consistency.
Remember that a story should have a beginning, a middle, and an end. Build narratives within your Stories that keep your audience engaged and coming back for more.
8. Prioritize Engagement & Customer Service
Instagram rewards business accounts that actively engage with their customers. Responding to comments, direct messages, and even liking other accounts’ posts can increase your visibility.
For business accounts, Instagram tracks engagement response times, so be sure to reply promptly, even if it’s just with an emoji. Tools like Zapier, Hootsuite Inbox, ManyChat (Meta approved), or directly through Instagram DMs can help automate and streamline responses.
9. Use Targeted Instagram Ads for Growth
Instagram Ads, similar to Facebook ads, are a powerful tool to expand your reach when used correctly. One brand that is consistently using Instagram Ads correctly is the Woobles crochet kits. Learn more about their approach and brand story to see how you can apply their strategy to your products.
Once you’ve created a business account, use targeted ads to promote launches, events, or special offers. You can fine-tune your ads by location, demographics, and interests to reach the right audience.
For more information about Instagram Business accounts, check out our guide: Instagram Business for Independent Designers for a deeper dive.
10. Maximize Your Reach with Optimized Instagram Hashtags
Hashtags used to be the main way for a post to get seen by a wide audience. Now that the explore feed, shares, and suggested posts exist, hashtags have lost some of their original weight. BUT hashtags remain a powerful way to categorize your content and reach new audiences because of SEO.
Think of hashtags as keywords on Etsy. Keep them relevant to your niche, and avoid keyword stuffing and overloading posts with too many broad hashtags.
Keep hashtags in captions, rather than comments. These perform better for discoverability because Instagram’s SEO doesn’t count comment sections. If it did they would be opening themselves up to scanning phrases that your followers are typing too. Focus on optimizing your descriptions and descriptive text for the best results.
By integrating these strategies, you’ll not only grow your audience but also build an engaging community around your brand. Instagram offers endless opportunities for creators to connect, inspire, and sell.
Ready to stay ahead of the curve? Sign up for the GoSadi newsletter to receive the latest strategies and platform updates as they roll out.
Instagram Growth Strategies FAQs
What are the most effective Instagram growth strategies for 2025?
The most effective Instagram growth strategies in 2025 combine short-form video, SEO, and authentic engagement. Focus on creating consistent Reels, optimizing your profile and captions with targeted keywords, and engaging meaningfully with your community. Brands that integrate a mix of educational content, trending formats, and collaborative campaigns are seeing the fastest follower and engagement growth.
How do Instagram Reels help with audience growth?
Instagram Reels account for over 50% of all time spent on the platform, making them a key growth driver. Reels allow your content to reach audiences beyond your followers by tapping into the Explore feed and trending audio. Posting 2–3 engaging Reels weekly—such as tutorials, behind-the-scenes content, or product demos—can increase visibility and organic reach without requiring paid ads.
What is Instagram SEO, and how does it improve reach?
Instagram SEO means optimizing your bio, captions, hashtags, and even usernames with relevant keywords to make your profile easier to discover on Instagram and Google. For example, a fitness coach could include “online fitness tips” in their bio and captions. This helps the algorithm understand your content, making it more likely to show up in search results and suggested feeds, driving consistent organic growth.
