advice on growing instagram traffic

[emby]

Hi, want to start a bussiness that mainly promotes through instagram. what is the best way to get grow real traffic? I see fameswap that sell big accounts but are those real? I also see those social media pannels, are those traffic genuine?

any advice on this topic would be great thanks

[Michael in ABQ]

The key to growing traffic/audience on any platform is posting new content consistently and frequently. Every overnight success was years in the making.

Any hack or trick is probably not going to provide any meaningful or sustainable growth.

[SeattleCPA]

Agree with @Michael in ABQ .

And then the other thing I'd counsel is patience. If you're steadily growing your business a customer or two a week, those early weeks and months are pretty lean. But you'll also find yourself with 52 or 104 customers after a year. And that may work.

Good luck. (I actually think this bad economy is a good time to start and operate a small business.)

[Smokystache]

I agree with the previous posts about patience and high-quality content. But I'd also caution against the idea that it is easy to convert IG followers into sales of your product. For example, I have a close friend who has spent a couple of years building up to 130,000 IG followers. When he tried to sell his own online course, he converted a tiny fraction of those followers into customers (fewer than 50 signed up; that's .03% or .0003).

Most online businesses continue to argue that an email list is a far better way to sell things to followers. Of course, you can use IG to get people on your list. But you're always going to have attrition at each level. For example 10,000 IG followers may convert to 400 people on your email list and maybe 10 of those will buy something you sell (your results may vary).

Or I could have just said: Selling online is virtually always harder than it seems. Best of luck.

[Michael in ABQ]

I agree with the previous posts about patience and high-quality content. But I'd also caution against the idea that it is easy to convert IG followers into sales of your product. For example, I have a close friend who has spent a couple of years building up to 130,000 IG followers. When he tried to sell his own online course, he converted a tiny fraction of those followers into customers (fewer than 50 signed up; that's .03% or .0003).

Most online businesses continue to argue that an email list is a far better way to sell things to followers. Of course, you can use IG to get people on your list. But you're always going to have attrition at each level. For example 10,000 IG followers may convert to 400 people on your email list and maybe 10 of those will buy something you sell (your results may vary).

Or I could have just said: Selling online is virtually always harder than it seems. Best of luck.

We have an email list of tens of thousands and even if 50% open an email (typical for most businesses is about 20-25%) only 1-2% will click through and only 1-2% of those will actually make a purchase. Our social media accounts have ~10,000 followers but drive almost no traffic or revenue to our website. Granted, we don't actively post content or engage on those platforms because the return is so minimal.

[theninthwall]

I’m another person who prefers email lists. We have a list of just under 10k right now and each week we send a wrap of updates from our website, new merch etc and it generates a surprising amount of views.
What I like about email is that you aren’t subject to algorithms or the whims of the day’s hot social media channel. Keep the emails relevant and interesting and people keep clicking.

[gdborton]

Can't believe no one has mentioned this yet, but the one of the best ways to grow your insta very likely includes plugging it when you have the chance.

For example, my gf and I are renovating our house and posting DIY vids/budget advice here:
https://www.instagram.com/designwithyan/

[Chris Pascale]

Can't believe no one has mentioned this yet, but the one of the best ways to grow your insta very likely includes plugging it when you have the chance.

For example, my gf and I are renovating our house and posting DIY vids/budget advice here:
https://www.instagram.com/designwithyan/

And now I've looked at it when I couldn't give less of a crap about IG.

Well done.

[SmashYourSmartPhone]

Can't believe no one has mentioned this yet, but the one of the best ways to grow your insta very likely includes plugging it when you have the chance.

"Spamming it when totally irrelevant and unwelcome" would be another description for that behavior.

So pretty standard for the social media world.

[HPstache]

Can't believe no one has mentioned this yet, but the one of the best ways to grow your insta very likely includes plugging it when you have the chance.

For example, my gf and I are renovating our house and posting DIY vids/budget advice here:
https://www.instagram.com/designwithyan/

I see what you did there

[KarefulKactus15]

This post is old - but for anyone considering it my advice is ---

Dont - Dont invest in Instagram Organic.  Take a moment to google all the accounts that have been hacked / scammed and lost forever while instagram does nothing about it.

Also - dont build your sand castle in someone elses sandbox.  You will not own your content, how it used or how its displayed. Also Instagram will use your organic work to attract potential customers, then show ads from your competitors to them. 

If you need a place to showcase your work, an image gallery on your website is a bit harder but a safer long term bet that you actually own.  And you arent sending prospects backup the marketing funnel to view PPC ads for your competitors.

[scantee]

This post is old - but for anyone considering it my advice is ---

Dont - Dont invest in Instagram Organic.  Take a moment to google all the accounts that have been hacked / scammed and lost forever while instagram does nothing about it.

Also - dont build your sand castle in someone elses sandbox.  You will not own your content, how it used or how its displayed. Also Instagram will use your organic work to attract potential customers, then show ads from your competitors to them. 

If you need a place to showcase your work, an image gallery on your website is a bit harder but a safer long term bet that you actually own.  And you arent sending prospects backup the marketing funnel to view PPC ads for your competitors.

Sure. But how then do you get people to your website? Almost every approach involves someone else’s sandbox in some way. This is a genuine question. In 2023, it seems like there are lot of approaches to getting traffic and none of them are good.

[KarefulKactus15]

I don't think paid FB/Insta is dead. Still hitting awareness. 

Organic wasn't worth it for me if it was free. By the time I paid so.eone to do it it was just not worth it. My ppc dollar goes farther.. . . . Waaaay further.

[clarkfan1979]

What about selling a product that actually provides value so your small number of customers end up being happy and tell their friends about it?

[SmashYourSmartPhone]

What about selling a product that actually provides value so your small number of customers end up being happy and tell their friends about it?

That sounds like actual work and not a quick influencer lifehack path to fame...

Who would do that?

(OP hasn't replied to this thread, so probably can be safely used as a dumping ground for people who want to link their own stuff under some mistaken belief that this forum helps their web something-or-other)