Short answer: No, it’s not too late to start an Instagram account. There is more than enough growth for newbies to come in and dominate their niche.
Long answer: Instagram is one of the biggest social media platforms out there. They also have the most engagement out of any platform out there. If you’re not on IG to grow your personal or brand account, you’re leaving awareness and money on the table. Lets discuss this further so you understand what I’m talking about.
It’s True that It’s Harder Than Before
Yes it is definitely harder to grow an Instagram account than it use to be.
Back in the day you could follow thousands and thousands of people in your niche and they would usually follow back.
Nowadays there is a restriction on how many people you can follow, and if you continue to mimic bot-like behavior, you will have even more restrictions placed on you.
This is to keep out bots, spammers, and people that aren’t providing valuable content.
There are so many bots and people trying to make it big on Instagram, they have pulled out all the stops to make it even harder to grow your account.
You Have to Follow Their Rules
If you want to make it big on IG you have to follow by their rules, no ifs, no buts.
This means NOT joining in follow-for-follow chains, not spamming, and not looking unprofessional in general.
First lets look at what Instagram is.
Instagram is a social media platform to share content.
Even though it’s made to share content, they want it to be original content. That’s the whole point of Instagram, to share your photos, images, videos, etc.
Sharing someone else’s content will get you into trouble. You might even get banned permanently if you don’t give credit to the original owner.
So basically, IG is all about sharing YOUR work with some exceptions as long as you credit the original owner, whether that be in the description or a watermark.
What Are Instagrams Rules to Grow?
Now that you what Instagram is made for, I’m going to show you how to play by their rules.
The best way to grow an IG account from scratch is to post valuable, relevant content, while growing your audience and keeping engagement high.
Keywords are:
- Valuable
- Relevant
- Grow
- Engagement
You can’t become an influencer without one or the other, you need all 4.
A person can have valuable, relevant content with lots of followers, but if there’s a lack of engagement, they will fail.
Instagram has evolved their algorithm a lot over the years. Engagement being one of the most important.
The least engagement you get, the more you’ll be pushed down the ranks in the algorithm.
And that’s why doing follow-for-follow chains are a surefireway to destroy your business. Those people aren’t interested in your content, they are just there for a new follower.
You’re far better off getting people that actually like your content so they like your posts, comment, etc.
If you have high engagement, Instagram will push you up and recommend you to other people.
As long as you follow the basic factors I have outlined above, you can create a good Instagram account and maybe make money one day.
The Direction of Instagram
Instagram is one of the most happening places on the world wide web right now, and it’s only going to keep growing at a rapid pace.
More and more people are joining Instagram everyday, and they’re come in droves, or more specifically, hundreds of thousands.
There’s no shortage of people creating a new account for their business or personal brand.
However, that’s why it’s now harder than it used to be. You have to do more to stand out (I explained how above).
The direction of Instagram is an easy one.
Basically it’s just going to keep getting harder to stand out and grow your audience. That’s literally why the best time to start is now.
Although that’s not to say that you shouldn’t start one.
There’s more reasons to create one than there is to not.
Look at it this way…it’s the new normal. I don’t really like social media but the cold hard truth is that it’s here to stay.
I can either adapt to our ever-changing environment and do what’s needed to become successful online, or live in the old ages and struggle, and eventually fail.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is it too late to make money on Instagram?
No, businesses and influencers are thriving on Instagram.
In fact companies are more open to partnering with accounts that have lesser followers since they have a better audience (usually a laser targeted niche).
Is it still possible to grow on Instagram?
YES! It’s still 100% possible to grow on Instagram. You can go from 0 to millions of followers as long as you’re willing to put in the work.
You can’t do what everyone else is doing though. Be you, be original, draw inspiration from your favorite influencers, and add a twist.
I have loads of old photos, can I post those on IG?
Absolutely.
That’s what throwback Thursday is for. You could be sitting on a goldmine as long as you use the appropriate hashtags and follow a theme.
How long does it take to become an IG influencer?
You are considered a micro influencer when you hit 1,000 – 50,000 followers.
Although my definition is at least 5,000 because you can’t really make consistent income with a couple thousand followers.
My Final Opinion
Instagram is still the biggest thing happening right now.
If you’re thinking of jumping on the wagon, all signs are pointing to yes.
Even if you don’t know what your niche is, what you’re going to post, or how you’re going to get big, the best thing you can do is just start.
It all starts with the first step. Once you do that you can put the next foot forward, then the next foot, then the next foot.
You can’t put the cart before the horse, so I highly recommend starting and adjusting your strategy along the way.
Check out this article on how to grow an Instagram account from scratch, how to land brand deals, etc.
Or you can check out my #1 recommended program. This is much better than being an influencer because you don’t have to do any selling but still make consistent income.
Brandon
My name is Brandon and this is my website. I'm just a normal guy that had dreams, dreams that would keep me up at night because I wanted them so badly. Now I'm living my dreams of being an influencer and making a good living doing so. Broke Influencers is another of my creations where I teach people how to get rich being an online influencer, or die trying. There is no in between.