Why Is It So Hard to Grow on Instagram?

Wondering why you can’t seem to grow your Instagram even when you think you’re doing everything right? Is it the algorithm, does IG just want you to pay for sponsored posts, or is not possible to grow organically anymore?

These are the sorts of questions I will be answering in this article today.

I could blame the algorithm but then this post would be too short.

Yes the algorithm is to blame but there’s a good reason for it.

At the end of the day you have to please the algorithm, and you do that by posting good quality content that keeps your audience engaged.

That’s really the biggest takeaway.

However, there are some other things you should know. So lets get right into it.

Why Is It So Hard to Grow on Instagram Nowadays?

For one, there are more creators than ever before.

Seriously, anyone can be an influencer now.

As long as you have a mobile phone, an Instagram account, and a few thousand followers, you are probably more of a content creator than a consumer.

Also a few thousand followers isn’t much, you are not that special. 1 – 3k followers is pretty normal.

To put it simply, there are more content creators than ever before and less people consuming the content.

And this will only get worse as time goes on, so unfortunately it’s likely to get harder and harder to increase your followers.

Secondly, the algorithm is updated all the time to favor Instagram accounts with a high engagement rate compared to the lower/struggling accounts.

This inevitably makes it harder for new content creators to get their account off the ground as most of them don’t know what they’re doing.

However, there is still hope which I will discuss shortly.

Thirdly, you’re probably doing everything wrong.

You’re probably posting bad content or low quality photos.

You have to stick to your niche or people won’t care about your posts.

I’ll give you an example.

I follow many accounts on IG but mostly in niches like lifestyle, gym, photography, travelling, etc.

But every now and then I will see someone posting a meme. However, I have not followed any meme accounts, therefore I will keep scrolling without liking the picture.

Unless you’re in the meme niche, keep the memes for stories only, not your posts.

It just screams low quality/boring.

So How Do You Work With the Algorithm and Grow on IG?

There are many factors that the algorithm uses to see if your content is good or bad, and whether or not you should be pushed in the rankings and shown to more people.

But one thing you should know is that engagement is one of the biggest factors.

You can have 50,000 followers, but if only 100 people like your posts, that is a 0.2% engagement rate which is incredibly bad.

On the other hand, you can have 10,000 followers with 300 likes per post, giving you a 3% engagement rate.

Still not mind-blowing, actually pretty average, but better engagement than the account with 50,000 followers.

That means the algorithm will favor your account more than the 50,000 followers and start to send you more traffic and followers.

By the way, engagement means anyone that interacted with your content.

This could be anything from a like, comment, share or save.

Pro tip: Saves have way more impact on the algorithm than the rest. I’ve seen accounts grow from 10k to 30k in a couple of months just by telling people to save their posts.

Supply and Demand (Conclusion)

To conclude this article I just want to reiterate that the reason it’s harder to grow on Instagram is due to supply and demand.

There are more creators than ever before, increasing competition and fewer people consuming content.

You have to remember that there’s millions of people on Instagram every single day.

So how do you stand out in a competitive social media platform?

• Posting consistently (1 – 2x per day)
• Post at least 3 – 5 stories per day to stay at the top of the feed
• Add a mixture of reels, pictures, videos, carousel, stories, and even lives (Instagram favors people that use a mixture of everything)
• Post at the busiest times
• Stick to your niche
• Engage with your audience (reply to comments, talk to other influencers, build relationships, etc)

Stick to the simple formula above and you will be well on your way to a thriving Insta with thousands of followers in a matter of months.

With that said, I hope you learned a lot in this article.

Let me know if you’re struggling to grow your Instagram account in the comments below, and I’ll do my best to help you out.

Cheers!