How to Grow Your Instagram Account - Part IV
What you should post
A lot of artists are disappointed with some of the recent changes at Instagram. The algorithm has evolved, as they always do, and some artists are having trouble seeing the engagement that they used to.
However, all is not lost, today we’re continuing our series to help you understand how to be successful on Instagram and how to work with their algorithm instead of against it. The things you learn in this series are valuable, however, if you pair them with what we covered in the Studio Sale series and the Circles of Art Marketing series you will 10X your results. If you are a paid Sovereign Artist Club member you can review our past article series on our Sovereign Artist Resources page. If you’re not yet a paying member, please consider joining here.
Here’s are the articles we’ve already sent in this series if you’d like to catch up:
1. The Instagram Algorithm
2. Who you should follow
3. What you should consume
Today’s article:
4. What you should post
Planned for the next several weeks:
5. What you should post - advanced tactics
6. Hashtags
7. Your Brand on Instagram
8. Deleting posts
9. Recap
In today’s article we’re going to talk about what you should post on Instagram from your art business account.
OK, let’s go!
What should you post to grow your Instagram page?
Currently that answer is simple: Reels. Post Reels.
And here's the reason why: Reels provide entertainment. And they also keep people on your page for longer.
If you just post an image, it takes only a couple of seconds for a person to see it. But with a Reel, if they engage, they will watch your post for at least 15 seconds. This drives up the average “dwell time” on your posts. In other words, Reels keep someone watching your content for more that 7X longer, if your Reel is good, which it will be if you follow our recommendations. As an aside, if you don’t have time to make a Reel, posting an image is better than not posting at all. Images still perform fairly well. It’s just that Reels do a lot better. Not only that, Instagram is currently giving Reels preferential treatment because they want to do their best to compete with Tiktok. We think that trend will continue, but, of course, the algorithm could change further and if it does we’ll update this information.
You want people to stay on your page because this means your page is performing well. And then the algorithm will recommend you to other people who also might be interested in your work.
So the strategy is simple: post as many Reels as possible.