1. With Engagement, You Get What You Give

Engagement is a two-way street. By following relevant accounts, you increase the likelihood of receiving follows back, and the algorithm will favour and promote your account. Similarly, liking and commenting on posts from relevant accounts boosts engagement on your own content. Commenting back on your own posts and continuing the conversation is also important, as it further boosts engagement. Social media platforms reward interaction, making this strategy essential for organic growth.

2. The Power of Thematic Content with Monthly Campaigns

Implementing a monthly campaign strategy ensures content remains cohesive, engaging, and purposeful. By creating a central theme each month, brands can:

- Build anticipation and keep audiences engaged.
- Align posts with seasonal trends, customer needs, or industry shifts.
- Maintain a consistent brand voice while diversifying content types (e.g., educational, promotional, interactive).
- Strengthen storytelling, leading to better audience connection and retention.

This approach enhances brand awareness and improves organic engagement by providing structured yet flexible content that followers look forward to each month.

3. Follower-to-Following Ratio

The balance between followers and following impacts brand perception. Following too few accounts can make an account seem unnaproachable or unfriendly, while following too many can make it seem less credible. Maintaining a strategic ratio can help reinforce social proof and authority.

A good guidelone is to keep your following count at 10-20% of your total followers. For example, if you have 5,000 followers, following 500-1,000 accounts keeps the profile balanced – engaged without appearing excessive. This approach helps maintain a polished yet approachable brand presence.

4. Clear CTA in Ads

A strong call to Action (CTA) is crucial for ad performance. While running ads through Meta Blueprint, I learned that Instagram doesn't allow a direct "Follow Now" CTA. Instead, the closest option is "Learn More", which does not clearly prompt users to follow the account.

If the goal is to gain followers, prompting ads directly through the Instagram app is a better strategy, as it allows for a clearer CTA. On top of a clear CTA, the ad copy and creative should be designed to naturally guide users toward fulfilling the desired action, ensuring a more effective and seamless experience.

By understanding these differences between these ad placements, brands can optimize their campaigns for follower growth while maintaining clarity in their CTAs.

5. Intermittent Reinforcement Theroy

Consistent posting builds momentum, but occasional breaks can actually boost reach. Instagram's algorithm appears to use intermittent reinforcement to keep users engaged, which means it favours users who post consistently and frequently, and then follow by taking a break.

My theory is that Instagram doesn't want users to stop posting, as less activity means lower platform engagement. To prevent users from leaving, the algorithm promotes accounts on the Explore page when it detects an absence. This strategic boost encourages creators to stay active, ultimately benefiting both the user and the platform.