I am a doula and educator, not a social media coach; however, I want to grow on IG and I’m not sure how. Posts, stories, reels…what am I doing? Over the past few months, I’ve seen my account grow 4 times its size, and I’m looking forward to sharing with my CAPPA friends what I’ve found really works for growing on IG.
If you’re new to IG, let’s start with some quick definitions:
Posts are things that go on your IG page (often called a grid). They can be photos or videos, but they must be original content. They stay and everyone who follows your page can see them.
Stories are featured images, videos, and engagement tools that only appear for 24 hours. You can save them to your page, but they live in the archive after their 24-hour viewing window. They are only shown to those who follow you, and only to specific viewers, not in the IG feed.
Reels are short videos, often set to music, that can go on your page. You can do them in the IG app. They appear all over the world. I think of them like grown up TikTok.
What I Did Worked
I post on my grid almost every day. Usually it’s a baby-related image I’ve created in Canva, but sometimes it’s an image I own or have permission to share. Even consistently, it will only add about 5-10 followers a month. I grew, but not very fast in this big market. Each of the graphics I created took about an hour to design, upload, and tag with hashtags. It was not a good return for my time investment.
I started making stories, basically things shared from other content creators with credit. This resulted in more engagement, but not more followers because those people already followed me or they wouldn’t see my story. However, it was done quickly, and I loved the interaction, as someone who loves being around (and has been quarantined for so long).
Then, I was able to film a baby being sedated and made it into my first reel. Bam! I got 100 new followers THAT DAY. And it continued. The reel reached 34k views and had 572 likes—more than anything I’ve ever shared. So, I made another one. The other one flopped a bit. I tried again and again. I’m getting decent reach (1500-3000 views) and 25-ish new followers every day, but I know that’s just the learning curve. The 15th The reel went to 11k, but the 16th went to 436k! Then around 100 new followers started pouring in every day!
I’ve only made a few reels that have really taken off, but the reach of the reels is greater than anything I’ve posted. IG pushes this content to new followers, and this is how you grow. If I make a post and get 50 likes, I’m doing good. But when I make a reel that’s great, it gets over 30k views, hundreds of likes, and that’s only from a few thousand followers. And even the reels that don’t get much traction are better than my posts that get attention.
Reels are for FINDING NEW CLIENTS, STUDENTS, or CONNECTIONS. They are the largest audience on IG, and they get results, sometimes weeks after you post them. People will comment on them and you can interact with new potential connections there, and some people will share their stories.
Reels = Growth. They are the fastest way to get your content out into the world.
Strategies I’ve Found Effective
If you want PLEASE CONTACT using your followers (however many or few) use STORIES. There are tools out there that invite interaction, and you can have some great conversations with people you know and people who want to know you (potential clients or students). This is a great place to show your face, and be more personal with your followers.
If you want EDUCATE or SHARE information (such as infographics) or create shareable content for others, POST on your grid. There are many ways to do this, and I’m no expert. Use brand colors and try to stay on topic, because your audience wants to know what they’re getting by following you. You can work with a professional or you can use a free tool like Canva to build a lot of beautiful things for your account.
If you want GROW UPuse REELS! I know the video is difficult, but fear not. Use Canva (there are templates and videos you can use to do the scary part of making a video) and then use music you see trending in the reels (take 10 min and scroll through the reels— can see what’s trending).
Then use the IG app to add comments and add in your timing (it took me a few YouTube tutorials to get straight) and publish. Be sure to add it to your post, and feature it in your stories. Then you can use the features in stories (questions, polls, and other interaction tools) to get your followers to talk to you.
When they DM you, be sure to follow up and comment back, which will open up a conversation between you for future opportunities.
One thing that I think is easy to overlook is to add a CTA somewhere in your content. These are CALLS SA ACTION which tells your followers what to do if they want more information. Invite them to check out your website, your sales pages, follow you, etc. It needs to be seen 4-6 times before they are likely to respond, so you have to put it everywhere. I know it sounds annoying, but it really needs to be there so people know what to do next.
There is still a way. You can create live videos, share live videos with another speaker, run ads, and learn about content columns. But I stick to these 3 things because they are all I can manage in my own life. Plus, they’re fun and feel very achievable–with help from Canva.
One more thing…if you’re a busy doula with tons of clients or an educator with packed classes, don’t feel the need to grow on Instagram. You can interact with it, have fun and connect with others, but you don’t have to grow. You are where everyone on IG is trying to be! I get comments from people all the time about trying to grow their account but they are too busy serving clients. This means you’re getting paid to do the work you’re trying to get others to notice. Take the pressure off and enjoy being social.
I have a busy doula practice and classes are very full. I did not set out to grow on IG for this, but rather to build an audience for my online classes that are evergreen (continuous, self-paced). If I was trying to build my audience for my practice, I would need to hire another 30 doulas—and I couldn’t even train them that fast! So, check in with your intention before you embark on a huge new journey on IG, because just maybe, you are already a success and just feel like an imposter.
What I’ve learned so far is that it’s more fun than expected, and during this pandemic, I want to connect with new people around the world. Growing up in social media is a fun process, full of new things to learn. See you on IG!
About the Author
Kimberly Bepler, IBCLC, CPD, CLE® has been serving breastfeeding families since 2001, first as a postpartum doula, then as a hospital educator, then as a Lactation Consultant (IBCLC since 2011). She founded ABC Doula Service in Portland, OR in 2001 and has seen it grow to serve over 1800 families in its first 15 years. She has a passion for newborns and their families, as well as new doulas and educators launching their own businesses. She has been Faculty for CAPPA since 2005 and now trains postpartum doulas, lactation educators, and her own advanced program for working with multiples. Kimberly is the mother of two energetic school children, and enjoys working together at home and work with her husband of over 20 years. She also teaches breastfeeding, newborn care, and twin/triplet classes within the Providence Health System. Kimberly also created 2 instructional videos for educators and new parents about newborn care. Her joy is truly making a difference for new parents and new doulas, and changing the world one family at a time.
