Why Your Instagram Isn't Growing and How to Fix It!

Why isn’t your Instagram growing??? Are your numbers flat?  Are your numbers Dropping?

If you’re an artist or creative who wants to use Instagram to grow your collector base, you have the right idea.  It’s a great social platform to reach people who will enjoy your art.  However, it can be hard to crack the code. 

I’ve been growing my Instagram account for years.  It waxes and wanes, but I currently have about a half million followers.  I also look a lot of Instagram pages and I’ve got some opinions about why some pages don’t grow.

Reason number 1: Your Instagram Page Isn’t Growing Because it’s Confusing

Potential followers are simply confused when they arrive on your page. Maybe they saw a cool art pic or art video you posted in the explore page, but then they get to your page, and they don’t know what you are all about because there’s too much random stuff.  There’s your art, but there’s also your dog and you drink and your feet on the beach. 

I’m sorry, but people just don’t care. 

Your BFF cares, your mom cares, but not a stranger! A stranger is looking for 1 of 3 things.  They want to be entertained, they want to be educated, or they want to be empowered.  Or all three!  If your posts do not meet those goals, people won’t be interested.  So, the fix is, 80-90% of your posts should be on your art and process AND when people arrive on your page, they should be able to tell in 3 seconds (or less) what your page is about

Reason number 2: Bad Photography Equals a Bad Instagram Page

Your art images are blurry, dark, weirdly filtered, and lack context. Yes, I know video is a big thing on the platform, but photos aren’t dead.  Insta was originally a photo sharing app and people still use that feature and follow people who use it.

You’ve got to up your photo game.

These days smart phones are incredible!  So really, all you need is good light and a clean lens!  Indirect sunlight is best and free, but a ring light with a cool color setting can do the trick as well!

Reason number 3: Your insta page is weak because you don’t use video!

Yes, photography is still good, but video is strongly favored by the algorithm.   I can absolutely say that video is the #1 reason my art account has grown. The good news is you don’t need to be Scorsese to make it awesome!   Videos under 10 seconds are the most popular, and don’t require anything more than your smart phone camera, light editing, and trending audio!  Try art process videos, studio tours, showing your art materials, a video of multiple angles of finished work, etc.

Reason number 4 Your Instagram isn’t thriving because you aren’t posting enough…. 

….Or you are posting in a flurry and then you are gone for 2 weeks.   Aim to post once a day, and if you can’t do that, post on a regular cadence, like every Monday, Wednesday and Saturday. You can repeat posts that did well but wait at least 3- 4 weeks between reposts.  Use a scheduling app if you need to make it great!  I use Later.com

There you have it, four reasons why your IG isn’t growing. Your Instagram might be confusing, you might need to improve your photography, you might need to utilize more video and you are need to standardize your posting schedule. 

Are you an artist trying to sell your work? I would love to help you out by giving youmy hard won pricing tips. Pricing your art is super hard, but I can help! Download the guide for free…