It can be a challenge to get your content in front of the right eyes. Your target audience is on Instagram everyday but how can you best ensure that they are going to see your content? One way to do this is through authentically collaborating on Instagram with accounts similar to yours. I’m talking about more than just a “Follow Friday” feature, but a well thought out collaboration that will bring value to all of the audiences involved. This strategy provides an opportunity to promote your Instagram page to people who have never seen it before and will love it! See below for more details on Instagram collaborations and how they can boost your audience growth.
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Collaborate on Instagram: Audience Growth Strategy
Collaborating with Instagram accounts similar to yours is an effective strategy for gaining more exposure. However, in order to maximize results, it’s important for collaboration partners to be thoughtful and provide value to both of their audiences when working together.
instagram Collaboration Example 1:
This is a post I collaborated on with my friend, @storybookstyle. We have similar content topics and our audiences are quite alike too. We realized that both of our audiences often ask us the same question: where to find beautiful editions of classic books. In response, we decided to collaborate on a post combining all of our best tips for finding these beautiful editions. This collaborative content provided value to both of our audiences by answering their most frequently asked question which made for a more compelling post.
When another account introduces you to their audience, it is important to convey the value of your content to them right away.
I recommend brainstorming with collaborators on how you can work together to create content that is valuable across both audiences.
A successful collaboration produces content that you would not be able to create completely on your own.
instagram Collaboration Example 2:
This example is quite a bit more involved but wow, the end result made for unique content that reached far more people than any one collaborator could have on their own. This group of content creators worked together to create a video tribute to Audrey Hepburn. Each posted the video to their Instagram page. With over 10 collaborators, this post was able to reach over 500k followers collectively!
instagram Collaboration Example 3:
Another example of a fun way to gain more exposure through collaboration is by using Instagram’s live feature to go live with another Instagram account. Here is an example of what this could look like. Carly and Ashley invited their followers to go live with them for a DIY scrunchie making activity. Providing an activity for viewers to participate in while going live with someone is a great way to keep them engaged, give value, and allow viewers who are new to your page to get to know you better.
The Collaboration Check-List
The following are elements that should always be considered in order to maximize results when you collaborate on Instagram
1.Ensure your collaborators’ followers are primarily your target audience
One of the main purposes of a collaboration is to gain more exposure with the hope that it converts to audience growth. If you collaborate with someone whose followers won’t have an interest in your Instagram page, the exposure you’ll gain from the collaboration will not contribute to the growth of your account. When you ensure your collaborators’ followers are primarily your target audience, you are maximizing the chances that they will enthusiastically follow your page in response to the collaboration.
2. Consider Your Collaborators’ instagram Audience Size
Although the size of your collaborators’ audience size is not necessarily a determining factor in your collaboration, it can be helpful to consider depending on what your goal of the collaboration is. If you have 20,000 followers and your collaborator has 500, it is very unlikely you will see any audience growth produced by the collaboration. However, maybe your collaborator with 500 followers is an expert in a specific topic that your audience would love to learn more about. In this case, collaborating could provide great value to your audience. The role your collaborators’ audience size plays in the collaboration is completely dependent on what you hope to get out of the collaboration. If your main goal is to grow your following, it’s typically the norm to collaborate with another account that has a similar size following as you.
3. Discuss what kind of value your collaboration will provide
Discuss with your collab partners what kind of value you will provide your audiences with through this collaboration. Is there a common frequently asked question amongst your audiences? Brainstorm a creative way to answer it. Remember, a successful collaboration produces content that you would not be able to create completely on your own.
Have you collaborated with other Instagram accounts before? Comment below and share your experience!
