Here Are The 5 Things You Need to Grow Your Instagram Account According to Leading Media Agency, Sauce Media Group

As the development of social media exponentially increases, many entrepreneurs find themselves wondering how to stand out from the crowd and successfully grow their instagram account. After finding success through her own brand on social media, Sam Hobson Fairman, built a full service creative agency, Sauce Media Group, geared towards helping brands, businesses and companies to succeed at the highest level. 

Strategically, organically and effectively, Sauce Media Group developed into an extremely successful agency that is now part of Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses program—an exclusive community where only 30 small businesses are invited to be part of the program. Sauce Media Group also hit their first six figures in their first year as a corporation, and grew 365% in 2021 alone. From the most aesthetically pleasing feed you’ve ever seen to eye catching Instagram reels, Sam and her team at Sauce are the ultimate experts who bring creativity to the forefront for any individual or brand.

CEO of Sauce, Sam Hobson Fairman, as well as the CCO, Bella Silva, and Lead Consultant and Account Manager, Talia Cosentino, sat down with us in an exclusive interview to discuss 5 things every entrepreneur should know to grow their instagram account. 

1. SHOW YOUR TEAM!

Sam Hobson Fairman reminds us that “personal connection is KEY for growth — even for companies!”. While showing us examples on their own instagram, @SauceMediaGroup, Sam says that more than ever, customers are craving a connection with the team behind their favorite brands. Showing them their hard work, passion and personability allows a new kind of connection to be created between brands and clients. “Have a few faces they can always count on to entertain & educate them”, says Sam, “this will create a sense of loyalty to your brand because they love your team” she adds. And a PRO TIP: Make sure to keep your content creation process FUN instead of just another task to check off your list! Your audience can tell when content is genuine.

2. USE EVERY FEATURE

“Use every feature Instagram gives you!” says Sauce’s Lead Consultant and Account Manager, Talia Cosentino. She reminds us that to successfully navigate Instagram, you need to spend your time on the app and use it to its fullest extent – which means using as many features as possible. Talia also puts an emphasis on the infamous Instagram algorithm, and tells us to make the app work with you instead of against you when it comes to the algorithm. For example, “if it’s a feed post, add a location, tag people, use the Post Collaboration feature, including multiple images in a carousel, and even a hidden feature called ‘Alt Text’ in the advanced settings, which can help boost your post’s SEO opportunity”. She also says that if you are posting an Instagram Reel, make sure to add your music within the app, rather than upload with audio already attached – this is a game changer as other users who enjoy the sound, will most likely see your video. She adds that further features to use include voiceover, voice effects, text within your reel, and closed captions. Finally, for stories, Talia shares that some useful features include polls, quizzes, slider bar, question boxes, closed captions, music, filters and stickers (which can also be used by attaching images from your camera roll). “Overall, have fun with the features” says Talia, “use them to create variety across your content, and show Instagram’s algorithm that you’re down to using it all!”.  

3. VIDEO OVER PHOTOS

With the uprising of TikTok, all social media platforms are trying to keep up with video content – including Instagram. As a result, Instagram has increasingly been  pushing as much video content as possible. “They want you to spend more time on their app instead of going to their competitors. So what does this mean for users?” asks Bella Silva, CCO of Sauce Media. “If you want to grow on Instagram, there needs to be a focus on video within your content” she responds to her own question. Bella acknowledges that of course, video content can be hard work, but that posting just one Instagram Reel per day gives your account the highest probability of being displayed on the Explore Page and Reel Page – and these are facts put out by Instagram themselves. Start by “converting your static images into video format, be creative” says Bella, while reminding us of the algorithm, and how following this simple step can be vastly rewarding when attempting to grow your Instagram account. 

4. ENGAGE YOUR COMMUNITY

“Every social media guru is going to tell you that the key to success is consistency — and that’s TRUE! But you want to add some spikes of excitement to your strategy every so often to keep your audience on their toes” says Sam. She shares that some spikes of excitement could be: a new product launch, flash sale, giveaway, announce a collaboration with a brand your audience would love, etc. And that this will not only excite your audience, but also keep them coming back for more. Sam adds that engaging with your community will most importantly, help you boost reach and engagement, which is crucial when growing your Instagram page.

5. ENTERTAINMENT WITH A TASTE OF EDUCATION

Lastly, the leads at Sauce remind us that to grow and retain a following on social media, and especially on Instagram, you have to provide value to your audience, and they share that this can be done through entertainment and education. While both are important for a well rounded strategy, Sam Hobson Fairman recommends going heavy on the entertainment piece. “Since the pandemic and the rise of TikTok, the craving for funny, relatable content has taken the front seat” she says. Wondering how to entertain your audience as a brand? “Jump on current trends and make them relevant to your industry” she adds. If your industry is “less sexy” — “poke fun at it or fill one of your executives doing a popular TikTok dance! Your audience will love to see your team’s fun side!”. 

For more information on Sauce Media Group and their services, please visit saucemediagroup.com