@holler.

academy

2023
insta
gram
s t r a t e g y
2.0

Abigail Frances
 introduction

Whether you consider yourself an Instagram Pro

or not, if you've been on the app for longer than
a year, one thing is certain - Instagram has
changed significantly, and it will continue to do
so in the coming year.

In this E-Book we will be going over exactly

what has changed over the course of the last
year, what will be changing in 2023, and the
predictions & strategies for 2023 to keep you on
top of your IG game!

If you don't know me already, hi.

My name is Abigail Frances (but
you can call me Abi!) I'm a creator
coach, owner of @holler.academy,
and social media expert!

If after reading this E-book, you

still want to up your Instagram
game, go and give us a follow on
Instagram @holler.academy - we
post Instagram & Content tips
EVERY single day!
 Instagram in
2023
Instagram's
biggest changes
"Instagram is no longer just a photo-sharing app"
The words that scarred a generation of
predominantly photo creators in July 2021. Going
into 2022, it did seem as though the app was going
to be very video focused going forward, and to a
degree, it was.

But backlash against the new 'tiktok' like feed and

video-centric algorithms coming from people high
up in the world of influence (the likes of Kylie
Jenner & Kim Kardashian to name a few), seemed to
turn this around.

Shortly after the backlash, we saw reverses in

video-first changes, and a promise of more focus on
pushing photos/carousels/singles.

This seems to no longer be a promise, as both this

statement, and general changes to the platform
and the way people use it have seen a crazy push in
static content!
This doesn't mean to say that video content doesn't
still have a place in your strategy. If anything, the key
to a good strategy in 2023 is variety. But it is to say
that video content isn't necessary for Instagram
growth like many believed at the start of the year!

In this guide, we will explore the main changes to the

platform in 2022/23 - and the most up-to-date
strategies I suggest you use going forward. so, let's
get into it!

the new algorithm

The idea of 'the algorithm' that rules Instagram is a
little complex. That being because there isn't just
one, over-arching, all-seeing all-doing algo, but
actually many smaller algorithms that work together.

Every now and again, Instagram will leak a little more

information about how these algorithms work. This is
always open to change as the platform and it's
users/their content develop. But according to a
recent blog post from Meta - we have a a bit more
insight into how exactly the 'algorithm' pushes posts
out!

As you may already know, Instagram uses 'signals' to

decipher exactly which posts are most valuable. It
then chooses the posts it deems as most valuable, to
put out to new audiences (explore page/hashtags/
recommendations)
 This blog posts from Meta, revealed the most
important 'signals' it looks at when deciding on the
value of a post. These are as follows:

View Time
comments
increasing importance

likes
shares
profile views
As we can see, the most important factor that they
look at is now Content view time. This is how many
seconds on average, people are staying on your post
for. NOTE: this applies to all content types, not just
video content!

Here's how to increase your 'content view time' to

get pushed by the algorithm more
 how to get higher
content view time:
Post carousels with 8-10 slides. These
will take longer to fully consume.

Use longer blog-like or informational

captions to get people reading

Post short reels with a strong hook, that

then tells people to read the caption for
more info. This will replay the reel
several times in the background,
leading to multiple 100% completion
rates

Post short 3-6 second reels with a lot on

text on the screen. This works much like
the previous tactic. People will either
rewatch the reel many times, or pause
to read (=more time on post)

Create controversial posts. Something

with polorizing views. This will increase
conversation & comments
 Reply to all comments with a question.
This creates double or triple the
engagement and time spent on posts

Create stories with lots of text people

have to pause to read/may replay

Many of these tips to increase content view time will

also naturally increase the amount of comments you
get on your posts - which is the second most
important signal! The more conversations you start,
the better.

Understanding the
algorithms
As previously mentioned, although this is the most up-
to-date information regarding how the algorithm
ranks content, there is more than one algorithm.
Instagram also released a little bit of information
about how some of the individual algorithms work (in
terms of figuring out what to show YOU as an
audience member). So here's why you see certain
things on your feed, and in certain orders.

4 Key algorithms we
know about
As to how certain individual algorithms work, there
are four that we have information from Instagram
specifically about, these are:

FEED/STORY EXPLORE/RECS

Content that turns up first Content that turns up

on your home feels and
first on your Explore Page
story reel and recommended posts
in your feed.

REELS PENALTY

Content that turns up first Community Guideline

in your reels surfaces violations that flag your

content

Feed/Story
In you home feed and stories, you will see the recent
posts shared by people you follow, in preference of
different 'signals'. Everyone's feed will be different,
depending on how these signals understand you and
your activity

Why you see what you see on feed/stories:

1) Information 2) Information
about the post about the poster
popularity, content type, your relationship with the
video length, location tags, poster (i.e. how often you
etc. interact with them)
 3) Your activity 4) your history of
what you're typically interaction
interested in, how many poists how interested you might be in
you like, which posts you seeing a particular persons
interact with post (whether your comment on
their posts, DM each other, etc)

All these signals are taken into account then a set of

educated guesses are made over how likely you are
to interact with a post, which will determine what you
see at the top of your home feed

Explore/Recommendations
Made up of recommendations of photos and videos
that the algorithm finds for you, based on assumptions
of your interests
Jeff

you

Carl
Carl's

followers
explore page

Cat
How it works:
The algorithm will base what you see on the explore
page and what comes up on your recommendations
by looking at the content you already like, and what
other people with similar interests to you also like.

So say you are a big fan of a creator called carl [see

diagram above] you like all of carl's posts, and
engage with him often. Carl owns a bakery account,
and bakery is something both you, and Carl's other
followers all have an interest in.

Let's say a majority of carl's followers also follow and

like the content of tow other bakery creators, Jeff,
and cat. The algorithm will put two and two
together, and assume if you like carl's account, and
you also like bakery, then there's a high chance you'll
like Jeff and cat's posts too, so these will be pushed
to your explore page!

This process is repeated to make up a photo 'set' -

this will consist of 1000s of photos Instagram *thinks*
you will be interested in

These will then be ordered by how likely Instagram

thinks you are to be
interested in each post, based again on different
'signals'

Most important Signals:ignals in explore feed:

1) Information 2) Your history of

about the post poster interaction
how popular a post *seems* to be
(how quickly people are
interacting) - this is much more Most likely to be someone you don't
important in Explore than it is in know - but someone you've
stories interacted with in the past might
be bumped up
 3) Your activity 4) Information about
the types of posts on the the poster
how many times people have
Explore page that you've interacted with this account in the
interacted with most in the past few weeks, how compelling
past their content is deemed to be

Reels Algorithm
The reels algorithm focuses on content that is
entertaining or funny, with an eye towards promoting
smaller, new & original creators.

2) Your history of
1) Your Activity poster interaction
Reels you've engaged with Most likely to be someone you don't
recently, and watched all know - but someone you've
the way through interacted with in the past might
be bumped up (same as Explore)

3) Information 4) Information
about the reel about the poster
how many times people have
Audio track used, AI video
interacted with this account in the
understanding, general popularity
past few weeks, how popular their
etc
content is deemed to be

Penalty Algorithm
Community Guideline violations that result in your
account being down-ranked and even removed
 Posting 'harmful' content
Using 'spammy' growth techniques
(follow/unfollow) co-ordinated group activities
(follow loops, engagement groups)
Purchasing followers or likes
Being reported as spam or harassment

How to use this information:

When we know how the algorithms work, we can start
to see actions we can take to appear higher in these:

Reply to all comments Interact with similar accounts

Reply to all DMs Get featured by bigger

Interact with your followers accounts

Create content that *makes
Leaving meaningful
sense* for your niche
comments
Create content that is useful
Reply to stories
and actionable
Creating real relationships Create micro content people
will engage with quickly

Story/Feed Actions Explore Page Actions

Avoid:
Using 'trending' audio Posting 'harmful' content
Using NEW audio no one is 'spammy' techniques
using yet co-ordinated group activities
Use a hook and save most (follow loops, engagement
valuable content until last groups)
create shorter clips Purchasing followers or likes
Make your clip entertaining Being reported as spam or
& funny harassment

Reels Actions Penalty Actions

 Best Times to Post 2023
Every year, @latermedia conduct a research study of
over 11M accounts globally, to see when the best time
to post is!

As it turns out, In 2023, the overall best time to post

on Instagram is 4 AM (calculated in local time across
time zones).

It's thought that posting earlier likely translates to

less competition, and more eyes on your posts.

The early bird method

Have you ever heard the term 'the early bird catches
the worm'? Well this research from Later media
suggests that this is exactly the case on Instagram!
Beat others to the punch, and reap the rewards!
 Wissam Ghoudi, Later’s Data Analyst noted:

"From Monday to Sunday, we found that users

across the board interact with content posted
in the early hours of the day —more than any
other time slot.

By posting earlier in the day, accounts benefit

from less competition

while also tapping into traffic from users

during their first scroll of the day

even if that’s a few hours after the post was

shared!"

Try adding early posting to your strategy for 2023!

platform changes
From introducing straight-from-app scheduling
tools, to allowing music on static posts - 2022 really
was as much a year of change, than the year
before!

So in case you've missed any of these many updates,

I've put together a total run down of the most
notable changes we saw in 2022, check out the
infographic on the next page!
 jan feb mar
remix on all all videos auto-generated
video posts become reels captions for
subscriptions Story 'likes' video
first introduced 'Take a break' Stories to reels
Live scheduling New feeds Live Moderation
features

apr may jun

90 second reels reels templates major reels
pinned posts All-immersive updates
longer bio home feed reels stickers
names NFTs on IG quick reaction
Remix photos stickers
recommendations

jul aug sept

'notes' trialed tests 'candid testing 'multiple
subscriber chats challenges' link in bios'
reels templates reels scheduling trending
tab 'add yours' creators
full-screen feed sticker phasing out
reversed shopping

oct nov dec

media kits songs on single launching notes
posts test Group
'DM' CTA Profiles
button on posts - Collaborative
testing new Collections
explore feed
 2023 updates
Looking at the sheer amount of changed that
happened to the app in 2022 along - it's quite clear
to see how a strategy that worked at the beginning
of last year wont be as relevant today.
This E-Book will go
January over the changes in
strategy you ned to
quiet mode make in order to keep
hidden words up with these changes,
Multi-select 'not but it's important to
interested' posts note that Instagram,
Testing green especially in recent
screen replies years, is always
changing.

Looking at the two

boxes on this page, February
you can see some of Notes for everyone
the changes that Add Yours:
Instagram made to it's Nominations
Candid Stories
app in the first two
Group Profiles
years of 2023 alone!
Collaborative
As a result, it's Collections
important to keep up Gifs in comments
to date and adjust Paid Verification
your Instagram
strategy in accordance. The easiest way to keep up
to date with this is to read the trend, strategy &
update reports in The Content Academy membership!
 Important 2023
Instagram Insights
Now we have an idea of just how much Instagram
changed in terms of updates, it's time we had a
look at a few key statistics that will be useful to
take note of going into the new year.

Who is on Instagram?
According to social pilot's research of Instagram's
current demographics:

1. Instagram has over 1.22 billion monthly active

users.
2. 70% of Instagrammers are under 34 years.
3. The 25-34-year-old age group is the largest of
the demographics, attributing to 31.7% of the
total Instagram population.
4. Instagram is used by 25.31 % of the world’s
population.
5. Daily active users of Instagram stories are 500
million.
6. 87% of Instagram users live outside the U.S.
7. The highest number of users of Instagram is in
India (230.5 million), the U.S. (159.75 million), and
Brazil (119.45 million).
8. 47.8% of all Instagram users are female, while
52.2% are male.
 What does this tell us?
Looking at the demographic statistics gathered by
Social Pilot, there's a few key things we can deduce.

Firstly, Instagram is most widely used by millennials.

Therefore, if your target audience are in that age
bracket - Instagram is a great place to be! If you
want to know more about what generations are on
what apps - take a look at the 'Social Media
Comparison Chart' inside our monthly membership
The Content Academy.

Another important fact to note here is that

Instagram is used by 25.31% of the world's
population. Making it one of the most used social
media apps to exist, with more than 1 in 4 people
using it.

The gender split is also generally pretty even,

meaning that is used by a wide variety of people.
 Your 2023 IG
Strategy
In this section of the guide, I want to give you the
inside loop into my preferred strategies going
forward for success in 2023!

Here's what we'll go over:

Optimising your account for 2023

IG SEO
Posting with Purpose
Posting with Variety
Create perfect Carousels
Being original & Non Trends
Pinning Strategically
Gaining Algorithm 'points'
The 90 days challenge

optimising your
account for 2023
The first thing I want your to do to prepare for
2023, is to do a bit on Instagram spring cleaning.
Take a good hard look at your profile, and ask
yourself:
Does this explain clearly what I do?
Does this give people a reason to follow me?
Is this clear and niche?
Is it clear who I'm posting for?
Having an optimised profile isn't just about the
way it looks, or having. a visually aesthetic feed. It
is about making sure people know: what you do,
how you do it, and who you do it for. IT's to give a
sense or professionalism or personality, make the
value that it provides clear, and most importantly:
makes your profile more discoverable!

Let's go through a few points now.

profile picture
Your profile picture is the first thing new potential
followers and customers will see when landing on
your page. And this is what they will associate you
with - so make sure it's relevant! If you're a
business coach - dress smart and opt for a
professional headshot! If you're a personal trainer
- show yourself at the gym! Here are some general
Do's and Don't's when it comes to selecting your
profile pic!
 username
Just like your profile picture, you want your username
to be relevant, and recognisable. You also want your
username to be memorable and uncomplicated.
Here's a few rules of thumb when it comes to picking
the perfect name and username!

Don't overcomplicate it. chose something that is

simple, and easy to remember.
Avoid using too many 'filler' characters (these are
characters such as; x, o, _, . - e.g. _x.becky_xo)
too many characters like this and no one will be
able to remember your username.
Don't use too many numbers. The same principle
applies.

bio name
Did you know that your bio name is the only part of
your profile apart from your username that is
searchable? Take advantage of Instagram's new
longer bio name option. Place keywords your ideal
audience may be searching for within your bio
name. This way you will come up in search results for
this search term.

For example, I might set up my bio name to 'Abi |

Instagram Coach' so when search for 'an Instagram
coach, my profile will come up!
 bio
Your 'bio' (short for biography) is the piece of text
situated underneath your username. This is where you
need to tell your new followers and potential clients
exactly who you are and what you do (well, at least
as close as you can get to it within the 150
character limit!) Use your bio as a punchy first
introduction to your page and your personal brand!
Here are a few tips you can follow when writing out
your bio

searchable
keywords

why follow?
how I help
what to do next (CTA)

Be Clear and Concise Don't waffle on! Nobody

needs to know the year you met your boyfriend or
the name of your pet parrot
State your: what and who - What do you do, and
who do you do it for?This helps potential followers
and customers decide whether your profile is
suitable for them!
Use Key Words and talk about your niche or
Industry Make sure you include your niche, industry,
and any key words in your bio - your niche should be
so obvious even a blind bat or your mum without her
glasses couldn't miss it!
What do you do - fitness, home decor, beauty
treatments? Tell your audience!
Use emoji's and paragraphs to make your bio more
readable and digestible. As seen in the example of
our account above, we've used a combination of
paragraphs and emojis to both break the text up,
and add some fun and colour to make it easier to
read and comprehend in a short glance!
Include a 'call to action' for your link This is a short
sentence that directs your audience to your link, tells
them what to do with it and what it is - and acts as
an incentive to click increasing your site traffic. As
you can see in the example above, I have included a
link to our e-books, and told the audience that they
can 'shop our e-books' - using downwards pointing
emojis to incentivise them to click!

IG SEO
Instagram is not just a social media app any more,
it's also a search engine. This has been made very
clear in recent months, not only with Mosseri (the
head of Instagram) himself saying that hashtags are
primarily used for 'categorising content' rather than
improving reach.

This combined with the introduction of 'Instagram

search terms' (the ability to search for content using
keywords rather than hashtags, and Instagram's AI
and Algorithms being able to understand which posts
are about what) - is enough proof in itself... that if
we want to improve our discoverability this year, we
need to work on our IGSEO (Instagram Search
Engine Optimisation)!
So how, exactly can we do that? Here's my top tips
to optimise your posts, and make them more
discoverable in Instagram:

Make sure you are repeatedly using key words

within your caption. You can use traditional SEO
tools to find out what the best keywords are for
you (words that relate to your niche, and will help
Instagram to categorise you correctly). Mine for
Example, are 'Instagram' 'Content' and
'Marketing'. I would suggest finding 3-5 core
keywords, and making sure they appear in every
caption

Use ALT text - Use instagram's 'ALT Text' option to

further help to categorise your posts. Explain each
slide of your post in here, and make sure at least
one keyword appears in every slide!

Use Hashtags Strategically - Use 3-6 hashtags per

post. Make sure they are super specific and niche,
make sure you are using similar hashtags in each
post, make sure each post relates directly back to
your niche

Stay Niche - post about ONE thing. keep all of

your content as niche as possible. Instagram will
not show you on search terms/explore etc. If it
can not identify what it is you post about

Research Search Term Content - research

different search terms you'd like to appear in on
Instagram - IG uses AI image detection software
in its categorisation process. You may notice that
 all top ranking posts in each term have something
similar about them visually. Try to replicate this in
your posts!

post with purpose

want to go back to basics somewhat with this
strategy, because it's something that I see is regularly
missed in creators posts. Here's the tea: you need to
be posting with purpose or in other words, you need
to knowWHY you are posting a particular post!

Before you even create your post, you need to know

what the purpose of that post is! Here's a checklist
that should have ticks for each post:

B E F O R E Y O U P O S T . . .
Do you know what action you want your audience
to take after viewing your post?

Is this action reflected in the Call to Action (CTA) You're

using at the end of your post and in captions?

Does this post TOPIC make sense with the CTA (i.e., if I
am promoting the Content Academy, I should be
posting about content)

Does the purpose you've chosen make sense with your

purpose for the day? month? week?

Have you mixed up the purpose of your posts lately (if

you are constantly making posts to get people to
follow you, you may lose out on sales - and vice vera!)

Have you made sure you only have ONE core purpose
for each post?
 Not sure which purpose to use? Here's a few examples of
different purposes you can apply to your posts (it's not JUST
follows & sales!):

more
start building
generating drive
conversations profile brand
views awareness
leads sales

becoming nurturing
improving driving growing
a thought your engagement
community traffic followers
leader

post with variety

As mentioned earlier, one of the best strategies for
2023, is to make sure you are posting a variety of
content types.

This is because different content types work for

different purposes, goals and audiences. If you only
post carousels, you'll miss people who only watch
reels, and vice versa, for example.

I's important to consider that different people

consumer content in different ways. Some will love
short-form videos because they are easy to consume,
others may love digesting an in-depth carousel or
blog-like caption. Remember to always keep your
ideal audience in mind when deciding which formats
to use.

You can use the chart below - developed by my good

friend and Canva Expert Simon Mitchell to help you
chose which content you should be using.
On Instagram, there are two core types of content we need
to focus on: micro content, and macro content. In order to
successfully grow and thrive on Instagram, we need to be
producing both. Below let's look at why they are, and why we
need both!

micro-content
MICRO-CONTENT: is short, entertaining and easy to
consume. It shouldn't take a user more than a few seconds to
consume this type of content. Micro-content includes:
quotes, graphs, infographic, and reels

macro-content
MACRO-CONTENT: is longer form content, that builds and
strengthens connections, and keeps your existing audience
coming back for more. This includes posts such as: valuable
carousels, IG Lives, blog-like captions, and IGTVs.
 micro content vs. macro content
micro-content macro-content
Great for attracting new great for nurturing existing
audiences audience
Ranks well in hashtags & explore great for building trust &
Fun & entertaining relationships
Quick to consume Great for selling
Education & Instructive

the carousel boom

Okay, so s for us 'prefer carousels to singles and/or reels' folks
(you know who you are) it seems as though there has been an
uptick in the reach of carousels, similar to the thriving carousel
boost we saw in the summer of 2020!

Recently, carousels that I've posted (and this seems to be the

case with quite a few creators too!) have become drastically
more successful (especially in terms of reach) than ever
before!

So it will probably come as no surprise that I'm going to

suggest you start working a few more carousel posts into your
strategy this month! Right now, the combination of the
supply/demand gap for carousels - mixed with Instagram
really pushing recommended posts this month (remember, this
may not last forever) - you really should capitalise on this
while you can!

But why is it exactly that carousels are performing so well at

the moment? Don't worry, I have an explanation! Well... two,
actually:
 1) SUPPLY/DEMAND
The exact same reason that reels did so well in the beginning, is now
applying to carousel posts (and potentially single posts also!), you ready...

There goes a simple concept called 'Supply/Demand'.

In short, there are two important things you need to take into account
when creating content on Instagram:

WHAT HOW MANY

PEOPLE PEOPLE
WANT TO ARE
CREATING
SEE THAT

THIS IS THE AND THIS IS

'DEMAND' THE SUPPLY

What people want to consume, and how many people are creating that
type of content at that time, will alwayd fluctuate and change! Let's take
for example, when reels first came out:

SHORT-FORM
VIDEOS
WHAT HOW MANY

PEOPLE
PEOPLE
ARE
CREATING
THAT

WANT TO
SEE THE AMOUNT OF
PEOPLE CREATING
TOP QUALITY
SHORT REELS
As there were a lot of people wanting to consume this form of content,
but very few creators making it (as least to the standard the audience
wanted) that small pool of creators were getting shown to a large pool of
consumers - making their reach explode!
As time went on, the number of people wanting to consume that content
stayed relatively the same, but the amount of people creating it, exploded
to a huge amount

SHORT-FORM
VIDEOS
HOW
MANY
PEOPLE
WANT TO
SEE IT HOW MANY
PEOPLE
THE AMOUNT OF
PEOPLE CREATING
ARE
TOP QUALITY
SHORT REELS CREATING
IT

At this point, there are more people creating the content format, than
people can really consume. Therefore, as competition for reach has
increased, it's far harder to get to the top, as there's smaller and smaller
portions of pie to be had!

Okay, now let's look at carousels, in the form of a timeline:

SPRING 2020 Carousels start becoming really popular, and

pick up steam, those jumping on the carousel
bandwagon at the start see massive growth!

SUMMER 2020 Carousels become really popular, and many

people are using them to grow! The demand is
huge and the supply is growing, but it's getting
more competitive
Reels come out, people who are quick to jump
AUTUMN 2020 on get a lot of reach - but still in it's infancy, no
one really knows what they're doing. Demand
hasn't grown for reels yet, demand for carousels
is still there
 SUMMER 2021 People start to understand what they want to
see in reels, creators also start understanding
what people want to see. Competition still
relatively small, and those who do it right, see
massive reach

WINTER 2021 Reels become hyper popular, and now the

supply of reels has started to outgrow the
demand for reels - competiton is much harder,
and it's much harder to grow

2022-NOW Reels are now known as the 'top' way to grow.

Many people see reels as the 'only' way to
grow. Everyone and their nan are creating
several reels every day. Reels bow have the
highest competition they're ever seen, and top
creators have started putting youtube level
editing & equipment into their reels to get the
upper hand

MEANWHILE.....
The demand for carousels has most likely decreased, a bit - as people
become more used to the short-form video style. HOWVER - the supply
for carousels has gone down SIGNIFICANTLY as people start to focus more
and more on reels, making them the key content factor in their strategy.

The demand for carousels is still high, and has maybe decreased a bit, the
supply has drastically increased. Therefor, those who are supplying the
carousels, now have a MUCH better chance of being seen by those who
want to consume them.

Although the demand for carousels has stayed relatively the same, the
demand for reels has grown - the supply for reels now outweighs the
demand, whereas the supply for carousels is now smaller than the
demand - making is easier to get mass reach!
 HOWEVER.....
It's looking as if the supply/demand might go back the other way for a
bit in light of Adam Mosseri's recent announcement that Instagram are
levelling out the reach of photos and carousel posts.

Now that Mosseri has stated that Instagram will focus more on photos,
everyone and their Nan has made a post about this, and many people
have either blown this out of proportion or completely misunderstood
this to mean 'photos are the way to grow on Instagram now' - the
demand for each content type will stay the same, but supply of
carousels/singles will go up - and the supply of reels (for a bit) will go
down. Essentially flipping the theory around the other way.

Now I think this will only apply to the first half of 2023, as the hype
surrounding this new image boom fades away.

DEMAND
FOR
REELS SUPPLY
FOR
REELS

DEMAND
FOR
SUPPLY
CAROUSELS FOR
/SINGLES
CAROUSELS
/SINGLES

As a result, at least for right now before everybody forgets about this all,
or a large Instagram 'guru' convinces reels are the way to go again -
you're actually better off making reels then you are carousels or singles!
You may have even noticed yourself over the past few weeks since this
announcement that your reach on carousels and singles has gone
down, whereas your reels reach may have gone up. This might not last
forever, and definitely will not last forever at THIS much effect - so do
yourself a favour, and create a few reels and video content whilst
everyone else is creating carousels and single posts ;)

Now I think this will only apply to the first half of 2023, as the hype
surrounding this new image boom is likely to fade away.
being original & non-trends
Instagram have touched on this point a lot this year. The
platform is looking to promote original content this means
content. This means content you have created yourself, and is
exclusive to instagram - not other platforms. So no re-posts
(this is extended to reposting your own colder content as
well). Reposting old content can be a great way to post more
without trying as hard - but instead of reposting, try
repurposing. Take an old post and make it new, give them a
whole new look and updated the captions! You can also do
this by taking an old post, and remaking it in a new format -
such as taking info you put into a carousel, and making those
key points into a reel!

Beyond recreating old posts, try experimenting with 'non-

trends'. What the hell is a non-trend? It's exactly what it
sounds like, instead of recreating the same tireless trends
people have seen a million and one times, create something
original!

Why is this? People are experiencing 'trend fatigue' -

What is trend fatigue? It is quite simply the feeling many
of us experience after watching the same trend pop up
several times on our feeds.

Trends are great for reach and a few quick views, but
they're not brilliant for conversions, memorability,
positioning yourself as an expert, or standing out on the
app. Instead of copying the same tired trends, create
original and exciting content, use trending music simply
as a tool to boost your reach, and if you can, even
create your own trend. The reach you see as an
originator of a trend will far outperform being one of
many performing the same thing.
 return of authenticity
You may have heard of the recent trend of 'de-influencing'.
Essentially a trend starting on TikTok, but then migrating to
other platforms - where in retaliation to the influencer trend -
people are activly discouraging you from purchasing popular
items, going to popular locations, or doing popular things

I think that this trend marks the return of longing for

authenticity from creators and brands. Therefore, once again I
think we're going to see an increase in popularity of
'unfiltered content'.

Instagram themselves even noted in a survey, that 58% of

people believe that it is important for brands to post 'real,
raw, unpolished' content.

So in short, Ditch the perfectionism. Not every video, story or

content piece has to be created with the most up-to-date
professional equipment, and edited to the gods by outsourced
editors you spent hours trying to find. Just be yourself, it's what
the people want!
 Abi | Creator Coach
@holler.academy

When you follow a trend, you compete

with everybody. When you start a trend
everybody competes with you.

Now this isn't to say you shouldn't stop working with trends all
together, but if you are going to participate in a trend - do
something DIFFERENT with it!

Now whilst I am an advocate for original content over trends,

this isn't to say that you shouldn't use trending audio, in fact, you
should! Trending audio (especially when it's only just STARTED
trending) can still give you a massive BOOST in reach!

So how do you use trending audio, without doing trends?

Simple! Either put it as the 'background' music, over a 'talking'
video - or use it in your reels, but do something different with it!

Pin Posts Strategically

Make use of Instagram's new 'pin posts' feature, where you can
pin up to three posts to the very top of your profile, making it
the first thing people see when they visit your page! As a result,
we need to be super strategic with what we use them for. My
suggestion would to be to put three posts up that explain:

1) who you are

an'About me' Post
A post about your Journey
A post introducing yourself to new audience members
2) What you do
'About Me' post
Post about your services/Products
Review/Testimonial/Results posts

3) EITHER: a sales post, OR a post that gains followers:

Your latest Offer
A post ending in a sales CTA
Your best-selling offer
Posts that have been proven in insights to gain followers
Posts that end in a good: website click/lead/sign up/sale
CTA

This new feature if used right, should enable your to somewhat

automate the different desirable processes on your page, such
as: getting people to DM you, Converting strangers into
followers, Converting followers into clients/customers,
Gathering Leads and Making sales!

Algorithm Points
Now you understand the algorithms, here's the strategy to go
with it: make sure Instagram knows exactly: who you are, what
type of content you post, what you post about, and who your
posts are for.

Do this by dropping the algorithm 'hints' to answer these

questions. Make it obvious! Use:
Niche Hashtags
Alt Text
Key words & phrases in content
Key words & phrases in caption
Appropriate topics
Keywords in bio & bio name

To reaffirm this! Beyond this, focus on making sure your content

is engaging and hitting those signals that tell Instagram your
posts are valuable, and will encourage them to promote you.
 Mosseri's Mission
Instagram head Adam Mosseri recently revealed Instagram's
top missions. It's likely that these missions will rule over what
updates are released, how they change or modify the app, and
most importantly - what type of content gets shared and
recommended (i.e. more growth/reach if this is you!)

The mission revealed consisted of three parts, the three most

important thing that Instagram wants to focus on promoting.
These are:

-Inspiring creativity
-Discovering new things
-Spark Connections

This is very interesting when it comes to your own strategy. You

need to start thinking about whether your own content actually
actively helps Instagram to achieve these goals. Below are
some examples of how I would incorporate this knowledge into
my own strategy:

Inspire Creativity
How can your content help to inspire the creativity of other
creators? I can think of a few ways and Instagram tools that
would signal to the algorithm that your content does this.

One great tool to show your content helps inspire creativity, is

to create your own original audios, which in turn end up as
trending audios. Even f they don't trend, the audio being used
by just a few other users will prove that your post is inspiring
creativity in others! When creating original audio, make sure it's
something catchy that could be used for a range of different
things, topics and niches. Make it relatable to multiple people,
and easy to use in different ways. It could be a clip of you
talking that encourages other people to use it (for example, the
audio going round that is simple someone saying 'since we all
have to post reels now, here's a photo of a reel). Although of
course that is factually incorrect, it's controversial, plays on
frustrations of creators, and can be applied to several different
niches. You could also take an existing clips from somewhere
else (a song/tv show/celebrity quote) that you think is highly
sharable or could be used in a few different ways! Add this
audio outside of the app in an editing app like inShot or
CapCut and make sure it's uploaded as an original audio!

Other ways you can 'inspire creativity' with your content, could
be by creating a reels trend that is copied many times (for this
the audio doesn't have to be original!), creating or making up a
meme that people copy (remember: Instagram has AI image
recognition software, it CAN recognise memes and what's
trending/where they started!) The best way to create a
trending meme, is to focus on pop culture. What TV shows or
movies are trending? What's everyone talking about? Is there
an epic celeb moment that's spreading like wildfire? Locate it
when it's just starting to trend, make a funny and re-creatable
trend around it that goes with any niche, and POST! Good
recent examples: the 2022 'little miss' memes, the 'these gays
are trying to murder me' meme (white lotus).

Discovering New Things

This is one I've talked about quite a bit! One of Instagram's key
missions this year is to help users to discover new things that
they're interested in, showing them more of that, and helping to
make Instagram a more enjoyable place for them!

To ensure that your content helps to reach this goal, there are
three things you should focus on:

being very (undeniably so) niche!

Posting BRAND NEW, previously undiscussed, or relatively
unknown content or information about your niche
 Create a new account that focuses on a small but growing
micro niche or recently trending topic!

Here's the deal: Instagram wants to introduce people to new

topics. Therefore the types pf accounts it's going to promote
are going to be accounts that very obviously talk about one
topic, and stick to one niche. The more niche your content and
more optimised your account is to that niche, the more likely it is
that you're going to show up on the recommendations & explore
feed of new potential followers that Instagram has already
decided, might be interested in that niche. If your niche is
confusing, fluffy, or undifines - or you post about too many
topics, thie less likely it is you'll get recomended.

Another great way to utilise this goal of Instagram's, is to idently

BRAND NEW information, or knowledge about your niche.
Something that is super useful and high value, but you just don't
see talked about! This could be new software, new strategies,
new products, new routines, new articles/research/infographics
or new trends! The best posts I've posted in terms of reach have
all disclosed relatively unknown information! It causes buzz,
promotes you as an expert, and boosts you massively to new
people's feeds as a result! (again, make sure it's hyper-niche!!)

Lastly, creating an account that focuses on a small, but growing

micro-niche can really help to skyrocket your account.

Why? Because you're getting in at the very start! I probably

owe some of my growth alone to the fact that I started posting
in 2020 - when accounts that focused on Instagram growth
were still relatively few and far between. Beyond that, I was a
woman posting about this niche - which at the time, was even
rarer!

This gave me a unique advantage, because the niche I was

posting about (which at the time would have been considered a
micro-niche) really didn't have much competition, BUT - it was
growing in interest!
Now discovering up and coming micro-niches can be pretty
tricky. Sometimes it is pure luck, but other times you can really
latch on when these trends, topics and niches are still small.
Research and attentiveness to the online space can really help
you with this.

The easiest way to identify an up and coming micro-niche is to

siomply think: what have you notised recently, that people are
starting to post about, that you haven't really seen being posted
about much before? Some great examples I can think of, which
are still in their growth phase, are:

self development
study tips
organisation accounts
-stationary/aesthetic desk accounts
mindset/productivity hacks
AI tools, tutorials & softwares
AI art & fashion
accounts dedicated to helping people with specific
disorders/health problems (i.e. PCOS, ADHD, MS etc)
These are just ones that I personally have noticedd that are at a
similar stage to where my niche was when I started. There will
be many more, many that you may have been exposed to that I
wouldn't of have because of our differing interests!

Spark Connections
Perhaps one of the most important ways Instagram can increase
their user satisfaction, is to ensure that people are connecting. If
your content and account is actively showing that it both
creates and maintains connections and community, then by
golly - Instagram will appreciate you! And the more you help
Instagram to reach their goals, the more they'll see your
account in a favourable light, and want to showcase you to the
world, to essentially, help them It's all a game! But you can
totally take advantage of this one. Even if your account is still
relatively small!
In order to convince Instagram that your account is in fact
helping to build & maintain connections (which in turn, keeps
people on the app for longer -ensuring more ad space cor
them.... the more you know) - then you need to focus on these
three things:

1) creating conversations
2) creating a community
3) being an active messenger
4) using practical engagement
5) increasing story interactions

I don't want to go too in depth with all of these, as this wou,d

end up being a very long read!! So here's a few ways that I
would focus on each of these points:

1) CREATING CONVERSATIONS:
Post controversial posts and opinions, rile people up, post about
topics that tend to have very polar views (reels/no reels -
Andrew Tate: good or bad? Feminism and feminist topics e.g.
body count, what women wear, gender pay gap, Harry &
Meghan Vs. The Royal Family) all of these make people want to
TALK -no matter which side they are on!
Utilise your caption and content to include conversational CTAS
(cal-to-actions). Ask your audience what their opinion is, ask
them a question for them to answer in the comments. When you
receive a comment, reply back with another question to keep
the conversation going, invite people to your DMs if they want
to talk about it further!

2) CREATE A COMMUNITY
Approach your audience as if they are all one little secret
society. Include inside jokes and references in your posts &
stories. Have fun with them. Use your own unique tone of voice.
Play on their fears and goals. Give them a collective name or
greeting! Sign off with your actual name. Actually talk to them
and create real relationships.
3) BE AN ACTIVE MESSENGER
Now, this is the one that I really need to get better at! REPLY TO
ALL OF YOUR MESSAGES IN A TIMELY FASHION. It can be pretty
overwhelming, especially if you're suffering from various
disorders that make this more difficult. If like me you struggle
with this, set aside a certain day and hour in that day to focus
on just this! Or tell yourself you will reply to 5 messages before
bed every night! Remember to check your message requests,
top requests and hidden messages too!

4) USING PRACTICAL ENGAGEMENT

This realy just means to make sure that you are *actually* taking
the time to engage with and talk to your audience! Nobody
feels connected to a 'blank wall' of an account (someone who
doesn't reply, or engagement with their audience in any way).
Take the time to visit your audience member's accounts,
compliment them, start conversations with them.

Reply to their stories, share personal jokes and messages, relate

to them. Make sure that THEY know that they mean something to
you. Engage. And engage meaninfully, not just for the sake of it.
If you read a post that you genuinely thought was great, don't
just skip straight by it, leave a meaningful comment - or better
yet, send them a DM knowing your thoughts!.

5) INCREASING STORY INTERACTIONS

Lastly, one of the best ways to show Instagram that you have a
strong community, and strong connections with your followers, is
to have a good level of both story views, story replies, and story
interactions. People care about people. People connect to
people. So make sure you're showing that side of your
life/account to your followers. Share the behind the scenes, be
vulnerable, be funny, be relatable. Make people WANT to reply.
Tell stories, ask questions and opinions. Use engagement stickers
like quizzes, polls and sliders regularly. Conduct Q&As with your
audience using the question sticker box. Reply back to all of
your story replies (even just the emoji reactions!) This is one of
the BEST ways to form relationships with your followers,
whilst also simultaneously showing the algorithm that you have a
strong community, and being placed higher up in your followers
feeds. It's a win-win...win, win win!!

The 90 Day Challenge

This next strategy was actually a brilliant idea, suggested to me by
my good friend Lucas (@the.lucas.hyland - check him out if you haven't
already, his tips are incredible!)

I believe this may have originated from the idea that it takes 90 days
to form a habit, but don't quote me on that one.

Lucas built his previous account to 100k+ followers in just one year,
when I asked him how he managed it so quickly. He simply replied
that he dedicated to showing up (as in really showing up, speaking o
the camera and all) and connecting to his audience as much as he
possibly could - for 90 days straight! If he ever missed a day, he'd
have to go back to square one and start again.

I've taken it on myself to try the same challenge, and oh my. I don't
know whether it's the accountability, the stronger connections I'm
building, or simply that I'm more present on the app - but sales and
following have taken a skyrocket since I've started (even if I have had
to go back to the start twice!) Check out my funky whiteboard
tracker below. Will you be trying this? I'd love to know!
 Conclusion
In conclusion, a lot has changed on the app since
the beginning of 2022, and many incredible leaps
and updates were made this year alone. Instagram
is not the same app that it was two or three years
ago, and thus - our approach to our content
strategy should change as well!

This year, focus on understanding both your

audience, and the overall audience demographics
of Instagram as a whole. Create content for THEM,
not for you.

Competition is increasing, and in order to stand out

you need to be different! It is not enough to half-
arse your content anymore. Reels are maturing, and
so are the creators occupying them.

Be original, do something others aren't, dare to be

different.

I hope that this e-bbook could give you some insight

and clarity for the year ahead! Here's to an
absolutely incredible 2023, creators!! Let's smash it!

Abi x