Whether you’re a business or a Content Creator, there’s one thing we all know for sure: growing your Instagram account organically is no easy feat! We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again, but it seems like things never stop changing with Instagram to the point where it can begin to feel like “one step forward and two steps back” when trying to up your follower count and boost your content’s engagement. Do you agree?

With all of these recent updates to the app that never seem to end, you might be wondering if your go-to practices from 2022 still apply in 2023. We know we sure have! That’s why we’ve taken it upon ourselves to do a bit of research to ensure success this year, and you know we couldn’t keep our findings to ourselves!

So, here are Packsia’s top 5 organic Instagram growth tips for 2023! 

1. Make Reels A Priority

Since 2021, this Instagram strategy that has ruled the roost! Love them or hate them, IG Reels are here to stay. With a Packsia membership, it’s easy to batch create tons of aesthetic and on-brand short-form video content for your platform! However, we highly recommend making Reels with your beautiful self in them, as well. In fact, it’s been reported that Reels and videos with people in them have a 25% higher click through rate!

Lastly, when pumping out Reels, it’s always important to use trending audio rather than your favorite songs. The best way to find trending audio is to scroll through the Reels section of Instagram and look at the bottom row where the name of the audio is featured. If there’s an arrow pointing upwards, that means the audio is trending! 

2. SEO Your Content 

SEO isn’t just for websites anymore. So, how does one add SEO practices to their IG content? Keywords, keywords, keywords! When writing your captions, make sure to include popular keywords to alert Instagram as to what this content is about, so it can show it to the right audience. You can also add boost your SEO even more by using hashtags! While the infamous hashtag might not be what is once was (is anyone really looking through #love?), the use of hashtags will add another layer of information in order to tell Instagram what the post is about. Our advice? Just don’t over do it! 

3. Post, Post, Post! 

There is a fine balance between quantity and quality, but when it comes to Instagram growth in 2023, the dial tends to go a little bit more towards quantity! Instagram rewards accounts who are actively using the app and that means posting as often as you can. We found this guide on post frequency super helpful. In summary, Instagram recommends the following:

• Nano accounts (0-10k followers) should post on average 3 times a week
• Micro accounts (10-100k followers) should post on average 3 times a week 
• Mid accounts (100k-500k followers) should post on average 5 times a week

…and don’t forget about stories! Your profile picture in the top left corner should always be lit up with new story content. 

4. Engage Authentically

Being on Instagram is like being at a party; you’re not going to get popular by keeping to yourself, no matter how good you look! You’ve got to put yourself out there and make some friends and connections. The best ways to do this? Like, share, save, and make authentic comments on posts. Unfortunately, emojis or a simple “love this” doesn’t always cut it with the algorithm anymore. A little extra effort goes a long way! 

In addition to engaging with other’s content, invite others to engage with yours! Ask questions in your captions, use stickers in your stories such as polls or sliding scales, and more! 

Finally, if possible, tag other accounts so that they can share your content! Once again, we would advise against overdoing it. 

5. Trust The Facts 

Instagram provides analytics on your content every week, so don’t ignore it! Make a habit of checking in to see what kind of content performed better than others and what kind of content isn’t worth the time to create. You can also get a sense of the best times to post, as well! Every time you re-evaluate your content strategy, you will get closer to reaching your growth goals.

For more ideas on how to grow your Instagram account organically in 2023, we recommend checking out this article from Hootsuite for several other tips. As for our final tip? Don’t get discouraged! Good things take time and work, and by keeping up to date on Instagram trends you can build your online presence — slowly but surely!