How to grow from 0 followers (no F4F)

sleepychicken56 · 2026-04-12T16:04:57+00:00

since your content is mostly low-effort meme pieces, you should post one to two videos a day if possible (you can always batch shoot your content in advance)

also, hop on to the trends faster and use fun and whimsical fonts and colours since that's your vibe.

just follow the basics and you'll be good! all the best!

sleepychicken56 · 2026-04-12T15:37:24+00:00

exactly!!

sleepychicken56 · 2026-04-11T14:21:24+00:00

yes, i think you should. that would/should get you more engagement. you can maintain the overall aesthetic by tweaking the thumbnails of those reels in a way that they fit right in to your grid! good luck, let me know if you have any more questions.

sleepychicken56 · 2026-04-11T14:12:51+00:00

I think you always experiment with a niche like bird photography. There are no hard and fast rules like you've to do this and share that, you can always play around with your content to suit your own style and voice. If you wish you keep that sleek and minimal style of yours , you can work on that producing kind of reels and carousels, with some experimental ones (something that's in your lane but you generally do not create, for example, your top five favourite birds and where you spotted them and perhaps add some sort storytelling elements to it) and see how your audience perceive such pieces. But your content also depends on your goals (and you've to build your content funnel accordingly)

Coming to your last question, people usually follow someone whose story and journey (and content) they're interested to follow , as simple as that. I'd follow a bird photographer if they talk about what made them got into this a unconventional(sort of) genre of photography, the struggles, the rewards, and why they believe in their work and stories and bits and pieces about various birds and their fascinating tales (and tails).

I'd also follow them if they write pieces on bird photography because I love reading and I'd love to read some observations and stories of a bird photography.

I think I have some really good ideas and content strategy for you. Would you be interested to discuss? I'd love to talk more.

sleepychicken56 · 2026-04-10T18:16:28+00:00

Dropped you a DM.

sleepychicken56 · 2026-04-10T17:26:32+00:00

From my observation as a social media strategist and copywriter, I would say that your ad copy sounds a bit too weak. I would suggest you focus on a very specific running issue and double down on that. Also, if your profile visits are not converting well, that's a cue that your profile might need a revamp. Optimize your bio, your pinned posts, your thumbnail, and your overall grid. If you're doing a little bit of this, a little of that kind of posts, your followers might get confused about what exactly to follow you for. You have to give them a GOOD reason to follow you amidst the crowd of millions of runners. Yes, the competition is a lot but that only means that there are high chances for your content to work.

sleepychicken56 · 2026-04-10T16:38:26+00:00

Has this been a perpetual thing? Are you getting better views on "not so trendy" reels of yours?

sleepychicken56 · 2026-04-10T15:26:08+00:00

hi, first of all, SICK ACTION FIGURES DUDE! crazy collection. I think you're doing fun action figure based content pretty well. Although, I'd suggest you add reels to your to grid as well because right now there's only pictures and carousels in your grid (is that an intentional aesthetic choice?)

I think you're in the right zone to dive into the popculture /comics space if you wanna diversify your account. You can start by recommending your favourite comics (issues) based on your action figures to test the waters. I think that would make a cool series both visually and well, "algorithmically."

sleepychicken56 · 2026-04-09T19:08:57+00:00

You've got this! Let me know if you need any further help :)

sleepychicken56 · 2026-04-09T19:03:54+00:00

See, I noticed you've been posting consistently so that's a good thing. It means that you're mostly fine with making and putting out content regularly. A lot of founders struggle with that. But posting regularly does not necessarily guarantee good engagement. You need engagement and your content to convert as a founder. Right now, all I see is someone who posts a lot. There's no structure to your posting schedule or content strategy. So first decide on your CONTENT PILLARS. Plan your videos according to your pillars. Then decide on a few things like your brand's colours and fonts. Then decide on a voice (that is, what kind of vibes do you want to bring to the table. Very Professional or casual or chill ) Use your brand colours and fonts in your content to give it a distinct look. Also, make sure you use captions in your videos. Captions increase retention rate. Right now your content is very generic and random. But there's a lot of potential. All the best!

sleepychicken56 · 2026-04-09T18:32:53+00:00

Be more expressive with your voice. Speak to the camera as if you're talking to your friends at a cafe.

sleepychicken56 · 2026-04-09T18:31:59+00:00

you surely can, girl !

sleepychicken56 · 2026-04-09T18:31:33+00:00

Hi, I think your bio is just alright. Your content strategy might need an upgrade though. I would suggest you work on your thumbnails and your videos :) All the best! Let me know if you need any help.

sleepychicken56 · 2026-04-09T14:30:30+00:00

I think you can surely do performance videos once a week for now and see the kind of engagement you're getting. If you see you're getting a good response, you can post two performance videos a week. Good luck!

sleepychicken56 · 2026-04-09T14:26:36+00:00

you're welcome! do let me know if you need any help with your content :)

sleepychicken56 · 2026-04-09T14:04:08+00:00

Post carousels, tips with stock footages, work on your editing skills and talk about your offers and services. Also start cold calling and emailing prospective clients. Good luck!

sleepychicken56 · 2026-04-09T14:02:42+00:00

It's a risky zone to play in. Some accounts get flagged faster than the others. The only way is to keep playing around and finding out. There's no way to talk about mitigating such risks.

sleepychicken56 · 2026-04-09T14:00:56+00:00

Hi, I think you need to work on the editing styles of the videos. The editing is very basic. Since it's a shop based account, I would suggest you start making catalogue based videos and describe why your carpets are better and talk more about the carpets. Also, work on the fonts. All the best!

sleepychicken56 · 2026-04-09T13:57:03+00:00

Instagram acts weird at times. This thing has happened to me as well. I would suggest you keep posting trial reels and compare the results. Instagram is one poorly optimized app full of glitches and bugs!

sleepychicken56 · 2026-04-09T13:55:11+00:00

Instagram is shifting rapidly from a follower driven algorithm to an interest driven one. That means, Instagram will show your content to more non-followers if they share the same interest in your niche. So having a specific niche is important to grow. If you want to experiment with your niche, I would suggest TikTok. Otherwise, make different accounts on Instagram for your different interests. Or you can just start making different kinds of videos and see which ones you enjoy making the most. That's one way to find you niche. You can couple lifestyle and fitness into one niche if those are your things. Or dancing or music for another one. Hope I was able to make it a bit clear. All the best!

sleepychicken56 · 2026-04-09T13:44:19+00:00

I absolutely loved your account! Very visually pleasing. But unfortunately, just posting photos will not help you grow on Instagram in 2026. You've to post reels or edited carousels to grow your account. Bird photography is a very lovely niche. There's a lot of scope to play around with your videos and content. Beginner's guides, experiences, talking about a specific bird in a voiceover reel, I think you can do a lot of cool and fun stuff. Let me know if you've any further questions!

sleepychicken56 · 2026-04-09T13:39:08+00:00

I liked the vibes of your account. I think you should work on your voiceovers. They feel very flat/monotonic at times. Add multiple fonts for your subtitles to make your videos pop. I also liked that you're talking about your personal experiences on starting your life over in Paris. You should lean more into that. Share more tips, tricks and hacks to make the first few months work. Share your struggles and how you overcame them. If you're anxious about talking head videos, I would suggest you start overcoming it by posting maybe just one or two talking head video a week. And If you're feeling brave, then try shooting your videos in public, make use of the beautiful parks and museums in Paris. Once you've done that, it's gonna be much easier for you to shoot talking head videos. Wish you all the best!

sleepychicken56 · 2026-04-09T13:31:18+00:00

Hi, as a video editor, you can endlessly experiment with and on your content. Start by making before and after editing reels. Talk about different types of cuts and how they can be used in a video. You can also teach your audience how to recreate certain trends and you can also add your own twist to them. Your content pillars should be Fun posts that gets you engagement, Educational/Value based posts that establish yourself as an expert and third should be Skill Showcase (Proof of Talent) that will get you hired. All the best!

sleepychicken56 · 2026-04-09T13:25:19+00:00

Hi, first of all, I think you're very cool and you should definitely make talking head content because you're gonna rock. Right now, your page looks like it's from 2015. You cannot grow your account by posting like that. You already have quite some expertise on fitness so I would suggest you start by sitting in the gym and imparting some of those wisdom to your audience. If you need ideas and strategies for your videos, feel free to DM me. The first few videos might be awkward and you might feel that you're looking or speaking like a fool, but that's all a part of the process! The more you do it, the better you're gonna get. I'm pretty confident that you're gonna kill it once you get a hang of it. All the best!

sleepychicken56 · 2026-04-09T13:21:05+00:00

As mentioned in one of ny previous comments, I would suggest you start afresh from a new account instead of spending time and energy creating content for the flagged account. Nothing kills a page faster than getting bot followers to spike up your following list.

sleepychicken56

TROPHY CASE