Instagram Lessons from Will Smith Your Company Needs To Grow Your Following
Will Smith is quite easily the best thing thing to hit to Instagram since its inception. In just 90 short days, the mega movie star amassed more than 11 million faithful followers, and it is not just because he is one of the most successful actors Hollywood has seen.
It turns out the same magic (and strategy) he brings to the bigscreen, translates beautifully on social media, leaving us all wanting more with every post.
Instagram continues soaring as one of most used, most popular social media platforms that helps establish thriving businesses. So it is imperative for businesses to take their Instagram strategy seriously.
Here are some take aways you can glean from the former Fresh Prince that will help grow your Instagram following.
- Late adapters can still win, but only with killer content.
For many social media rock stars, a large piece of their success comes from being an early adapter on a specific platform. Will Smith said he intentionally avoided social media for years, but when he did join, he excelled with dynamic, sharable content.
2. Your followers aren’t growing because you are not providing value.
Today’s brands are challenged with both driving sales while building an engaged audience on social media, and there are so many companies who get it wrong. Pushing your products and services won’t get you followers, but inspiring them will. Followers are attracted to brands who produce useful information that can improve people’s lives. Peep Will’s Instagram story highlights of his motivational videos, which consistently go viral.
3. Tell your own story.
Whether you are a blogger, entrepreneur or Fortune 500, it’s easy to recreate what your competitors are doing — but that won’t cut through the noise on social in 2018. Per above you must stand out from the crowd. You must master the art of storytelling. You can do that through sharing tidbits of your own brand history that only you know, presented in fresh, new ways your audience can digest quickly.
4. Give people a behind the scenes look into your world.
On Instagram, gorgeous photography goes quite far, but only so far. You must open up your life like Mr. Box Office, who often shares glimpses of his family time and vintage photos of his equally famous friends. On each post, talk with your followers — not at them. Pretend you are talking with friends at brunch. Address their challenges and ask them questions. Tell them about some of your challenges and company culture, whether it is on the caption or video. Humans are curious by nature; feed into that.
5. You must invest in your video strategy. You must invest in talent.
If you look at the movie star’s feed, the majority are videos that help push his content on YouTube. A super smart move, considering YouTube is now the 2nd most used social platform behind Facebook. In one of his videos, he even jokes about buying too many new tech toys in zeal, but he invests in good editing tools for himself and invests in talent who help make his Instagram content give his most epic movie scenes a run for their money. He is truly hands-on and it shows.
What are some of your Instagram goals for the year?
Need help with your social media strategy? Set up a free consultation with me: https://lenorashewrote.com/free-social-media-consultation.
