Hurray! I'm at 10K!
The moment has finally come. On October 20th 2018, yours truly hit the 10K following milestone on Instagram. This has been something that I’ve been looking forward to all year and literally less than a few day shy of my 2 year anniversary of documenting my natural hair journey via Instagram is when I reached that number. With all of the videos, picture post, worded post and even stories I’ve shared It feels good to be at this point and I thank my community, old and new, for supporting me.
Why is 10,000 followers on Instagram Important?
There are plenty of reason why reaching the 10K following mark is important and some may have their own personal reasons but here are mine.
You are officially and Micro-influencer
Even though I kind of loathe the term “Influencer” I can’t take away what it means to other’s especially brands who are looking at following numbers when t comes to partnering with gigs. From 5,000 to 9,999 you are considered “just starting out” and no matter how much time or work you’ve put into your content, majority of brands will think you have more work to do in order to reach a mass amount of people. No that doesn’t mean that the 5K+ doesn’t get any work. I was hired for my first paid gig with a little over 5,000 followers because my engagement was high. I like talking to you and you all seem to like talking to me. Once you hit 10,000-24,000 you are categorized in a group of influencers that people want to keep their eye on. I don’t know about you but with what I’ve been working on this past year I want to be the one being watched.
The Swipe Up Feature
Also at 10K you get the very sought after Swipe Up feature in your instagram stories. This is legit the main thing I was looking forward to with getting to 10K. It’s such a cool and convenient feature. If it’s one thing I’ve learned in my 2 years of creating content and blogging is that people hate having to do the most just to get to something you want to show them. If I’m promoting a new video on my youtube from my stories and you have to tap to go to my page, tap on the link in my bio and sometimes tap on another link via a bulk link app like Linktr.ee, by the time you’ve reached what I was trying to show you, you’d be over it. Ain’t nobody got time for dat! The technology world is fast paced and it’s in your best interest to keep up. The Swipe Up feature allows me to link what I want you to see in that one space. In one action I’ve transported you to exactly where I need you to be. Now I know there are those few who don’t care and will jump through all of the hoops to get to what it is I want you to see because you know what I’m sharing would be worth it. Consider this a place I’d like to be at to help connect with you better and faster.
How to Reach 10K on Instagram
Maintain your following
The most important part of reaching your goal of 10K following is keeping the followers you have now. You can gain a following and lose at the same time and it will feel like you aren’t making any progress. Take the time to talk with your community by replying back to DM’s and comments Get interactive with posts on your feed and InstaStories. Look beyond your followers as just numbers and as an actual community. Follow those back whose profile aligns with what inspires you on your feed. Like and comment on their post that you genuinely like also. Remember that even though this is a way to market your brand or business, these are real people and you need to treat the as such.
Make each post intentional
Pointless posting may be okay every once and a while but I have experienced the least interaction on my feed when I just randomly post for no reason. Intentional posting means you post content with substance behind it. There’s a story or a teachable moment. Those type of post get you great engagement and likes which will open up the algorithm for you and in turn more people will see your work and be compelled to follow you. Now-a-days inspiration is everything and with the world having such negativity spewed via news outlet and social media, more and more people are turning to inspiration online.
Stay Consistent
This was a hard one for me because of my lifestyle. I am a mom, wife, full-time employee and more. Having time to create content got a little overwhelming and staying inspired didn’t come easy. I had to figure out a way that would work for me and wouldn’t leave me stressed out. Creating a content calendar was a great move. Setting up days that were specifically just for planning and executing. As for the inspiration, it was all about what I allowed my self to be exposed to. Clearing my actual feed of negativity and following people who give me a good vibe. Reading for an hour a day also got my creative inspiration going.
What to expect now
The absolute best! I feel a great amount of gratitude and love for my community. Now that I’ve reached the 10K point with my Instagram, I feel more compelled to put out high quality content and to connect more with you all. I will still remain the same with my transparency. I’m looking forward to increasing the positive talk of my personal brand and am striving to reach the same goal with my Youtube Channel. All wins should be celebrated no matter how big or small they seem to be.