But you know what the first thing I noticed about their accounts?

They were barely following anyone.

So you might not think that’s a big deal. Sure their profile was bang-on, their feeds were pretty and content was solid, but …

finding your ideal target audience and following them is a very simple strategy for rapid growth.

Here’s how:

1. Identify who your ideal audience/target customer is

If you don’t already have this in your marketing or business plan, you need to clearly identify who your ideal customer is. You should know their age, their buying patterns, what they might enjoy as hobbies, are they a parent, do they travel? Write this down.

2.  Who are they likely to be following?

Along with the description of your ideal customer, you need to know who they may already be following on Instagram. It’s likely to be similar businesses to yours. Think about your vendors, suppliers, competitors, and complimentary products to yours.

3.  Follow the people that follow THOSE accounts

Open one of those accounts, let’s say a similar business or competitor of yours. Open their list of followers, and go through the list and follow anyone that you think could match your ideal customer/audience.

4.  Engage with them

Like and comment on their posts, genuinely engage with anyone you think may be an ideal customer or within your ideal audience.

As an extra step, occasionally unfollow those that don’t follow you back using a tool like the Followers App so that your following/follower ratio stays reasonable (you don’t want to be following thousands of more accounts than follow you).

So … what are you waiting for? Go find your audience!

Further Reading on Hello Connie Peters: Finding Your Audience on Social Media