How I Would Start My Instagram Over From SCRATCH in 2024

My Instagram account is dying. 🪦 ❌

At least, that’s how I felt last year.

So I dug in and took some steps to start GROWING again…

…and it paid off.

(Peep that engagement score?!) 

Today I’m sharing how I resurrected my Instagram account, which just so happens to be EXACTLY how I would start my Instagram account over from scratch in 2024! 

By the way, what I’m about to share includes the ONE THING that most business owners forget to do in their Instagram strategy, which could cause you to leave tens of thousands of dollars on the table.

One of my students, Abi, had a $45,000 week after adding these principles to her sales strategy.

So get your scrolling finger ready, because this one is worth your time. Let’s make Instagram work for you again! 💰

STEP #1: Personal Brand vs. Business Brand

First step to grow your Instagram from scratch, you need to decide if your Instagram account will be a personal or business brand.

(YES! This applies even if you have an existing account. I went through this whole process as a “refresh” and it provided the clarity and focus my account needed to start growing again.) 

You’ll choose this as a setting in the professional dashboard, but it also has to do with your content. And before you decide, think about this:

• Elon Musk has way more followers than Tesla.
• Tim Cook has more followers than Apple.
• Richard Branson has more followers than Virgin.

Personal brands typically grow faster than company brands, and people trust faces more than faceless brands. So that’s what I recommend!

Once you have that nailed down, you’ll need to define your audience, mission, and unique offers. All of your content creation stems from this foundation.

Answer these questions for an easy way to get clarity on this:  

1. Who you help
2. How you help them
3. Why you help them (your personal mission)

STEP #2: Instagram Bio Makeover

Now that you’re clear on your audience, mission, and unique offers, whip them all together in the perfect Instagram bio!

An Instagram bio only has 150 characters. This means you have to be succinct. You don’t have characters and letters to waste.

That’s why I recommend following this flow for the very first line of your bio: who you help and how.

Literally say in that first line, “I am for [X, Y, Z] helping them do [A, B, C].”

The second line of your business bio on Instagram is the perfect place to build some authority or really make yourself stand out from your competitors.

Try to get tangible and specific here. From a human psychology perspective, we really like to know specifics. And even better, numbers.

Try to get really, really specific down to the dollar if you can. “Coach featured on Dancing With The Stars.”

This third line of your business bio on Instagram is really important because it will provide a specific reason why your followers should click the link in your bio.

Let your followers know what’s in it for them to click that link. Is there a 10% off code? Is there a brand new training with a specific title? Is there a case study that would be really good for them to know?

Bottom line? An Instagram bio tells your target audience who you are, why they should care, and why they should follow you.

STEP #3: Create Content

It’s time to get to the good stuff *rubs hands together, cracks knuckles, and starts pounding on the keyboard*!

To grow your Instagram from scratch, I recommend jumping in with both feet here. Start posting as soon as your bio is done.

If you’re not sure where to start, treat your content like its responses to commonly Googled questions about your niche.

Remember that Instagram can be treated as a SEARCH ENGINE (yep, just like Google).

Actually, according to Prabhakar Raghavan, the Senior Vice President of Google, “Something like almost 40% of young people, when they’re looking for a place for lunch, don’t go to Google Maps or Search. They go to TikTok or Instagram.”

So creating Reels like — “Top vegan lunch spots in LA” or “How to curl your hair without damaging it” will increase your chances of popping up on the Explore page.

→ That’s where you reach non-followers.

In fact, you can literally go to Google for free ideas on your reel topics.

Just type in your niche, scroll down to “people also ask” and keep clicking into the options to see more and more populate.

These are all questions that people in your niche are asking, and topics you can answer in your reels.

Now that you have your topics, start filming!

An easy way to create Reels that get engagement is to post B-Roll with text on the screen: 

1. Film yourself doing anything and everything throughout your day — having coffee while journaling, taking calls, cutting hair, showing a home, writing copy, or whatever it is that you do.
2. Add text on top of the Reel that educates, entertains, or inspires your audience.
3. Create a caption that invites them to go deeper with you/your brand.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Elise Darmanin (@elisedarma)

If you’re thinking, “Elise, what exactly do I write? How does my audience commenting or DMing me lead to more sales?” never fear.

I give you everything you need to get started here inside of Message Magic Templates!

STEP #4: Quality Over Quantity

As you’re starting to create content, remember not to stress about going “viral.” While you grow your Instagram from scratch, resist the urge to hop on trends that don’t align with your or your business just for views.

I did an Instagram experiment over the summer where we posted 12 Reels and 3 carousels for 5 days (rather than our 1-2 posts per day).

While our engagement did tick up slightly, my team was pressed for time and we found that any increases weren’t worth the extra (wo)man power.

You don’t need to post endlessly to to grow your Instagram from scratch in 2024. The quality of views matters a lot more than the quantity.

Going “mini viral” in front of your target followers is all you need to get leads and sales from your social video content.

That said, resist the urge to delete videos that are “flops” as you’re growing. Trust that they’re being seen by the right people and WILL be seen by the right people.

The algorithm can pick the video up long after posting… taking it from 1K views to 100K to even 1M views… weeks or even months after posting.

So bottom line: Don’t stress about having MILLIONS of views or getting all of your views right away – slow and steady wins the race, and quality always beats quantity in my book.

STEP #5: Engage, Engage, Engage!

This step is critical as you grow your Instagram from scratch. Remember my student who had a $45,000 week after adding Instagram to her sales strategy? She attributes a lot of her success to conversations that she had with her followers.

Before her launch, she offered angel readings to members of her audience who were willing to chat on the phone with her and answer a few questions.

When it came time for her to create content for her launch, she knew exactly what to say because she was actively talking to her customers.

If you don’t have the bandwidth to talk to your audience on the phone, talk to them 1:1 on Instagram.

I always say, the money is made in the DMs! 💰

Start by encouraging them to comment on your videos, and then follow up with them via DM so you can continue the conversation further. You can even use their comment to create a NEW Reel that features them and their comments or questions on the screen.

Creating content is like a snowball — once it gets rolling it’s easier and easier.

BONUS STEP: Remove Yourself As The Bottleneck

Now, this is the thing I said that most business owners don’t do in their Instagram strategy… and it could cause you to leave tens of thousands of dollars on the table.

You have to remove yourself as the bottleneck as you grow your Instagram from scratch.

One big difference between Instagram NOW and Instagram when I first started in 2012 is that the app has embraced Manychat—an automatic message system.

You can now create a flow that automatically delivers your resource (freebie, workshop link, download, challenge, or anything else you have to offer your audience) WITHOUT you needing to manually do anything.

Remember those comments you’re asking people to leave in step #3? Here’s where they come in… those comments kick off your message automation.

This exact strategy not only helped me revive my Instagram last year (because my time was freed up to create more content PLUS I was actively interacting with my audience), but it generated $60-80k per month while I was away on maternity leave.

This is the REAL JUICE, friend.

Have The Same Success 🙌

Ready to have the same kind of success? My Message Magic Templates give you everything you need to get started.

These templates are for any business owner who wants more leads and sales from their Instagram posts, without wasting months making content with no engagement.

In just one click, you’ll import 13 done-for-you automations right into your free Manychat account.