How major influencers grew their Instagram following

With changes in Instagram’s algorithm and the abundance of influencers that seem to keep multiplying on the explore feed, it can be hard to keep ahead of the pack. Yet those in know who stick to their strengths are able to keep their audience engaged and continue to grow their following. Sophie Cachia, Taline Gabriel and Celeste Barber are amoung the thriving influencers who take an individual approach to growing their Instagram and their businesses.

Speaking at a recent panel event for Business Chicks, the three social media influencers shared their secrets to success and how they built their careers. Below, we take a look at their key take-outs…

Keep it real: Sophie Cachia
Lifestyle blogger for “The Young Mummy” and “self proclaimed legend” Sophie Cachia says she has gained over 230K followers by alway keeping her content very real and personal. She tells Business Chicks, “I have unequivocally been myself. Now whilst that has morphed over the years and as a person, as a mother, as a working woman, that has evolved – I still have been nothing but the real Sophie that exists in everyday life. From what I can gather, it’s provided a growing number of people with a relatable face that they can come to for a laugh, a cry, and a ‘oohhh that baby is so cute’.”

In her refreshingly hilarious posts, she refuses to sugarcoat some of the difficulties she faced during her pregnancy and motherhood – and it’s this ability to find the humour in some of her struggles that other mothers seem to connect with and appreciate.

Know your brand: Taline Gabriel
The founder of health and lifestyle business Hippie Lane, Taline Gabriel’s instagram strategy evolved through her own passions and experiences. After the birth of her first child she discovered she had lots of food intolerances which motivated her to live a healthier life and thus, Hippie Lane began.

“It was a whirlwind journey, and it happened organically without much force. I think it really is about knowing your brand and appealing to the masses. I dedicated a lot of time to my work. I was creating recipes for hours on most days of the week for over 3 years. I came up with new and creative spins on classic treats that became really popular. ie Twix bar, Cherry Ripe and Mars bars. I was playing around with breakfast foods and savoury dishes that were new and on trend while carving new food and styling trends that fortunately went worldwide. The algorithm was true in those days, so most of my followers were seeing my posts in real time order, which helped me get noticed and progress,” Taline tells Business Chicks.

“Dedication, a deep understanding of my craft and a commitment to tuning in to my own unique creative process is really what helped me get to the half a million milestone. I’m very grateful for the whole journey, and am still as passionate about sharing healthy delicious recipes now as I was in the very early days.”

Taline Gabriel — Image credit: @talinegabriel

Have a laugh at yourself: Celeste Barber
Content on Instagram can often be rather edited and posed as most people display just snippets of their lives which depict only their most glamorous moments. Comedian Celeste Barber calls *bs on these lavish lifestyles and unashamedly depicts her everyday life (and probably the majority of our lives too) in hilarious images that makes you think “this is so me!” She keeps her 2.3 million followers engaged and entertained through her imitation posts after realising “people seem to like me making a dickhead of myself”.

When asked how to grow your following on Instagram, Celeste says: “I don’t know. Taking semi-naked unflattering inappropriate photos of myself has kind of worked for me, so maybe you could try that.” But despite the huge following, Celeste says reach doesn’t automatically mean revenue – with the influencer only commercialising around four of the posts found in her feed.