As someone who’s always up for a challenge, I’m excited to share a new experiment I’m working on. This time, though, I’m stepping away from the professional side of things and focusing on something fun—a social media growth hack for my hobby account. Inspired by Dani the Explorer and her 2024 Instagram growth strategy, I’m ready to dive in and see what I can learn.
If you work in marketing, you know the landscape is always evolving, and I’m a firm believer in learning by doing. That’s why I’m taking this opportunity to test a few growth strategies that I can apply to my professional work while keeping things light-hearted and fun. Let’s take a closer look at what I’ll be doing over the next few weeks and why I’ve chosen to follow this specific strategy.
What’s the Plan?
The 2024 Instagram growth hack I’ll be testing focuses on optimising content for the platform’s algorithm while keeping the workload manageable. Here’s the breakdown of what I’ll be doing each week:
5 Reels: I’ll be posting five reels every week, each one no longer than 15 seconds. This short-form content has been shown to perform really well on Instagram and is perfect for grabbing attention quickly. It’s also an ideal format for my family food content, where I can show off recipes and quick plate-up videos.
3-5 Stories Per Day: I’ll aim to post 3-5 stories daily, five days a week. Stories allow me to keep the audience engaged with behind-the-scenes content, updates, and more personal insights. It’s a great way to build connection and keep followers invested in the channel.
Carousel Posts: For any images I post, they’ll all be carousel posts. Instagram favours this content type as it encourages higher engagement—viewers tend to swipe through multiple images, which increases interaction and visibility in the feed.
This strategy focuses on consistent, engaging content that aligns with Instagram’s algorithmic preferences, making it a great experiment to test audience growth and interaction.
Why I’m Doing This
I’ve always believed that in order to stay ahead in digital marketing, you need to be willing to experiment. While my hobby account is all about home-cooked family meals and sharing recipes, it’s also a perfect sandbox for testing different strategies and content formats. I’m both the creator and the audience, which gives me a unique perspective on what works and why.
Dani the Explorer’s growth hack caught my attention because it’s data-driven and manageable. By focusing on short, engaging reels and keeping a steady flow of stories and carousel posts, I can see how my content performs without overloading myself with a complex posting schedule.
The insights I gain from this experiment will be valuable not just for my hobby account, but also for my freelance work at Wilcox Media, where I help brands grow their social media presence. Plus, it’s a fun way to keep challenging myself while staying up to date with the latest trends.
What’s Next?
As with any experiment, tracking progress is key. I’ll be sharing weekly updates on how the strategy is working, what I’m learning, and any adjustments I make along the way. My goal isn’t necessarily to hit a certain follower count but to better understand what content resonates and why. I’m excited to see how this growth hack plays out!
If you’re a marketer or content creator, I highly recommend trying out a similar experiment. There’s no better way to understand how platforms like Instagram are evolving than by getting hands-on with your own content. Whether it’s for fun or professional development, these kinds of challenges can teach you a lot about audience engagement, content creation, and, of course, the ever-elusive Instagram algorithm.
Stay tuned for more updates—and if you’re curious about how it’s going, feel free to follow along with my journey!
Final Thoughts
This experiment is not just about growth but about learning. By testing Dani the Explorer’s Instagram growth hack, I’m hoping to gain insights that will help me improve not only my hobby account but also the social media strategies I develop for clients. Plus, it’s a great excuse to get creative and try something new!
So, if you’re a fellow marketer or just someone who loves social media challenges, why not give it a go? You never know what you might learn along the way.
Feel free to follow my updates and see how this Instagram growth experiment unfolds. Let’s learn together!
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