48. The Instagram Growth Hack No One’s Talking About for 2025 (Part 2)
If your Instagram engagement feels stagnant, it’s time to flip the script.
I’m diving into a strategy that’s as simple as it is transformative: outbound engagement. This overlooked approach is about taking the initiative to connect with others, strengthen relationships, and create lasting impressions that convert viewers into loyal followers.
I’ll show you how a few thoughtful comments can turn casual connections into clients and why being intentional in your interactions is essential to thriving on Instagram in 2025. Plus, I’m giving you actionable tips to seamlessly weave this into your week without turning it into another overwhelming to-do.
What You’ll Learn in This Episode:
[00:00] Welcome to Part Two: Why outbound engagement is the game-changer your Instagram strategy needs.
[01:42] Client Success Story: How viral content with optimized profiles leads to follower growth.
[04:01] What Is Outbound Engagement?: A step-by-step breakdown of how this works.
[06:23] Psychology of Engagement: Why thoughtful interactions build trust and loyalty.
[07:44] How the Algorithm Rewards Engagement: Make Instagram work for you.
[10:56] Simple Ways to Start: Practical ideas to implement outbound engagement into your routine.
[14:13] How to Leave Thoughtful Comments: The exact structure to follow for authentic, impactful interactions.
Key Takeaways
Engagement Builds Trust: Meaningful interactions are the foundation of the know-like-trust factor.
The Algorithm Loves Engagement: Active accounts that prioritize relationships get rewarded with visibility.
Give to Receive: Supporting others on Instagram creates a ripple effect for your own brand visibility.
Social media isn’t about posting and waiting; it’s about being social.
Take the time to engage, and watch how connections turn into conversions.
Links Mentioned in This Episode:
S3 Ep48 Transcript: The Instagram Growth Hack No One’s Talking About for 2025 (Part 2)
00:00
Welcome to part two of our Instagram marketing trends for 2025 series. Today we're talking about a strategy that doesn't get nearly enough attention. So if you've been feeling like your posts aren't getting the traction they deserve, this episode is for you. It's all about starting conversations, building connections and making your audience feel seen and valued all by being intentional with your comments and interactions. I cannot wait to get into this with you.
00:29
Let's go.
00:33
Welcome to Strut It, a podcast about creating bold visibility on social media with zero apologies. I'm Elizabeth Marberry, your host and Instagram marketing coach. I help small business owners get seen on Instagram and monetize their offers so they can make more money doing their sole-led work. If you're tired of spinning your wheels on Instagram and you're seeking simple, proven Instagram marketing strategies that actually work, you're in the right place.
01:02
Let's dive in.
01:12
Welcome back to the show. I'm Elizabeth Marberry. So thrilled that you have joined me here today for part two of our Instagram marketing trends for 2025 series. Last week, we talked all about creative bravery and getting out of your content box so you can really reach more of your soulmate clients. If you missed it, go back and listen to it. And today I'm super excited to talk about a strategy that I've actually been wanting to talk about on the podcast for some time.
01:42
and that is outbound engagement. Before we kick it off, I wanna share a client win. So one of my Hot Reels 12 month Instagram content lab clients recently had a video go viral at over 333,000 views. In fact, she's had multiple videos go viral and the coolest part about this is not only is it just super fun to of course have a video go viral,
02:10
But the cooler thing is it's drawn in hundreds of new followers into her account. And what's really neat about this is when your Instagram profile is optimized, that's how this will work. So if you've ever had a video go viral, and even like it can be viral for you, like maybe that would be 10,000 views would be just insane, but you didn't get any followers from it, there is a reason. That means there is a broken part of your pipeline.
02:38
There is something that is off-kilter because when you are being strategic about the content you're posting and your Instagram profile is totally optimized to act like a magnet to attract your ideal client or customer, you should be converting some of those viewers into followers. So if you're kind of like, wait, shoot, what am I doing wrong? This is your sign to book a complimentary Instagram breakthrough call with me in this call.
03:05
This is your sign to book a complimentary Instagram breakthrough session with me. I have a couple spots left this month. They've been very popular. And in order for you to get that, you do need to apply. So go to elizabethmarberry.com slash application or just DM me the word apply, a-p-p-l-y on Instagram and I'll send you over an application. That way I can learn more about your business. Really make sure that I am the right person to support you.
03:31
We'll hop on a quick call. I'll learn about your business, which is totally my favorite thing, what your big visions are and kind of where you're getting stuck. And then if I know I can support you, I may invite you into one of my containers. So make sure you grab an application and I cannot wait to connect with you and just help you to figure out the disconnect in your content strategy for 2025. All right, so let's get into this trend of outbound engagement. So let's break it down.
04:01
What is that? What do I mean? So outbound engagement is basically you taking the initiative to comment, like, and interact with other people's content. Instead of just waiting for people to engage with your posts, you're starting the conversation. Now, why is this so powerful? Because Instagram's algorithm rewards meaningful interactions. So the more you engage with your audience and other creators,
04:29
the more visibility your account gets. And according to the Hootsuite Social Trends 2025 report, which is one of the reports I read in researching this four-part mini-series, which by the way, we'll be sure to link in the show notes, it shares that brands that consistently engage with their audience, especially in the comments, see higher trust, loyalty, and visibility. And this is because people
04:58
don't just wanna follow brands. They don't just wanna be sold products and services. They want to feel connected to the brand, to the company. That's why I mentioned last week that so many companies, even these big or bigger companies and CEOs are starting to really understand how social media works. They're starting to build personal brands and all of that because people want to connect with other people. Social media.
05:25
Ultimately, the goal of it is to be social. And it's easy to forget that when we go to use it to market our business. A lot of times we make that mistake of, we're thinking very old school, like, oh, I'm gonna print this advertisement for this magazine and that Canva graphic is gonna be an Instagram post. And my friend that may have worked five plus years ago, but that does not work anymore on Instagram. So let's dig into the psychology behind the strategy of outbound.
05:54
engagement and how that would work on Instagram. So why it works so well is number one, it builds relationships. People remember brands that take the time to comment or respond to their questions. It feels personal and it builds trust. As we know in marketing, I'm sure you've heard it so many times, it's all about the know, like and trust factor. The brands that we know, like and trust
06:23
are the ones that we purchase from. Think about the last time that you purchased a pair of tennis shoes or yoga pants or something that you really care about. You probably have some sort of connection to that brand or that brand has built trust in your mind's eye, right? The second reason why outbound engagement works on Instagram is it boosts visibility.
06:49
So engaging with other posts increases your chances of showing up in the explore tab or in suggested accounts, which is really cool. So when you are thoughtfully commenting on other people's posts, of course those followers could see your comment and if you're doing it with a very clear outbound engagement strategy, it could actually work to grow your.
07:17
following. This is something I've been playing with in the last year and it really really does work. The third reason why outbound engagement works on Instagram is it's algorithm friendly. So Instagram prioritizes accounts that interact meaningfully with others. So the more you engage the more Instagram pushes your content out to new audiences. Instagram makes money by people being on the app, by people consuming the app.
07:44
interacting with the app, and that is why engagement is a critical part of your content strategy when it comes to marketing your brand on Instagram. If you wanna have the algorithm in your favor, that is how the algorithm works, is engagement. It really prioritizes that, and that's why a lot of our content strategy is, of course, driving engagement to your page, right? Like getting likes and comments on the content you're creating. But...
08:14
When's the last time that you invested some time and energy into looking at others in your niche or your field or even your followers and liking their posts or leaving a thoughtful comment? So I also kind of want to get a little woo woo here. Sometimes when we are blocked, like if you're like, I'm getting no engagement, we have to give to receive. Okay, so this is almost like a universal energetic principle too of if this has been an issue for you.
08:42
maybe you're not being social enough on social media. So guess what? Good news, you get to be a person, you get to go and support other people and it will absolutely help boost your brand's visibility as well. As I mentioned earlier, I've been playing with this strategy and I'm kind of blown away by how well it works. There's been several different people who are.
09:05
I don't wanna call them competitors. I always think of my people who do what I do or similar to what I do as collaborators because I have a mindset of abundance. There is more than enough business owners that need help with Instagram marketing. There's more than enough for all of us. So that is always my energy that I bring into these situations. But I will go into some of my quote unquote competitors posts and I will leave a comment, a really thoughtful comment.
09:34
And I'm gonna actually teach you in this episode exactly how to leave thoughtful comments because one of my private clients once left a comment and I don't know what she said, but the creator ended up blocking her. So I want to make sure that you're really clear on how to do this so it doesn't feel like spammy or manipulative in any way. But anyways, I went in and I commented on these posts in this very thoughtful way and.
10:01
not only was my comment liked like over 50 times, but I noticed that some of those people started following me. And the reason is they're already following my competitor. Clearly they're into Instagram marketing and Instagram marketing tips. I provided some value in my comments. They're like, oh, who is this Elizabeth Marberry chick? They pop over to my feed, they see that I also do that. And of course I have a totally different way of doing it. So if they vibe with me, they like how I deliver the content and teach the content.
10:29
they're gonna give me a follow. So it's pretty awesome how well this strategy works. So I wanna give you some ideas of how you can start to use outbound engagement for your business in 2025. And just pick one of these ideas and just start to play with it. I don't want this to become a massive part of your brain space or a huge time suck for you. It should just be a very small amount of time and effort, but...
10:56
I want you to get a lot of bang for your buck in terms of doing this. And at the minimum, I'd love for you to just test and experiment. As business owners and entrepreneurs, we must always have that mindset of testing, experimenting. Whatever you decide to do, I encourage you to do it at least for a few months before you decide, oh, this is just a waste of my time. A lot of us give up on things way too quickly because we're so impatient, we're high achieving, we expect results yesterday. I'm literally preaching to myself right now.
11:24
I'm really trying to slow down and set more realistic expectations for myself, but that has been a struggle for me. I'm sure for many of you, you can relate. So give yourself a big time window to test this out. There's no urgency. It's not like someone is dying. Everything's fine. Just make this very simple and easy and weave this into your week in the most simple way possible for yourself. So a couple ideas of how you would do this. Number one, start with your followers.
11:54
So maybe you decide to spend 10 minutes a day commenting on the posts of people who already follow you. What's really cool about this is it strengthens your connections with your community and it keeps you top of mind. So what happens is if I, let's say you follow me and I go to your account and I like your stuff and maybe I comment on it, what's gonna happen is that person of course is gonna see that I commented, they might reply to my comment.
12:22
But that tells the algorithm, okay, Elizabeth commented on Joey's post. Joey responded to Elizabeth's comment. These two people are connected, they wanna see each other's content. So the next time Joey gets on Instagram, he's probably gonna see my post. So it's really cool because it's a way of all boats rise together. I help Joey with his engagement and then in turn it boosts my brand visibility. The second idea is engage with
12:52
creators and business owners in your niche or in complimentary niches. So let's say I'm a real estate agent and I have a lending officer that I'm really connected with that has like a bangin' Instagram profile, or maybe I am a Pilates studio owner and there's a coffee shop next door that both of our clients like go to. That would make a lot of sense.
13:18
for us to be engaging on each other's posts. So you kind of have to think creatively about you, about your niche, your business, but look for creators or small businesses in your niche and then leave thoughtful comments on their posts. Now, what is a thoughtful comment? Here's a very simple structure that I have for you. Number one, always start by complimenting the creator. This is not the time to comment and be like, actually you're wrong.
13:47
this is what I would teach my people. That's gonna get you blocked, okay? I don't recommend doing that. What I recommend doing is obviously only interact if it's genuine, okay? Like I'm not telling you just like make stuff up. But when I do this, like I'll see a piece of content that a collaborator competitor makes. And I'm like, oh my God, I love how she taught that. That is so brilliant how she taught that. I never thought of positioning it that way. And I'll say something like.
14:13
hey, I love how you said this, that is such a great way of thinking about it. And sometimes I'll even say like, I love to share this with my clients, like to let the creator know like, thank you, like you are educating me too, as a person who's also in your niche. So I start with some sort of a compliment, genuine compliment, and then I add to the conversation. And I might say like, another tip that I found is helpful, and then I'll drop like a value bomb in the comments that.
14:41
is a part of that post. And then that's when the people are reading it and they're like, holy cow, Elizabeth totally knows what she's talking about. I like her or I like her opinion on this. I'll definitely share my opinions. I'll definitely share my take on things. And again, if it's aligned for that follower, if they're my ideal follower, they may give me that follow. So that's kind of how I want you to think about in terms of leaving thoughtful comments. Another way to play with this engagement strategy
15:11
is to use comments as content inspiration. So sometimes I will read the comments of others in my niche to see like, what are the questions? What are people struggling with? And then I will use that to go and create a reel to address that pain point. Or look for funny comments that people make on your posts. I actually have had some fun with this in the past where I had some haters comment, and then I replied to their comment and made a video about it.
15:40
Those are really fun, but it's a really fun way to show your audience that you're listening to them while also creating content that feels really authentic. So you can understand the theme of this episode is like building connections with people. That is, you know, I don't wanna say it's an Instagram marketing trend, that's always been true, but it's only becoming more true in 2025. So I cannot wait to see you go and implement this simple yet effective way of
16:09
boosting your brand visibility. If outbound engagement feels like one more thing to add to your already packed plate, don't worry, I've got you, I can absolutely help you to streamline your whole content strategy and engagement strategy so it really fits into your energetic flow, your life. I was telling my clients yesterday in our Hot Rails group coaching call, none of you are full-time content creators and that's okay. You're running businesses, you have children, you have partners, you have aging parents to take care of.
16:39
My God, none of us are doing this full time. So my job as a mentor and coach is to really shortcut the learning curve for you so you can have fun with your marketing, so you can have clarity, confidence, and more conversion. So your content can work for you and drive leads and sales in your sleep. If you wanna grab one of those complimentary Instagram breakthrough sessions, don't forget to apply.
17:05
go to elizabethmarberry.com slash application or DM me the word apply. That's it for part two of our Instagram marketing trends for 2025 series. If you found this helpful, please share it with a business bestie or colleague or rate and review the show. That really helps us with the podcast algorithm gods. It helps more than you know. Whenever I see a new review come through, I seriously do the happy dance. So you can picture me in my kitchen doing the happy dance.
17:34
I so appreciate you following the show, subscribing to the show. Make sure you've done that, like triple check, because next week I'm dropping part three of this four part mini series, and we're diving into how AI is transforming content creation and why it's a tool every entrepreneur should have in their back pocket. Until then, keep struttin' your stuff on Instagram, and I can't wait to see you back here next week. Thank you for listening to Strutted.
18:04
If you're ready to start leveraging Instagram to grow your business, then you're gonna wanna grab my free Monetize Your IG Guide, where you'll learn seven simple and proven ways to finally make money on Instagram. You can grab your guide at elizabethmarberry.com slash freebies to get my monetize your IG guide. If you got some incredible value from today's episode, be sure to leave a review and subscribe on your favorite podcast platform. And I cannot wait to start it with you again next week.