Building a loyal community sometimes requires immersing yourself in the network of potential customers on social media. Ali Osterholz has reached tens of thousands of artists and grown her business through her vibrant Instagram page, where she shares her passion for the arts and nature.
Ali sells collections of naturally hand-dyed yarns and fibers, known for their unique colorways and limited drops that sell out every month. His company, Explorer Knits + Fibers, brings together knitters and nature lovers by donating part of the profits to the association National Park Foundation.
Ali shares her five tips for building a loyal Instagram account with content people want to engage with.
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5 Ways to Build a Loyal Community on Instagram
1. Only share content you are truly passionate about
When she first started her Instagram page, Ali thought she had to create content that other people would love, but she quickly discovered that wasn’t always the case. “Once I stopped thinking about everyone and started thinking about what I wanted to create, people came,” Ali says. If you feel a personal connection with the content you create on Instagram, it will be that much easier for new customers to fall in love with your brand.
“People found [our page] because of my enthusiasm for national parks, nature and what I love most: knitting,” explains Ali. As she leaned into her passions and began sharing her true love for art and the great outdoors, she attracted more and more followers to her page.
![a range of color-matched Explorer knits and fibers, each accompanied by white packaging with the brand's mountain logo.](https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0070/7032/files/0430F63F-B014-4878-AA65-184B503DDCE8.jpg?v=1705552133)
2. Infuse storytelling into your art
“There has to be a reason or meaning behind everything I post or create for our clients, so [my business] it’s worth investing in,” says Ali. When a social media user can know how much thought went into each post, they will be more likely to want to follow and potentially make a purchase.
Ali spends months thinking about content before publishing it. “I want them to feel like they’re living my experience with me when I share my message and my caption,” she says. Instead of focusing on quantity, Ali suggests taking a more methodical approach and creating a narrative with everything you share, whether it’s a story, post, or Instagram Reel.
3. Do the opposite of what’s trendy
“We never relied on hashtags or creating Reels every day. We talk about what we’re passionate about when we’re ready. It’s always been like this,” Ali says.
Sometimes following trends will make it harder to stand out and gain new followers. Ali listens to her creative intuition rather than following stereotypical advice like posting regularly and not overwhelming her followers with too much content. If she’s looking forward to an upcoming drop, she’ll post as many times as she deems necessary to get the word out to her community.
“My first thing is not to force and not to be afraid to experiment,” Ali says. When it comes to trends on Instagram, Ali recommends using only those that you think will serve your brand and attract the right type of user.
4. Take breaks to avoid burnout
“I really try hard to take a break and do what feels right, and people always follow me,” Ali says. Never be afraid to take a break from your posts. It will negatively affect your page if you share content that you or your followers are not passionate about, just for the sake of posting it.
“Everyone can tell when a business owner is tired on social media,” Ali says. Having no content for a while is much better than sharing lazy, half-thought-out posts. Pause to plan content that tells the customer a story.
![sweaters explore knits + fibers hanging on a clothes rack.](https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0070/7032/files/IMG_7390.jpg?v=1705552932)
5. Listen to your gut first, then the numbers
Finally, you want to be sure that the content you create isn’t solely based on digital data. “Follow your gut and follow your intuition before looking at numbers or data,” Ali says.
It can be helpful to take a look back to evaluate content performance, but don’t get too carried away with data that prevents you from creating original content you’ve never tested before.
In order to grow a loyal community on Instagram, you need to be passionate about the content you create and infuse storytelling into every post you share. Remember, people also want to see that you’re invested and enthusiastic, so don’t be afraid to infuse your personality into your social media.
Log in in full Shopify Masters episode to learn all about Ali’s customer acquisition strategies and how she created this successful sharing model.