70: 5 Underrated Instagram Growth Strategies That Boost Reach in 2025 (part 2)

Written By Elizabeth Marberry

If your Instagram growth has stalled or you’re creating content that no one’s seeing, this episode is for you. In part two of our three-part growth series, I’m breaking down five underused Instagram strategies that are working right now in 2025 — including the truth about collabs, remix reels, outbound engagement, and how to use your platforms to boost IG followers (without sounding desperate).

What You’ll Learn in This Episode:

  • [01:52] Why collaboration is still one of the fastest ways to grow your audience

  • [05:17] How to use Instagram’s collab feature properly (and what Meta recommends)

  • [09:34] How remixing reels got my studio account 14 M+ views

  • [12:41] Going live with aligned creators to build relationships and visibility

  • [15:26] Why outbound engagement still works (when you do it right)

  • [18:09] The “invisible ask” most people forget — and how to do it with heart

  • [21:20] How to boldly ask for visibility without sounding cringy

  • [22:49] Behind the scenes of my Hot Reels program and private mentorship offers

Key Takeaways:

  1. Instagram collabs aren’t just cute, they’re conversion tools. Learn how to use Instagram’s collab feature strategically and why the account with the bigger following should host.

  2. Remix reels are still one of the most powerful visibility hacks. Use them to ride existing engagement, but add your own spin.

  3. Instagram Lives still work — especially when done with aligned brands. Local businesses? This is a missed opportunity you need to explore.

  4. Outbound engagement is free visibility. Leaving thoughtful comments in your niche can attract ideal followers (and create real relationships).

  5. You’re probably forgetting the easiest CTA: ask for the follow. Your email list, Facebook audience, and other platforms can be powerful amplifiers if you remember to ask.

Links Mentioned in This Episode:

A Truth You Need to Hear:

“If you want new results, you have to take new action. And sometimes that’s as simple as commenting or remixing someone else's brilliance.”

S3 Ep70 Transcript: 5 Underrated Instagram Growth Strategies That Boost Reach in 2025 (part 2)

00:00

If your growth on Instagram has stalled or you're stuck creating content that no one's seeing, this episode is for you. Today, I'm sharing five underrated Instagram growth strategies that are working right now in 2025 to boost reach and visibility without adding more stress to your plate. Are you ready? Let's go. Welcome to Strut It.

00:28

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 lead 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. Let's dive in.

01:05

Welcome back to the show. As always, I am so thrilled that you have joined me today. My job is to demystify Instagram and make it simple, make it make sense, right? So I really appreciate you investing in yourself and your knowledge. And if you haven't already, be sure you are following the show that you've subscribed so you won't miss.

01:28

episodes. Right now you have landed on part two of our three-part mini series on Instagram growth hacks that are working right now in 2025. Last week we talked about the importance of showing up consistently, narrowing your focus, and really knowing your ideal client avatar like the back of your hand.

01:52

We also explored how to start experimenting with trial reels in your Instagram marketing strategy and how it's been a really awesome tool for myself and my clients to boost our visibility and grow our following. So if you missed that, definitely go back and catch that episode. But today we are talking about one of Instagram's most powerful and underused growth tools. And that is collaboration.

02:21

So if you have been trying to grow your audience and increase your reach and build that brand authority on Instagram, but you're not yet leveraging collaborations and Instagram's built in feature to do that, you are totally missing out. So today I'm gonna talk you through five simple ways to collaborate on Instagram that are working really effectively in 2025.

02:49

In preparing for this episode, I was really geeking out excited and teaching you more about the power of collaboration because I was recently featured as a guest on Michael Stelzner's social media marketing podcast. So that was a collaboration, right? Anytime you are working with someone else in your industry or a complementary industry, of course, it is so powerful because not only

03:18

are you able to connect with that person? It's great networking, but it's also powerful because your brand gets in front of a whole new audience. And of course, when you are a guest, you share it with your audience. So it's a win-win for everybody. It boosts the visibility of the podcast. I was so thrilled to be a guest on Michael Stelzner's podcast. He is such an OG in the social media marketing.

03:47

world and it was truly a pinch me moment and I shout out to all of my new listeners who found me through him. I'm so happy that you are here with me and just honored to be your guide. And if you guys are curious about how to land super high visibility opportunities like that, I did a whole podcast on the mindset and energetics of really how I manifest totally impossible insane dreams.

04:18

If you know me, you know I get a little woo, but it's always grounded in action and logic and intuition and all these different pieces that go into being a well-rounded human and a thought leader. And I'm all about helping you to really create the business and life that you want. So I'll tag that episode in the show notes if you want to go back and listen to it. But that collaboration with Michael Stelzner has been a huge

04:47

boost to my Instagram growth, tons of new followers, tons of new people on my email list. And it is such a powerful reminder that no matter how big your audience or brand is, using collaboration is really a shortcut to growth when you do it strategically and mindfully. So I'm super excited to break down these five ways that you can use collaboration to grow your business on Instagram.

05:17

The first way is to use the collaboration feature on Reels. And this is really powerful. So when you invite a collaborator in on a Reel, it will show on your grid, but it will also show up on their grid. So I can give you an example of how I am actually working behind the scenes on a collaboration right now.

05:41

I recently interviewed Brittany Crosson about how to leverage storytelling in your Instagram content. Now, the episode is not live yet, so make sure you're following the show so you don't miss when it drops. But Brittany and I were talking about doing a real collaboration because our brand personalities are very similar. We're both former dancers. We're both over 40. We love to be silly. And so we were talking about how we could create a reel that

06:10

told a story that had both of us in it with the goal of sharing her podcast interview with my audience. And so that's a great example of if you are doing a project with someone who is in a complimentary niche that you are in, you can do reels together. What's neat about this too is you don't even have to record it together, right? You can edit your reel where

06:39

Let's say I'm on camera the first three seconds and then it jumps over to Brittany for three seconds and back to me. You can get really creative with how you do this, but it's instant exposure for both of your brands. Now, pro tip, and I learned this actually directly from Meta. I've had three calls with Meta. Some of them have been eh, okay, but some of them have been really phenomenal. It all depends on who you get on their team, like anything else.

07:08

But I'm also in a private group that Meta curates that is for creators. Because of course, Meta wants to invest in creators because we are the ones who are keeping their business afloat, right? If no one was creating content on Instagram, they would not be able to make money. So it makes sense for them to invest in their creators and set them up for success. So I have a couple different contacts at Meta and I actually got this pro tip directly from them.

07:37

which is that when you are doing a collaboration with another account, you want the account that has the most followers to host the collaboration. An example of that would be I was interviewed on a podcast to talk about my wedding dance studio business, and it was a podcast for engaged couples, but this person only had about, I don't know, thousand followers.

08:05

And so when we did the collaboration for my dance studio brand, we have over 60,000 followers. So I said, why don't we host the collaboration and invite you in? And then again, it will show up on our feed, it will show up on their feed, but that is just a pro tip that whoever has the bigger following should be the one hosting the collab. Now, along those lines, in terms of the most successful collaborations that I have seen and I have done,

08:34

You want to collaborate with other creators who have similar following sizes to yours. So that collab that I just said where we have 60,000 followers, they had a thousand followers, and of course they created the reel, I didn't create it. It didn't do very well. So I really recommend that you find other accounts. And again, these could be people who are in your niche. Like I love to interview other people who do Instagram marketing strategy and coaching.

09:04

So you could totally do it within your own niche or complimentary niches, right? Like maybe a real estate agent is interviewing a mortgage broker or something like that. So different, you know, complimentary niches, but try to find accounts that are similar size. And, you know, if they are a little bit more, that's totally fine. But I find that it just does better. The second way to use collaboration on Instagram is to remix

09:34

popular reels. Now I have actually done a whole extensive episode on the exact strategy that I use to remix reels and remix other people's content. So we will link that in the show notes as well. I talked about that during my viral video series, but in the last six months for my dance studio account,

10:01

We got over 14 million views and thousands of new followers in the last six months simply by remixing other people's content, okay? And so if you're not leveraging remixing in your strategy, this is your sign to lean in and play with it. Now, as I mentioned in that previous episode, I went into full depth as to how to do this and the strategy behind it.

10:30

so we can link that in the show notes below. But just to give you a high level view of how this works, so the creator who posted the original content, of course, they get to decide if their content is available for remixing or not. So sometimes it is, sometimes it's not. But let's say you see a video on Instagram and this could be a meme, you know, from the office, or it could be.

10:53

someone else's actual video, like for my wedding dance coach business, I was remixing other wedding dances, right, that we didn't even choreograph, but that would be really interesting to our audience and really relevant in our niche. You click on the three dots in the lower right-hand corner of the reel and you will see an option that says remix this reel. Now, this is where you get to make it your own.

11:20

and add your own hook on the screen, add your own storytelling throughout the video. You can get really creative with it, make it fun, educational, and make it your own, right? It's not about like stealing someone else's content. It's about taking what they already created and making it even better and more relevant for your audience. Now, best practice is I like to tag the original creator in the video.

11:47

Oftentimes I will give them a shout out in the caption too, like video credit too, and then I'll tag their handle. But just so you know, when you remix someone's video, it will automatically say that in the audio section of the reel, it'll say like, this is a remix, and then it'll mention that person's account. So remixing is just a phenomenal way to essentially take a piece of content that's already doing really well, add your own spin on it, and then push it out to your audience.

12:15

Both myself and my clients have had a ton of success in remixing reels. And when you do it strategically, so it is targeted at your ideal client, it resonates with them, and then you have a clear call to action in your content, it can definitely drive those follows. So if you want a full breakdown of that strategy, again, go back and listen to that other episode. We'll link it in the show notes below.

12:41

The third way that I suggest you leverage collaboration on Instagram is going live. Have you ever done an Instagram live? Now this can work really well again when you go live with someone that complements your niche or your market or someone else in your space. All boats rise together, collaboration over competition.

13:05

you can think about, you share an audience with this person in any way? And if so, it might benefit both of you to go live, right? Because if I went live with you, it would show up for all my followers, but also it would show up for their followers. So again, it's a really great way to get your business or brand in front of other people. I've done Instagram Lives with other Instagram marketing coaches and creators that have much bigger followings than me.

13:34

And from that 30 minute live, I got over 50 new followers. So when done right, this is totally a way that you can grow your audience. Another idea for you, if you are more of a local market, like a brick and mortar, one of my clients is a Pilates studio owner in Seattle. I suggested that what if she went live with...

14:01

another local business. And again, there's a lot of context around this, but let's say she has this Pilates studio and then across the street or a block or two away is this totally incredible coffee shop. And this coffee shop also has an Instagram account and is also trying to grow a local audience, right? So a lot of factors here. It would be really cool if they did an Instagram live and talked about

14:28

the area, the neighborhood, the benefits, what they love about their community, why they started their business, and really get in front of each other's local market. They would share the people who follow these local businesses likely live in the neighborhood or live close by. And maybe they already follow the plotty studio, but they had no idea there was this coffee shop around the corner. So you get to think really creatively about how you can use lives to

14:57

grow your audience and get your brand in front of more people. And lives are such a phenomenal way of networking, right? Like customers come from conversations, customers come from relationships. So even if you don't even get a follow, you never know what will come out of that networking or personal connection you'll have with another human, right? Number four is outbound engagement. And I think this is definitely one of the most underrated growth hacks.

15:26

on Instagram and that is strategic comments. That is leaving comments on aligned creators reels and really adding to the conversation. So it's not about, you know, commenting an emoji, okay? That's not interesting. That doesn't add to the conversation.

15:50

But let's say that someone in your niche or complimentary niche posted something where they are busting a myth in the industry or they're highlighting a mistake that people often make. You can comment and say, I love this tip, I totally agree and here's what else I've noticed. So you could like add to the conversation. That can really work because what happens is their audience is

16:19

seeing the comments and if they see that you are adding to the conversation and essentially like leveraging your expertise in a similar niche, they can click on your profile, hop on over and say, oh my gosh, this person also does this. I'm gonna check out their content. So can this work? 100 % I've had it happen. I've had clients use this strategy. I would say it requires more time and effort.

16:45

And if you want to integrate this into your strategy, I would literally put it in your calendar where you're like, I'm going to commit to doing this three times a week for six months and see if it makes a difference. Okay. None of this is like a magic bullet that just you do it once and you're done. But it's really cool because oftentimes we talk about, I want more engagement on my posts, but then we don't ever engage with other people's content. And so the algorithm loves when you are also being a person that you are also being social.

17:15

on social media and it's awesome because when you do it strategically and you're commenting on someone who would share a similar audience of what you are trying to build, your ideal client, it can work really well to drive followers to your account. And when you do this consistently with, let's say you pick three to five creators in your space and you're gonna show up consistently for them in the comment section, again, always complimenting.

17:42

the creator, don't recommend going in and like spamming or if you like hate the person or totally disagree, I don't think that that's going to be productive. But if it's someone that you're like, I love what they said and I want to add to it, that can work really well. And the bonus is that you build genuine relationships with that creator too, which who knows where that can lead you. Maybe you'll get an invite onto their podcasts. mean, truly the opportunities are limitless with Instagram.

18:09

And the fifth way to drive more followers on Instagram, this tip actually has nothing to do with the built-in collab features on Instagram, but it does involve collaboration. So I wanted to include it in this episode. And that is invite people to follow you on Instagram, follow your brand on Instagram everywhere. And this seems so obvious.

18:36

But I can't tell you how many people are like, well, I want more followers. And I'm like, well, do you email your list and tell them, hey, we are working on our Instagram content. We would love for you to give us a follow over there if you want to hear more X, and Z, right? Yeah, so letting your email list know, hey, we're on Instagram. Give us a follow. Posting on Facebook.

18:58

I'm so thrilled that you were here. If you want more of X, and Z, give me a follow over on Instagram. We're working really hard to grow over there. We would appreciate your support. Or even posting on other social platforms and asking people to follow you on Instagram. I'm telling you, this seems so silly, but most people don't do it. And it's incredible how effective it can be when you just ask for what you want.

19:25

And I know for some people they get a little weird where they're like, oh, it just feels like salesy or cringy to do that. If that's you, first of all, I totally feel you. It can be uncomfortable to ask for what you want because then you have that voice in the back of your head of what are people gonna think of me? Or what if no one does? We tend to go down these rabbit holes in our brain. But what I always come back to is you are here.

19:54

on this planet to serve your ideal client, right, with your product or service. It's a disservice to them if you stay quiet about it. You are not going to get more leads and sales on Instagram if you are staying quiet. You need to stay top of mind and you need to be bold in asking for what you want. And if that's uncomfortable for you, welcome to the club. That is something that

20:23

honestly is a skill that you can develop. And it's so important in business to sharpen that skill of number one, what do I want? So if you're listening to this episode, I would guess that you wanna grow your Instagram. You need to take new actions to get new results. And for some of you that might be, oh wow, we haven't even emailed our list and told them that we're on Instagram and to give us a follow, right?

20:52

So think of that low hanging fruit, the people who already know you, they're your warm, hot prospects. Ask them to give you a follow on Instagram and tell them why. Because if you're listening to this podcast, you now know that your Instagram content, it is of service. You are helping your ideal client or target market to feel seen, heard and helped. So please be bold in how you show up.

21:20

and collaborate moving forward. And I know that if you do even just a couple of these strategies I shared today consistently for the next six months, you will absolutely grow your following. You will grow your network and you will be more successful in business. I hope you got so much value out of today's episode. If you did, I would be so grateful if you would share it with another colleague, business owner, creator who is trying

21:50

to figure out the mystery that is Instagram. And if you haven't already, please take a moment and rate and review the show. It truly, truly makes my day. read each and every review and it keeps me going. It keeps me going because I want to keep showing up for you. I want to keep delivering this super high value free content to you and to support you. I would be very grateful for that energetic exchange if you would take a moment.

22:19

to rate and review the show. If you've been listening and you're thinking, dang, I need help with Instagram, I would love to get Elizabeth's eyes and brain in on my Instagram marketing strategy. I have two different ways I can support you. One is I have my group coaching program, which is called Hot Reels. It's a 12-month Instagram content lab. The focus of that group is to learn and become masterful at creating short-form video that stops the scroll.

22:49

and really activates your ideal clients. And what I love about my Hot Reels group is it's a community of like-minded businesses and business owners who are working toward the same goal of boosting their brand visibility. They're working on showing up consistently, refining their messaging, understanding how do you capture the content, all the different aspects of how do you hook your ideal client, what calls to action should I use, all the different

23:19

aspects that go into a really compelling piece of content that is going to move the needle for your business. That is really our focus in Hot Reels. And because it's a community, it's really, really collaborative. It's very supportive. And the best part about it is this is not just an online course that you're going to buy and forget about. There is live coaching with me, two group calls every single month. I keep the group intentionally small.

23:47

So you get my eyes on your business, on your content, so you can implement as you are learning and get my feedback as you're doing so. So it's really, really powerful. One of my clients in there, she started at 2,500 followers. She's at over 58,000 followers. She's an Etsy shop owner. Another one of my clients, she is in the wedding industry. She started at about 2,000 followers. She's now approaching 15,000 followers.

24:16

So if Instagram growth and visibility is a goal for you, you definitely want to get in Hot Reels. You can send me a direct message on Instagram, H-O-T, hot, and my robot assistant will send you the link to join the wait list. You definitely want to get on the wait list for Hot Reels if it's something that you're curious about. Waitlisters get early access and some really fun bonuses when you hop in.

24:43

And you can also go to Elizabeth Marberry, M-A-R-B-E-R-R-Y.com slash hot, H-O-T, for the full program DEETS. If you're at a place in your business where you have a bigger marketing team and you're really needing that customized Instagram marketing strategy, then private mentorship is definitely for you.

25:08

If you feel like you've been posting all the content, you're doing all the right things, but you're still not getting the conversions of leads and sales, private mentorship is the perfect next step for you. Your next step is to apply for a complimentary Instagram breakthrough session with me. So you can hop on over to Instagram, make sure you're already following me there, at Elizabeth Marberry, M-A-R-B-E-R-R-Y.

25:34

DM me the keyword apply, A-P-P-L-Y. Again, my robot assistant will send you over an application. You'll fill that out so we can really maximize our time together. And if I'm the right person to support you, I may invite you into one of my private mentorship containers. Thank you again for being here. I cannot wait to see you next week for part three of our Instagram growth hacks.

25:59

We are going to go into one of my favorite visibility tools ever, and that is really how do you use Reels to grow your following. It's going to be good. You want to make sure you're here, so double check that you're following the show, and I cannot wait to strut it with you next week. Thank you for listening to Strut It. If you're ready to start leveraging Instagram to grow your business,

26:25

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. That's ElizabethMarbury.com slash freebies to get my Monetize Your IG Guide. If you got some incredible value from today's episode,

26:52

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.

Elizabeth Marberry
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69: Instagram Growth Hacks That Work in 2025 (part 1)