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Getting with the times and growing a following on IG… how??
Posted by on September 6, 2025 at 2:55 pmI feel like I need to grow a large following on IG and I don't know how to. I have read through a ton of posts on here, but I don't feel like theyre super applicable to me because I am not trying to monetize off the account itself, I just want more people to see my work and be interested in my business itself.
I silversmith as a passion/hobby, I also have a full time "regular" job, and I would love to grow my little business into something more profitable. I am super passionate about what I do and the quality of the pieces I make. My husband and I hike around and find stones, he then cuts and polishes/facets the stones and I design and silversmith pieces to showcase the stones (though, sometimes I make pieces without stones, too). The only stones we buy are Australian opals since we can't find those ourselves. I say all of this so you know my general background, and can hopefully help.
So, my issues are:
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My content is all original content, I can't just look at trends and copy those. I post photos of what I'm working on and finished pieces, reels of the same, and sometimes educational content about stones/silversmithing.
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I don't know how to market myself. I do follow a lot of accounts of very talented smiths, and their content is great! They always seem to have the best descriptions on their videos and it seems really personal, but when I try to type something out, I feel… weird. Like, I don't want to hype myself up because that feels, idk, selfish? Full of myself? I don't know how to get past the feeling.
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I don't know how to market my work. I am very proud of what I create and the work I put into it. I hand piece everything with my saw instead of buying pre-made charms and caps. I put hours of work into planning pieces out, then hours more into piecing and soldering, polishing and setting. Plus, I'm super proud of the stones we use. I know they are ethically sourced because we are the ones that pulled them from the earth. My work is an extension of me. Which makes it hard for me to hype it up, too, because see number 2. Also, I don't know how to say all of this less long-winded.
I'm a maker, not a marketer, but in this day and age, you have to be both.
Please advise. Thank you
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1 Reply
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Senior advertising and branding major here!
You’ve put many hours and hard labor into your pieces and you are right to be proud of it. The fact that this is your passion is something that gives your audience to latch onto. When someone sees another person extremely passionate and knowledgeable on a subject that energy is felt and it feels like it’s coming from an authentic place, no matter what the subject is! It could be about freaking stamps or dinosaurs. So don’t be afraid to hype yourself up. People are drawn to confidence!!
And you’d be surprised with the trends you could be participating in! All it takes is spicing it up and making it about your work. Starting in March of this year I have been able to grow an Instagram account from 0 to over 17k followers which is focused around my fitness humor hobby. I have another throwaway account I use to spot trends outside of my niche and give it my own fitness humor twist.
In your case for example you could show your pieces in stages and prompt your audience to follow and like to see the final piece(really popular). Or fun engaging ones like “This stone equals your birth month..” or before and after transformations. Like you pulling it from the earth, then a transition to the final product. Or “A day in the life of a silversmith” or quick tutorials.
And you’re doing a good job with following similar creators and liking similar content. Seeing what they do gives lots of insight and lets the INSTAGRAM algorithm know who to show your work to. ALSO, consistency is key! The algorithm rewards consistent posting. I know in your case it would be difficult to show final pieces you’re proud of showing every day so make some fun ones in between and get creative. Show “IN PROGRESS” videos as well. That creates anticipation in the viewer and people love seeing the process, the “how”.
Use fun captions highlighting how it felt to make the piece and ask questions to engage like “What should I name this piece?”, “Which stones should I try to find next?”, “Where do I go to find the best stones?”.
Start adding your own signature to your content. Like a specific hashtag (e.g. #madebyetc)
I hope this helps in anyway!
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As Nikita Bier said, and I think this applies to all platforms:
“If you want to get rich on [platform], it isn’t going to be through creator revenue or meme coins.
Instead, think about one subject matter that you know more about than anyone else in the world. It can be anything: plumbing, menswear, Indian food, furniture, social apps, whatever.
Post one unexpected insight you picked from your experience in that area. Keep it under 5 sentences. Do this every day for 6 months.
If you stick to it, we will promote your account to others.”
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It’s hard! I get it. I’m a children’s book author and illustrator, and I rarely talk about my own books because I’m the same way. Your work sounds amazing! I do think the before and after reels would be really cool to see.
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Hey , you should try checking out our tool Virlo… we built it for people exactly like you.
Happy to answer any questions you might have (I’m the ceo/cofounder)
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