No fake followers. No Instagram ads. I like my followers like I like my food: organic!

Hello there and welcome! My name is Amanda and I’m the creator of Belly Dance Network. With 54,000 followers on Instagram and counting, I’ve often been asked how I grew such a large following for something as niche as bellydance. Well read on, because I’m about to dish 5 ways I went from being invisible online to being seen around the world!

Here’s the rundown:

1. Consistency: Keep your followers coming back by posting regularly. When I started this Instagram page in 2017, I had ZERO followers and no clue how to proceed. A friend of mine (who admitted to being addicted to Instagram) told me I needed to post not just once a day, but three times a day. That seemed excessive, but what did I know? Turns out, they were right. By 2020, I had grown to 54,000 followers.

2. Collaborations and Cross-Promotion: If you head to my Instagram page, you’ll notice that it might be difficult to locate which dancer is actually me. That is intentional! I started a network on purpose. This page has never been about me. I wanted to share other dancers’ content and events on my page, just because I loved it. And who knew that was the key to growing on social media? Not me!

3. Beautiful Content: People use Instagram to look at beautiful things. That is what my friend said to me in 2017. Not only did I start sharing three posts per day, but I handpicked each and every piece of content myself. I also color-coded my days. I would share all purple content one day and all yellow content the next to keep my page bright. Engage your audience with genuine, captivating content—photos, videos, and behind-the-scenes peeks into the belly dance world.

4. Community Engagement: Do not ignore other dancers on Instagram! This one is huge. I was regularly commenting on posts, sharing content, and joining in livestreams – and I continue to do so. Since I’m located in Portland, OR, I would also attend live events regularly – festivals, shows, workshops, classes, you name it. I would put on my Belly Dance Network t-shirt or leggings and get out there! I’m introverted by nature, so I was not overtly advertising myself. But I would show up. And isn’t that what matters most?

5. Time: When I started my business, I had no following and no idea how social media would affect everything.  Unlike some others, this page did not have an overnight deluge of followers.  The growth was surprisingly steady over 3 years.  Even today, we have to remind ourselves that there is no rush.  The important thing is that there is growth of some kind – however slow.  Our Facebook page (which is no longer around) never surpassed a couple of hundred followers, so we doubled down on Instagram.  Experiment and see what platform works best for your content.

Bottom line: Back in 2017, I did NOT know what I was doing. I was actually rarely ever on Instagram (I’m a slow adopter by nature). We learn as we go. Progress not perfection! While it’s not always easy, the payoff of building a genuine community far outweighs the allure of gimmicks to grow your page.

Best of luck on your social media journey!

Amanda