From 0 to 100k Followers in Less Than a Year: How The Speech Sisters used Instagram to Build a Thriving Online Business
We are excited to introduce you to Brooke Dwyer and Bridget Hillsberg, licensed speech-language pathologists and the sister-duo behind Speech Sisters, a resource for parents seeking speech therapy and communication support for their children.
Brooke and Bridget are old friends and have been a huge inspiration as we have grown All You Need Method. After years of working with clients in person, they brought their expertise online and it didn’t take long for them to grow a following. By the time they launched their first digital course, Time To Talk, they had 4k Instagram followers, and a few months later, when they were invited to share their expert tips on Good Morning America, they had already grown to 25k followers. From there they quickly scaled to 100k followers and now after only a year and a half of building their brand, they have over 300k followers. Below they are sharing their top 5 tips for achieving this amazing growth in such a short amount of time.
We love their success story, but it did not happen overnight or haphazardly. It took focus, strategic thinking, and pure dedication to providing value to their audience every. single. day. Brooke and Bridget are incredible examples of two entrepreneurial women who saw the opportunity in the market and went for it. Who really understood the pain points of their core customers. And in March 2020, when all in person speech and language sessions came to a halt due to the pandemic, they were well ahead of the game.
Give these leading ladies a follow, check out their online courses Talk on Track and Time to Talk, and learn from their tips below to grow your own audience.
Consistency is key: “It is easier said than done, but posting regularly is the most effective way to grow your Instagram followers. It does not happen overnight, it takes time, but showing up with engaging content that services your followers will pay off. In the last year and a half since launching the Speech Sisters Instagram account, we have posted a story every day so that they never run out.”
Show The Real You: “When we first started our Speech Sisters Instagram account, we took a behind the scenes role and did not put ourselves on camera. One of our mentors gave us sound advice that was spot on: People want to know the person behind the business or the brand. We had to step WAY outside of our comfort zones, put ourselves out there, and let our personalities come through. Showing up on camera has been one of the most impactful decisions for our Instagram growth. If you are just starting out, or if you have been doing this for a while, push yourself to show more of you. You have an exciting opportunity to build genuine relationships with your customers this way.”
Find Your Niche: “As licensed speech therapists, we have a very specific area of expertise that has helped us cut through the noise and stand out from other online course creators. When we decided to bring our speech therapy services online, we were the first in our category and we really leveraged this. Regardless what type of business you’re building, find your niche and area of expertise that only you can share with the world.”
Collaborations are Key: “Collaborations have been critical to our growth, especially in the early stages. Given we had such a specific niche, we were able to grow to about 4k followers organically in the first few months, but what really ended up moving the needle was collaborating with other accounts and experts. We grew from 4k followers to over 25k followers in just four months from reaching out to other like-minded experts and mompreneurs. We did a lot of Instagram takeovers, giveaways, and cross-promoting content.”
Engagement Over Likes: “We know firsthand how overwhelming it can be to try to keep up with the latest Instagram algorithm, but it is worth it to dig a little deeper to try to understand how the platform works so you can leverage the benefits. Instagram currently “rewards” accounts with high engagement, not just likes. This means that Instagram is more likely to show your content to a wider audience if you are engaging more with your followers. Make sure to take the time to follow back the accounts that follow you, or reply to comments on your post. The more genuine you are, the more likely you will be building an engaged and loyal following - and that is priceless as a small business.”
For more insights, enjoy watching this short clip from our interview with Brooke and Bridget:
