I get a lot of questions about Instagram logistics. How do I grow my account? How do I increase my engagement? How do I stay organized? To be honest – I’m no expert. In fact, it’s so easy to toss my hands up and say, “Instagram sucks and so does their algorithm!” But instead of throwing myself a PPP – private pity party, (which I’m very good at) I’ve decided to take action. I’m doing some major research, my friends. Let me start by saying, if you aren’t getting the engagement you want… you need to change something. You can’t continue shooting from the same angles, writing the same captions, using the same hashtags. Stop blaming Instagram. Make a change. With that being said, I’ve decided to start a new blog series called: The Em Files. In which I let you in on all the little social media secrets that I’ve uncovered. This week’s topic – Share Groups.
What is a Share Group?
– A group of accounts in a similar niche (for me, it’s Home Decor) that promote each other by sharing one another’s photos to their feeds partnered with a sincere caption. Disclaimer: Before I start getting hate mail about how this a ploy or a gimmick, let me state that I would never share anyone who I do not truly love and appreciate. (But you guys already know this!)
Here is an example of when I shared the lovely Nina from
The idea is pretty simple. There is a master list that rotates. For example:
Emily
Jack
Jill
John
The first week of the share group, everyone shares the person directly below their name. Emily would share Jack. Jack would share Jill. Jill would share John. John would share Emily. The second week, everyone shares the person two down from their name. This continues each week until you get back to your own name. At this point everyone has been shared by everyone and the share group is over. You say thanks, pat each other on the back, and part ways with three new friends under your belt. Is this making sense?
Pro Tip: There’s no limit to the amount of accounts in a share group.. but if there are 14 people that means 14 weeks and sometimes that can get tiresome. I think 8 is a good number!
What Does “Share” Mean?
You can share in two different ways but make sure that this is well defined when the group first begins. This will help avoid any confusion. Usually the person who organized the group will tell you their preference. You can either share to your FEED or your STORIES.
If this week I am sharing Jack to my feed, I am going to pick one of my favorite pictures from his account and repost it to my feed. I’ll also make sure to tag Jack and talk about why I like him in my caption. For example: I dig Jack because he fell down, broke his crown, and still decorates like a boss.
A couple weeks ago I shared Jena from to my stories for #followfriday. Not only did I talk about all the reasons why I love her to death, but I also screenshotted several pictures from her feed and uploaded them. This way, my followers had a sense of what Jena’s style was and could follow her if they liked it. (And why wouldn’t they? She’s the bomb!) Are you still with me?
How Do I Join One?
Well the sad news is, you really can’t just join one half way through. There is a rotating list that ensures that everyone in the group gets shared by everyone. Adding someone in once the sharing has already started, would mess up the list. My best advice to you? Start your own share group! Don’t just wait for someone to reach out to you. Message accounts that you admire, love, and want to introduce your followers to. Ask them if they’d be willing to take part in a share group to help get organic exposure. I suggest doing this in separate DMs to avoid any added pressure. Once you receive your YES’s, create a group message and the fun begins!
Pro Tip: The number of followers don’t matter. 100,000 followers or 100 followers.. everyone has something to offer to the share group. It’s not about your size, it’s about how connected you are to your followers.
Feel free to comment below with any questions that you may have. I’m always up for a good chat!
69 Comments
Share groups are so important! Love how you broke it all down. And also love you big time. ??
I was going to ask you if it was okay that I used you as an example.. and then I was like “nah, it’s better to surprise her!” ?
Thanks for all of this info. Em! I think this will help us all !
Ahh glad to hear it Christina! Thanks for always being such a support. ❤️
Such great information!! You made it so simple for people to go out and do this on their own. Thanks for the tips. ☺️
That’s what I’m hoping for Meg!! Thanks for the great feedback. ❤️
You are so sincere, and so kind. Thank you so much for doing this series!
Anything I can do to help Mary Jo! You are the sweetest. ?
Nicely written and Love the: example: I dig Jack because he fell down, broke his crown, and still decorates like a boss….. That cracked me up. Thanks Em. Very useful notes.
Bahaha I was hoping someone would like that Jack reference! I’m glad it was you Vidhya. ?
Thanks for the tips!! Super helpful!! I just got asked to join in and had no idea how it worked. Now I do and it sounds like an awesome idea!!
You should totally do it Tara! I think it’s a great way to be exposed to new followers ❤️
Great information Emily! I love share groups they are great way to share people you love while getting some love for yourself as well, win/win!
Exactly! I guess I don’t really explain that you’re going to get love in return ?
Not only did I learn something new, I laughed out loud!! Your writing is great. Your true personality really shines through and I LOVE that! I am so excited for this new series and the name, again made me laugh!! It’s great that you want us all to grow. That is really amazing of you. Thank you Emily!
I read this out loud to Brian on the car ride to dinner. Making you laugh with my writing is my number one goal! ??
Love this series! Thanks for sharing. I’ll definitely be utilizing your tips.
So glad to hear it Jesse! And can’t wait to write more for you! ?
Thanks for writing this and being so kind with your knowledge. I needed this as I havee been at a stand still lately.
I know how frustrating that can be Naomi! Hopefully this series helps you ❤️
This is seriously THE BEST advice I have ever come across for genuine and organic IG growth. It’s such a simple idea and a great way to build community as well as help grow each other’s accounts. Thank you Emily for sharing your ideas and wisdom!!
I’m so happy to hear this Jude and happy to pass along the info that I’ve learned along the way! ❤️
Thank you my sweet & super brilliant Emily! From your loyal fan since day one. ?
Thank you sweet Cathy for being there since day one. ❤️
Love love love! Thank you Em for sharing and breaking it down for us xo ?
Of course Ash!! I was so surprised how many people actually don’t know about them! They’re such a helpful tool.
I love this idea. I’m only a month into my home Instagram account & I think connecting with others and supporting others in this manner would be so beneficial.
(You explained it perfectly and I have to note I was one of your peeps that you were still pointing at in your Instagram stories, ha!)
Love what you do!
Brittany, I’m so glad it was helpful and that you stayed all the way until the very last point! ?☝? Building friendships is the best part of IG.. wishing you all the luck as you grow!!
This is great insight! Thanks for the tip!
Happy to help Diana!
Love it! Great idea! We love the idea of th Em files. Also Jack sounds like a pretty bad a** dude ? You are so awesome! Keep at it lady friend!
Bahaha yeah Jack is pretty rad! ? And thank you for your support ladies!
Loved the honesty in this post Emily!! Your giving me courage to reach out to those on ig that I admire, even if I might not be a large account. I always thought share groups were like the cool kids and you had to be invited! Great idea to just start your own group.
Yes girl! Numbers mean nothing. Sometimes small accounts can get you more exposure than a large one. It’s all about your connection to your followers and how loyal they are to you.
Thanks for sharing this information Emily! Love your posts but your Insta stories are sensational ???
Aww Bettina.. you’re so sweet girl! Thanks for being part of my tribe ❤️
Great post, Em! Love that you are sharing these things. They shouldn’t be taboo. Helping each other succeed is the best 🙂 xo
Agreed! I don’t think it’s info that everyone should know about to help grow their account!
Fantastic Emily!! I am still learning and really starting to figure out the process. Thanks for keeping it simple to understand and making us realize you just gotta roll with it.
Go with the flow girl! ❤️
Thanks for sharing! I’m hoping to use share groups to help grow my etsy shop! Thanks again girl…. you rock!
Yes Kelsey! I love that idea. Yay for small shops. ❤️
What a great article about questions I didn’t even know I had! Thanks for the detailed explanation- and you’re wonderful!
Aw glad to help Katilyn! Hope you can take these tips into the land of IG and use them to your benefit. ❤️
This is great information! I’m so new, I haven’t even posted my first pic of my changed account? One question I have is, do I need a public account? Probably a silly question, huh?
It needs to be public for others to find you organically! Not a silly question at all.
I love this Em, great break down, this is something I really need to do!! Xx
You should totally do it Jess!
This is awesome, thank you! Love watching your stories ?
Aw Denisse you are so sweet ?
Thanks so much for this information! Looking forward to more EM files. You rock!
Of course Chrissie!! Glad to help.
I love share groups I’ve done severa of them and they are a great way to meet to friends and spread the love! Great tips 🙂
new friends *** ?
I totally agree Bree! They’re a great way to meet new people ❤️
Loved reading this and your account in general! Thanks for sharing. I hadn’t heard of “share groups” specifically, but as a business account, I’m not sure how that would work, as I’m sure my small (but LOVELY) base may be like – why are you sharing someone else’s account that has nothing to do with your pillows? Maybe in stories is more appropriate but obviously less effective.
I would love to also hear your thoughts on the elusive Instagram “pods” – follow, like, comment. I’m fairly new to Instagram and was very briefly pulled into one without really fully knowing what it was. Quite frankly, I was wanting out the moment I got in. I gave it two weeks, but I was miserable. I like to believe I am a very authentic person, and basically being forced to comment on pictures that truly I didn’t find interesting at all, was sucking the life out of me. There were just too many rules, and it was all a little to “mean girls” for me. “RESPOND TO MY POST WITHIN 5 HOURS OR BE BANISHED FOREVER”. Also – it did little to nothing as far as gaining more exposure for me personally (probably because I was spending all damn day commenting on everyone else’s posts that I didn’t even have time for MINE). Plus, all it was doing was bringing all of their stuff to the top of my feed. All in all – it just seemed extremely disingenuous. I was hating myself for the ridiculous, fake comments I was posting, and when I saw one come in from one of my fellow podders, I cringed. Needless to say, it was very liberating when I peaced out of there.
I’m still VERY VERY new and have just under a thousand followers, which is pretty much nothing, but my engagement with those followers is great, and while it would be lovely to get more followers, I’m now less focused on the number of followers itself. Quality over quantity I say. Right now, I’m personally finding slow but steady growth making genuine connections with people who have mutual interests and where it makes sense for both of us to promote each other, which I think is really what you were getting at with this post (or I completely missed the point, which is entirely possible).
Honestly, learning about pods and all these other “tricks” has slightly ruined Instagram for me. It’s like when my friend worked for Judge Judy and told me the show pays their settlements. CRUSHED MY SOUL. I used to enjoy Instagram much more before I knew all this stuff – now I just find myself trying to figure out which accounts are genuine or not, which is slightly exhausting. Sometimes, ignorance truly is bliss.
I understand there will inevitably be some “you scratch my back, and I’ll scratch yours” to grow my account, which I’m honestly fine with. I love helping people out that are genuinely interested in doing the same for me, and I’ve met some great people over the past several months. Sometimes its just just hard to sift through the BS and remain true to yourself at the same time, but I’m doing my best to navigate it. I’ve now told myself – if it at all feels “icky”, I’m just not going there.
Wow that was entirely too long. Forgive me. I just has my first PSL of the year and am apparently real amped up on social media engagement!
Hi Nicole, I’ll be doing a post on comment pods as well so stay tuned! As far as these tricks.. I’d look at them more as tools.
Although I’m not a fan of comment pods I do believe that networking with others and using the tools at your disposal to help you grow are vital. The things you are doing are still organic and authentic – you aren’t buying followers, using bots, or doing the f/uf method.. those are things that ruin it for everyone else!
It’s true! Love my share group. It’s been a big part of my growth. I love getting to know this community. I think decor peeps are some of the most wonderful and supportive on IG!
Same share groups are the best! And don’t forget that you can be in multiple ones at the same time! ?
Love your idea of the ‘Em Files’ and can’t wait to read them all. Thank you for doing this for free and to heck with everyone who doesn’t agree with it. Your fellow IG’ers who are your peeps will continue to follow you and remember… the haters are going to hate! ?
Thank you for your love and support Kassie!!
Awesome information, Emily! I’m so sorry I didn’t see it before I harassed you on DM ?☺️ For real, though….thanks for the help ❤️
Oh!! I’m going to start a share group. I’ve been part of a smaller one and it was helpful. Thanks for the info, Emily!!
Yes start one!! Get it girl!
Question? What is the etiquette for simply just sharing a photo from someone else’s account that you really like? Do I DM the person first and ask them if its okay that I post their kitchen err living room, or do I simply post it but @ them so they are aware?
When I’m not participating in share groups but still want to share someone inspiring on my feed, I just post it. I don’t ask permission but make sure that I tag them and give them the necessary credit!
Also do you use hashtag generator apps? And if you do which ones have you liked the best?
I don’t use any hashtag generator apps. I just find accounts that I love and copy the ones that they are using.
Thank you for the tips. I just think my posts are boring lol.. it’s okay. I’m just a decor fan who is an empty nester with time on her hands. ? There are so many farmhouse decor bloggers! I’m not that kind of decorator. Although, I love some of their stories for sure! I love your decor.. a bit of your own style and not so chippy! This is why you are successful. That… and your witty stories! ??