Social media is a double-edged sword for creative business owners. On one hand, it’s a phenomenal tool that can connect you to potential clients and even new friends. But on the other hand, it can feel like running on a treadmill of constantly needing to do more to reach some unattainable goal.

Yeah, I’m not interested in that shit.

My name is Ariel, and I’m a social media strategist for female entrepreneurs and creative small business owners. My goal is to make social media feel approachable, useful, and fun again. No quick-fixes or get-rich-quick schemes—just real, strategic advice for organic, sustainable growth. This blog doesn’t just teach you how to grow your social media following, but how to create content that connects you to the right people (Aka, the people who will encourage you, inspire you, and actually PAY you).

Your Follower Count Isn’t as Important as You Think It Is

If you are a creative business owner, you need to stop letting your follower count dictate your understanding of success. Because if your goal is to grow your business and generate income (which I’m willing to bet it is), your follower count isn’t a meaningful metric… like, at all. What actually matters is whether the people who follow you 1) care about your content and 2) take action. A small audience that trusts you, pays attention, and buys from you will always be more valuable than a large audience that scrolls past without engaging.

I get it, though. Your follower count is there, and it’s so easy to feel validated (or invalidated) by that number. But that number doesn’t reflect talent, demand, alignment, or conversion. So if you want to understand how your audience is receiving your content, pay attention to the saves, shares, and external link taps your profile receives. Those metrics show if people are taking action.

Growth Content Versus Nurture Content (And Why You Need Both)

Maybe you just want to learn how to grow your social media following. I’ll teach you that. But because I love you and want you to make money, I’m also going to teach you how to nurture your audience so your followers turn into clients.

Growth Content

Growth content helps you gain followers. It focuses on reach and visibility, leaning into trends, relatability, and broad ideas that appeal to most people. It gets eyes on your account by landing in front of non-followers (often by using trending audio! More on that in this blog). So, if you’re an influencer who just needs people to view your content, then congrats! You’re all set.

But for most creative business owners, gaining followers isn’t enough. You need them to care. Which is exactly where nurture content comes in.

Nurture Content

Nurture content is designed to attract a specific audience (aka, your ideal clients). It’s all about relevance and connection, speaking directly to the type of person you want to work with. You share about their questions, hesitations, and decision-making process. But nurture content is also about you. The seemingly “unrelated” content about your hobbies, interests, and lifestyle helps your audience connect to you as a human, not just a business owner. It doesn’t appeal to everyone, but it resonates deeply with the people who are most likely to inquire.

Growing your business requires both types of content. Growth content gets more eyes on your account, and nurture content builds relationships with the people you want to work with. Think of this as a funnel. With growth content, you’re speaking to a cold audience. Nurture content warms them up. And then at the bottom of the funnel, conversion content speaks to the hot audience and closes the sale!

How to Grow Your Social Media Following Strategically

Growing your following takes more than just posting content, though. I like to think of Instagram strategy as a salad. The growth and nurture content is the lettuce; it makes up the bulk of your strategy. But if you want a salad that actually tastes good and doesn’t make you feel like a furless rabbit, you need some carrots, tomatoes, croutons, and dressing, which means engaging with your followers, posting on your stories, and answering the questions your audience is asking!

Posting consistently keeps you recognizable, and engaging through comments, DMs, and replies builds familiarity and trust. Adding to your stories gives followers a chance to get to know you in a low-pressure environment and keeps your brand top of mind.

But the most effective content will be based on what your audience is already asking. When your content reflects the real questions, worries, and experiences of the people you want to work with, it helps your ideal clients feel seen, understood, and confident about reaching out.

Content Strategy for Creative Business Owners

Hate to break it to you, babe, but there’s no quick fix for growing your social media following—at least, not if you want an audience that cares about what you share and, I dunno, actually wants to work with you. That’s the difference between gaining followers and growing your business.

Growing the right audience takes time and repetition. Most of the inquiries you get from social media will be from people who have been watching quietly for months (or even years!) before reaching out. That’s why staying clear and consistent matters more than watching a follower count go up.

But if you’re like most of my clients, staying “clear and consistent” sounds much easier than it is. I get it! That’s why I’ve developed the Content Strategy Intensive, a personalized road map for business owners who don’t just want to know what to post, but why. With this package, you’ll receive a breakdown of your target audience and content strategy and pillar development, so you can create clear, consistent content based on expert research and analysis.

Does this sound like something you could use? Fill out the form on my contact page to get started!