How This Creator Grew to 100k on Instagram

Inspired by a post from TikTok creator @omgitsrileyr.

Sometimes growth on social media can feel nearly impossible. If you’ve been showing up consistently — posting on Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, or Substack — and still aren’t seeing the kind of traction you hoped for, it can start to wear on you in a quiet way. You begin to wonder if you’re missing something, or if everyone else has figured out a version of the game that you somehow haven’t.

But this is often how it works.

It can take a long time to crack the code, and then, almost without warning, something begins to shift. What once felt difficult starts to feel more natural. What once seemed impossible starts to gain momentum. There are stretches where growth feels expansive and fast, followed by periods where it slows to a near halt. Both are part of the process.

Still, we are always paying attention — looking for patterns, for signals, for small shifts in behavior that might make the path a little clearer, a little easier to navigate.

Recently, we came across a creator on TikTok (@omgitsrileyr) who shared her experience growing from 15,000 to nearly 100,000 followers on Instagram in just a few months. We wanted to share some of her insights here, in the hope that something within them might resonate with you, or offer a new way of thinking about your own approach to growth on Instagram.

She Made a Decision

One of the first things she did was surprisingly simple: she decided.

She wrote down, clearly and intentionally, that she was going to reach 100,000 followers. For her, growth stopped being something abstract — something that might happen if she was lucky — and became something she was actively moving toward. It shifted her from a passive participant into someone engaged in a process of figuring it out.

She Increased Her Volume Significantly

She began posting three to five trial reels per day, sometimes more. Trial reels, in particular, became a key lever. Because they are shown primarily to non-followers, they offer an opportunity to reach new audiences without relying on your existing base.

In the beginning, she repurposed content that had already proven itself — downloading her high-performing TikToks and re-uploading them as trial reels on Instagram.

Over time, this created a kind of testing system. Some videos would perform modestly, while others would break through in a much bigger way.

She Understood That Growth Comes in Spikes

What she observed is that there might be weeks where very little seems to happen, followed by a single video that reaches a million views and brings in thousands of new followers in a matter of days.

These moments of acceleration are what move the needle.

Rather than expecting every post to perform, she focused on creating enough opportunities for something to catch. One or two standout videos per month were often enough to drive meaningful growth.

It wasn’t about perfection. It was about increasing the likelihood of a breakthrough.

She Treated the Cover as Part of the Content

Another detail she emphasized was something many people overlook: the cover image.

When someone is scrolling, they are making split-second decisions about what to click into. The cover is often the first—and sometimes only—chance to capture attention.

A vague title like “morning routine” may blend into everything else.

But something more specific, more contextual—“5:30 AM morning routine as a girl in tech”—creates a reason to pause, to become curious, to click.

In this way, the cover is not just an aesthetic choice. It is an extension of the idea itself.

She Expanded Beyond Reels

For a period of time, she was posting only reels. Eventually, she noticed a kind of fatigue — both in herself and, potentially, in how her content was being received.

So she began incorporating carousels and static posts, even if only one to three per month.

What’s interesting is that these posts were often created through repurposing. She would take screenshots from her reels, layer text over them, and turn them into carousel posts.

This allowed her to diversify her content without needing to start from scratch each time. And in doing so, she began to see an increase in follower growth beyond what reels alone were producing.

She Made Her Content About the Viewer

Perhaps the most direct insight she shared was this: People are not primarily coming to your page because they are deeply invested in you.

They are coming because they are looking for insight, relatability, inspiration, and for a sense of themselves reflected back to them.

With that in mind, she approached her content differently.

Her carousels, in particular, were not personal photo dumps or updates for the sake of sharing. Each one was designed to offer something:

• A lesson

• A strategy

• A perspective

• A takeaway

Something the viewer could leave with. In the early stages of growth, this shift from self-focused content to audience-focused content can make a significant difference.

Want Support While You Figure This Out?

If you’re in a season where you’re testing, posting, wondering what’s working and what isn’t — you don’t have to do it on your own.

Inside PBA, we work through this with you.

We answer your questions, give direct feedback on your content, and help you refine your ideas so you can move forward with more clarity and confidence. You’ll have access to monthly calls, where we break things down in real time, along with an ongoing support chat where you can share what you’re working on as you go.

You can join with a free trial today.