How to grow to 100,000 followers on any platform

How to go from 0 to 100k followers on any platform

I’ve been subscribed to Matt Gray’s newsletter, FounderOS, for a while. He teaches unique systems for growth - it’s really awesome!

In one of his latest editions, he shared this YouTube video he released where he discusses how to grow on any social media platform.

Now there are a lot of these videos on YouTube. But Matt has proved it. On multiple platforms!

So here’s what I learned:

There are three key phases to growth, so let’s go through them.

Phase 1: 0 - 1,000 followers 🌱

This is probably where most of you are right now. And everyone starts here.

I remember being here with Instagram, YouTube, LinkedIn, and am still here on Twitter. It sucks sometimes. It’s one of the hardest phases if you have no experience. But also one of the most interesting.

One of the biggest mistakes people make is trying to grow on every platform at once.

Focus on one platform.

Ideally one that’s fast to start creating - one that has a low barrier to entry. So not video platforms (unless you have lots of filming and editing experience and all the equipment).

His (and my) recommendation would be LinkedIn or X.

They both use written text - so you get to practice writing copy straight away, and with fast feedback cycles. And this copywriting skill can be taken to any platform.

The next step in this phase is to pick one topic.

You want to pick a topic true to you, but also narrow enough that you can dominate. Think about using an ikigai to figure out what to write about.

Make sure you love this topic. You will be spending a lot of time on it. And passion is palpable - your audience can feel if you really care.

The final step here is to figure out what good content actually is - specifically for your topic and on your platform.

You don’t know what you don’t know. So look to bigger creators in your niche to see the structures and formats they use.

Model your posts off of leading creators in your industry’s top posts.

Another important part of figuring out what works is to show up for yourself. Find your posting cadence. Excellence is a daily habit.

Getting 1,000 followers can often be a headache. But once you get there, it’s an awesome feeling, and from here, your rate of growth can skyrocket.

Phase 2: 1,000 - 10,000 followers 📈

Once you cross 1,000 followers, you can start increasing your speed of growth with the following tactics:

1 - Develop content templates

The goal here is to refine topics into templates.

You want to be more confident of a post’s outcome.

Formats themselves affect this. So learn what formats work for your chosen platform - e.g., Carousels work great for LinkedIn, and Reels work well for Instagram.

So work to understand and take advantage of your platform’s nuances.

2 - Learn the three principles to create universally great content

1. Scroll-stopping hooks: Short-quick promises that leave you wanting more. Most of your success comes from your hook.

2. Value-packed posts

3. Engagement from other creators

Once you master these on your platform, you can take them to any platform and accelerate your growth from there.

3 - Optimize your profile

You want to make sure you are converting eyeballs that land on your page.

At the beginning aim for anything over 5%.

Each platform has its own tips for this, Matt goes into them a bit more - but I would say look at the top creators on your platform and look at what they’re doing on their profiles.

You need to make a great first impression to convert people into followers.

4 - Make your social media actually social

Your goal should be to develop a community of creators on a similar journey to you.

Find creators of similar sizes, or slightly ahead and start engaging with them - comment on their posts and dm them.

From here you want to share off-platform conversations with them. Think about creating a WhatsApp group to share tips and encourage each other’s growth.

Phase 3: 10,000 - 100,000 followers 🚀

This part of growth is super interesting. Because everything I’ve written above, people will look at your account for - inspiration, example of excellence, etc.

This is where you should start to monetize your audience.

This will help you generate cash flow to invest back into your business - ads to grow a newsletter, hiring a team to crank out more content sustainably, or designers to beautify your profile and branding.

Make sure to hire people, you will begin to burn out if you don’t.

Making a lot of content is tiring, you need help if you want to make it sustainable.

Good luck with growing! Looking forward to seeing you across my feeds!

Videos or articles to help your startup go from Zero to One 📽️

• The simple way to get your first 100 fans (link)

• Memorable advice given to founders (link)

• How to build an online community (link)

• 18 key learning about building a team (link)

Founder Opportunities 🛎️

• 45 angels (all Notion current or ex-team members) are looking to invest in interesting opportunities (link)

• Trenton Hughes is looking to connect cool projects and founders with investors (link)

• Google for Startups, Africa Accelerator: A 10-week-equity-free accelerator program for Seed to Series A startups based in Africa or developing Africa-centered solutions. The program runs from Jun-Sep. The deadline to apply is 20 May (link)

• Techstars Future of Finance Accelerator: Program for exceptional entrepreneurs across all areas of fintech with a specific focus on digital assets and sustainability. The program runs from Sep-Dec. The deadline to apply is 22 May (link)

Tools of the week 🔨

• Attention: Win more deals with real-time AI for Sales.

• Circleback: The smartest AI notetaking app with integrations into your current workflows.

• Fly AI: ChatGPT in your menubar.

• Megaphone: Grow your LinkedIn and X accounts faster.

• Front: Improve customer support with the familiarity of email.

Cool startup jobs I found this week 🕵️

• Stripe is hiring a Global Food Experience Manager

• Zipline is hiring a UX Research Intern

• ClickUp is hiring a Senior Product Analyst

• Flexport is hiring a Global Operations Associate