1 Million followers in 2026 | My EXACT Instagram Strategy - 867

January 12, 2026·33 min·2 clips

"The hook is everything" is the rule Brock repeats before recommending five-to-eight-word hooks.

1. Build Your Tribe episode 867 focuses on Brock Johnson's plan to reach 1 million Instagram followers in 2026. 2. Brock Johnson is the host, and he speaks as a social media creator who says he wants to grow on Instagram, YouTube, and his podcast audience. 3. The episode asks what strategies still matter on Instagram in 2026 after the "TikTokification of social media" reduced follower count's importance. 4. Brock says followers still matter because followers are more likely to become customers, fans, or "super fans." 5. He says his first major strategy is to focus on feed posts, especially share worthy content, DM automation posts, and carousels. 6. For share worthy content, he says the post must be simple, easy to understand, and understandable without a caption. 7. He uses the Michael Jordan crying meme and a reel with "seven likes" as examples of how specificity changes relatability. 8. Brock says the hook is "everything," recommends five-to-eight-word hooks, and suggests a fifth-grade reading level. 9. He says authenticity comes from reducing the time between idea and execution, and relatability comes from specificity. 10. He says entertaining educational content matters more than education alone, and he suggests testing whether a stranger would understand the post. 11. Brock's second strategy is DM automation, which he calls the best way to make sales on Instagram. 12. He lists four weekly promotion targets: his personal email list, his business email list, his $7 two-week trial, and his podcast or YouTube channel. 13. He says those promotional posts can perform well because comments can lead to more views and more comments. 14. Brock says his third strategy is posting five times per day, based on 2025 data showing 20,000 followers in the first half and 65,000 in the second half. 15. He compares those results with higher posting volume and says the tradeoff was "56% more posts for 220% more followers." 16. He says he will use systems, upcycling, batching, scheduling, and repeatable formats to keep up with that pace. 17. The tone is direct, tactical, and sales-oriented, with frequent side comments about tools like Metricool, Shopify, HelloFresh, Brevo, and Rella. 18. The format mixes solo teaching with sponsor reads, quick personal examples, and repeated calls to action for comments and subscriptions. 19. People trying to grow on Instagram with practical posting systems. 20. Listeners wanting deep storytelling or low-volume social media advice.

As heard by us

A focused Instagram growth plan for 2026, centered on carousels and five trial reels a day.

This episode treats Instagram growth in 2026 as a set of habits that can actually be repeated, not a vague creative mood. Carousels get the strongest push here, with the case made that they beat reels in many 2025 categories, including engagement, engagement rate, and reach to…

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Why you'd press play

You want a sharper Instagram plan for 2026, not vague creator advice.

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