Meet the Man Who Solved the Instagram Algorithm (Brock Johnson interview)

The video begins with the host introducing Brock Johnson, a social media expert with a considerable Instagram following. The host expresses excitement about the upcoming discussion on content creation and its impact on business growth, emphasizing the potential value for viewers struggling with ineffective content strategies.

Brock Johnson introduces himself as an entrepreneur more than a content creator and shares his journey towards becoming a social media coach. He emphasizes his role in educating business owners and content creators about growing their social media presence, particularly on Instagram. He highlights his full-time dedication to understanding algorithms and helping others grow their accounts.

Brock recounts his entrepreneurial journey that began in college, where he created a course to teach parents about Snapchat for income. His initial success transitioned into teaching Snapchat marketing before pivoting to Instagram as the platform gained popularity. Despite challenges, such as NCAA regulations, he successfully transitioned his business from Snapchat to Instagram, focusing initially on Instagram stories.

Brock continues discussing the importance of Instagram stories for businesses, highlighting their role in building trust and generating sales, rather than growth. He elaborates on how stories can reflect personal interests that might not align with one's niche, helping create authentic connections that facilitate business opportunities through direct messages.

The conversation shifts to specific strategies for leveraging Instagram stories for business, like sharing personal snippets to engage followers. Brock emphasizes direct message automation as a tool for capturing leads through strategic interactions prompted in stories, making use of platforms like ManyChat to streamline DM engagements for business growth.

The host shifts focus to a broader Instagram content strategy. Brock outlines different strategies for growth, engagement, and sales, noting that goals determine the approach. For growth, frequent posting is essential, while sales strategies require quality content. He suggests businesses use DM automation in feed posts to foster leads directly from engagement.

Brock addresses the pitfalls of buying followers, based on the host's experience with such tactics. He explains how inorganic strategies affect engagement rates and authentic growth. Brock outlines conditions that might necessitate starting a new account, focusing on authentic and consistent engagement to drive true follower growth.

A comparison is drawn regarding how inorganic followers impacted Brock's TikTok experience negatively. He discusses the importance of ensuring niche-related content in the feed to avoid attracting disinterested followers, which can hurt engagement and lead generation. He shares insights on generating authentic engagement consistent with strategic business goals.

Brock explains the value of share-worthy content, citing Instagram's algorithm preference for shares as a way to bypass typical feed limitations. He identifies categories of share-worthy content like motivational posts, relatable content, and controversial opinions, which naturally increase organic reach beyond standard algorithmic distribution.

The discussion touches on Alex Hormozi's insights regarding maintaining niche consistency over alternative content that might drive views but not business value. Brock shares his five categories of share-worthy content that thrive on relatability, controversy, calls to action, and timely culture references, creating content that resonates and spreads organically.