Growing Your Social Media Following: The Shit That Actually Works

No BS Strategies to Build a Real Following Using Solo Effort, AI, and Systems

Look, I’ve spent years figuring out social media growth through trial and error. I’m not going to feed you the same generic advice about “post consistently” and “know your audience” that every article regurgitates.

Instead, let’s talk about what really moves the needle, based on my own failures and successes – and how to leverage AI and systems to make it all less painful.

The Hard Truth About Growing Solo

When I first started trying to grow my social media, I made every mistake in the book. I posted randomly. I copied what successful people were doing. I obsessed over hashtags and posting times.

And you know what happened? Crickets. Fucking crickets.

Here’s the reality: growing your social media on your own is a grind. It’s testing and failing and adjusting and failing better. But there are some things that genuinely work:

Document, don’t create. The biggest shift happened when I stopped trying to come up with “content” and just started documenting what I was actually doing and learning. People connect with real journeys, not polished perfection.

One banger beats ten mediocre posts. I used to think volume mattered most. It doesn’t. One post that makes people stop scrolling will do more for your growth than weeks of forgettable content.

Conversation beats broadcasting. The posts that blew up weren’t the ones where I tried to sound smart – they were the ones where I asked a genuine question or shared a struggle that sparked actual conversations.

Niches are real, but not how you think. The “riches in niches” advice is partially true, but it’s not about picking some tiny topic. It’s about having a distinct perspective on a meaningful problem. Be the person who thinks differently about something people care about.

Using AI to Accelerate (Without Sounding Like a Robot)

About a year into my journey, I started experimenting with AI. Not to replace my voice, but to amplify it and get past common roadblocks.

Getting Past Creator’s Block

The worst part of creating social content is staring at a blank screen thinking “what the hell should I post today?” Here’s how AI can help:

Based on my recent work/learning in [topic], help me identify 5 insights or observations that would make compelling social media posts. For each insight, suggest:
1. The core idea in one sentence
2. Why this might be counterintuitive or surprising
3. A personal example I could reference
4. A question I could ask to start a conversation

Focus on ideas that challenge conventional thinking or share practical realizations.

Finding Your Patterns of Success

One of the best AI uses is analyzing what’s already working:

I'll share my top 3 performing social media posts below. Help me analyze what made them successful and identify patterns I should continue:

[POST 1]
[POST 2]
[POST 3]

For each post, identify:
- The emotional hook that likely grabbed attention
- The structure/format that worked well
- The type of value provided (educational, inspirational, etc.)
- What made it shareworthy

Then suggest 3 new post ideas that follow similar patterns but cover new topics.

Turning Work You’re Already Doing Into Content

The best content comes from what you’re actually doing, not from trying to “create content”:

I've been working on [project/learning/challenge]. Help me transform this into social media content by:

1. Identifying the most interesting aspects of this work
2. Suggesting 3-5 different angles to share about it
3. Outlining how to structure these as compelling posts
4. Identifying any before/after elements I could highlight

I want this to feel authentic and valuable, not like I'm just trying to create content.

Scaling With Systems: The MakerFlow Approach

Once I discovered MakerFlow, things started clicking in a whole new way. Instead of random tactics, I had frameworks that produced consistent results.

Social Media Skyscraping: Standing On Giants’ Shoulders

The game-changer was learning to analyze what was already working in my niche and then making it distinctly mine.

Here’s how I use MakerFlow’s Social Media Skyscraping system:

  1. Find content that’s already resonating in your niche (high engagement, lots of shares)
  2. Decode why it works – is it the hook, the structure, the insight, the visual?
  3. Identify improvement opportunities – what’s missing? What perspective isn’t represented?
  4. Create your elevated version – same topic, but with your unique take and improved execution

For example, I found a popular post about morning routines that had tons of engagement but was super generic. I created my version that challenged the whole “5am club” mentality and shared my actual messy morning process. It got 3x the engagement because it felt real.

Document Your Journey: Content That Creates Itself

The Document Your Journey framework completely changed my approach. Instead of trying to sound like an expert, I started sharing my actual process:

  1. The Raw Process – showing the messy middle of what I’m working on
  2. The Insight Excavation – sharing realizations as they happen
  3. The Reality Check – being honest about what’s working and what isn’t
  4. The Pivot Documentation – showing how I adjust when things don’t work

This approach builds trust like nothing else. People relate to struggles and small wins more than grand success stories.

One of my highest performing posts ever was literally just screenshots of my failed attempts at something, followed by what finally worked. It wasn’t polished, but people ate it up because it was real.

Joy-First Content Creation: Sustainable Growth

The biggest problem with most social strategies is they’re fucking exhausting. You burn out trying to keep up with an artificial schedule.

MakerFlow’s Joy-First approach flips this on its head:

  1. Start with what energizes you about your topic
  2. Create content around those energy sources
  3. Use AI to help with the parts that drain you
  4. Build systems that match your natural creative rhythms

I used to force myself to create Instagram carousels because “that’s what works,” even though I hated making them. Now I focus on the formats I enjoy, and my engagement is actually higher because my enthusiasm comes through.

The Integrated Approach That Actually Works

Here’s what I’ve found works best – a combination of all three approaches:

  1. Use your solo efforts to discover what topics and formats naturally energize you
  2. Use AI to overcome blocks, analyze patterns, and amplify your natural voice
  3. Use MakerFlow frameworks to build sustainable systems that grow over time

My actual process now looks like this:

  1. I use the Document Your Journey framework to capture insights from my daily work
  2. I use AI to help expand those insights into potential social posts
  3. I apply Social Media Skyscraping to make sure the format will actually grab attention
  4. I post consistently because I’m sharing what I’m actually doing, not manufacturing content

This integrated approach has helped me grow my following 4x in the past year without burning out.

What Not to Do (Lessons From My Failures)

Let me save you some pain with lessons from my biggest social media failures:

Don’t chase trends unless they align with your message. I once spent weeks trying to jump on a TikTok trend that got views but zero followers because it attracted the wrong audience.

Don’t post just to post. I had a “post daily” rule that led to some truly forgettable content. Quality and relevance beats frequency every time.

Don’t copy superficial elements. I tried copying the format of a successful creator without understanding the underlying psychology of why it worked. The results were embarrassing.

Don’t get algorithm-obsessed. I went down rabbit holes trying to “hack” platform algorithms instead of just creating valuable content. What a waste of time.

Taking Action: Where to Start Tomorrow

If you’re looking to grow your social following starting tomorrow, here’s my actual advice:

  1. Document something you’re genuinely working on right now. Share a challenge, what you’re learning, or a small win.
  2. Use this AI prompt to generate some perspective:
Help me develop a unique take on [topic I'm working on]:
1. What perspective do most people have about this?
2. Where might conventional wisdom be wrong?
3. What have I personally observed that differs from the common view?
4. How could I frame this as an interesting insight rather than just an opinion?
  1. Apply the Social Media Skyscraping technique to a successful post in your niche – analyze why it works, then create your elevated version.
  2. Set up a simple capturing system so you can document insights when they happen rather than trying to manufacture them later.
  3. Start with just two posts a week that you can consistently deliver with quality.

The followers will come when you share content that’s authentically you, genuinely helpful, and thoughtfully crafted. And if you stick with it, the compounding results will surprise you.

It’s not about gaming the system. It’s about showing up as yourself and adding value consistently. Everything else is just noise.