@jimruitang

What they said

1. Disclaimer first: this is only if you want the maximum number of followers, "not about money, not about fulfillment. Probably not going to get either."
2. Step 1: Be the underdog, whoever you are. It applies equally to Alex Hormozi doing a $100M book launch (he says "Ramosi") or someone flipping burgers at McDonald's.
   • Example 1: @tiny_ghosts "Day one of just f-ing doing something. My name is Kat and I do nothing. I work a dead end job. I live in a shitty apartment." 14.6M views. Quest: document "just doing something" daily for 30 days.
   • Example 2: @chida.rajan, two college students: "Nine weeks ago me and my boy bought two and a half acres of land for $37,000... how did two broke college students finance this project?" 6.8M views. Quest: building short-term-rental luxury cabins.
3. Step 2: Credibility. People confuse credibility with impressiveness; they are different. Elon Musk is credible if you want to go to Mars, but not credible for "working a regular job"; the most credible person to talk about a regular job is the one who literally works the most regular job.
   • Example 3: @hubs.life_ (regular 9-5, 730 videos in 730 days until he left it). "Take a paid 30 minute lunch break with me at work" video: 62.7M views.
4. Step 3: Go on a quest. His original video: "I'm going to document my journey of learning AI and demystifying it. Tomorrow I'm starting day one. Follow along to learn AI with me." Definition: a journey where you do not know where it ends; invite the viewer to go with you, get invested, create an open loop in their head "so they have no choice but to hit that follow button". Series name: "Making AI Make Sense".
5. Step 4: Followers and profit(?): you probably will not make much money from followers alone, and you will likely feel "somewhat fake" because you now know it is a technique. Just his experience.
6. Caption adds: he was an ex-Google software engineer "ashamed to admit I felt behind on AI"; 2M views, +70K followers.

Try this

• Creators who want followers: Use three ingredients. Be the underdog, be credible for your specific topic, and go on a visible quest with no known ending so viewers follow to see how it turns out.
• Credibility is not impressiveness: The most credible person to talk about a regular job is someone who actually has one. Pick a topic where your real situation is the proof.
• Founders: Start a documented series with a day count and a target, such as "building X from zero, day 1" or "30 days of real numbers", and post it daily so the open loop stays open.
• Product brands: Show a build or making-of series that ends in a finished product or shipped order.
• Agencies and freelancers: A documented "zero to first retainer" quest on your own account can be a lead source.
• Set expectations: The creator says this gets followers, not necessarily revenue or fulfilment. Add a conversion path such as a DM keyword or email list.

Links

• Handles cited: @tiny_ghosts, @chida.rajan, @hubs.life_ (examples). No tool or product link.
• Instagram Insights screenshot as proof.
• Concept names: underdog framing, credibility vs impressiveness, quest / open loop / invitation.