What if the secret to growing on Instagram wasn't to treat it like a blank-slate experiment, but to bring skills you'd already built somewhere else?
That's what happened to someone at Buffer. After nearly a decade on Instagram and months of focused effort on Threads—growing from 366 to 824 followers with a December 15 deadline—they stumbled onto unexpected success by simply sharing videos they'd already made for LinkedIn. One of those videos hit 110,000 views and pushed their follower count from around 1,200 to 2,319 in just a few weeks.
The story raises a useful question for anyone building a presence across multiple platforms: should you approach each network as a fresh start, or is there hidden value in bringing your existing strengths with you?
What Actually Happened
The breakthrough came from something almost accidental. The creator had been making videos for LinkedIn—including one about finding remote jobs—and decided to cross-post to Instagram and TikTok during the export process.
TikTok helped them cross the 1,000-follower threshold, a nice boost. But Instagram is where things really took off. One video reached 110,000 views, and the follower growth followed.
This happened after months of intentional effort on Threads, where the goal had been to grow from 366 to 1,000 followers by December 15, 2025. That experiment resulted in 824 followers—close, but not quite there. More importantly, it taught them something: approaching a platform where you don't yet have strong intuition makes it hard to know what you're testing.
On Threads, posts that travel tend to be reactive and short. The creator found themselves constantly translating their thinking into a format they hadn't built skills for yet. Every post became a real-time experiment in figuring out what worked.
Instagram was different. Despite personal hesitation about mixing creator content with a feed full of friends and family, the platform felt more familiar.
Why This Worked
The creator puts it simply: they already knew Instagram. Ten years as a regular user gave them intuition about what good reels look like, how to spot trending sounds, and what makes a photo dump feel natural. They weren't starting from scratch—they were finally applying something they'd been sitting on.
This contrasts sharply with the Threads experience. Testing a platform works best when you already have enough intuition to design a real experiment. On Instagram, that foundation was already there. On Threads, every post was a test of hypotheses they couldn't properly form yet.
There's also a practical element: cross-posting saved significant time. Instead of creating separate content for each platform, the same video was shared where audiences already existed. The effort concentrated on one piece of content that traveled.
Why This Matters
The instinct to start fresh on a new platform makes sense on the surface. Every network has its own culture, formats, and unwritten rules. Treating it like a blank canvas feels like respecting its uniqueness.
But that approach has costs. It ignores skills you've already developed. It multiplies the content you need to produce. And it means you're always learning basics instead of pushing into more interesting questions.
The real shift this story suggests is about trust. Not trust in external rules or growth formulas—but trust in the intuition you've built by showing up somewhere for years. On Instagram, the creator already understood the language. They just hadn't used it to say anything yet.
When to Pivot: A Quick Checklist
Not every stalled platform deserves abandonment. Here's a simple way to think about whether to push forward or shift energy:
| Consider Pivoting When | Keep Pushing When |
|---|---|
| You're still learning basic format rules while trying to grow | You understand the platform's rhythms and what's working |
| Growth requires constant translation of your core ideas | Your natural voice and format feel at home there |
| Results are勉强 (barely moving) despite consistent effort | Early signals suggest the content can travel |
| Energy flags every time you open the app | You feel curious and energized by the work |
| You discover another platform where existing content resonates | Your experiment has clear learnings still to test |
The creator still has a Threads profile and is still posting there. But when Instagram started working, the energy followed. Sometimes the right move isn't about discipline—it's about paying attention to where momentum actually shows up.
For anyone managing presence across platforms, the question worth sitting with isn't just "Where should I post?" but "Where am I already fluent?"
Key takeaways
- Cross-posting content across platforms can unlock growth without extra production time
- Platform intuition matters more than rules—approaching a familiar network differently often beats starting fresh elsewhere
- Testing growth strategies works best when you already understand the platform, not while you're still learning its basics
- Energy and results are valid signals: when something starts working somewhere, lean into it
Frequently asked questions
How did cross-posting help grow Instagram followers?
A video originally made for LinkedIn reached 110,000 views on Instagram after being shared there as well. This pushed follower count from around 1,200 to over 2,300 within weeks.
Why did Threads growth feel harder than Instagram?
On Threads, the creator was still building basic intuition while trying to grow. Every post was a real-time experiment. On Instagram, ten years as a regular user had already built the instinct needed to recognize what could work.
Does this mean creators should abandon platforms where growth is slow?
Not necessarily. The creator still maintains a Threads profile. The lesson is about matching effort to intuition—if energy and results point somewhere else, it may be worth pivoting rather than forcing progress on a resistant channel.
What's the practical value of platform intuition in content strategy?
Intuition allows you to form real hypotheses and test them effectively. Without it, you're guessing what "works" while simultaneously trying to build the foundation needed to interpret results.
How long did the Instagram growth take?
The viral video happened within weeks, with follower count jumping from roughly 1,200 to 2,319 in that period. The creator had been on Instagram for about ten years before this breakthrough.