A 30-day Instagram video pilot increased one interior designer’s average post views from about 200 to 210,100 and added 1,300 new followers. Here is the system behind the numbers.
Shannon Ggem, Principal Designer at Ggem Design, had been posting on Instagram for about ten years. She showed up at least three times a week, felt comfortable on camera, and had a decade of finished projects, vendor relationships, and industry knowledge to draw from. The account still moved slowly. A typical video brought in about 200 views. A good six months might add three new followers, usually people she had already met at a market or industry event.
“My impression before this was like it’s nearly impossible to get followers,” Shannon said. She described what came next as “a total retraining of my instincts.”
That instinct got tested starting June 27, 2026, when Shannon began a 30-day Instagram video pilot led by Laurie Laizure of Interior Design Community. By July 26, the account had passed 210,000 views and added more than 1,300 followers. The original goals were 100,000 views and 500 new followers. The final dashboard showed roughly 210 percent of the view goal and 260 percent of the follower goal.
The Program at a Glance
Participant: Shannon Ggem, Principal Designer, Ggem Design
Program lead: Laurie Laizure, Interior Design Community
Program period: June 27 through July 26, 2026
Focus: Instagram video strategy, content development, production, publishing, and performance analysis
Results over 30 days:
- 210.1K views
- 1.3K new followers
- 111 pieces of content shared
- 135% more plays on one featured reel than any of Shannon’s previous five reels
The Challenge: Years of Consistency, Slow Growth
Shannon was already committed to Instagram before the pilot started. She had the raw material most designers lack: years of finished projects, a comfortable on-camera presence, and real relationships with makers and vendors. What she didn’t have was a system for turning that material into content built to hold attention.
Her results before the pilot reflected that gap. A typical video landed around 200 views. Average watch time hovered around six seconds. Follower growth was so slow that Shannon tracked it in single digits over half a year.
The challenge wasn’t a lack of expertise or effort. It was a lack of structure connecting what Shannon already knew to what would actually get watched.
How the Pilot Started
The program began at 10:56 p.m. on June 26, when Laurie texted Shannon: “Do you have any lil video clips of your installs just small ones.”
Shannon answered, “Yes!”
That exchange set the tone for the month. Designers usually have useful marketing material already sitting on their phones. Site visits, installations, showroom tours, material details, project progress, and finished rooms can all become video content once they’re connected to a clear idea.
Laurie built the pilot around Shannon’s actual schedule, not an idealized one. Her working guideline was roughly five hours a week for all marketing activity combined, including social media, newsletters, website work, events, awards, and public relations. For a closer look at what that kind of budget can look like across a full marketing plan, see A Practical Social Media Time Budget for Interior Designers.
Inside those five hours, the pilot covered:
- Selecting useful footage and project assets
- Building content categories with a business purpose
- Writing hooks and scripts
- Recording videos in manageable clips
- Editing and arranging visual material
- Publishing and testing content
- Reviewing performance data
- Adjusting upcoming content based on results
Turning Finished Rooms Into Explained Decisions
The starting strategy focused on making Shannon’s expertise visible. A finished room photo shows the outcome of a project. Video gave Shannon room to explain the reasoning, craftsmanship, sourcing, and professional judgment behind that outcome.
That opened up subjects like why a material was selected, how regional design language changes, what clients should understand about restoration hardware, why a particular textile or tile or finish works, which makers and brands contributed to a room, how Shannon approaches design decisions, what happens during an installation, and what separates a thoughtful specification from a decorative choice.
That range gave Shannon far more material to work with than “here’s the finished room” alone.
Why Scripts Made the Videos Better
Scripting was one of the biggest changes to Shannon’s previous process and one she resisted most at first. She was comfortable speaking on camera and wanted the content to sound natural.
Once she started using scripts, she saw the value. “The script helped a lot,” she said. “I don’t have the long pauses. I’m not as redundant.”
Scripts helped Shannon get to the point faster and stay focused, which matters on a platform where the opening seconds decide whether a viewer stays. Laurie drafted hooks and talking points, then Shannon adjusted the language to sound like her.
The structure behind every script:
- Hook: Give the viewer a reason to stop scrolling.
- Context: Explain why the subject matters.
- Expertise: Share the design reasoning.
- Example: Connect the point to a project, material, or experience.
- Takeaway: Leave the viewer with one useful idea.
A Recording Process Shannon Could Repeat
Laurie introduced Shannon to Edits by Instagram, including its teleprompter and green-screen tools. Shannon recorded one paragraph at a time, which let her finish short sections, review them, and rerecord individual lines without having to start the whole video over. The teleprompter also kept her attention near the camera, which supported stronger eye contact.
Laurie encouraged Shannon to delete unsuccessful takes as she recorded, which reduced the footage she had to sort through during editing.
The production system settled into seven repeatable steps: choose one topic, write a hook and short script, select supporting project images or video, record the script in short sections, edit the sections together, publish and review the response, then apply the lesson to the next piece. Repeating that system throughout the month gave Shannon real practice at each skill, not just one polished attempt.
Coaching That Happened in Real Time
The text thread between Laurie and Shannon documents an active working process. They discussed scripts, footage, posting order, performance, follower counts, profile presentation, and the next week’s content calendar as it happened. Shannon could send a draft, ask a question, and get direction while the content was still being made.
Laurie also helped Shannon read the numbers. On July 9, less than two weeks in, Laurie reported that Shannon had already logged 33,308 views. She set a new goal: 100,000 views for the month.
Shannon’s reply: “Oh my gawd. That sounds unachievable.”
Five days later, Laurie told her they were on track to hit both 100,000 views and 500 new followers. Shannon was already seeing how the added visibility could support her relationships with brands and industry partners.
What Changed in the Numbers
Before the pilot, Shannon’s videos typically pulled in about 200 views, with an average watch time of about 6 seconds. During the pilot, average viewing time approached 13 seconds.
“My average watch times are way, way, way up,” Shannon said. “I’m learning what is of interest to people.”
Longer watch time meant more people were staying engaged with the content rather than scrolling past it. The final dashboard also flagged one featured reel that received 135 percent more plays than any of Shannon’s previous five reels, giving Laurie and Shannon a specific topic, hook, and format to build future content around.
| Metric | Goal | Final result |
|---|---|---|
| Views | 100K | 210.1K |
| New followers | 500 | 1.3K |
| Content shared | No fixed target | 111 |
| Featured reel performance | No fixed target | 135% more plays than the previous five reels |
Shannon reported 158.8K views and 990 new followers during her To-The-Trade podcast recording, with the reporting period still open. The account passed both goals before the final numbers came in.
Getting the Profile Ready for the Traffic
Reach without a clear destination wastes itself. Laurie and Shannon spent time organizing Shannon’s profile so a new visitor could quickly understand who Shannon is, where she works, how her firm operates, who’s involved in the process, what kind of projects the firm designs, and what a potential client should do next.
Laurie recommended using the first three pinned posts to introduce Shannon, explain the firm’s process or team, and present the portfolio. That gave the increased reach somewhere useful to land. A viewer could discover Shannon through a reel, visit the profile, and understand the business without scrolling through years of unrelated posts.
What Drove the Results
Several elements worked together over the 30 days:
- Clear goals. Measurable targets let Laurie and Shannon make decisions based on progress, not guesswork.
- Existing assets. Shannon used installation footage, project images, and her existing knowledge.
- Purposeful content categories. Each topic had a job, whether that was building expertise, explaining process, highlighting makers, supporting brand relationships, or attracting clients.
- Strong openings. Hooks gave viewers an immediate reason to keep watching.
- Concise scripts. Scripts cut pauses, repetition, and unclear explanations.
- Manageable production. Recording one section at a time made it easier to repeat video creation.
- Consistent review. Laurie and Shannon evaluated the response and adjusted the next content decisions.
- Direct coaching. Questions got answered while Shannon was planning, recording, editing, and publishing, not days later.
Business Value Beyond the Follower Count
The pilot increased Shannon’s visibility with potential clients, brands, makers, and industry collaborators. She connected the growth directly to future opportunities with Leftbank Art and other brands, and noticed people in her personal and professional circles responding to the new presentation of her work. That kind of visibility supports vendor relationships. Shannon has already written about how she vets those partnerships in How Interior Designers Vet Brands Before They Specify Them.
The videos also created chances to highlight the companies, craftspeople, and products behind Shannon’s projects, content that helps clients understand what goes into a professionally designed home.
The pilot measured awareness, reach, viewing behavior, and follower growth. It did not yet measure qualified inquiries, consultations, signed projects, or revenue attributed to the content. Those metrics belong in the next phase of the program.
What This Pilot Confirms for Other Designers
Interior designers can build consistent video without a constant supply of new finished-project photography. A workable system can start with material most designers already have on hand:
- Professional knowledge
- An archive of project images
- Short clips from installations and site visits
- Strong vendor and maker relationships
- Opinions developed through client work
- Questions clients ask repeatedly
- Decisions that require professional judgment
For designers weighing whether to build this in-house or bring in help, How to Hire a Social Media Manager for Interior Designers and Strategies for Interior Designers to Acquire New Clients: Beyond Instagram cover related ground.
Where This Leaves Shannon, and What’s Next
Over 30 days, a repeatable structure took Shannon’s account from roughly 200 views per video to 210,100 views and 1,300 new followers. Just as important, it left her with a process she can keep using now that the formal pilot has ended.
Designers curious about the full conversation, including how Shannon talks about what changed for her, can hear it directly on To-The-Trade S3E23. And for anyone weighing whether their own archive of project photos and site-visit clips could support a similar plan, Shannon’s month is a working answer: the raw material was already there. What changed was the system around it.