From May 11th to May 21st, I ran an experiment on my Instagram to see how many followers I could gain from using these 5 tips & tricks. Now, I know that I don't have the biggest following but these tips are extremely useful for those of us who are trying to put ourselves out there and grow our audiences!
Jeans: Revice Denim in Vintage Vegas , Heels: Steve Madden in Nectur Strappy Sandals
Post Daily
Consistency is key. Posting daily was definitely a bit of a challenge for me but it was worth it. I think that posting daily might have hit the nail on the head when it came to gaining more followers on Instagram. When you think about it, the more your posts show up on your audience's feed, the more chances they have to interact with your content, which helps the Instagram algorithm decide to spread your content to a wider audience.
However, when it came it posting daily, I was also trying to create an aesthetically pleasing feed, which did not go well for me. My daily posts didn't get many likes because I was trying to create a cohesive theme and there were a lot of random posts on my feed. For Instagram bloggers, this tactic works because their audience is used to seeing a feed with random posts. My audience however, is mainly made up of models, photographers, and others fashion gurus trying to break out into the blogging world.
I think that knowing your audience plays a huge role in how you should set up your daily posts so that they get the traction you're looking for. All in all, my daily posts didn't get too many likes, but, they helped me gain a good chunk of new followers.
Post Carousels
Once again, carousels help you with content interaction because, for one, there are more photos for your audience to view and adore, and second, carousels just get more likes/comments in general. If you haven't noticed already, when you scroll past a carousel post without liking it, it's pretty likely that the post will pop up on your feed again the next time you scroll, but showing you the next photo in the carousel.
If you're a content creator, then you already know the struggle of hoarding hundreds/thousands of photos - this is why carousels are your best friend! Posting 2-10 photos at once gives you the opportunity to get more of your photos out there and gives your audience variety in your post. Personally, I love scrolling through carousels because I get to see multiple photos without having to wait for others to come out or having my feed spammed with 10 slightly different photos throughout the week!
If carousels aren't your strong suit, I highly recommend dipping your toes into the carousel waters so that you can work with the Instagram algorithm to boost your audience.
Up Your Hashtag Game
Ahh, hashtags... the one thing that all of us are just a little bit ashamed to use...
Well, get over it! Hashtags are your best friend when it comes to growing your audience - when used correctly, they will expose your content to a huge audience and hopefully bring in some new followers. Personally, I have a note in my phone with the hashtags that I feel work the best for my content so that I can just copy & paste whenever I post. If you have a bit of variety in your feed and not all of your hashtags apply to all of your posts, I recommend creating a mock description for different content.
For example, on my feed, I either post about fashion/blogging or I post my modeling photos. So, I have two different mock descriptions that I can choose from for my post so that I can draw in the most relevant audience.
Post Interactive Stories
When it comes to stories, it really pays off to post content that your audience can interact with in some sort of way. A few examples include polls, calls to action, and stories of you telling your audience about something.
Of course, the most interactive types of stories are stories that include polls. Using polls on your stories makes your audience feel like their opinion matters and it's just something fun to join in on. Stories with calls to action are probably the most important interactive stories because the interaction doesn't just stop there - people will hopefully do what you recommended and will possible share it on their stories as well. Especially during this time of social injustice, calling your audience to different actions has become a necessity. If your Instagram following is under 10,000, which means you don't have the swipe up feature, I highly recommend downloading an app like IntstaBio so that your bio's link can feature multiple web links.
And lastly, stories that include you telling your audience about literally anything are always great because it makes people much more interested in your life and what you're sharing with them!
Interact with Others
Interacting with others, whether it be commenting on their posts, reacting to their stories, or re-sharing posts/stories, are all great in maintaining good relationships with your mutuals. However, I do not recommend spam commenting or commenting the same thing on everyone's posts that you see - it doesn't come off as genuine and people will think you're just commenting to get comments in return.
When you want to gain some new mutuals, I recommend commenting on a post or two, liking a few of their posts and see if they do the same in return. If they do, try giving them a follow and see if they follow you back! This method has worked pretty well for me in the past so it's definitely worth a shot for all of you mutual-seekers out there.
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On May 11th I started out with 1,045 followers and on May 21st I ended with 1,075 followers - totaling a gain of 30 followers in just 10 days.
What tips and tricks do you utilize when trying to broaden your audience on Instagram?
Until next time,
xoxo
"Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."
Matthew 6:19-21