Instagram has gone through some major changes over the past few years. From being a favorite picture sharing app to actually creating avenues for influencers to make money and grow their business it's not going away anytime soon. Instagram remains one of the powerful and dominating apps in the industry. I think it's in part because we get to continually communicate in a visual way. Having a large and engaged following can mean more success online. There is a lot of talk on how Instagram can help you grow, but here are just three surefire ways to grow your Instagram.
For me, Instagram is the number one way people reach my blog. It's my largest following by far. But this didn't happen over night. I spent time and effort to grow my following on @heleneinbetween. With new update of adding links on your Instagram story – you can add a link to your images or videos and viewers can swipe up to read or shop, Instagram is becoming even more powerful for businesses and bloggers. The ability to add a link makes it easy for users to read and shop without ever having to leave the app. So if you aren't focusing on Instagram or you feel stuck in a rut, this post is going to help you grow.
I'm hoping to focus on three things you might not think about when you go to grow your Instagram.
3 surefire ways to grow your Instagram
1. Community
Whether it's or your blog, your business, your Instagram, or really, even your life, you need to have a community that cares and supports you. These are the people that interact with you, engage and follow your calls to action. One of the best ways to find and cultivate this community is to know who your audience is.
Some of the ways you can grow your community are by posting consistently. Truthfully, one of the best ways to grow and BEAT the algorithm is to consistently share. For a brief explanation, the Instagram algorithm works in a way so that when you post, people see and engage with your posts. This signals to Instagram to show your posts to those that interacted more often. So if you leave long stretches of not posting then the less often people will see your posts on Instagram. The bottom line is to post regularly to really get more engagement.
Another way to connect with your followers and to beat the algorithm is by sharing on Instagram stories. Instagram stories has changed the game. It's giving you the opportunity to be yourself, show behind the scenes, and even feature and share about other Instagrammers. You already have a following on Instagram, and by using Instagram stories you're able to relate to them in a different way. Remember, it's social media so BE social. Interacting and actually using the app for it's intended purposes can really help you succeed.
2.Get featured
One of the best ways to grow your account is to be featured by others. When you're reposted or included in others' posts you are seen by a whole new audience. The ways that you can do this are by using the account's hashtag and to actually tag them in the photo. This helps to get their attention and even if you don't get featured then you can still use their hashtag to connect with other Instagrammers that are in your target audience.
3. Develop your theme
Finding your aesthetic is a lot like knowing your brand. Having a brand or theme makes you more recognizable and makes you stand out on Instagram. This in no way means every photo needs to look the same. What it means is finding your groove with the way you post on Instagram. Whether that means creating captivating captions that make others stop and comment, creating beautiful pictures that make people engage or tells a story so people can't help but read what you write. The common theme here? You want to stand out. You want to make people stop scrolling through their feed to interact with your picture. But more than that, we want to create a following that is engaged enough to follow our calls to action.
Think about what you'd like to be known for. What sets you apart? What makes people want to stop and follow or interact with you? This can of course change as you grow. But having an idea of a theme for your photos can help you in so many ways.
We see so many Instagrammers with all sizes of followings. But what truly counts is when your audience actually cares about your Instagram. When they do, Instagram becomes a powerful tool that can help you not only grow your following and engagement, it will help you monetize and create a successful Instagram.
Sometimes finding accounts, developing our theme, and connecting with other Instagrammers can be so draining. It can often feel like work to find hashtags that work with your account. We're told it's a good idea to switch up our hashtags and find ones that go with our photos.
Instagram, just like anything else, is a system. And while it’s difficult now with so many system changes, you can absolutely succeed. I focus on targeted growth with real methods to help you organically grow your following, engagement, and even make Instagram more of what you love.
