If you're a blogger, there is a 99% chance you use Instagram to help promote your blog. And if you're just a social media influencer than there's probably still a really good chance that Instagram is one of the platforms you use. Each month I'm going to try and give some tips on different platforms whether it's a blog or a social media channel. This month I wanted to focus on Instagram since I took advice from other people that seems to be working and I hope it will work for you.
Some of these tips are things that I figured out on my own and some are advice from other people but just keep in mind that something that works for me or someone else may not work for you. No matter what advice you receive, do what works best for you and what brings you the results you want.
|Link Your Blog|
Obviously if you are a blogger and you use Instagram you NEED to link your blog to your bio. Then when you are writing a caption under a photo referring to a new post on the blog you can simply say "See link in bio". If I don't see a link in your bio, I'm probably not going to try to find your blog. The other thing you can do if you have an easy short blog address is put it in parentheses in the caption. Sometimes I'll say "visit AskAwayBlog.com for the post!" and since it's a simple and catchy URL people have told me they actually do go and type it into their browser right away.
|Sell Yourself in Your Bio|
The bio is where you get to quickly tell people that come across your IG, who you are, what you post about, and why they should follow you. I always type my bio up in the Notepad App on my iPhone because it's easier for me to format and add hard returns. Another blogger, Lindsay from Lindsay's Sweet World did (right here) actually gave great tips that I used and it worked for me but what really sold me was the Instagram bio. So for mine I put that I own 4 Chihuahuas (since they are in LOTS of photos on all of my social media channels) and that I'm a blogger. Then I put home décor, fashion, and food since that's what you'll find photos of on my IG. Then per Lindsay's advice I put a way to contact me because before I assumed if a brand wanted to work with me they'd just message me or go to my blog and look for a contact link. But then I realized that it really IS much easier if the email address is already written out for you. You can check out what my bio looks like by finding me on IG - EllenR886.
|Bright + Crisp Photos|
When I stumble upon someone's IG I take a quick look at how their photos look. If they are dark and blurry it will actually frustrate me to see those in my feed so I won't follow them. Make sure your photos are bright and taken with good lighting. Some of the Instagram filters are nice but I personally think a lot of them darken the photos so all I usually do is go in to edit my photo I just uploaded and select Adjust, Brightness, and then make it go up. If you are taking pictures of products, use a white background or a faux fur blanket. White backgrounds look nice and attractive.
|Good Captions|
Captions are like blog posts, you need to give information in them (or give entertainment depending on your niche) but then ask some sort of question to get feedback. So for instance if I upload a photo of my newly organized closet since I'm an advice blogger I might make a caption that says something like "Just organized my closet again and used these awesome dividers to separate my shoes. It saves space and looks nice. What do you use to organize your shoes?" People usually do respond.
|Paid Advertising|
It's nearly impossible these days to grow your social media presence without doing some paid advertising through the platform. I actually did promote a few posts through Instagram and I liked the feedback and clicks that I got. When you promote a post you actually can choose to have an option that takes people to your site. You can't do that without promoting it. Also, in order to promote you will need a business profile and if you're a blogger trying to make money or any kind of social media influencer - you should probably consider switching to business. Plus, you can write your advertising fees off as a tax expense.
|Interact With Your Visitors|
When someone comments on a post make sure you like their comment or reply to it. It makes people more likely to return because they know you're a real person that reads all their comments. Ask questions back like "how did your method of organizing work? Do you have pics?" and don't be afraid to visit their page and follow them.
|Reach Out to Others|
At least 2-3 times a week you should peruse your feed and like photos and leave REAL comments. I get really frustrated when people leave the generic one word comment like "Cool" or "nice" or "<3". So when I can't think of anything to say about their photo I just say something about myself. If they have a photo of themselves wearing leopard print, I might comment and say "I love leopard print! I have several scarves and bags with that print". It's a great way to get a little convo going. Also, if you see someone follow you, follow them back! And look for people to follow. Sometimes I go check the feed of the people I follow to see the posts they like, and that's how I found a bunch of new people to follow.
|Make Time|
So how are you supposed to do all of these things in your already busy daily life? Well trust me, I get it because I have a full time job and a house full of furry children. I don't have time to sit around and play on my phone. So I do it any chance I get. If you're a human being that has to use the rest room, you have time then. I'll check my IG comments and feed while I'm walking to the rest room. I also do it during commercial breaks when I'm watching TV, while I'm waiting in line at the grocery store, and when I'm in a doctor's office waiting room. You just have to make the time and make it part of your routine. If you get into work half an hour early, spend a few minutes of that time checking your IG.
It's an exhausting thing to keep ANY social media site exciting but it's what you have to do if you want to gain followers and keep your Instagram interesting you need to put in the effort.
What tips do you need to work on or what have you already tried and seen great results from?