5 ways to grow your Instagram following fast
A while ago, I talked about being a newbie on Instagram (IG). Like any new social media platform, I’m willing to give it a try and see if it’s a good tool to promote my brand, blog and business.
Today I have 320 followers, but I’ve set a goal to have over 1200 followers by the end of 2014. (I know, quite ambitious, right!) At the end of the year, whether I reach the goal or not, I’m still going to be proud of myself for trying!
In order to reach my goal, I sought out some key people at last week’s Alt Summit conference and asked them how they grew their Instagram following fast.
I’ve compiled what I believe to be the top five tips to reach people on IG. I’m going to leave off the super obvious ones like; take really beautiful photos, post regularly (without flooding your feed), and engage with other IG users (by liking and commenting on their posts).
The Top Five Tips To Grow Your Instagram Following Fast.
1. Create an image series. Think about your series as a set of stories. People enjoy a good story and they want to see how the story progresses. If you add a personal hashtag to your series, people can search, find and read the series in one place. One of my favorite series is #facethefoliage by Justina Blakeney – a taste of this series can be seen below, it’s brilliant!
2. Instagram Shares. Find brands or blogs that match your aesthetic with substantial followings and share them with your following. A few months ago, I shared an Instagram strategy to grow your likes and followers. I talked about how I instagrammed this DIY Coffee Cup Wrapper photo (below) and cited my inspiration muses Taylor Sterling (54k followers) of The Glitter Guide (157k followers) and Whitney English (16k followers) of The Day Designer. The result of sharing these brands with my following has been my highest liked post to date – with 71 likes and a gain of 20 new followers.
3. Listen to your audience. Study your feed and find a common thread of the types of images that are getting the most attention. I’ve discovered that my audience likes business tips/quotes and me sharing a piece of my day. I’m still ‘learning’ so I’m posting a variety of other things – so I can get a sense of what really resonates with others.
4. Give shout-outs. Shout-outs from friends on IG can quickly boost your following. If you are meeting up with friends, take a picture, tag them and get tagged in return – this is a fast (and easy) way for their followers to discover you. Good Advice: I was told not to overuse this tip, but a shout-out every once in a while never hurts!
5. Participate in a photo challenge. Instagram accounts like FatMumSlim and Shutter Sisters curate photo a day challenges. Not only does your image end up in their hashtag series (along with all of the other participants who will be checking in daily), they might repost your image and tag you in it to their audience – another great way for new people to discover you and start following you.
I hope this helps! I’ll be starting a new image series (tip #1) in the next week or two, which also encompasses an Instagram share (tip #2).
If you’re not following YourMarketingBFF on IG, please start…you’re going to want to see how this new series unfolds!