Instagram is definitely the biggest social media platforms for bloggers and other #girlbosses, and for a good reason! It allows you to connect with your audience in a fun and authentic way! When I first joined Instagram (back in 2011) I was obsessed! I was instagramming everything I could because I loved taking pictures and sharing my life with everyone around me! Now that I’m using Instagram heavily with my blog, I’ve come up with some strategies that have helped me to grow my audience to 20 thousand people!
Here are my Instagram tips for a seamless, professional and still fun profile:
- Show off the best possible pictures you can: Quality is key when it comes to Instagram. You need to pay attention to the quality of the photographs you are posting because this will attract more people to your profile (and ultimately, your blog!). When people see you have quality to share, they will want to follow you.
- Post regularly, but don’t over do it: I can’t begin to tell you how many times I see shops and bloggers blowing up my feed with Instagram pictures of their shop items or blog post pictures. That’s a big no, no and it will get you unfollowed be many. Try posting at least once a day and at most 3 times a day. This keeps your profile looking clean and organized and you won’t spam other’s feeds. Remember…Quality over Quantity!
- Make sure your Instagram profile has a theme to it: Use pictures with the same color scheme and make sure all your pictures you post match in some way. I try to post pictures with bright colors and I like to add a little color fill to them to give them a little bit of a haze. Other profiles I’ve seen focus on posting pictures that are all cropped the same or are all muted photographs. It all depends on what you want your Instagram to look like and how you’d like it to reflect your blog and personality.
- Add your blog website to your profile description: This a huge thing that bloggers need in their profile! When people come across your feed, whether it be a company that wants to work with you or a potential follower, they want to know where they can find more info about you! Your profile description should have any info on how to get a hold of you, what your website address is, and if you are hosting a giveaway or want to direct people elsewhere you can add that web address in there as well! And while we’re at it, make sure your profile description reflects your personality! This is one of the first glimpses anyone get’s of your blog and Instagram feed, so make it count!
5. When posting, don’t forget to tag the brands: This is a huge way to get your name out there! Say I’m posting an outfit, and I tag each brand that I’m wearing…this allows the actual brand to see how their items are being used and styled. This shows brands that you love their stuff and you never know, you could always work with them in the future! And if you worked with someone for a particular shoot or project, don’t forget to tag them as well! Instagram is a huge networking platform, so don’t miss any opportunities to get your name out there!
6. Have a plan for Instagram (ha that rhymes!): I like to plan out what I’m going to be posting on Instagram throughout the week and plan on what time I’ll be posting. This helps me keep track of my theme, and it helps me to make sure I’m posting about everything that I want to (and it’s all spaced out). The way I like to plan out my Instagram posts is that I crop pictures beforehand into squares and then I store them in my Dropbox. That way they get transferred to my phone and they are there when I need them! If I know I’m going to be in a time crunch throughout the week, I’ll also write out the text and store it in my notes app.
7. Have a great profile picture: It’s so important to have a great profile picture so your followers know you! I think the biggest mistake you can make is having a logo or something other than your face as your profile picture. This doesn’t show your followers who you are! They want to see your pretty face, so show it off!
8. Have a good mix of pictures that reflect your blog and real life: The cool think about Instagram is that it’s all about your readers and followers seeing who you are! My advice is to have about half of your content on Instagram coming from pictures representing your blog posts and the other half pictures (that still match your theme) from your everyday. They can be of a trip, something silly, of your favorite place to shop or anything that represents you! Your readers want to see more than just the content of your blog, they want to know the face behind the blog!
9. Follow and comment often: Instagram is a great place to meet new bloggers and new companies to work with! I love scrolling through my feed and exploring the suggestions Instagram gives me on who to follow! I’ve ended up following some awesome people and getting to know some awesome bloggers! Another thing you can do is search relevant hashtags that will lead to people in your area! I met all of my Dallas blogger friends by searching the hashtag #dallasblogger ! It’s that easy! The more you follow, like and comment, the more interaction you will get on your own feed. Be careful though, you don’t want to look like your spamming people’s accounts!
10. Make sure your profile reflects blog and personality and doesn’t copy the content exactly: Your Instagram account should be considered an extension of your blog, not a summary. Sure, you want your Instagram to drive followers to your blog, but you won’t do that if everything you post on Instagram is exactly what’s on your blog. No one will want to click over if they can get all the info on your Instagram account! Treat Instagram like a little preview of what’s on your blog. That way people know what you write about and what’s in store for them on your website, without giving it all away.
A little warning to all you blogger babes out there:
I think as bloggers, it’s really easy to become obsessed with the next big social media. Right now, Instagram is definitely one of the biggest, so we all are focused on having the best Instagram profile we can! But remember, don’t put all your eggs in one basket. Instagram is a great tool for bloggers, but I see way too many bloggers with a huge following on Instagram, but a very small following on their actual blog! Or the Instagram pictures and content definitely outshines the blog content. Listen, we are BLOGGERS, and our brand comes from our blog. If you are neglecting your blog to build up your social media accounts…stop it! This will destroy you in the end! Companies might see your awesome Instagram, but they need to be equally impressed with your blog because that’s what companies want. Don’t let your blog suffer while your Instagram grows!
I hope you all enjoyed this post for today! What are your favorite Instagram tips?
xoxo
Great post, Lauren! I learned a lot from it
Interesting, I appreciate with your way of thinking
This is wonderful information. I am a new blogger, loving what I do, but struggling with the world of WordPress, SEOs, monetization, etc. Big learning curve! Thank you for so generously sharing your knowledge.