These days you can’t swing a cat for a girl in a bikini doing the splits on the beach or a guy throwing himself onto a stationary vintage car or a schoolgirl obligingly Star-jumping for the twelfth time so her mother can capture THE shot. What do all these instances have in common? Instagram of course! We’re all in daily hot pursuit of that great picture to keep our content fresh, forward and follower-friendly but with the new algorithm making Instaland a bit hinky to be perfectly honest, showing us posts from yesterday and only from the 5 accounts we liked recently; how are we supposed to engage with new people and grow our profiles?
I spoke with some awesome Insta peeps, and some of my fave accounts to follow, and asked them to share their thoughts and tips on how to make Instagram work for you...
Emmylou @emmylou_loves
1. Who are you posting for? The first thing is understanding who your audience is and what the problem is that you’re solving for them.
2. Understanding the Platform. You need to understand Instagram itself and the functionalities and capabilities of the app. More than that you need to understand it in relation to your phone so you can get the most out of its tools and the potential that lies within the digital space.
3. Know what you want to say. Be clear on what it is you want to share with the world. Be authentic and be passionate about what you’re wanting to share. By being authentic you’ll be relatable and people will want to connect with you because they’ll see the life you’re presenting to the world and believe it. It comes back to who you are and the life you want to live.
Barbara @letsgomum
1. Always try to answer any comments people may make on your pictures - if people have taken time out of their day to make a comment, be sure to acknowledge them - you can build some really nice mutual-interest relationships this way too!
2. Try not to post too often or it may be seen as annoying and your followers may unfollow.
3. Try to work out your niche - you may be an awesome cook, or sell one type of product really well, or love posting pics of kid fashion - when you work that out and start to get followers, don’t stray too far from that niche or followers will lose interest as it wasn’t what they followed you for.
Thu @thuie
1. Post for you not what your followers expect. Too many people are focused on the numbers and how “liked” a photo is. It’s very easy to feel like a photo is graded by a bunch of numbers.
2. Everyone gets green eye envy with the amount of fabulous accounts there in the world, use that to inspire not to copy. People will catch on eventually.
3. Post consistently and at the right time will maximise your post getting seen. For me my audience is predominately parents, so I know posting after 8pm is best when dinner has already been served and the kids (hopefully) in bed.
Details matter. e.g. Make sure that your photos aren’t crooked unless done on purpose.
4. I built my following by having a cohesive aesthetic grid. You have less than 5 seconds to draw a person to your account, make that impression last.
With the changes in algorithms over the last few years, Instagram has made it very hard for influencers to be seen without buying there way to ‘Instafame’. After 5.5 years on this virtual platform, the only way I keep my head afloat is by following my top 3 C’s tips.
1. Don’t COMPARE. This will truly be your demise. Whilst I won’t lie, I do often stalk ‘perfect’ feeds and their thousands of likes and followers wondering what the $&@! I’m doing wrong....it’s imperative you don’t let it get to you. Instead learn from it but never compare, you’ll only do your head in. Let that energy focus on you not them. You’ll even most likely find the pages you compare yourself too just might be in loads of Telegram groups or buying there way into two dimensional fame ;)
2. Don’t become COMPLACENT. Complacency destroys many things in life. This includes Insta accounts. Never settle for mediocre content. If you become lazy with your content or just go through the motions you will fail. Everything worthwhile in life takes effort and Instagram takes shitloads. Don’t just think followers and likes will come to you, they won’t....not if you do it the honest, old fashioned way....the way that will benefit the businesses you represent the most.
3. COMMUNICATE. Communication builds relationships. Relationships build your following and fan base. You can’t expect people to like/comment on your posts if you don’t reciprocate every now and then. You’re not a Kardashian. So, get talking. Virtually mingle with like minded accounts and show them some love. Trust me, this works.
Whilst there are many more tips to survive the Instagram jungle....these are most definitely the most important. Hang in there and know that more followers/likes does not equate to success.
Bec xx
Kate @mamaplustwo_
1. Find your niche and engage with others who have the same interests. My page is leaning towards lifestyle but mostly child focused, so it makes sense that the majority of my followers and following lists consist of people with children or children’s based stores. If you find a commonality to connect you with others, you will gain genuine followers. This has definitely worked for me and in a way it’s like being a part of a big mother’s group!
2. Be genuine and consistent. When I post, I always make it as genuine as possible by using my own words and experiences, even if it is a sponsored post. When someone comments on one of your photos, do your best to reply especially if they have asked a question. Reply to direct messages and don’t let their efforts of liking and commenting go unnoticed. This will not only help you to gain followers but also keep them too. Be consistent by posting regularly, even if it’s a story. One photo post a day is good. You want to keep active on people feeds, especially with the new algorithm! I was lucky to have gained the majority of followers before Instagram changed.
3. Do what makes you happy on your own page. I think it’s ok to change your style and content to what suits you. This will gain you new followers and potentially lose some too. It’s easy to get caught up in worrying about it but if you are posting things you enjoy then people will appreciate that. Number one ‘don’t’ would have to be buying fake followers! It’s obvious, it’s cheating and it’s just not cool.
Rebecca @rebeccalittle_
1. Always engage with your audience! They’re supporting you, show them the same love!
2. Let people in. Showing that you’re vulnerable shows that you’re human!
3. Stick to your guns. Instagram can make you feel as though you need to be keeping up with others. Do your own thing. Originality is the real genius!
Kiri @bazaarmumma
Ok so we’re at a stage where just about everyone has an insta account and more and more businesses rely on it completely. So the dream is to have as many followers as possible right? Maybe to some, but with the continuous flood of bots and ghosts and god knows what else on the gram, it’s come to so much more than just numbers.
So here are my top 5 tips to growing (or in better words) “developing” your Instagram account.
1. IDENTITY - BE YOU
Stay real. The more genuine you are the better as your audience can relate and connect to you easier and it’s also easier to be yourself!
Establish your voice (Or brand or image) What’s your tone of voice, your message, angle of life, do you have amazing images or do you write funny or serious captions. What makes you YOU? Write it down clearly, remember it daily and look back on it when you feel lost for direction.
Create a visual signature. SO IMPORTANT. Use the same filter, colours and styles of images. I edit in VSCO and use the same 3 filters. There you can change individual colours which can add to your signature look.
2. CONTENT VALUE
What do you offer your audience? Is it a helpful blog, do you sell products, give tips and tricks, advice/experience, inspiration or shopping links. What ever you are passionate about, stick to the same 1-3 things and do them well. Be consistent and regular in what you offer so your audience gets to know you and knows what to expect. This way you’re more inclined to have the right kind of followers, the ones you want who will be your forever fans!
Stay Relevant. You can use your insights (if your account is switched to a business account) to determine the best day and time of day to post certain content. e.g. what does your audience want to see when they first wake up vs what they’re looking for by the end of the day. For example, I know that my audience prefers fashion posts at night and cute kids first thing in the morning.
3. GET ORGANISED
This is of course easier said than done however these few tricks can help you stay ahead and save you a lot of stress!
- Take content in bulk. If you can get multiple images to use for different posts all on the same day, you’re a winner. If you can’t, it’s totally ok. Instagram was originally created to upload an instant moment right? So this is always the most genuine, but often the most challenging.
Have back ups. I have heaps of potential images in a folder on my phone ready to go in case I don’t have any new content and it’s easy to do a little flashback or memory from last week and just create a caption that’s relevant to that image.
Plan it out. I’ve tried using Planoly and a few other planning apps and found creating a folder in my iPhone photos the easiest. There I recreate my feed and have blank white images down the right side (as iPhone folders show 4 images across rather than 3 like on Instagram) and I just drag and drop potential images to the very top left to see if they fit in well with the surrounding images before posting. Doing this can help you plan days ahead if you have enough images up your sleeve.
Use the drafts folder in Instagram to prep your next posts. Even if it’s just getting tonight’s post ready before you have to pick up the kids from school, its worth doing before hand rather than trying to wrangle witching hour and thinking of a witty caption on the fly!
4. ENGAGE
Engagement is KEY for organic growth. With Instagram’s algorithm, the more you engage, the more you are seen!
Choose your audience. Establish who you want to see you and who you want to connect with and follow them. Get to know them and their feed and see who else is engaging with them. Follow them as well. Check who’s commenting on their posts and find new similar accounts that way. You’ll be amazed at the people you can meet this way. This is where the global scale of Instagram is really apparent. And wonderful. However following as many accounts as you can isn’t really the point here, it’s interacting with them as frequently as possible and leaving genuine comments on their posts.
Reply to every comment and every dm. Mostly because it’s NICE to say thank you and acknowledge your audience, but also because if you do, your posts have more chance of showing up on their feeds. Just think to yourself “the only people who you engage with see your posts” It’s basically true.
Dms are a great way to connect although can also be lost easily, especially if the person/brand you’re trying to reach has a high following. It’s essentially like sending a txt message so definitely don’t be annoying, rude or demanding. Be polite, friendly and patient and you’re more likely to get a response. I’ve had essay conversations with some amazing people I don’t follow regularly and I also miss dms from my best friends all the time. However by all means share your story with others because if you don’t no one will ever hear it!
5. SHARING IS CARING
Sharing other inspiring accounts to your following spreads growth all round. Not only is it adding value for your audience but it encourages more people to share accounts too (possibly yours) and aids in the sharing/growth process.
Reposts can be a fantastic tool for growth as well. It is what helped me personally reach and connect with thousands more with my c-section story and also reach more with my fashion posts when ever the brand reposts the image.
Always tag the brands in your image and in the caption as well. This ensures the brand will see it and be thankful you did.
Keep hashtags RELEVANT. And brief. Instagram won’t show your post if it has a million irrelevant hashtags and you also won’t be attracting the right kind of audience if you tag #bikinibod on a post of your newborn baby.
But the best tip of all is to..
JUST BE YOU. And have fun…
Chenoa @islabayandreef
1. Number one tip is stay true to yourself. Be genuine and really interact authentically. Even, above all that though is have fun, at the end of the day it’s the people in the squares that matter the most!
2. Support is huge on insta, of course support brands but make sure you’re not being used either, your time is precious. Make sure it’s reciprocated especially during a collab as it should benefit you both collectively. Brands and influencers talk so word of mouth is everything.
3. Be inspired by others and if you’re ever feeling anything but inspired take a step back a bit; sometimes is easy to get hung up on other accounts and what you think they may or may not do. Try and change things up, sometimes the imperfections are the best.
4. Use insta as it’s intended and stay away from pods and telegram apps. Scroll your feed, check out ‘explore’ for pics you love and tell them that you do! Have fun!!
Wendy @wendology
1. Tag shops. Not just mention them in the comments, but tagging them in your pic, eg. @Nike. This helps cos then hopefully they’ll repost your pic helping to get you more followers. Hashtagging the shops is also important, eg. #nike.
2. Once you post your pic, it is important to get likes and comments immediately or else your post will get lost. So try and determine the peak times when your followers usually use IG and post during those times.
3. Most important of all, good photography. It helps a GREAT deal. So like it or not, improve your photography skills. Natural lighting and no busy backgrounds are important.
Eleesha@the.quinn.girls
1. Hashtags, hashtags, hashtags! Trust me, they make a huge difference in getting your feed into the Explore section and in front of your target audience.
2. Genuine engagement on other people’s posts.
3. Quality content! There are some great presets around, like Colour Story, and Nicole @thedigigirls has a fab one too which works with the Lightroom editing app. Have a play around and watch your feed transform from meh to amazing!
Zoe @zoe.b3an
1. Keep your content interesting. Don’t feel the need to follow what other accounts are doing. Be creative and stand out from the crowd instead of blending in.
2. Remember to TAG.
Tagging the shops/brands/services that are featured in your photos not only lets those companies see you, but it also enables their followers to see you. This can lead to great relationships/sponsorship with brands.
3. Interaction and engagement.
By engaging with other accounts you become visible. Whether it be in the comment section on your own page, or the comment section on other accounts. People appreciate seeing that others enjoy their content. And when you reply to your followers on your own photos, it lets them know you value them!