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Hey Everyone!
First off, I wanted to say a HUGE thank you for your continued support. This blog is a passion of mine and to see it grow really makes me SO happy! When I first started this blog I wasn’t sure what people would think of it or if it would go anywhere so it means a lot to me to see that you’re getting value out of it!
Okay so let’s get into these tips and tricks!
Determine your Brand
When I first started my blog I wasn’t sure what I really wanted to focus on. I was posting about lifestyle, fashion, beauty and a TON of coffee/flower pictures. Looking back on my early Instagram days, it’s hard to figure out what exactly I was trying to communicate to my audience. It wasn’t until September 2017 when I decided to fully focus on Fashion (which has always been my main interest) and post content mainly about that. This way, now when someone visits my Instagram profile they can clearly see what my feed is about and easily decide if they’re into my content. When I changed my focus to fashion, my Instgram blew up! I gained a lot of traction REALLY quickly.
Now, with that said, you don’t need to just focus on one area, you can totally do a lifestyle feed for example, that covers many different things. However, if someone new visits your profile they should be able to understand who you are and the message your trying to send by looking at your first couple of pictures!
Content is King
I can’t stress this enough. The content you put on Instagram will determine whether someone who is browsing and sees your feed will stop and follow you. So how do you improve on your content?
- Picture quality – you don’t need to go out and buy a DSLR camera to take amazing pictures. I follow some bloggers who use their iPhones! You just need to make sure you’re taking photos in good lightening and that the image is clear
- Editing – I HIGLY recommend editing your pictures. With the saturated market blogging has become its important to stand out! One way to do that is the way you edit your photos. I use Lightroom and it’s awesome! There’s so much you can do with this software.
- Instagram Bio – Edit your Instagram bio to be more personal. Add some information about yourself! Because it’s the first thing people see
- Make your feed Cohesive – Okay this is a big one! When someone comes across your feed you want to catch their attention. I use an app called “preview” free in the app store that helps me plan out my feed. You can rearrange your un-posted pictures to see what works best together!
Engage with Others
Instagram is a social media platform for a reason! You need to be social with others to grow! I reach out to a lot of other bloggers and have met some really amazing women! It’s great being able to support one another and get tips and tricks!
I will also go out on the explore page and engage with others that way!
Pods
I want to quickly discuss pods because this has been a point of a TON of controversy over the last couple of months. I think that everyone has their own opinion on pods and you should make your own by gathering all of the information out there. I will however, say that being part of a small pod/support group of bloggers who share tips/tricks and like each others pictures is fine by me. I’m part of a group that supports each others pictures and shares pinterest tips! I have learned SO MUCH from these women that I want to support them.
Re-shares
I have gained a lot of followers from getting re-shares from brands! Typically how I do this, is I’ll purchase clothing from a brand I like and I’ll take high quality pictures of the clothing and post it on Instagram. Then I’ll tag the brand in it. Usually, depending on the photo quality, they’ll notice the picture. If it’s up to their standards, they’ll post it on their feeds!
At this stage, I don’t mind that I’m not getting compensated for the re-share because my main focus is growth and I want to be seen by as many people as possible. Yes, that view might change, however for the time being I’m happy being shared by a large account!
Giveaways
Okay, I have tried SO many different giveaways and I can honestly say STAY AWAY FROM LOOP GIVEAWAYS! They’re just not worth it. Go for the giveaway that have bloggers you respect and that are a lot smaller. You’ll be getting a lot more valuable followers this way.
I’ve also done some brand giveaways where I team up with one brand to give away a product! Next time a brand reaches out suggest it to them!
Follow Fridays/Shoutouts
I was doing follow friday’s for a while (basically you get a group of bloggers together that you like and share their accounts on a Friday). However, I find this is just to much information all at once to provide any value. That’s why recently I’ve just being doing shoutouts of bloggers I like whenever I feel like it. Usually I’ll reach out to the blogger and we’ll agree on a day to share each others feed! It’s worked great because the blogger doesn’t get lost in the stories and there’s some really awesome women out there I want to share!