today I am gonna be teaching you how to grow on Instagram. as you've guessed by now my 25 tricks - are they're not tricks they're genuine you know useful tips - are going to help you beat the algorithm.
1) - and this is probably the most important one - is do not try to cheat the system. You just need a smartphone and a bit of understanding of how light works, how image composition works and then just a little bit of knowledge about editing. And that's really it.
2) And by the way for a lot of niches it's really useful to include yourself in the photo. So if you're comfortable doing that, that will probably help you if you're a travel Instagrammer like many travelars .
3): develop a consistent editing style. And this goes back to what we just discussed - you need to learn more about image editing if you want to succeed on Instagram. And it's very very simple actually, you can do this in Lightroom if you have that software on your computer but you can just do it on your smartphone. So you can get these apps like VSCO cam or my favorite, A Color Story. And in these apps you can save different presets so then you have this filter that feels very you and you can just apply it to whatever image you put into that app. So that way you'll get a very cohesive look that's gonna look like areal gallery. And that's what people on Instagram really enjoy - it needs to have your mark on it, your style. So you can decide whether that's black and white images or if that's like soft and dreamy or if it's very HDR. Which I personally don't like very much but some people really enjoy. So just decide what your aesthetic is and you'll grow into this. Don't be you know afraid of experimenting at the beginning.
4)- be an active Instagrammer and what i mean by that is not just, you know, post everyday. What I really mean is comment on other people's pictures and interact with them. And you shouldn't just comment in a spammy fashion, just saying "lol great image" or whatever, seven hearts or my favourite the poop emoji. Like what what do you think I'm gonna do with that? Seriously. So yeah, leave well thought out, meaningful comments on other people's images and it will really help kick-start your progress on Instagram. And I mean if you don't enjoy using the platform then why even bother trying to grow on there you know?
5) - interact with the right people and what i mean by that is find people that are most likely to be interested in the topics you're interested in and that you're posting about. So for example for me I will target hashtags like #girlsvsglobe which is actually a hashtag I created or #dametraveler. These are hashtags that a lot of female travelers are using and they are the kind of people that will be interested in my content. So figure out what those hashtags are for you and then interact with people that are posting on those hashtags.
6) change your profile picture. Now obviously this will not apply to everyone, some of you I'm sure have amazing profile pictures. But if your picture doesn't look great in this size - like seriously Instagram why can't we click on profile pictures? It's very frustrating. But you need to pick an image that represents who you are what your Instagram is about, that looks very enticing so people want to click on your profile and, yes, that looks great in this size.
7): optimise your bio. Your bio is the first thing that people see when they come to your profile, aside from your images of course. And you really need it to represent who you are and what you post on Instagram. So make it fun, make it memorable, make its happy. You know think of something creative but just really make sure that it represents who you are and what you post about.
8): use all the hashtags. If somebody handed you 30 lottery tickets today what would you do? Would you play three or four or would you use all of them? Exactly. Now I'm not encouraging you to gamble but when it comes to Instagram why would you shoot yourself in the foot and not give yourself every opportunity to succeed? So use all thirty. And by the way there are trips tips tips there are tricks and tips on how you can use 60 but don't do that because if you do that it will just render all of your hashtags invalid.
9): use the right hashtags. Now this is where a little bit of research comes into play but trust me the time spent doing that is really worth it. Because using the right hashtags is one of the best ways right now to grow an Instagram. So I really highly recommend you do research. And if you're not sure how to find the best hashtags then let me know in a comment below and I will make a post on it.
10): geotag your images, because it will really help you grow. Studies show that images with location included can perform up to 79% better. So just do it.
11):experiment with captions. Skay so what I mean by that is don't be afraid to make your captions longer or shorter than usual. Just don't be afraid to experiment a little bit. There are no stats really about how caption length impacts your engagement levels but from my personal experience if I write a really good caption that really connects with people, if I ask them a great question, then I will get so many more comments. And people really engage with me on like a personal level - not just "engagement on the Internet", but real engagement. They really, you know, share their stories and it's very very rewarding as well. So think about your captions, don't just like pop three emojis down - especially the poop emoji. We've talked about this! No more poop emoji! Just kidding, I love the poop emoji. Alright, come closer.
12): include a call to action. So we just touched on it now, but basically don't be afraid to ask questions in your captions. Even if you're a small Instagrammer and you're kind of worried about not getting a response - just do it. And another way to include a call to action is asking people to tag a friend or to... what else could they do... I don't know, you figure it out.
13): tag other people in your images. Now you really don't want to overdo this because it will become very very annoying. But if there's a feature account that your photo is relevant to - for example you're traveling through, I don't know, Italy and you're in Venice. So you are gonna tag the Tourism Board of Italy and a Venice. That's totally fine and they will probably appreciate it and they might repost your image so in that case it can be very useful. But I for example get a lot of people tagging me and I don't share other people's images,so that can get a little bit annoying. So don't tag other Instagramers but do tag feature counts.
14): stay on topic. I know this can be difficult for a lot of people because as humans we are very multifaceted. We have very many different varied interests. But on Instagram you really want to narrow it down to two to three interests that you're gonna be covering on your account. And if there's like one that's completely incompatible with those just make a different account. Honestly I know it can feel a little bit limiting but it's definitely worth it. Because if you suddenly start posting photos of like your puppy... well no, puppies are fine. Puppies are fine but if you suddenly start sharing photos of sports cars but up until then you've been sharing photos of your food and your puppy, then peopleare gonna be really confused. And they might unfollow you. So it's just not worth doing.
15): work in big trending topics, because it can really help other people discover your account. So for example, March 8th Women's Day can work that into your gallery. Or December 10th, Human Rights Day. Or my personal favorite May 25th, International Towel Day. I will wait while you google that. Actually, Google it after this video - pay attention.But it's amazing, it's, it's amazing. I love it.
16) - this getting difficult now - keep a consistent schedule. So you can post once or twice or three times -three times should probably be the cutoff - that's totally fine. But post at similar times every day so that your followers know what to expect and when to expect your photos. So that they can already look forward to it and maybe go to your account. So personally I only post once a day and I post around 9 pm UK time which I have found to be my optimal time. Which actually brings me to
17) which is: post at the right times. When it comes to determining the right time to post you can just use logic. You know when do people use Instagram? They use it in the morning, at work maybe around lunchtime and before going to bed. That's my personal experience anyway. But you can also get a little more scientific about it and you can use data from services like Iconosquare or the Instagram business profile.
18): switch to a business account. And I know this is a little bit controversial - a lot of people think or, you know, assume that their engagement is gonna drop and some people have experienced that. Personally when I switched to a business account I'm gonna tell you what happened. You ready? Nothing. Nothing happened, nothing changedate all when I switched to a business account. Except that now I have all these stats and analytics at my fingertips. I'm able to, you know, determine when is the best time for me to post, who my followers are, where they come from, how old they are, what gender they are. Bassically it is very very very useful. So I would highly recommend doing it. And also a new feature is that in your Instagram Stories you can now include a link so people can swipe up and go directly to that link, which has really helped me grow traffic to my blog So yay!
19) - 20 minus 1 - is listen to those analytics. I have loads of blogger friends and Instagrammer friends who have business accounts, they've paid for Iconosquare and then they just end up doing whatever they want anyway. You need a little bit of discipline to succeed on Instagram typically. Especially when you're starting out.
20): reply to your comments. At the beginning this should be fairly easy but as you begin to grow it'll become more and more difficult. So for example when it comes to my account I get between say sixty to a hundred comments per image. And that is starting to feel a little unsustainable.It's becoming very difficult to reply to every single one of them but I still try to. Eventually I try to reply to everyone. And I don't really reply to comments like "beautiful", "love" anymore - you know things like that. Like one-word comments I don't bother with but if somebody took the time to leave a thoughtful comment on your account then I think it's only fair that you reply. Because that's what it's about that's, you know, the engagement and having a conversation. So social media - keep it social.
21): use Instagram stories. So Instagram has rolled out loads of different features over the years and they really really want you to use them. So by using Instagram stories you'll benefit in several ways and here are two that I think are most important. So number one you will get more recognition from your existing followers. They're gonna see your face as the first thing when they log into Instagram and the reason for that is when you go to your feed up top there's a whole row of different people's Stories. And if you keep yours recent then you might just be one of those first, I think it's five people, that they're gonna see. So that's really really useful. And number two I think - I don't have direct proof for this but I think -- the algorithm secretly favors people who are really active on Instagram and who use all of its features. So by using Instagram Stories you're sending a signal to the algorithm that you should be ranking higher in the news feed, in the feed whatever it's called. So that's something that's worked for me. Again I don't know this is all hearsay because we don't have access to the exact data about the algorithm. But that's something that's worked for me.
22) - even better than Instagram Stories is Instagram live. So the reason it's better a) it's because you know you're having that direct conversation with your followers. So that really helps them feel like they know you and that really makes them invested in your account. But number two - and this is really really cool - if you save your Instagram live and you show it for 24 hours, kind of in your Story, so you get two tabs so they can click Stories or Live, you will I can guarantee that you'll be one of the first people on anyone's homepage. Because that's how it's arranged - first the lives and then everybody else. So I really really highly recommend you start doing Instagrams Live. I know it can be a little bit daunting but it's worth it.
23): post more videos. I don't really do this enough myself but I think it's another feature that Instagram wants you to be using. So posting videos can be a really good way to get to the top of that feed and videos for a lot of people get more views than they would normally get likes.For me that's not really the case. I don't know why, I think people hate my videos. But yeah definitely give this whole video thing a try and see how it goes. And let me know if it worked for you!
24) - we're just one away from finishing this video - is promote your Instagram on other social media networks. It's very self-explanatory, you know, drop a comment about your Instagram on Facebook or on Twitter or... what else do people use? Vine? Not! Sorry that was mean.Too soon? But yeah if you already have followers on another network then let them know that you're also on Instagram and that should bring a few of them over.Don't expect hundreds you know or thousands of people to come over. Because I had a really big following on Facebook and on my blog and it was still a slow trickle. But every little bit helps so I definitely recommend you do that.
25), the final point that I want to make, is partner with your fellow creators. I know people do this a lot here on YouTube but on Instagram people aren't really doing that very much and it's a real shame because that is a really really really great way to grow. Not just by being featured by feature accounts but by directly one-on-one working with other Instagrammers that you like and that you know, whose work you're passionate about.
I think this works really well and I wish that more people did this. You can even do something very simple like giving them a shout out in your Stories or whatever. It doesn't have to be a lot of work and it can be very effective.
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