Instagram is hands down my favorite social media platform! I love getting to see a glimpse into other’s lives! I started my Instagram page when Oakland was a few years old. I really started connected with other local moms by hash tagging.
I have met some amazing women through Instagram and actually met some in person!
-RESPOND to comments! It might take a few days to respond but I always will. It’s important to let you followers know you care and that you don’t just respond with emoticons.. occasionally is fine but not all the time. If your followers never see a response they might think you don’t care. Yes, life gets busy and we cannot respond right away but you always should eventually.
– Join Instagram Facebook groups to get more likes and comments. ( I am only in a few IG groups and rarely post to there anymore)
– Join weekly chat loops! I LOVE this one because you really get to engage with your readers by asking a question and reading the responses. I host a chat loop every Tuesday if you ever want to join! I am also a part of 2-3 other loops regularly and I LOVE them! I love the question and answer part! You really get to know your followers this way!
-Work with small shops to start building relationships and offer product reviews or collabs such as promoting in exchange for product or hosting a giveaway with them. I started working with small shops when Ainsley was born! She quickly became a brand rep for numerous shops and that also helped me to grow because I got to know other brand rep mamas! When you work with small shops you both post that shop’s product. You are promoted on their shop page and they are promoted on your Instagram page! ( this tip was huge for me from the beginning)- When working with small shops the opportunity for giveaways is a plus! You post the giveaway to your feed and that small shop posts the giveaway to their feed! Yes, you may only gain accounts who are in it for the free products but that isn’t always the case.
-Find a group of ladies who you can go to daily for advice and support! I chat every day to a group of ladies I call “my tribe” on facebook chat.
-Make a blog facebook page if you don’t already. I share most of my Instagram photos to my blog facebook page! Find me HERE !
-HASH TAG!!!!!!!!!!!! Find your niche and connect with like-minded ladies! I am a mommy blogger so I love connecting with fellow mamas! I will search the #mommyblogger #momblog #momlife or #momstyle #motherhoodthroughinstagram hashtags and just go through and like, comment, and follow other moms!
– Be AUTHENTIC and never lose sight of who you are! I Love JESUS and everyone knows it. I am not ashamed of it! I am real with my followers and am who I say I am. Yes a pretty feed is important but sometimes I think you need to show the real,raw photos of your every day life. My life does not consist of a beautiful flat lay on a white rug or marble countertop everyday.
Here are some Instagram tips from some of my favorite ladies!
“Branch out and network to find a solid community of bloggers who you can learn from, support, and encourage. I’ve only been blogging a year, but I wish someone would have told me how important and amazing a community would be for me. Not only do these ladies teach me things about blogging, they have become my best friends in everyday life. You will only see growth and success in your business if you surround yourself with positive, uplifting people who join with you in celebrating your accomplishments.”
“Interacting with my followers. Replying back to people’s comments and then interacting with them on their page has definitely helped me grow.”
“Post content directed at your niche – whether that be fashion, beauty or mommy related. Ask questions in your post to engage your followers.”
“DON’T BE A SILENT FOLLOWER! Building your audience means having a voice so when you follow someone, make sure to be an active follower. Don’t just ‘like’ their photos, but leave thoughtful comments and be real. This sparks interest and conversation and invites that person to visit your page to see what you’re all about. I can’t tell you how many followers I’ve gotten because of that, but the best part is it creates a community and authentic relationship. Those are the people that will support you and stick around :)”
“Join a loop chat or start your own! Not only does it send new followers your way, but there’s great interaction and sharing of experiences. An engaged audience usually sticks around!😉”
“Use 30 hashtags on every post (in my niche that have between 150-300k posts), engage with other mamas that have used the same hashtags, Tag any shop or brand for an opportunity to be featured, hashtag big social accounts in your niche like momdotme, uniteinmotherhood, dailyparenting for possibility of a feature, Archie free trial, giveaways, Lets be Friends post where you invite followers to tag other friends.”
“Always reply to comments and engage with readers. If they invest in me and my life, I always make sure to reciprocate by following them and investing in their life too.”
“Treat your IG like a restaurant menu. You’d be bummed if you went to your fav restaurant and every time you went they had a new menu. Just like you want to know what to expect at a restaurant, your followers want to know what to expect when they see you post. Of course, it’s ok to throw in specials every now and then…but sticking with the same 3-4 times will keep people coming back!”
“Be Social: but seriously, comment and share your opinion. Not just a “heart heart heart” emoji but comment something relatable, ask a question and engage with the person you are following. Not only does this allow you to build a real relationship with the brand/blog/person other people will see your comment when scrolling, could agree with your comment and feel interested in checking out your page bringing you much more organic reach. Connect with People who are at the same stage as you: This is the easiest way to build a community and to learn from each other. Starting out I connected with blogs and businesses that were also starting out, we had time to chat with each other and were able to grow our brands alongside each other.”
“Interact. Make a point of responding to comments and questions left on your Instagram images, and also interact with others who post about the same things you do. This helps others know your more than just a program that’s been scheduled to put an image up. You’re actually there, and you see and appreciate others interacting on your Instagram.”
“Take lots of pics during awesome days/times (like, if we go out and it’s a beautiful day, or we have plans in a day that provide for great settings for a photo – a park date, beautiful lighting at dinner, a walk on the waterfront, etc) and then SAVE THE PHOTOS to post later. When I realized I didn’t have to post a photo of myself IN THAT VERY MOMENT, every single day… it helped me plan out my Instagram posts so I didn’t have any “dead days”.
The truth is: not every single one of my days is photo-worthy, so I take advantage of the ones that are! It has helped me to post quality photos each day rather than racing to find something cool to photograph so I can get something up.”
The truth is: not every single one of my days is photo-worthy, so I take advantage of the ones that are! It has helped me to post quality photos each day rather than racing to find something cool to photograph so I can get something up.”
Such good advice friend! I only share a few of my IG posts to my FB page, but that is a great idea. Thanks for the tips and thanks for including mine too!
It's so my pleasure!!!!! Of course, I am so glad you were able to give your input! 🙂 xoxo
Thanks for the great advice! I have recently found networking with others through group messages in IG is really helpful.
I am so glad you were able to take some things away from it! Yes, it is super helpful!!!!
Fantastic post! Great advice and a wonderful idea to include some advice from other ladies who are rocking the IG world!
Thank you so much Sara!!!!!!!!! I appreciate your comment! xoxo
such great tips! I love how you stress authenticity and being true to who you are–that is great advice.
Thank you so so much Jessica! I really appreciate it so much!
Great post!! 🙂 I've been really trying to grow my Instagram organically lately, I don't want to pay for followers and it is HARD work! I would love to host a chat loop with you sometime! 🙂
aww you're so sweet Tawnya!!!!!! Yes, don't give in and pay! It's tempting I am sure! I would love to have you next week! Send me a dm love!
I have been searching for helpful advice on this literally JUST this week.. good timing! I would love to be involved in a chat loop as well! I don't really know exactly what you do in one, but sounds like a great way to meet new people!
awww well I am SO glad to be able to help! Send me a dm!! 🙂
These are great tips! I especially like how you got some quotes and tips from other bloggers/Instagramers too!!
Thank you so much Kathleen!!!!! I really appreciate your comment and the time you took to read this! 🙂
This is great! Love the idea of promoting small shops and other bloggers' inputs. Also putting it on FB. Would love to join these chats, not sure how. And I will comment more as well now. So true that you shouldn't feel compelled to post every day. My only pet peeve with IG (as well as Pinterest & when I was on Twitter), is when people follow you, and they have about 50,000 followers, but are only following about 500 people. They hope that these people do not have the apps that tell them who unfollowed them. I follow back, only to be immediately unfollowed, as they gain followers this way & have better "ratios". I'm glad I have the reliable apps that weed these people out. Other than that, IG really is the biggest social media platform right now. Thanks for the great advice!
This is a great article! I've been doing some of these things kind of intuitively, but I like the idea of a chat circle. My IG is used to promote my art and connect with other artists, and so far, I've actually gained some valuable contacts that way – and not in the "sell sell sell" way you'd expect. I recently connected with someone whose subject matter is similar to mine, but she takes photos while I draw with charcoal or I paint, and I asked if I could use one of her photos for an art reference. That counts as an Instagram win to me 🙂 Thanks for the article – there's some awesome insight in here!
I LOVE how unashamed you are about your faith!
This was such a great read, thanks!
Great post! It definitely takes a lot of time to cultivate I am finding. Slowly but surely I am gaining followers 🙂 Thanks for the tips!
Excellent tips girl!! Love your blog!
How can I do one of the loop chats? I’d love any help!
This is super helpful! Thanks!
Thanks for so much great information 🙂 I love Instagram and I want to help female entrepreneurs build their brand on IG. Agree with all of your tips about genuine engagement. Thx Kris
Great tips! You are one of, if not the best blogger that responds to their followers. You are commented back to me several times. But don’t respond back this comment. Happy Thanksgiving. Get your leftovers girl.
This is why blogging is so inspiring! You can still find and read up great articles after years! Thanks for sharing darling!