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Are you currently looking to grow your Instagram followers and take your engagement up a notch?

If so, this post is for YOU! (Hi-Five)

If you are on Instagram you probably know it’s one of the top ways to connect with the public on social media.  In just 5 years Instagram has reached over 400 million monthly users! Can you say,  “Wow!!” So, there is no surprise that this platform is definitely one that bloggers + biz Owners should consider being active on.

I recently changed up my Instagram game and starting implementing a strategy that focused on building an organic following and to my surprise, IT WORKED! Within’ 3 months I was able to build my following from 2k to 10k by focusing on the new strategies and my engagement also went up. #Score

In this post, I share how I more than double my following + engagement on Instagram and how you can TOO!.

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1. Complete Your Profile

I know this one may sound like the easiest thing to do but a lot of people fail to complete their Instagram profile. I have seen a ton of pages without contact information, links to a personal website and more. Make sure to complete your profile with a small bio so people will know who you are and what you do. Also, put a call to action at the end of your bio because it will help with generating traffic back to your website!

You can make the call to action incentive a freebie that leads back to your site.   Examples of a “Call To Action” at the end of your bio would be: “Click here to gain access to my resource library” or “Click below to get your free Facebook checklist“.

 Below is an example of my profile bio that has a call to action at the end of it. Formatting my bio like this has done great wonders for my site traffic.

 

2. Put up Great Visuals

Since Instagram is a visual platform it’s super important to share relevant photos focusing on your niche and high-quality photos. Instagram is really huge for feeds with great visuals and color themes. There are a ton of places online you get high-quality photos to create great visuals. Check out this post to find 25+ places online to find FREE high-quality photos.

Also, if you use any other artists or photographers pictures on Instagram make sure to give them full credit when you post the picture by tagging their handle (Instagram name) on the photo and/or you can give them credit by tagging their handle at the end of your caption.

For my Instagram account, I try to stick to a certain color theme and put up high-quality pictures with my brand colors. I do a mix of using my own photos and other amazing photos with credit.

See example below:
 

 3. Use Other Apps to Enhance Your Photos

Speaking of capturing top-notch photos, you can use different smartphone apps to enhance your photos for Instagram. Check out these apps on your iPhone or Andriod phone: VSCOCam, Enlight, Afterlight, Adobe Photoshop Express, PicsArts Photo Studio, and Fliagram.

4. Get a Posting Strategy

Find out what times YOUR audience is mostly online and focus your posting strategy around those times. If you have a business Instagram account you can find out when your followers are most active online in the analytics feature at the top of your account to the right of your Instagram account name. Focusing on a specific time to post has really helped boost my engagement.

.5. Hashtags! Hashtags! Hashtags

This one IS HUGE! After you post a picture, make sure to put hashtags in the comment section under the picture right after you post the picture. It might take some time to find which hashtags work best for you but it’s totally worth the time. Using Hashtags totally work to boost your engagement and following But NOT JUST ANY hashtags will work.

 If you put up hashtags such as #Like4Like #FollowMe then you might get a ton of spammers sent to your account. So, pick your hashtags wisely and focus on picking hashtags that fit in with your niche and the theme of your account.

 Also, when you first start out it’s key is to find hashtags that fit in with your niche that aren’t super popular with over 1 million posts. Normally, hashtags with over 1 million posts will have a ton of posts therefore when you post it might get buried and not seen.

In the example below I used the hashtag #MomBoss which had over 600,000 posts at the time that I used it and my post actually made the “Top Post” section for that hashtag the day I posted. Since using hashtag research,  I normally make the Top Post Section for the hashtags that I used. Being in the top post section bring TONS of traffic to your page.

 

6. Be Consistent

I know a lot of people who start out great and then stop posting for weeks. The problem with not having a posting schedule is that most people on Instagram might forget about your brand. So it’s super important to post at least once a day or once every other day to keep your content fresh. Being consistent also helps with bringing new followers to your account and also boost engagement.  The key is to keep people engaged with your brand and or product(s).

7. Participate in Facebook Groups

Anyone that knows me knows I am a BIG fan of Facebook Groups! To increase engagement on our page participates in social media promo threads in Facebook groups.  One of my favorite Facebook groups that I participate in to boost engagement on my Instagram page is Grow Your Blog on Facebook! This group ROCKS.

8. Show your personality

People love to get to see the REAL YOU because they get of sense of realness! So, showcase your personality and be fun with your posts! Post pictures of you writing blog posts, heading to an audition, out with friends & more! Below are great examples of color theme profiles that show a ton of personality that are consistent.

@Splendid_Rags and @BellaBucchiotti  both do a great job creating color theme profiles with personality!

 

 

 

9. Follow People in Your Niche

Yes! Most of the time if you follow people in your niche they will follow you back. It’s a great idea to follow people who you would like to connect and network with. For example, if you are a painter, follow other successful painters! I often follow other bloggers + biz owners in my niche and I have totally built new friendships from it.

10. Engage! Engage! Engage!

Spread the LOVE & make yourself known. People are more likely to connect with you if they know who you are first. Commenting on other bloggers + biz owners photos in your niche is a great way to network and build a community. I would say do this DAILY!

I absolutely love connecting with fellow biz owners, bloggers, and creatives so I will go to their pages to support their Instagram posts as well. A ton of my engagement on my page comes right from commenting on other accounts in my niche daily.

So there you have it!  I hope some of the tips I listed help you reach your Instagram goals!

I am currently on my way to 12K! Join the journey with me and follow me HERE!.

P.S. My new Facebook Group Creative Ninjas is NOW LIVE! The group is for all Creatives who want to grow, learn, and connect with other awesome creatives!  Join us HERE!

 

 

 

How To Grow Instagram Followers

How To Grow Instagram Followers

 

 

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Francesca - From Pennies to Pounds says

    This is great, thanks for this – I really need to implement this on my instagram. I think that’s a great idea about the giveaway.

    Reply

  4. anne kendall says

    These are great tips! I recently started using photo apps to edit my photos and it has made a WORLD of difference.

    Reply

    • Latasha says

      Hi Anne! Definitely! I totally loveeeeeee the different photo apps to edit my photos. 🙂
      Oh, and thanks for stopping by.

      Reply

  5. [email protected] says

    Yes – great tips! I really hate when people talk up how successful it is to blindly follow thousands of people in order to get thousands of followers back … that doesn’t work. It’s all about connecting. 🙂 Thanks for sharing!

    Reply

  6. Chonce says

    This is a great post and just what I needed as I’m trying to focus on building my social media following especially Instagram. Right now I mostly post personal stuff and random photos but I’m trying to integrate my profile more with my blog and post more stuff about blogging, entrepreneurship and even promote some of my posts. It’s seems like so much work though and I really need to focus on interacting with others and commenting on their posts as well. I think it’s going to be beneficial for me to develop a strategy with Instagram and just play around with hashtags until I find a system that works.

    Reply

    • Latasha says

      Hi Chonce! I totaly agree. Interacting with others and commenting is a great way to network with other bloggers. 🙂 Keep me posted on how your Instagram strategy goes. Can’t wait to hear the great updates. 🙂

      Reply

  9. Heather @ Simple Fresh Natural says

    Thanks for the post! I will be trying out some of these strategies for sure! I love the Instagram platform and use it a lot, but I have had a hard time growing my following on it. Hopefully this will help! xoxo.

    Reply

  10. Tawni says

    These are such great strategies, and I’ve found each of them to be very effective on my own account! Love that you’ve put this list together.

    Reply

  15. Susan says

    Thanks for the suggestion! I just downloaded a bunch of the photography apps that you suggested, and I can’t wait to try them!!

    Reply

  16. Nataliya says

    Wonderful tips, Latasha! I learned of a few more photo editing apps that I’m looking forward to trying out. I think with the release of business accounts, it’ll be a little easier to gauge when your audience is online and peak engagement times.

    I’m finding it’s so hard to stay consistent, but consistency is key. So is spreading the love!

    xo
    N
    Style Tomes ||ST on IG

    Reply

  19. Jordan | Read. Eat. Repeat. says

    I have a hashtag question: what is the benefit to putting the hashtags in a comment versus including them at the bottom of the text of your post? I’ve seen people do it both ways and I don’t know which one is better. Thanks!

    Reply

    • Latasha Peterson says

      HI, Jordan! 🙂

      I use all 30 hashtags so it just makes it easier for me to share them in my comment section right after I post.
      But, there is no real documentation if either placement gains more engagement thus far. I truly believe it comes down to personal choice and what you like. Thanks a ton for stopping and sharing your comment. 🙂

      Reply

  20. Sarah Althouse says

    I’m currently on the engage step. I am going to people’s profiles similar to mine and following, liking posts and commenting when I can! I hope to create genuine connections where we can follow each other. And your insta is beautiful !!

    Reply

  22. Lynn White says

    Hashtags and consistency have been key for me in growing my list. I’ve slacked off since getting married and it shows in my numbers! I sat down last night and mapped out my strategy to get back in the game. Great post!

    Reply

  27. Nadalie says

    Hey Latasha,

    Such a wonderful post. I love Instagram!

    I’m on a hiatus until the end of summer so I can focus on Facebook, Twitter + Pinterest, BUT I am so pinning and saving your post for my return.

    Thanks for the advice,

    Nadalie, It’s All You Boo

    Reply

  28. Davi says

    Thank you for these tips! I’ve started focusing on growing my Instagram following. One question, you mentioned to add hashtags in a new comment. I’ve seen both ways (in the caption and in the comment). What are you reasons for adding hashtags to a comment versus the caption? I tend to add hashtags to a comment just so when I share to Facebook, the post doesn’t have a ton of irrelevant hashtags.

    Reply

    • Latasha Peterson says

      Hi, Davi! 🙂

      Thanks for stopping by. 🙂 I use all 30 hashtags so it just makes it easier for me to share them in my comment section right after I post.
      But, there is no real documentation if either placement gains more engagement thus far. I truly believe it comes down to personal choice and what you like. I hope that helps.

      Reply

  29. Lyndsay // Lyndsay's Travel Kitchen says

    Such amazing tips! I really need to focus on a color scheme to pull all my posts together.

    Reply

  35. Anna says

    This is such a great tips. I am saving this for me to re read again. I am trying to grow my instagrm as well and this definitely helps . Thank you lady.

    Reply

  37. Kaitlin says

    Such a helpful post! I love your tip of adding in some personality so followers can get to know the real you! I’m definitely going to join your FB group!

    – Kaitlin
    kedgotwed.com

    Reply

    • Latasha Peterson says

      Thanks a ton! 🙂 You can totally do it! 🙂 Looking forward to seeing your page when you ROCK out 1k! 🙂 and WELCOME to Creative Ninja Nation! 🙂

      Reply

  42. Vivian says

    Hi Latasha!

    Your Instagram theme is so on point! Your headline definitely caught my eye because I’m wanting to also increase my blog following. My biggest takeaway was engagement which is what I need to work on the most.

    Thanks so much for the post! 🙂

    Reply

    • Latasha Peterson says

      Thanks so much, Vivian! 🙂 I truly appreciate your comment! 🙂
      Engagement is definitely really important !:)

      Reply

  45. Debbie says

    These are great tips..definitely bookmarking this to give mine a makeover
    Thanks for sharing and have a great day

    Reply

  46. Sara says

    Engaging with others (at least consistently) and finding the “right” hashtags are the real struggle for me. I’ve spent I don’t know how many hours doing hashtag research and it still doesn’t get me much of anywhere :-/

    Reply

  49. Steven Lucas says

    I’m not on Instagram yet although I understand it can be a great attention getter and even a revenue source.

    Thanks for all these great ideas. I know they’ll come in handy for when I do start.

    Thank you.

    Reply

  52. Alexis says

    These are great tips! I’ve been trying to up my IG game and try to strategize better. I’ve been using Planoly like crazy to plan my feed.

    Reply

  54. Michaela says

    Instagram is my favorite platform! These are great tips! I personally love engaging on Instagram because I feel like you get to actually interact with the person who owns the account. I don’t know if that is always the case but it feels much more intimate!

    Reply

  56. Ariel says

    Thanks for the pointers!
    Had a hard time also in the beginning to grow my IG account, thus marketing my business. But since I put the time and effort into planning my whole feed with app Plann, I’ve noticed that my following grows much quicker!

    Reply

  58. Sharon Smith says

    Hi Latasha Peterson,
    Love your advice,
    my business Instagram account not receiving exceptional flowers so i was in disappointed.

    But by reading your amazing tutorial, i think this is the problem solution for me.

    Great thanks dear for sharing !

    My Recent Post: Setting up my Amazon Affiliate Site Targeting Mattress Shoppers

    Reply

  59. Patrick says

    I was searching for an Instagram post scheduler and I found an interesting website called Instavast.
    They have a post scheduler service that is able to generate relevant and smart hashtags for each of your posts.
    Also, They have a resource page for Instagram Banned Hashtags which surprised me a lot! I didn’t know some hashtags will result in shadowban on Instagram.
    It is worse checking.

    Thank you for your great article.

    Reply

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