Instagram has been around for quite some years now, but it has been being used as a marketing tool as of late. People use their Instagram accounts to not only make personal connections with their customers and clients, but to acquire new customers, clients, and blog readers.
It seems one of the first things people do these days to figure out what kind of blog, business, or person you are is by looking to Instagram profile. It has become essential for your customers, clients, or readers to browse through your Instagram presence so here are 3 Ways to Use Instagram to Grow Your Blog or Business and make that impression count.
Create a theme for your photos.
This is something I have seen a lot of successful Instagram accounts do. They use the same filters, same background colors, same fonts, and even the same type of subjects in their photos to create a particular feel for their account. This is completely intentional and they plan these photos ahead of time because they want to make sure their the photo fits in with their theme and the asthetic of their Instagram account.
A few bloggers in a Facebook group I am a part of questioned why "staging" their photos is more effective than randomly posting photos from their everyday lives and I have an answer.
It's fun to post photos from your personal life to share with friends, but often those photos seem to get attention from your circle of friends and family. A "staged" photo on the other hand - a photo that is planned to fit your particular theme will resonate with far more of your followers then just your circle of friends and family.
Here's my rule of thumb: If you post every day, throw in a wild card or two from your personal life in a week and if you post a few times a week, post one wild card. This way you're connecting with your friends, family, and giving your followers posts that resonate with your brand or business.
Use up to THREE hashtags in your photos.
Repeat after me. I will not EVER use more than three hashtags.
People have this perception that by loading up your captions with every hashtag that comes to mind will allow more people to find your Instagram posts. Not true. In this case, it's definitely better to look for quality rather than quantity. So instead of making up hashtags like #atmygrandmashousehavingdinner and piling it in between other useless hashtags, how about searching keywords that fit your image and looking for which hashtags have been used most frequently and picking from those?
Plus, by using hashtags of relevance to your photos, people will land on your Instagram page, then hop on over to your blog or business and that means more business and more readers!
Join an Instagram loop giveaway.
This is a great way to meet other bloggers, business owners, and acquire customers, clients, and readers. If you don't know what an Instagram loop giveaway is, here's a brief explanation.
An Instagram loop giveaway is a giveaway solely hosted on Instagram where blogs/businesses who have Instagram accounts, post the same giveaway image at the same time. People then enter the giveaway by liking the photo and following that person and then continue following a series of accounts which will lead them back to where they started.
It's a lot of fun for the hosts and easy for everyone to enter! Plus, you get a ton of Instagram followers!
I have done a few giveaways before and they ran pretty successfully. I have gained 1,000 loyal followers and am super excited to be hosting more Instagram loop giveaways in the future! You can sign up to be notified when new giveaway opportunities are available as well as find out everything you need to know about Instagram Loop giveaways here.
I hope you enjoyed this post! If you have any Instagram tips of your own, please share!