Find Brands You Love

Start by finding brands and accounts you love and get ideas from them on what you like. I follow many accounts from mommy bloggers, travelers, designers, and artists. Each of these accounts has given me inspiration, because they all say something about my personality and what I’m drawn to. Make a list of about 5-10 of your favorite accounts on Instagram and write down what you like about each one. This will help you develop words to describe your brand.

Interact with Others

This one thing can help you grow leaps and bounds on Instagram more than any other. We often forget at the heart of Instagram is community. Whether or not it’s taboo to say, I’m a mommy blogger and I have found my community of moms within Instagram. We connect in different ways, but real friendships have been formed through Instagram. It’s incredible. Since Instagram’s recent algorithm change, interaction has become even more key. The more you interact, comment back to people, and comment on other’s posts, the more Instagram recognizes you and the more your own posts will be seen. Plus, not commenting back to others makes you look like you think you’re too cool for school. Don’t feel bad if you can’t comment back to everyone, because you have to live in the real world, but try to respond to questions and sincere comments left on your posts. Also, as a side note, don’t comment back to over 5 people at a time or you will be blocked from competing for 24-48 hours…I learned this the hard way when it happened to me; it’s so annoying.

Introduce Yourself

In a few short and clear words, make a bio in your profile that relates to who you are, your brand, and the images in your gallery.

Stay Consistent and Balanced

Look back on the galleries of your favorite accounts and notice what kind of filters they use, how they shoot photos, and what they caption photos, then choose your own style and try to stick with it. My favorite photo editing apps are VSCO cam, Facetune, and Lightroom. I have chosen 3 filters in VSCO that are my favorites, and I use them in different ways, depending on lighting.

Use Hashtags

Hashtags get a bad rap. Some people think they’re showy or annoying, but when you’re trying to grow a business, brand, or blog, you need to use them. Instagram will not let you post over 30 hashtags in one comment, so limit your hashtags or you will be flagged and blocked. So look at the hashtags that are trending and being used by your favorite bloggers and accounts and use them every time you post in the first comment after you post your image.

Produce Good Content

This is easier said than done, but when you constantly post, you will find what your followers like. Try to post images of what you like, but also what your followers like and balance images with similar backgrounds and content.

Be Positive, Be Nice

This will take you a long way. There is a ton of negativity on Instagram. These is no shortage of mean people. Be someone who signs light and love into others’ lives. Your brand and others will thank you for it.[themify_box style=”note”]Chrissy Powers is a valued consulting client and Instagram celebrity. If you would like to see more of her content, click the following links: chrissypowers.com, instagram.com/chrissyjpowers.[/themify_box]
So, what do you think of the above strategies? Comments and questions below!