Social media has become one of the most important tools in our digital lives. With every person having their own profile, with it being easy to create an account, and social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter offering to connect people, use of these services has exploded.
It is not uncommon to find yourself looking at someone’s profile and thinking about what you would do if you were them- how you could be that person!
And while some may think that staying within your circle and posting pictures of your dog or your lunchbox are ways to achieve this, it is definitely not. If you want to see more success from your IG account, then there are certain things you need to know.
To fully maximize your exposure, it is important to understand the different features of the app, timing, and creating engaging content for your audience.
A couple years ago, having an account with all of the popular social media sites like Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube would have made you very famous. But it is not enough to just have those accounts anymore!
Having that kind of exposure is great, but it will never get you as many followers as someone who actually uses their pictures to connect with others and grow their audience.
This isn’t saying at all that using other people's pictures is a bad thing – it can be quite lucrative if done right. It is however something that must be used with caution so that you don’t end up taking advantage of others.
Building your own personal brand through yours and others’s pictures is one of the most effective ways to become more well-known. And there are several ways to do this, from starting your own profile to asking for permission and creating engaging photos and posts.
As long as you're not stealing or misrepresenting the source material, I've got no problem with giving you my hard earned fame away! 😉
And remember, even though we talk about building separate profiles here, you can still link your existing social media accounts with Instagram to increase your reach even further.
One of the biggest ways to get more engagement is to encourage comments and conversations. If you’re reading this, then you probably already know that your feed is filled with beautifully-crafted pictures, but very little conversation.
If you take some time to comment on someone else’s picture or ask them questions, you will draw attention to their content and you are likely to gain new followers.
Your follower may even leave a comment or talk about the article in response to your comment! This boosts their ego slightly and creates a chat circle which helps promote sharing and talking more.
As we mentioned before, posting frequently is key to becoming famous on Instagram. Your followers will quickly lose interest if you don’t give them enough content to look forward to!
But how much content are we talking about?
We recommend having at least one good quality image posted every few hours so your followers can watch your life live through their phones.
If you’re too busy to make time for this, then at least aim for once per day or even twice per week. You’ll be giving your followers plenty soon!
Don’t overdo it though – less than an average of 1 photo per hour will not only dry up your audience, but also burn out you as well.
Your followers have invested in you by paying attention to your account, they want to see results! So don’t overexploit yourself just because you think you aren’t making money off of it yet.
That being said, let me tell you something about timing.
One of the biggest ways to increase your exposure on the platform is by linking your Instagram profile to other accounts. By doing this, you give them free access to all of your followers, and they can use these followers to promote their content!
It’s not just for earning some extra advertising revenue either; it’s also great for growing your community. Your new friends or colleagues may be able to help you grow your audience too!
By adding people into your direct circle, they will get an update every time you upload a picture or video. They can then share this content with their own followers, creating a ripple effect.
This isn’t only useful for getting more views for your photos, but it can boost your follower count as well.
Starting from the very beginning, creating an account is free! You do not need to have money to begin. All you need is a computer and internet access. You can use your smartphone to create an app profile as well.
After that, you will want to pick yourself a username. This is what people will see when they look at your profile. Make sure it is unique so no one else uses it. You should also make it short and easy to remember.
Then, choose to follow or be followed. This way, other users can see everything you upload onto your profile and tag them if something interesting comes up.
The next step in growing your followers is to promote your business or product!
Running an account with no activity is not a good way to grow your audience. Yours will likely dwindle over time as people are not interacting with you.
People use social media to connect, so if you don’t interact, then nobody does!
By engaging with others, yourself included, your follower base will continually expand.
Your followers may like what you posted about a certain item or service, for example, but unless they buy it or try it out themselves, they won’t see the true value of what you offer.
So how can you get more engagement? Create interesting content!
Topics that are clearly related to your field will attract new viewers, while providing them information they want will win them over as customers.
And don’t worry about doing things that have been done before – anything is possible now thanks to technology. Try exploring different mediums and seeing what works for you.
You might also consider creating additional accounts specific to promoting your business (for example, via @businesspromo or @marketingprofessionals).
As we mentioned before, being authentic is one of the most important things to focus on when investing in social media platforms like Instagram. If you are not putting up images and content you feel strongly about, then what value does that content have?
Your followers will be able to tell if your posts are fake or if they seem natural and inspiring. They may even begin to question whether or not you really mean everything you say online!
Be sure to take some time to find inspiration from around the web and create an image or a series of pictures that fit with your personal style or brand. Then, use those pictures!
Running a business means there’s always something going on –– which can make it hard to find time to put together engaging content for your account. Don’t worry though, because us here at ThePowerLine are dedicated to helping you out.
A few years ago, people used to ask me how I got so many followers on my account. At that time, I didn’t have too much of an online presence, but I was fortunate enough to have built up a small community of friends through social media.
By posting consistently, and engaging in conversations with others, these same people became invested in my career and life, which eventually led them to follow me as well!
This is one of the most important things you can do as an influencer – create relationships that inspire trust. Your supporters will keep coming back if they feel like you care about them, and will invest their energy into working for your brand or buying products from you.
Running an Instagram profile is a lot of work, which is why there are so many professional influencers out there – and it’s a cheap way to start building your platform.
But don’t use it as a means to make money, or you’ll lose the momentum that has brought you here. Make your content interesting, share fun stories, and connect with your followers on a personal level. They’ll reward you by interacting with you, commenting under your posts, and sharing your content themselves.
It's not always about selling, although offering giveaways and promoting brands is totally fine! Keep experimenting with ways to interact with your audience and you'll find something that works for you.
