First off, it's hard to blow up on Instagram like the influencers we see all around us. Along with skill, style, and looks, you need a lot of luck.
However, there is still great benefit from promoting yourself, such as local modeling jobs, acting gigs, or international campaigns on a freelance basis.
So how do you gain some interest, start building your portfolio and get some attention to your profile?
As a model, you are a brand. You are using your name to help create interest in products. In a way, you are doing the same thing when it comes to marketing yourself.
This means you need to apply the same tactics that you would use if you were advertising a product or business.
For example, public relations has never been a bad idea for a business. This is the act of reaching out to online media and getting them to independently write about your brand.
Before you go out and start posting ads all over Facebook and Instagram, make sure you have the following:
We aren’t suggesting that you turn yourself into a caricatured photo clown or a selfie-taker. But you do need to get a professional-looking profile picture. I have seen many who have boring profile pictures.
This is what people will see when you post your STORIES on Instagram, so make sure it is memorable.
You are using your name to get more interest so why not make it look professional and use a logo?
In fact, if you have a logo, or a color scheme, make sure you use that for your profile picture! Defintely have it show across your website at the least.
For example, if you have a bright color scheme, your profile picture should have that color scheme in it.
Don’t keep posting the same thing over and over.
Experiment with your pictures. Try different angles and natural poses.
Make sure you have quality posts. It's always a balance between quality and quantity. We would suggest saving the less cool posts for stories while saving the great posts for your regular posts.
Don't forget hashtags!
They help your work get the pop that it needs, and sometimes one of your posts could just go viral!
Make sure the top right corner of your profile shows you have a link to your website, in case people want more info. That way they can check out more of your work.
On Instagram you only get to post one link, so make it count!
But if you are ever feeling alone in the world, put a link to your Instagram profile in your profile. That way, if someone comes across your profile and wants to know more about you, they can check out the link and get right in there.
Put pictures up every day. Yes, that might sound tedious. But if you want your profile to be a part of your success, it is a must. You also want to put up links to the other stuff you do. Instagram isn’t all about your work.
For example, if you are a photographer, you want to show people your portfolio. Put up links and send them to your Facebook and LinkedIn pages. The reason this is a must is because it shows that you are a real person and not just a digital doll with a filter.
Unless you are going for weird-ass permed mullets, stick to one aesthetic and picture.
It is better if you stick to that and use it all the time.
Create an email list and send out an email as an invitation to like and check out your profile.
Be creative with it and use photos and text that really resonate with you and convey your message. If you are ever unsure what is appropriate, ask someone.
When I sent out this image, it caught a lot of attention and a lot of people messaged me about it. That means it connected with them and they are sharing it. It’s that simple. And that’s what you want. People sharing your work with others.
Getting a publicist can help put you in fashion magazines or other blogs with HUGE reach. This means people who are already going to these magazines will see your profile.
Magazine and blog placements will also get you great SEO on your Instagram account.
If you'd like more information about PR and how our company (an online PR firm) can help you, visit our website.
It’s important for your family to be able to see you. But if it’s obnoxious, you might want to remove it. You can add them as friends and they can view the profile from there.
Just make sure your friends and family are not inundating you with your pictures and then tagging their friends and family in them. This can annoy you and could mess up your relationships.
Even though we love the Stories feature on Snapchat, it is definitely making it’s way over to Instagram.
But until then, Instagram Stories are the place to go. For example, here’s a short vignette that I made for my Insta Stories page:
It’s the new platform on Instagram. You can post longer videos and add them to your posts, along with other things you can post.
Many people love engaging with longer content, and sometimes the 1 minute limit on a video is not enough. If you have a bigger following on Instagram than YouTube, you'll likely get a lot more reach with these videos.
