Instagram’s algorithm is always changing and evolving.
You may be asking yourself, how do I create quality content so that I can increase my followers and engagement?
Here comes some good news! Even if the algorithm changes a million times, there are 5 easy ways you can improve your content that will always be relevant.
Optimize Your Bio
Something that is often overseen and neglected is the Instagram bio. When we think of Instagram, we mainly think of photos. But did you know that having a good bio could be a determining factor in whether or not somebody hits the follow button?
An Instagram bio tells the person just a little bit more about who you are and why they should follow you. Unfortunately, three emojis aren’t usually enough. That doesn’t mean you can’t let your personality shine through!
Mine is pretty simple – it doesn’t need to be complex.
Things you can include in your bio:
- A fun, catchy sentence
- Keywords (Are you a blogger? Small business?)
- Emojis as bullet points
- A related hashtag
- A link with a call to action
- Business email
Post Stories Daily
While you may not post photos to your feed every single day, you should be showing up daily in your stories!
Related post: Easy Ways To Grow 1k Followers On Instagram
There is usually a bunch of strategic planning behind photos you post (filters, captions, grid layout, etc) but stories act as your behind-the-scenes. It’s where people get a chance to see the real you and that’s what will keep them coming back.
Story content ideas:
- Everyday life. Wake up and take a picture of the sunrise or take a quick video of what you’re making for lunch.
- Quick reviews. If you’re using a product or service you love, sit down real quick and talk about it.
- Themed days. Plan out a fun-themed week where Monday you talk about mindset tips or Saturday’s theme is social media tips.
- Interactive stickers. Take advantage of those fun interactive stickers! Create a poll or ask a question. This improves your engagement rate too!
Quality Photos
Photos on our feed are the first thing we see when we open Instagram. As mentioned above, there is a lot of planning that goes into posting a quality photo.
This is because if people are going to follow you, they want to see quality content. This part doesn’t need to be as difficult as we make it seem though!
Natural light
You should try to be using natural light as much as possible. Natural light obviously doesn’t cost a thing and gives you a variety of colors depending on the time of day. Think about it, the morning sunrise makes photos warmer and the afternoon sun makes photos brighter.
I’m personally a fan of playing around with sunbeams and light in my Instagram pictures!
Experiment with angles & reflections
Whether it’s a self-portrait or you’re taking a photo of something, experimenting with angles and reflections may draw more attention not only to that photo but to your profile. People like seeing unique photos and not just the same thing over and over again.
Presets
Adding a preset to a photo can be a complete game changer! There are so many presets out there and Wilde Presets is one of my favorite places to get them.
Presets can completely change a photo for the better and so quickly too! Gone are the days when you sit adjusting brightness and exposure for an hour for a single photo.
I personally love bright and clear photos for my Instagram feed while some prefer darker themes.
The preset package I use most of the time is the “Bright and Clean” Preset collection from Wilde presets. It’s perfect for inside product shots and making the whole photo brighter and clearer without looking washed out.
Craft Your Captions
Did you know that your caption is just as important as the actual photo? The algorithm likes to see that people don’t just scroll past your photo but they stay for a minute. How do we do that?
Attention grabber
You wouldn’t believe what happened today.
You want to know more, right? That first sentence is your hook to reel them in to hit “see more” so they can read the rest of your caption.
Emoji’s
Add a couple of emojis where it’s appropriate.
This could be a laughing or facepalm emoji after mentioning something silly that happened. My favorite is ending the caption with a simple heart. It draws the eye and adds character.
Fonts
Did you know you can add fonts using a 3rd party website?
Either type a sentence or a specific keyword, then copy and paste. Not everybody uses fonts in their captions so you’ll definitely stand out.
Avoid Banned Hashtags
Using hashtags gives you an opportunity for your photo to reach hundreds of eyes which can mean new followers. But what if you end up using a banned hashtag?
Banned hashtags are hashtags that Instagram hides because posts using that hashtag don’t follow Instagram’s Community Guidelines.
You want to try and be as original as you can with selecting your hashtags.
There are a couple of ways to tell if your hashtag is banned.
1. Google the banned hashtags. A lot of websites are good at keeping the banned hashtag list up to date.
2. Search for your hashtag on Instagram. If the hashtag pops up, it isn’t banned. If the hashtag is banned, it won’t come up or it will tell you that the hashtag is hidden.
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Insta-Ready!
With these 5 simple tips, you’ll be Insta-ready whether the Instagram algorithm changes a million times or not!
Let me know if you’ve incorporated any of these tips for your Instagram and if it’s working for you.
Mental Health Reminder: Instagram shouldn’t be stressful. Find a way to have fun with this process. Nothing should be taking up your peace. Especially not the ‘gram. If you find yourself burnt out, check out my post on 5 Powerful Benefits of a Social Media Break
Until next time!
Amanda Burnett is a 25-year-old content creator. Growing up with a disability, she wanted to prove to herself that she was capable of accomplishing her dream life. Today she is helping her audience realize their potential as well! Her goal is to motivate as many people as she can through her lifestyle, beauty, and self-improvement content.
Love this post. My IG needed a facelift a few months ago and I did some of the things you mentioned (optimizing bio, quality photos). I do need to show up more in my stories. Thanks for the tips!
Thank you for these tips I love presets!!! They are life
I’m glad you found these tips helpful, Kerona! Yes, presets are totally a game changer.
These are good tips to improve Instagram content. Will bookmark this post. Thank you for sharing.
Wonderful post! There are some hashtags I used over the last few months were super popular (over 1M posts) but in the last week those same hashtags have dropped to <5k posts. Does that mean they were banned or is something else going on? These are mom/kid hashtags so nothing scandalous.
Crystal | http://www.amazingbaby.app
Hi Crystal! I’m so glad you found my post helpful. I definitely recommend searching those hashtags separately to see if they’ve been banned. Even the most innocent hashtags can get banned if too many spam accounts use them for nonrelated content.
Excellent advice listed here, I love this post
Thank you, Deborah! xx
Thank you for sharing these helpful tips. We will definitely try them out. Also, you should check us out on Instagram.
Interesting and informative post. My instagram needs some improvement. I will definitely use some of your tips. Thanks for sharing.
Thanks for these suggestions! I’ve really been working on my IG game, so this is super-helpful. I am trying to get better at posting stories regularly, and I want to get into reels but just don’t have good ideas. I wasn’t sure how to check for banned hashtags, so I’m definitely going to do a google later to double-check mine!! Great post!
Colleen|ChooseYourUni
I’m so glad you found this post helpful, Colleen! xx
These instagram tips are powerful 💪🏼 I will do a mindful audit of my blog account. I like the themed days, I will try to create a calendar for that. Thanks for sharing 🙏🏻 ♥️
Thank you! I’m glad these tips were helpful for you. Good luck with your Insta! xx
This was so helpful as I don’t have a clue as to what I’m doing with IG.
Thank you, Stacey! I’m so glad you found this post helpful. xx
Wow, love these simple yet actionable steps to improving my Instagram. I shall have to start implementing these, starting with my bio. Thanks for sharing.
Great post Amanda! I recently started a Instagram for my blog, and these tips were certainly helpful. especially the hashtags tips, and ideas to post on my story. I always try to find new ways to connect with my followers, thanks!
sejal | thelazygal.com
There are so many great suggestions here! I know a lot of people could benefit from a post like this! It’s not easy making social media content so thank you for sharing.
Thank you! I’m glad you found my post helpful.
I hate to admit how much I need this post! Such good tips
Thank you for this great post. I never even knew Instagram banned certain hashtags. Thank you for this tip. I’m googling it now!
Currently I don’t use Instagram for content marketing, but should I employ it in future for marketing purposes, I will definitely apply some of the tips you have mentioned in this post. Thanks.
Great post and super helpful as well! I actually didn’t know about banned hashtags. Whoops! Thank you so much for the resource.
My Instagram could use some sprucing up! Thank you for the tips! I’m pinning this to come back to.
Very helpful advice! I had no idea that a hashtag could be banned. I feel educated!
Great tips. I always have a hard time crafting my bios on social media.
Very helpful post! Thank you for the information.
I don’t employ Instagram marketing that much, but am glad to learn ways that I can leverage it as a tool for content marketing.
This was super helpful, thank you!!
I`m not very good with SM, that`s why I have never tried instagram after reading your post, I feel ready to get going.
I’m so glad my post helped! xx
Any further tips on getting engagement with stories? I have the same 20 people view them every day (almost all are my personal friends) and when I post polls or questions, I have never gotten a response.
Hi Ashley! I would try to implement different hashtags within your stories to try and draw that specific audience that you’re looking for! Also use different social media platforms, like Twitter, to encourage people to check out your Instagram! Hope that helps a little bit. xx
I’m so glad to of found this post, I’m fairly new to Instagram and these tips are very helpful
Yay, I’m so happy you found this post helpful Tianna!
This is very helpful as I am trying to increase traffic on my instagram
great tips and tricks
I so need to check my bio, you got me thinking now. I don’t even remember what I put in it.
These are such great tips! I can work on my bio and I need be more mindful of my daily posts. The themed posts is a fun idea well! Thank you!
I need to work on my IG content. These is a great post. with some really great tips that I need to work on. I have bookmarked this post and will surely come back to refer to it. And I didn’t know about banned hashtags!! :O
These are such great tips, thanks for sharing!
Love this post! I’m pretty clueless when it comes to Instagram so this is very helpful!
Happy this helped, Katherine!
Helpful! I definitely need to update my bio haha
I’m so happy you found this helpful, Deanna! I feel like I’m always changing my bio haha
Those are some good tips, thank you! I just discovered presets not long ago, and absolutely love them! Still need to work on posting more stories 🙈
Really helpful tips! I have emojis in my bio, and I love to post on my story throughout the day. I am working on posting more regularly because that definitely improves my engagement. I will try the alternative fonts tip too, presets are a great way to make my feed look extra nice x
Great tips!
Love Instagram but am a real novice when it comes to using it.
Will find this so useful
Great advice, thank you
I intend to include Instagram in my marketing and advertising strategy. Am glad you shared this useful Instagram tips.