Let me start by saying, I’m no Instagram expert. Just last year, I only had about 400 followers. Today, I have reached a little over 1k! Instagram is definitely one of the hardest social media platforms to figure out. If you’re finding it hard to grow and be discovered, I promise you that you’re not the only one!
I’ve come a long way in just a year. I’ve made many mistakes, learned from each one, and have finally reached my first major goal of 1k followers. You may be sitting there thinking, “Must be nice but I’ll never be able to accomplish that.” Although, I have 5 tips that are perfect for beginners to focus on. These tips got me to where I am now!
Create Quality Content
When people are on Instagram, they want to discover good content, right? I mean, think about what you like to see when you’re scrolling through Instagram. If an image is dark, hard to see, the main object is off-center or if the picture is too busy, the chances of the person scrolling quickly past are pretty high.
This being said, it’s important that your pictures are of high quality and visually appealing. Does that mean you need a fancy expensive camera and equipment? Absolutely not. Honestly, most of my pictures on Instagram are taken with my phone. It works pretty great if you ask me! So what are some key things that help create good pictures?
- Natural light (If it’s a bit dark, turn up the brightness!)
- A pop of color
- Clarity
- Focus on the main object
#Hashtags
Hashtags have been around for a while now and believe it or not, they are actually a powerful tool to growing your Instagram and getting discovered by new people. If you post about beauty as I do, anybody else who is interested in beauty can find your posts just by searching #beauty or #makeup. Although, you should always try to use new hashtags with each post. Try using the brands or product names that you’re posting about. You can also see how popular a hashtag is by typing it in. Did you know #beauty has been used 322M times?
I like to have a good length of a caption under my posts then at the bottom, I’ll leave about 5-10 hashtags that relate to what my post is about.
Another thing you’re able to do know is following hashtags! So for instance, if you follow #beauty, anybody who has a post with that hashtag will pop up on your feed! This is a great way to discover and interact with new accounts.
Tag Brands / Companies
I’ve been posting product pictures and reviews on Instagram for a while and I’m embarrassed to say, I only recently started utilizing this magic tool! When you post a picture of a product, you should tag the brand so it has a chance to be seen by them! I’ve done this quite a few times now and I’ve received likes by brands such as Butter London just because I’ve tagged them in a post with their eyeshadow palette!
Post Often
If people truly like your content, you don’t want to leave them hanging! I personally always check profiles that I love to see if they post anything new. When you post often, your loyal followers will keep engaging with your posts! I personally like trying to post every day, if not every other day.
Another tip is to utilize your Instagram stories! On days that I don’t feel like I have the best photo for my feed, I’ll post a nice quote or an engaging poll to my story. This way, I’m still being active!
Engage Daily
If you’re not one to post every day, you should at least hop on Instagram for a few minutes a day and leave lots of likes and comments to the people your following. Engaging lets people know you actually care about their content as well. I’ve had many instances where I was following somebody who wasn’t following me back but after liking and engaging with their posts often, they ended up following me back!
Even if somebody doesn’t follow you back, it’s still nice to leave love on a photo if you genuinely like it. Let’s be real, they’re in the same boat and are working hard to have their content seen just like you. At the end of the day, we’re all in this together.
Reflection Time!
After reading my five tips for you, how confident are you in yourself that you can practice these to reach your goal? No matter where you’re at with your Instagram game, don’t forget there are no limits to your potential. A year ago, I never thought I could ever reach 1K but here I am. I worked hard and with hard work comes results.
I hope this post helped anybody who’s working hard on growing their Instagram. As I keep growing and learning new things, I will happily make more posts in hopes to keep providing insight.
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.
These are all solid tips. Instagram is so tough and it’s easy to become frustrated with it!
Thank you so much! xx
Instagram is definitely a difficult one but these tips are super helpful! I need to do a bit more hashtag research for sure.
I am so happy you found my post helpful! xx
I became frustrated with Instagram. I need all the help I can get this app! Thanks for sharing!
I totally understand your frustration! I hope some of my tips help. xx
These are some great tips and I actually do a lot of them for the most part. I really need to work on engagement and consistent posting or at least doing more stories when I have nothing to post.
Thank you, Deandra! Engaging and posting consistently is key! I’m so happy you found this post helpful. (:
Great tips – and much needed. My instagram account is neglected.
I’m glad you found my post helpful! Keep going, you’ll get there. (:
Great tips girlie! I enjoyed reading and plan to take your advice ♥️ Thanks so much for sharing!
What a helpful post! I love reading about what tips work for different people. Loved it!
Thank you! I’m glad you enjoyed it. 🙂
Thanks for these great tips! I want to start growing my Instagram but have been so lost on how to get started.
I hope these tips help! xx
These are great tips! Thanks for sharing!!
Thanks for the tips will definitely be utilising these! Insta for me, is the hardest platform to grow a following on!
-Kyra
I hope they help! Insta is definitely so tough.
Thank you!
You are so welcome!
Wow! Thank you! I feel like for the past month I’ve been trying to figure out how to properly use Instagram for my blog. I am also someone who is not a big fan of social media, so this has been a struggle lol!
You are so welcome, Zoey! I hope these tips help you. xx
Love these tips! Instagram is so competitive these days. So important to stay consistent and know how to use those hashtags!
Oh instagram. I think if you are willing and motivated to work on instagram – it will pay off. I on the other hand always lose my motivation to engage consistently and post everyday unfortunately, especially when I am in a mental rut.
Laura / https://www.laustworld.com
Don’t give up! (:
Instagram is something I definitely struggle with, I feel like I put a lot into it but see little results. I think I need to work on better hashtags and consistency.
Keep trying new things and I’m sure you’ll find what works best for you! xx
Great post! Instagram used to be my favourite platforms cause I loved the creativity, but I got very frustrated with it in the last year and a half. I might go back to posting more though, and I`ll keep your tips in mind.
I’m going to change up my strategy a bit because I’ve read in other places to utilize all 30 hashtags and use the same hashtags but change about 5-8 of them to match what you’re posting about. I’ve had pretty good success but I kind of want to use the hashtags I want to use instead of the popular ones. I usually mix the hashtags so that some have millions of views and some have just a few thousand. That also seemed to work but I agree with Sarah above, Instagram is hard and sometimes it gets a bit boring.
Yes, Instagram IS hard. Keep experimenting with those hashtags! Whenever you feel like it’s boring, maybe try to interact with your followers on your story. Create a poll and ask some questions. I find that makes it pretty fun and it gets your engagement up at the same time. Good luck! xx
Great post! This is really helpful. I used to be really into promoting on Instagram but as time went on I wasn’t seeing the results I would like to. But I think I will try again. Thanks for sharing!
Don’t give up! xx
Yes, I have finally got the hang of it and my account is now growing steadily. I would also suggest that Instagram analytics are definitely a key feature to help you grow.
I’m so happy to hear that! Yes, analytics are also super important!
Instagram is definitely one of the hardest platforms to figure out. You’ve shared some great tips, totally going to try them ! Thank you 💕
– Maya, http://www.travel-by-maya.com
Thank you so much! I hope it helps. xx
Awesome tips Amanda!! I try to engage and post daily. Sometimes it’s hard because you get busy more than other times but I could definitely have more practice. Thanks for sharing girly!
Geraldine | https://geraldinetalks.com
Great tips! Definitely going to try them out!
These are some really great tips! I’ve had my Instagram for about a year now and I’m just nearly at 1k followers and I’m trying to grow all the time. I don’t post daily but I’m definitely going to engage more! X
Thank you, Aaliyah! Hope you reach 1k soon! xx
These are some great tips for Instagram, I’m always looking for advice with Instagram! x
Lucy | http://www.lucymary.co.uk
I don’t use Instagram so much but am glad to learn some new ways one can grow his Instagram account. Thanks for sharing.
Thank you for taking the time to read even if you don’t use Instagram a lot! 🙂
Thank you for sharing! I find it hard to grow Instagram so I appreciate the advice! One thing’s for sure, it definitely takes time and effort!
Shuana
howivebeen.com
Yes, it’s so important to be patient. Keep implementing new strategies and you’ll see results soon. xx
You’ve got some great tips. being consistent, as you mentioned, is so important. Don’t back off just because you are starting to see growth, doing that will only cause you to then take a step back. Instead, stick with it!
Amanda these are all great tips, especially about engaging daily. I’m not one to post everyday or every other day but I like how you said to utilize stories on days you don’t post and like/comment others’ content. That’s a brilliant way to stay engage and it requires Les than 15 minutes! Great tip definitely adding this to my Instagram strategy.👏🏾❤️
Natonya | https://JustNatonya.wordpress.com
Thank you, Natonya! It makes me so happy that I was able to provide you with an extra tip. xx
Create QUALITY CONTENT then message people with followings and share your content. Ask them to share it.