Boosting Your Followers on Instagram
Ya’ll already know we are big time lovers of Instagram. Can you think of a better social media outlet for photographers? We certainly can’t. Though, with all the benefits that come from the ‘Gram, it can be a bit intimidating when you see just how many followers the next guy has. We dont want you focusing on the greener grass next door but we do want to help you grow your following today — and we do mean your following. It’s important to keep in mind that just because some folks have 10,000+ followers, it doesn’t necessarily mean those 10,000 are a quality audience or are customers.
Lets focus on some easy, tried and tested ways to grow your quality target audience:
POST ON SUNDAYS
Sundays get the least amount of posts on Instagram and so statistically you’re more likely to get noticed. This Sunday, set an alarm to remind you and make a point to get a post or two in!
100 LIKES
If you have some time while watching your favorite show, search out a relevant hashtag like #yourcity and like at least a hundred random photos that caught your eye. Neil Patel found that this task alone will gain you at least 6 new followers.
POST DURING THE SWEET SPOT
Research shows that the lightest post span during the day is between 2pm and 5pm. The great news is that it spikes again at 5pm with a very engaged audience, which means they are likely to spot that photo you posted a few hours earlier.
CONSISTENCY IS KEY
When posting to Instagram, edit your images to make sure your photos look like a collection that came from the same artist. Its also important to take a look at your grid as a whole to see the master plan since people decidd within seconds of seeing your grid whether they will follow or not. Platforms like Planoly can help you schedule and plan your grid to make thing s whole lot easier!
SHARE YOUR HANDLE
While your current clients are probably well aware of your Insta’ handle, their friends and family probably are not. Instead of posting your website credit on this year’s client holiday cards, add your Instagram handle instead! It easier to remind them of your services if you’re in their feed daily and we all know — timing is everything!
ABOVE ALL — ENGAGE
We can throw all the tips and tricks in the world at you but above all, the most important thing you can do to gain quality followers is to engage with them. Ask questions and be considerate with your comments in other’s feeds. In return, make sure to follow up with comments and questions that have been asked of you within your feed. Down underestimate this step — this two-way interaction is key to organically finding your tribe on Instagram.
Remember that you won’t exponentially grow your followers overnight but if you keep engaging and following these tips you’ll see your numbers begin to rise with not only followers, but customers.
Got a tip you’d like to share? Share it with us in the comments below and collaborate with us on Instagram with #thebloomforum.