Hi Foodetectives! We have put together a guide to help you build your Instagram following.
Here are some DOs and DON’Ts
DON’T set your profile to Private
First things first, if you want to build a following on Instagram, DON’T set your account to Private. People won’t be able to see your content and are less likely to follow you.
DON’T make your username hard to find
The harder your username to remember, the harder it will be for people to find and follow you. Use your real name, your business name or a niche-specific handle, and make it easily recognisable. Use the same name across all your social media (Facebook, Twitter handle, Pinterest, etc.).
DO include a profile picture and a bio
Would you ever follow an account with no profile picture? Of course not! Use a picture of yourself, rather than a logo, as research has shown that to increase your follow rate.
In your bio, tell your potential followers what to expect from following you, what you’re about.
DO post high quality content
Too often, influencers wonder why they can’t attract followers without first looking at this basic point: only post content that is of high quality, which would appeal to someone who doesn’t know you. No blurry pictures, no dark pictures (unless that’s the aesthetic you’re going for); you get the point.
DON’T post without a caption
Captions are your chance to enhance your picture, and pull in your followers. They are the pathway to interact with your audience, and will increase your levels of engagement. Make your caption interesting, or simply describe your photo.
DO use calls to action (CTA)
To increase engagement, DO use calls to action: ask questions, invite your audience to comment. It can be very basic: for example, when posting about breakfast, ask “what is your favorite thing to have for breakfast?” at the end of your caption — simple but effective.
DO use hashtags
Hashtags 101: Hashtags help other users find your photos and account; they are extremely important to increase reach and should be used on every post! You can use up to 30 for any posts (or 60 if you add 30 as a comment and then edit your caption to add 30 more). Despite urban legends and rumours, Instagram wants you to use them all: there is no penalty for using hashtags, and there is no difference between putting them in the caption or comment.
DON’T misuse hashtags
DON’T always use the same hashtags in the same order: Instagram considers this spammy and can lead to your post not showing for any tags. Make a list of niche-specific tags that you can change up, and add tags that are relevant to each picture. Aim to use a mix of big, medium and small tags.
Similarly, DON’T use popular (and useless) hashtags like #tagforlikes, #f4f or anything like that.
DON’T use banned hashtags
Using banned hashtags can make your post not appear for ANY tag. The list is ever-changing but have a look at https://thepreviewapp.com/list-of-banned-instagram-hashtags-2018/ for the current list.
DO engage
Engage, engage, engage! Engagement is the name of the game! Like posts in your feed, comment on posts in your feed, engage within relevant hashtags, engage with your followers. Sounds lengthy but this will set you apart from the rest.
An easy strategy to follow:
- Spend half an hour per day engaging within a hashtag: like at least 3 posts per user, leave a comment on one picture (nothing spammy like “follow me” or “check my profile”)
- Spend half an hour per day engaging with your existing followers: like at least 3 posts per user, leave a comment on one picture
- Like posts in your feed
DO answer all your comments
Reply to all your comments (use the reply function to include people’s username): thank the user or answer their question. If relevant, ask a question yourself. Comments increase your engagement and your answer also count in the Instagram algorithm (minimum 3 words). The faster you answer a comment (30 minutes — 1 hour; especially on a new post), the better you will do with the new Instagram algorithm.
DO post at the best time for your account
Post at the time where most of your followers are active. You can check it in Instagram analytics (if you have a business account) or using any third party app. Remember that the initial engagement on your post will determine how it will do with the algorithm.
DO have a consistent feed
Choose a niche and stick to it! Edit pictures in a similar way, to ensure your feed looks good to new followers. You can use Lightroom presets or the same filter to ensure a consistent look.
DO post regularly
The optimal posting rate to increase your following is 3X per day. The optimal posting rate for engagement is 1X per day. If you don’t post daily, try to have some activity on the platform.
DO post videos
Instagram is favouring videos in 2018: take advantage of that! Play around with video on your account: either as a post (if they do well for you), or as an Instagram Story. Using video makes your account more likely to end up on the Explore page — the Instagram holly grail!
DO use Instagram Stories
It’s an easy way to create a more engaged following by showing some behind the scene and more personal/unpolished content. Use the filters (or even have a quick swipe through ColorStory before posting), use the new fonts, use GIFs and polls. Basically, there is a whole team working on new features and they definitely want us all to use them! Always geolocate your story, and include 3 hashtags (you can make them small so they don’t show).
DON’T steal content
When reposting, always, always, always provide proper attribution both in the caption and by tagging the original user.
Please note that some users might not approve of you reposting their content without asking first so tread lightly.
DON’T ever post someone else’s photo/video as your own.
DON’T buy followers or likes
This might seem like a good idea, but it’s really not. Bought followers are ghost followers who will ultimately kill your engagement and ruin your account.
For more information on specific strategies, like engagement groups, f/uF or anything else, please do not hesitate to contact us. Happy posting!
