Since my 5 Ways To Improve Your Instagram post got so much positive feedback, I decided I would give you all 5 more ways to improve your Instagram, even more! Just like my last post, I hope you can learn something and take away at least one new tip. Enjoy!
And don’t forget to follow me on Instagram!
1. Be consistent.
There is no right or wrong amount of photos to post each day or each week, but make sure you’re consistent in whatever you choose for your profile. I usually only post 1-2 photos a day, mainly for the reason that I don’t want to overwhelm my followers. Some people that I follow or have in the past post 5+ photos a day. In my opinion, it can be a tiny bit annoying to constantly see one person in my feed and honestly, it clogs up my feed from seeing others I follow. Now, it’s not all about common courtesy, but you don’t want to post every picture you took from that event or coffee date. Learn to save some photos for down the road when you want to post something, but don’t have any photos to. Again, this is just my opinion. Whatever you choose, be steady and intentional with your posting.
2. Engage.
It is so, so important to engage with your followers. This doesn’t mean you have to have a question in every post, but sometimes it can be fun to get others opinions and views on a topic or passion you have. One thing that I love to get in on at least once a month is #FridayIntroductions, which was started by Jess Connolly and Haley Morgan. The purpose of it is to re-introduce yourself to your current followers to remind them why they first started following you, helps you gain a few new followers with similar interests, and usually involves a questions for you to answer and have your followers answer.
A huge key thing with interacting with your followers is to respond to their comments on your photos. I see so many people who completely ignore comments that are written to them. It’s one thing if you forget to reply, but really, don’t ignore your community. Aside from responding to comments, make sure you comment on other people’s photos. Instead of just ‘liking’ their photo, put a thoughtful note on their photo, as well. Let’s communicate!
3. Make your profile public.
I never understood why people have their profiles locked. If someone follows me and I go to look at their feed and it’s locked…I usually won’t follow them back. Do you really need to have your photos of your coffee, shoes and flowers locked? I don’t think so, but that’s just me. Basically, if you’re looking to grow your audience and your profile is locked, you’re pretty much at a dead end. Let people in!
4. Timing is everything.
What hours do you post during the day? When does it seem like the majority of your followers are on and engaging? Finding the peak times of when your audience is on is huge with growing your profile. I find that most of my followers aren’t on in the morning, so I’ll save my post about the delicious I made in the morning to post closer to noon or 1:00 pm, when people are usually up and fully awake. The majority of my followers are highly active in the late afternoon into the evening. Once you figure out your stats, it’ll help you gain more exposure when you post at the “right” times.
5. Find a layout that suits you.
I’m sure you’re wondering what I mean by layout, because on Instagram you don’t have the option to choose themes. What I mean when I say layout is what boarders you use, if you even choose to use boarders. Some people like to stick to the square groove, which is what I’m currently rocking, but awhile back I was adding white boarders to the photos that were horizontal or vertical, and didn’t quite look good if they were cropped into just a square.
I have come across profiles that have all of their photos in circles and some who add an entire white frame around their photos. It gives your profile a nice, inviting presence when you figure out what fits your style. To be honest, I’m still deciding if I’m settled with the regular square or if I want to add a frame or not. And remember it’s okay to switch it up! Just stick to something that reflects your personality and that you’re comfortable with.
Here are some good apps for adding boarders or making your photos into shapes:
Whitagram (free)
Afterlight ($0.99)
Autodesk Pixlr (free)
Loved sharing some more tips with you all! I hope they come in handy. Who knows, maybe I’ll do some more tips in the future. You’ll have to wait and see!
