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I thought I would write my Daily Record “tech tip” on the number one question I get asked – “how do I get more Instagram followers?”
Step 1 – Decide what value you are offering to your followers and who your target market is.
Step 2 – Switch to a business account in order to get analytics on your audience demographics and posts.
Step 3 – Be proactive and engage with your target audience. For example, my target audience is moms who are healthy and workout, so sometimes I will go to the #fitmom hashtag and write supportive comments on their posts. This definitely works best if you take the extra time to write a personalized and authentic comment. Ideally some of them will see my comment, click over to my profile, and follow me.
Step 4 – First impressions are important. If someone lands on your profile, make sure it looks like an account they would want to follow. Make sure you clearly describe what value you are offering to them, and make sure to include your email in your profile.
Step 5 – Reply to all comments and direct messages in order to build community and engagement.
Step 6 – Experiment with hashtags. I personally add 30 hashtags in a comment under each post. I keep a list of my favorite hashtags in the notes section on my phone so that I can easily copy and paste them. I could write a whole tech tip about hashtags alone, maybe I will!
Step 7 – Connect with other bloggers and businesses. It is fun to support each other, and you can do “takeovers” for the day on each other’s accounts, or host a giveaway together (make sure you follow Instagram’s official contest rules). My fellow Baltimore bloggers have been incredibly helpful, so don’t be afraid to reach out and meet people in person!
Step 8 – Tag your location, relevant hashtags and relevant people in your photos and stories.
Step 9 – Be yourself. I get the most engagement from sharing a mom joke, sharing what a mess my house is, or sharing that I had a tough day working on my PhD.
Step 10 – Focus on engagement rather than your overall number of followers.
Step 11 – Just get started! A year from now you will wish you started today!
Step 12 – Follow me on Instagram @healthylivingwithash! It was impossible to fit everything on here, so feel free to message me with questions!