I have a love hate relationship with Instagram. I used to have two accounts one personal and one for my blog but now I just have one for my blog. I post all my blog posts and also other pictures. One reason I have the love hate relationship is when I am so close to reaching my next milestone but then I will go down five followers. Instagram followers are so up an down every single day so it can be a battle to reach milestones. My biggest pet hate is people who buy followers, seriously like why?! Why not just put in the effort like the most of us and it will feel alot more rewarding. Over the past few months my Instagram followers have gone up quite alot and that is down to me doing a few things.
Theme
This is something I didn’t really think was necessary but it definitely makes a huge difference. If you go to my Instagram EmmysBeautyCave you will see 90% of my pictures are flatlays and my background is usually white. I also use a makeup bag in most of my pictures just to add a pop of blue. This has made my Instagram look more put together and it all ties in with each picture. You can create a theme by using the same background, flowers, accessories. Use anything you want. Someone may like one of your pictures so when they click onto your feed and see pictures that work together there is more of a chance they will click follow.
Location
It’s all about location,location,location and I don’t mean the tv show! I didn’t even think about this helping my Instagram in anyway. When you upload a picture to Instagram it has an option which says “Add Location”. It isn’t just about tagging where you live, for example if you upload a picture of a Too Faced Palette, tag Too Faced as your location. If you type in the brands name it will come up with a head office and stores. I usually tag a store in a big city that alot of people will go to. This basically helps if someone searches by tags your image will show up. If you have a picture of shopping bags, again put the shop as your location.
Tagging
This is an obvious one, tag brands and shops where ever you can. When I upload a picture of a product on it’s own or a group product shot I always make sure to tag all the brands in the picture in the description section and again tag them in the actual photo. Doing this will make your picture show up on the brands Instagram in the “photo’s of you” section. Another bonus is some brands may re-post your picture which allows new followers to follow you. I have also had brands contact me by email after seeing my Instagram pictures I tagged them in.
Comment
I never used to think about comments on Instagram that much, yes I would comment on a few if I liked the picture or there was a product I wanted to try. I now try and comment on at least 20-25 pictures a day on Instagram. I comment on ones I already follow and also new ones. I have found since doing this my followers have gone up massively. That being said I don’t comment on any random picture, I only comment on pictures I actually like or have something to say about them.
Hashtags
Simple and easy we use them everyday. I think it comes down to knowing which hashtags to use when and with which pictures. Google what the top instagram hashtags are and it will tell you the most recent popular ones. If I post a beauty shot regarding my latest blog post I will use certain ones..
BBLOGGERS
BEAUTY
MAKEUP
MAKEUPJUNKIE
BLOGGER
MAKEUPBLOGGER
BBLOGGER
Hashtag the Brand that is in the picture or the product name itself. Pick and choose the hashtags which suit your picture the best. Personally I don’t use the follow4follow type of hashtags as I want people who are genuinely interested in the type of photo’s I post, I don’t want ghost followers.
I hope these tips have helped even if you only found one of them useful. They have definitely helped me improve my Instagram.