How to Grow Your Instagram Account: A Guide to Growing Your Instagram Account

How to Grow Your Instagram Account: A Guide to Growing Your Instagram Account

Today, more than any other social media platform, Instagram is best known as the home of the selfie. But selfies aren’t the only things you can post on Instagram. Because this platform isn’t just about you — it’s about sharing photos of things that you love. Things like travel, food, fashion and nature are all perfect themes for your next Instagram post. If you have a product or business that lends itself to being photographed and shared on Instagram, now is the time to get started and begin growing your account. Here are some great tips on how to grow your Instagram account from our team of experienced BEND designers.

Find your niche and go deep
When you first sign up to Instagram, it can be overwhelming. You're faced with a never-ending feed of photos and videos from people around the world. Don't worry though! There are ways to cut through the noise. The first thing you should do is find your niche and go deep. If you're a travel blogger, focus on posting beautiful shots from your latest trip around the world. If you're a foodblogger, share mouthwatering shots of your latest recipes or cooking experiments. If you're someone who loves fashion and beauty, post outfit ideas that inspire readers to get out there and shop for clothes or try new make up trends. The point is that when you have an area that inspires you to show off your creativity, it becomes easier to grow an engaged following on Instagram because people can easily connect with what inspires you and what inspires your posts.

Take great photos
One of the best ways to grow your account is by posting good photos. Photos that are well taken, edited and captioned with a compelling message will get more likes and followers. The key is to find a unique angle or perspective that captures something genuinely interesting. If you take great photos, people will want to see them! So, it’s important to make sure you’re taking high quality photos before posting them on Instagram. If you don’t have a fancy DSLR camera, there are plenty of apps available for your phone that offer filters and editing tools. There are also some great online tools for editing your photos online as well.

Don’t forget about video
Instagram recently introduced the ability to post 15-second videos, and it’s important not to forget about this new opportunity. Videos are a great way to get people engaged with what your company is all about. If your business is in the beauty industry, show them how you create a favorite look or share a tutorial. If you’re a food blogger, offer viewers a sneak peek at your cooking process behind the scenes.

Leverage your followers
One of the best ways to grow your Instagram account is to leverage your current followers. Instagram will notify you when one of your followers becomes a follower on another account. It’s a great way to keep in touch with them, and it’s a no-brainer that they might want to follow you as well (especially if you have similar interests or products). When you see this notification pop up, don’t forget to follow them back! This will help build your following and help them find your account more easily. It's also a good idea to reply to any comments or questions they may have about your profile. The more personal connection you can make with potential followers, the more likely they are to follow you back. Remember: anyone who follows you may not necessarily be interested in following the other accounts you follow. If this is the case, it might be helpful to create lists for different types of content (i.e., fashion posts vs travel posts) so that when they "Follow" one list, they won't automatically get all of your other content in their feed.

Grow with advertising
There are two kinds of advertising on Instagram. There is Instagram’s new “shoppable” shopping ads, and there are also sponsored posts. The shopable ads are just like the ones you see on Facebook or in your newsfeed — they feature things that you can purchase, which opens up an opportunity to turn your account into a storefront. You just have to have a business with products or services that would make sense for advertising on social media. The other type of advertising is sponsored posts, where brands pay Instagram to post content on behalf of their business. Be careful when choosing sponsors though; it’s best if you select companies who align with your brand and target audience so that it doesn’t seem disingenuous.

Conclusion
Now you’ve got the basics of growing your Instagram account. Now all you have to do is put them into action! As you start to see your following grow and engagement increase, you may find yourself wondering how big you can make your Instagram account. The answer? As big as you want!