Social Media Marketing

I've been getting quite a few DM's lately asking about how to grow your audience on Instagram. (And I love hearing from you guys, so thank you for that!) ♥️

Rather than writing out my answer every time and occasionally forgetting important details, I've decided to put them all in a convenient list that anyone can reference anytime. These are all strategies I've found helpful when growing my own audience, especially on Instagram.

1. Make your page personal to you. What makes you unique? Do you wear a hat in all your photos? Do you write your captions on the same style/tone? Do you sign your posts with a certain name? Creating a personal connection with your audience is important to keep them interested. You're you, not just another page on the internet. Find your "thing" and use it to stand out. And keep in mind, if you're not comfortable with it, you never have to show yourself! There are hundreds of ways to be accessible and outgoing without showing your face, such as creating a pen name (and sticking to it).

2. Interact. I once had someone tell me that they gained more followers off a single comment than their main post for the day. Impressive, right? Compliments go a long way. People like to interact with someone who's friendly and kind, so likes, comments, and follows are priceless.

Instagram's new algorithm tends to favor accounts that are already well established, and obviously can be difficult to reach a new audience if nobody can find you. Beat the odds by commenting, liking, and following as many new accounts as you can. This will help get you discovered.

3. Post regularly and often. This is self-explanatory. Post at regular times, and post often - preferably once a day. (Don't trust Instagram's draft feature - write only when you're ready to post. Drafts are often deleted.)

4. Use the right tags. Use lots of tags, and be unique with them. Don't use completely irrelevant tags - for example, tagging a picture of your cat with #musician - but try to think of all the ways in which someone might search for your photo if it was on Google. (And, by the way, Instagram pictures do show up on Google. Don't post anything you don't want the whole world to see.) Instagram lets you have 30 tags. Maximize the space.

5. Let followers interact with you. This goes back to my first point - creating a personal audience. After all, everyone is unique, so if you use your own personality to direct the content of your page, nobody else's will be exactly like yours. Welcome DM's. Respond to and like comments. Run polls and questions in your story.

Be kind and respectful at all times. Do not - I repeat, do not - cross the boundaries of proper etiquette. That will not help grow your audience - it'll only make you infamous.

6. Create a website. Having a website makes your account appear professional as well as accessible to anyone who's curious about what you do. You can get a domain name for free with most website builders like WordPress, Wix, and Blogger. They'll also let you build a fully functional site free of charge. Take the time to make it look nice and add a little information about yourself, as well as links to social media/book purchase/other. Then be sure to test the website on desktop and mobile. Programming is a funny thing - sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. (Just ask anyone over at Achromia.)

With these strategies in mind, you can grow your audience and get your content out to the world. Keep in mind that it takes time - a lot of time and a lot of effort. Nothing happens overnight, but if you keep at it, you'll see results.

Good luck, and don't forget to DM and let me know if these strategies are working for you!