With a strong strategy and clever planning, you might just be able to turn that dream into a reality! Instagram is an ever-growing social media platform offering plenty of opportunities for new creators to build an audience and establish influencing careers. In no time, you could be sharing your passion with the world and getting paid to do what you love! If you want to become the next great Insta influencer, you’ve come to the right place. At Plann, we consider ourselves social media experts, and we have plenty of tips and tricks to help you grow your following on Instagram.
Know Your Niche
First, you need to know your niche. This can help you set your Instagram account up for success, creating better-quality posts and targeting users who care about what you have to say. The key to picking the right niche is to decide on something you’re passionate a knowledgeable about. By choosing a topic you love, you can stay enthusiastic about your strategy while offering real value to your audience. On Insta, there are many existing niches you can get on board with. You could be a bookstagrammer, a travel blogger, a fitness creator, a fashion influencer, or something else entirely. The opportunities are limitless!
Create Content Pillars
Next, it’s time to establish some content pillars. You’ll develop a short list of two to five sub-topics relevant to your overarching Instagram niche. These pillars will inform the Reels, posts, and stories you produce. Content pillars don’t have to be complicated. They just need to be relevant and value-packed, responding directly to the interests of your followers. Shuffling between pillars can help you add the perfect combination of variation and consistency to your strategy. If you’re a fashion influencer, your pillars might include OOTD looks, fashion advice, and trend watch posts. If you’re a food creator, you might focus on recipes, food reviews, and audience Q&As. Have fun with your strategy!
Optimize Your Profile
If you want to be a successful influencer, you need to learn how to optimize your Instagram account, taking your handle, name, bio, profile picture, and a variety of other factors into consideration. Like any social media platform, Instagram relies on SEO to influence search functions and the app algorithm. This can affect which users see your posts, so if you want to join the ranks of your favorite Instagram influencers, it’s important to get it right.
When setting up your account, try to choose a name and handle that are clear and easy to remember while including at least one keyword relevant to your niche. Add a keyword-dense bio to your account, along with a professional profile image and a working website link.
Produce Great Content
The best influencers on Instagram never forget about the importance of great content! The posts, stories, and reels you share give users a reason to follow your journey and establish the credibility of your account. Clear, helpful posts should play a positive role in the lives of your followers. By making sure that what you share is meaningful and valuable, you can build a good reputation on the ‘gram while standing out to brands and potential business partners. As you start to build your Instagram account, don’t forget to make quality a priority. Try out different editing apps, and stay true to your strategy. When sharing Instagram posts, always try to put your best foot forward.
Develop a Hashtag Strategy
On Insta, hashtags have power! A strong hashtag strategy can help you reach beyond your followers and become a well-known creator in your niche. You can even drive a boost in engagement!
Every time you share a new Insta post, you can use up to 30 hashtags, putting your account in front of more users than ever. Using at least 10 to 15 hashtags per post can do wonders for your Instagram searchability and reach potential. If you’re a little overwhelmed by the prospect of selecting well-suited hashtags, turn to the experts! Check out the Plann hashtag manager, and find a long list of niche-specific tags to get you started.
Build a Community
Great Instagram influencers recognize the importance of community building on the app. This can help you reach users who care about your content, all while giving you the chance to increase your follower count. Your Instagram community has power. A large and engaged community could open up new opportunities, giving you a voice to reach the masses and helping you earn power, influence, and a professional reputation. Start work on community building by engaging with others in your niche. Talk to your fellow influencers, and use likes, comments, shares, and saves to connect with your followers and other users.
Understand Your Audience
Understanding your audience is essential if you want to be an Instagram influencer! Tracking audience demographics and engagement data can help you understand the market, hone your strategy, and provide your followers with a better experience. Instagram’s insights and metrics are designed to give you an insight into who follows your account and how your followers interact with your content. You can access data for your account overall, or you can narrow your focus to analyze specific posts. To find and keep track of audience information, tap the insights button that appears at the top of your Instagram profile, or find insights on a post-by-post basis by tapping view insights using the ellipsis button attached to your latest grid post.
Network with Brands
Many influencers make a living by working with brand partners, and you can do the same. Being part of a business marketing campaign is a great way to earn some cash and build your career. When working with businesses to produce branded content, it’s important that you understand your rights and obligations. This can increase the likelihood that you’ll be able to establish a long-term working relationship, no matter your number of followers. Once you’ve started to grow your Instagram account, start reaching out to brands relevant to your niche and follower demographic. Be professional in your communications, and ask if you can help with influencer marketing.
Plann for Success
As you improve your Insta account and strive to build an influencer marketing career, you need to plan ahead, creating a clear strategy that helps you achieve your goals and optimize for success.
Using a social media planning and scheduling app can help you take control of your Insta strategy and business. You can keep track of your influencer achievements and improve your professionalism as you start to turn social media into a business. Start Plann’ing ahead, and make the most of every opportunity to grow! Sign up for a free 7-day trial of Plann, and get ready to become a successful, social-savvy Instagram influencer in 2023. Out-of-the-box strategies guide 9 growth strategies to skyrocket your Instagram
