The first thing that I'm going to want you to do is to actually sit down and look at your page and really think about whether or not you are clearly communicating what your page is about and what your niche is. And there's a few different ways that you can do this. So, my Orange Collective account, I'm just gonna use that one because it has the most followers, and that is a channel that my boyfriend and I run - it is all about travel and food. So, we have purposely created a bio which summarizes what we're about in a snappy (I'm hoping it's funny way). We also make use of our highlight reels which showcase the different places that we've traveled to and accumulate some of the best content that we've put on our stories. And we also put a lot of care into our top nine. And what I mean by top nine is literally the first nine photos which appear on your Instagram. The reason why I'm saying that these are really important in addition to your highlight reels is because when you go on someone's page and when you're making that decision about whether or not you're going to follow them, these are the first things that they see: they see your bio, they see your profile pic, they see your edits, your highlight reels, and they see your top nine photos. So, you want to always make sure that all of these things are aligned, they're working together, and they're clearly communicating what your page is about. If you're a brand, it's clearly communicating what the products you sell are and what your tone of voice is. If you're an influencer, it's communicating your niche and what type of content you produce so that people can make an informed decision as to whether or not they're going to engage with your page.
The second tip that I have for you is to study your analytics. You can only do this if you're a business or creator account. If you're not either of those things, I recommend switching. It's very, very easy - I'll put a little video to my left here to show you how you can do it. But what it basically means is that you get access to a whole host of analytics from Instagram which are really useful when you're trying to build or grow your account. Take a look at your analytics and look at which content has performed the best for you so far. What you want to do is look at this by reach, by engagement, shares, saves, by all of it because you'll start to see a few photos are going to be reoccurring. These are the photos that you need to study and try to replicate. So, make sure you're paying attention to this part of your analytics because it's super, super useful. It's literally telling you what content is going to work well for your audience so listen to it and take it on board.
My third tip I'm going to give you is, and this relates a bit to what I've just said: too many people focus on acquiring new followers more than actually maintaining or building relationships with their current followers. If you really focus on nurturing those relationships with your existing followers, then more followers will come. And how you're going to do that is by engaging with your followers, responding to their comments, sending them DMs, and really making sure that you're building a relationship with them. Because eventually what will happen is they'll become advocates. Advocates are amazing because advocates are people who share your content with others and who will really help you get your name out there. They're going to be a huge driving factor for your growth, especially when you're a small account.
My next tip is to master the algorithm. I'm probably going to do a whole video on this because the algorithm is a beast. Not as much of a beast as YouTube's - YouTube's algorithm is something else. But Instagram's algorithm is still a beast. A lot of you might remember back in the day - I think it's about 2016 - Instagram actually used to show your content on your feed in chronological order. It was like reverse chronological order. So, that was great for brands and for anyone trying to grow their audience because it basically meant that it doesn't really matter if someone is engaging with your content or not, they're going to see it at some point if they scroll long enough. That's not the case anymore. As Instagram introduced an algorithm, which is the whole purpose of the algorithm is to keep people on the platform for longer. And how they do that is by curating the feeds that we see when we go on Instagram and we're scrolling. The content that we've seen is the content which Instagram has decided we are going to engage with the most. And how they've come to that conclusion is by studying our behavior: studying whose channels we go on the most, studying whose stories we're looking at the most, studying who we DM the most, whose photos we like the most. They gather all of that data, and if you're interacting with the page a lot, they're going to think, 'This page is obviously owned by someone who they're friends with, maybe it's their family, or this page is providing really high-quality content that this person likes. So we're going to keep on serving it.' So the way you master this algorithm (again, I need a longer video) but top few ways that you can do it: focus on your content, make sure that it's super high quality and engaging because then more people will engage with it, and therefore the Instagram algorithm will push it up. Do things like ask questions in your captions because then more people will comment and again Instagram will boost your page. Interact with your followers and engage with their content because again Instagram's gonna think, 'Oh, maybe they're friends. I'm gonna boost your content and I'm going to show it up.' So you can kind of see on the way I'm going with this. And if you really take some time to master that algorithm and do your research into it and think about that every time you're on the platform and every time you post, eventually you're going to start to really reap the rewards of that. Instagram's going to start pushing up your content.
Okay, another tip I'm going to give you is to be consistent. And I know everyone will say this all the time and it's such a pain. Like, oh my god, you know how hard it is to be consistent on four different Instagram accounts when you have a full-time job. It is so hard. But there's different things you can do and tools you can use. At the moment, I use Later. However, I am considering moving over to Planerly soon. If anyone's tried Planerly and Later and if you have an opinion on which is better, let me know. Basically, what both programs do is allow you to pre-schedule all of your content so it goes out automatically without you having to do anything. This is vital for anyone who owns multiple Instagram pages but also incredibly useful for anyone who just wants to get really consistent with their personal Instagram page. And in terms of how often you post, it's going to differ depending on who you are, what your content schedule is like. One thing I don't recommend is committing to a ridiculous posting schedule. If you do a bit of research on this, you're going to find a lot of articles which are going to say you need to post once a day. Posting once a day is very hard. And unless you have loads of time to dedicate to your content or unless you're able to batch capture content, it's gonna be really difficult for you to stick to that kind of schedule. So be honest with yourself and figure out how much can you realistically post per week and then stick to that. You do want to do, in my opinion, a minimum of three, and but you should always think about quality over quantity. For example, myself and my other half who manage our Orange Collective page and probably every other UK influencer who is in the niche of kind of travel or food blogging will have reduced their amount of content this year because restaurants have been closed majority of the year and we can't travel so we can't produce really high-quality content. And whilst we can do a bit of stuff from home, we're not going to pollute your feeds with different types of content which you aren't interested in. Our audience wants to see us travel and eat food out. We're not able to do that, so we're not going to try and force it. So, again, just think about how often can you realistically create and produce and schedule high-quality content which fits your niche and then commit to that.
Okay, so the last tip I'm going to give you, and this is probably the most important tip, and especially for small Instagrammers: what you've got to think about right is you could be doing all of these other tips and mastering everything else that I've spoken about but still not see a huge increase in your follower count. And one of the biggest reasons for that is because people can't see your content. If you think about it, how do you normally find someone's Instagram page? I personally find them through a recommendation, I find them on the popular page (which is incredibly hard to get on if you're a small influencer), or I find them because they've engaged with my content. That's how I find them. So when I've started any new Instagram account, the main method for me to gain followers when I'm a small account is by getting on other accounts' radars. So, for example, my Instagram account for Westside Hustle, when I started it a couple months back, I did loads of research into other accounts which share similar information. I looked at who follows those accounts, and then I went through each and every single person. And if I felt like they would be interested in my content (which they probably would if they're already following someone else's very similar page), I would like, comment on one of their photos, I would respond to one of their DMs, you know, I might give them a follow. What this basically does is it means that you're gonna be getting on that person's radar. They're gonna see your name pop up and then a lot of the time they're gonna look at your account. And if you've followed all those tips I told you at the start in terms of making sure your first nine posts are great, your highlights are great, you know your bio's catchy and clear, they're going to look at all that information and they're going to be like I'm going to follow this person. And honestly, that is how I got to my first 1,000 followers. It's all those tips I've spoken through but most importantly it's that last one which is getting on people's radars. It requires a lot of physical labor, yes, but you know sometimes you've got to work for these things. It's incredibly effective. So those are my tips. I hope they're all useful. As I said, I'm creating a guide which will help anyone who's trying to build their Instagram page and get paid sponsorship deals from brands as a result. So if you're interested check out the link in my description where you can pre-register and be the first to know about when it's released. But yeah, thank you for watching, hit the subscribe button, and like this video if you enjoyed it, if you found it useful.
Q: How can I clearly communicate my page's niche on Instagram?
A: You can clearly communicate your page's niche on Instagram by creating a bio that summarizes what your page is about, using highlight reels to showcase your content, and focusing on your top nine photos to align with your niche.
Q: Why is studying analytics important for better content on Instagram?
A: Studying analytics on Instagram can help you understand which content performs the best in terms of reach, engagement, shares, and saves. By analyzing this data, you can replicate successful content and tailor your future posts to cater to your audience.
Q: How can I build relationships with my current followers on Instagram?
A: You can build relationships with your current followers on Instagram by engaging with them, responding to their comments, sending them DMs, and nurturing your existing relationships. By focusing on your current followers, you can create advocates who will help promote your content and attract more followers.
Q: How can I master the Instagram algorithm?
A: To master the Instagram algorithm, focus on creating high-quality and engaging content, ask questions in your captions to encourage comments, and interact with your followers. By understanding the algorithm and optimizing your content strategy, you can improve your visibility on the platform.
Q: Why is consistency important in posting on Instagram?
A: Consistency in posting on Instagram is crucial to maintain engagement and attract followers. Tools like Later or Planerly can help you pre-schedule your content for automatic posting, allowing you to maintain a consistent posting schedule tailored to your content. Quality over quantity is key when determining how often to post.
Q: How can I get on people's radars for growth on Instagram?
A: To get on people's radars for growth on Instagram, research and engage with accounts that share similar content to yours. Like, comment, and interact with potential followers to get noticed and potentially attract them to your page. Building relationships with other accounts' followers can help increase your visibility and follower count.
