I am often asked how I grow my brand on Instagram, there is no quick answer to this. It takes time, effort and dedication just like running any business would. I have been using Instagram for about 12 months now and I still work hard at growing my account every day.
However, there are key points that I follow in order to grow my account and gain genuine followers. I am going to share those with you here so get your pens out 😉
Interaction
You need to interact with other people on Instagram, like and comment on photos you love and follow people that inspire you. This is a great way to get noticed and to gain followers. Don’t follow and unfollow just to gain numbers, no body likes that and in the long run you will just lose followers.
Keep posting
Try to post a new image at least once a day, or even twice at different times if you can. This will help you stand out rather than getting lost among the masses on Instagram. And if you want to go all out, post every 4 hours, this will help reach more people faster. Keep in mind the images need to flow from one to the other, so if you find yourself posting shots you aren’t happy with than slow it down. After all, quality is ultimately better than quantity.
Time of day
Posting during the week will perform better than on weekends. Posting from 6-9AM will do better than posting at 3PM. Again, this is up to interpretation and your target market.
Find your style
Choose a theme/style and stick with it. You want your photos to stand out and your whole page to look appealing so find your style and run with it.
Tags and hashtags
Tagging is the best way to get your name out. This can be done by tagging the people you are targeting i.e. the brand, the place, etc. as well as adding hashtags in your description or comments. Make sure your hashtags are related to what you are doing, for example I would use #landscape #photography #canon #australia #sunrise etc etc. Tagging also lets a wider audience see your work as you will pop up in more searches.
And that’s about it. It does take time and work, but if you are trying to build your business, then Instagram as well as other social media outlets are great resources to get your name out and get more business.
I would like to add that I love photography and I love to share my work with people, but some days it can start to feel like a chore and like I am missing special moments with my family, so when that happens I just switch it all off for a little while and take time to focus on the truly important things in life. I still take photos, my camera is never very far away, but I go out with my wife and son and have fun with it. As amazing as social media is, it can sometimes be isolating, so having supportive people around you to remind you to switch off is so important.
I hope this has answered the question and if you have any others feel free to ask me here or over on my Instagram or Facebook page. Happy snapping!
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