What comes first, the chicken or the egg… Instagram or your Blog website?
Well, it’s a trick question. You kinda want both! I got started on Instagram because I wanted to play around with visuals and create a community, which is much easier to do on a social platform, than driving to an unknown site. Here’s the trick though, eventually, you do want some sort of “home base” for your content and personal brand, especially if you want to develop partnerships and brand collaborations. For those of you that are just getting started, and want some easy, quick tips for starting on Instagram, I’ve boiled it down for ya!
My Top 7 Tips to Get Started on Instagram
#1. Be consistent with your content.
I always like to try and plan out my content so I have a monthly calendar to batch all of my tasks of content creation together. Writing out social captions? That is all done at once. Taking pictures for the platform? Also done at once! You can do things like editing all of your images and creating graphics at once as well to not only ensure consistency but also to increase productivity.
#2. Try to be inspirational or motivational
By asking your audience to take action with a CTA, you are telling them exactly what YOU want them to do and how they can get more from you.
What is that CTA?
A CTA is a Call-To-Action. Do you want them to leave a comment? Do you want them to go to your website? What about download your latest freebie that has exactly what they need to solve their current problem? A CTA helps you get what you want (email sign ups, sales, followers) but also requires you to offer something in return. You should always provide some sort of nugget of information that is helpful and provides some sort of use for your audience.
Example: if your target audience is moms with toddlers, you should create a blog post about how to manage time as a mom with a toddler and create a checklist that is downloadable for them. The CTA would be to “download this awesome time management checklist” and you would be able to grow your email list with your target audience in mind.
#3 Find a Balance to Work & Life
This is something I’ve been working on my whole life! If you are a business owner or blogger, balancing “work” and life on Instagram is incredibly important. I do this by trying to find quotes that relate to both my work (aka my full-time job in marketing and my blog, as well as my life as a mom) I’m always looking up my favorite quotes and then seeing how I can apply those quotes to my life. How it inspires me, my work, my blog, and everything in between.
Another content piece that you want to focus on is lifestyle and photography. What are you doing in your real life? Are you at the park? Are you on a vacation at the beach? Are you at a restaurant? Are you going shopping? What are your favorite things to do and who are you doing them with?
I love putting pictures of me with my family and my kids sporadically, scattered through my feed. It’s not my whole feed, but I like to break it up and offer different content and photography that isn’t just my face all.the.time. The key here is making sure your audience knows that you are HUMAN and not just a robot sharing affiliate links and launching products over and over again.
Some content examples may include:
- Shoes one day and a handbag that matches
- Half of your body shot
- Mirror selfie
- Flatlays of outfits
- Seasonal outfits
- Home decor
- Travel landscapes
- You with your pet
I love taking pictures with my dog and pets are always a great option as well because people relate well to them. The main thing to remember here is to show the world around you.
#4. Take advantage of IGTV
Video content on Instagram is going to help boost your presence with the algorithm. It can be difficult to get into sometimes but now with Instagram Reels, its easier than ever to create video content. Try starting on Stories and Reels to get your feet wet and feel more comfortable with the creation process and being on camera. Then you can move up to creating IGTVs to boost your content even further.
#5. Always link to SOMETHING in your IG Bio
I always recommend having a website for your followers to go to so they can learn more about you. You can also use some sort of Link-In-Bio feature, whether it’s LinkTree, Milkshake, (here’s mine for reference) or any of those to drive people to multiple links so that you can still capture folks to your email list and get readers on your blog.
#6. Consider Niching Down to Attract a Bigger Audience
I know it may seem counterintuitive to niche down in order to attract a bigger audience but that is how these things work these days. On Google, on Pinterest, even on Instagram. You want to really niche down to the type of feed that you want your customers or your audience to see. So whether it’s fashion, beauty, health, cooking, shopping, photography, or writing just really niche down. I also recommend getting either the Instagram Creator or Business profile and if you’ve created something or you’re the founder of something, put that in your bio too!
#7. Always Put a Contact Option on your Instagram.
I always like to have a form of contact. You want to link your email to your bio and have some sort of call to action at the bottom, whether it’s “check out my blog” and then link to your blog or link to your Milkshake link or your LinkTree so that people can go somewhere to read up more on your content and see what else you’re about.
These are my 7 tips to getting started on Instagram as a blogger and on Instagram in general. If you have any questions at all, please feel free to reach out to me on Instagram or you can leave your comments below!
I know how hard it can be when you are first getting started, and there are so many options out there, but just be true to yourself, who you are, and remember your vibe attracts your tribe!
Hugs,
