If you are managing an instagram account for your blog, you probably have one mission in mind: gain more followers. The key to gaining valuable followers on Instagram is to ensure you are using organic methods, meaning you aren’t buying followers as some bloggers have been caught doing.  Today we will discuss 5 tips to grow your Instagram following organically as a means to build a loyal community base that will be more apt to click thru to your blog.

  1. Combine Business & Personal Posts – The life of a professional blogger is all about building a personal brand that can be monetized. People want to know that you are real and live a life similar to theirs with messy mishaps, happy moments and everything in between. Combining both your personal & business posts together under one Instagram account will allow you to reach a larger audience. (Note: This applies to personal blogs, specific to one blogger or family). In fact, people want to see more organic content than sponsored Instagram posts, so you should have more personal pics on your profile.
  2. Keep Your Voice the Same –Maintain the voice you use for your blog within your Instagram account. You will slowly build faith within your community of followers when you are consistent. People want to know the real you; they read your blog because they love your voice which means they will soon follow you on Instagram if you keep true to your unique voice.
  3. Link to Instagram on Your Blog & Vice Versa– Create sidebar widgets and in post links back to your Instagram account. Your audience can’t follow you on Instagram if they aren’t aware that your profile exists. Within your author bio as well as your sidebar embed a link to your Instagram account. In your INstagram profile, you can link back to your blog or a specific blogpost you want to promote.
  4. Interact with Others on Instagram – The key to building a community is communication & reciprocity. Take time every day to like photos on Instagram as well as to leave comments. Be certain to leave comments on people who fit within your niche as well as target audience to gain more followers.
  5. Analyze Popular Hashtags – Learn what hashtags are popular within your niche and use them to your advantage by having the in the captions/ comments of your photos. This will gain traction rather quickly as others searching out that hashtag happen upon your updates and soon you will see your Instagram community grow substantially.

Growing your Instagram following organically isn’t much different than you were doing to gain traction on other social media outlets. It’s just a matter of getting in touch with your creative side, using the search function on Instagram to follow & interact with others in your niche and staying true to who you are as a brand online. When you practice the above 5 tips to grow your Instagram account organically, you will soon see your following increases on a daily basis.