There’s no denying it: Instagram’s a behemoth of the social media world. One billion people happily post their pics on the platform every single month.
The result?
It’s a marketers’ dream! The popularity of Instagram (combined with its ease of use, lack of fees, and abundance of influencers) makes it an incredible opportunity to get in front of an audience.
That’s true whether you’re a global brand or a brand new blogger or buy Instagram followers.
It’s the latter of the two that we want to speak to today. With a bit of Instagram training, anybody looking to grow a blog can and should be using this platform to their advantage.
There’s just a huge number of possible ways to promote your site and content on it. And we want to help you do it.
Looking to leverage the power of Instagram to promote your blog?
Read on for six top tips for doing exactly that.
1. Leverage your profile bio
First things first — you need to get the most out of your profile bio.
All too many bloggers fail to do so; many even leave the entire section blank!
Bad idea. After all, this is where people visiting your profile get to know you better. It’s where you introduce your blog (and yourself), give them a flash of your personality, and let them know why they should follow you.
There are three primary things to include:
• A line about your blog,
• A call-to-action related to your profile/your blog, and
• A link to your blog!
For example, you could put:
“I left my high-earning 9 to 5 behind to travel the world! Now I’m helping others to do the same. Read the blog for more: [insert link].”
Now, you might have to play around to fit the 150-character limit you’re allowed. But you get the idea!
2. Focus on delivering quality content
Your Instagram profile has to have high-quality images on it.
They must be the cream of the crop — the best you’ve got! Remember, Instagram is all about visuals.
Nobody’s going to follow a profile (or click on its links) if the snaps are poor-quality, off-topic, or in any way irrelevant.
More to the point, posting awful images sends the wrong message about your blog! It’s unprofessional, unappealing, and suggests the blog content would be the same.
Make your photos pop.
They should be beautiful, unique, and relevant to your blog and its audience.
Oh, and a level of cohesion helps too. The overall aesthetic of your profile makes a difference. The best Instagram feeds have pictures that share aesthetic similarities. Maybe you use the same filters, colors, lighting effects, or creative overlays.
Over time, your profile will take on its own distinctive appearance. That’ll help it stand out from the crowd and get people to follow it.
Unsure how to post? Here’s how to post to Instagram from Mac.
3. Get active on Instagram
The key to promoting your blog via Instagram is having an engaged audience.
In other words, a ton of followers who can’t wait to see your next post.
Alas, building up a following takes time and hard work. Starting from scratch? Then, alongside posting quality images, you need to be proactive in getting people to your profile.
Follow other bloggers, send DMs to influencers, reply to DMs from current followers, tag people in our posts, like and comment on other peoples’ images, and so on.
You’ll find that people naturally click on (and follow) your profile as you go.
They’ll value your engagement and reciprocate in kind. They might follow you back, tag you in their snaps, and like/comment as well. Keep it up and you can accrue a significant following as the weeks and months go by.
4. Post videos alongside pictures
Instagram is, of course, best-known for images.
But it also lets users post 60-second videos.
Whether you upload a pre-recorded one or record it direct from the platform is up to you. However, it’s another great way to promote the blog to your audience.
There’s a world of possibilities here. You could post a video about your latest blog post and direct people to the link in your bio. You could offer 5 quick tips taken from your latest post and then direct them to the link.
Alternatively, you could just ‘go behind the scenes’ and let your audience know what you’ve been up to. People love getting to know the owners of profiles better. It helps build your brand- especially if you’re delivering value at every turn.
5. Leverage Instagram stories
Don’t forget about Insta-stories.
Every 24 hours you can update your story to show anything you see fit. Everyday users post snaps and vids of what they’ve been doing throughout the day.
As a blogger, you could do exactly that same. After all, just like the videos we mentioned above, it’s all good stuff in terms of brand-development and relationship-cultivation.
Of course, those stories also provide an excellent opportunity to promote your latest blog post.
Drop a picture of the blog post with some copy over the top. For example, it might say something like ‘read my new blog post!’ Then, with a quick ‘swipe-up’, they can go and read it.
It’s awesome for spreading awareness and sending Instagram traffic to your site.
6. Learn how to use hashtags
Hashtags are powerful ways to get your profile in front of an audience on Instagram.
Make sure you take advantage of them. You’ll get more views and engagement every single time. And that, of course, leads to more followers.
Here’s how it works…
You post in the image and include a related hashtag or two in the caption beneath it. Suddenly, your picture now shows up in the image directory of that hashtag. In other words, hashtags help users find your content.
Imagine posting a picture of a beautiful beach with #beachbums. Someone who searches ‘beach bums’ on Instagram could then stumble across your snap!
Remember Your Instagram Training
Ready to start promoting your blog on this giant social media platform?
Hopefully, this Instagram training will help.
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