When you first start out on Instagram, it may seem difficult to gain new followers. Believe me, I’ve been there. Today, I’m going to share my top tips with you on how to build your community on instagram. Building your community starts with growing a sustainable, authentic (key word) following on Instagram. These followers will stick around for the long term and engage with your posts. They will support you and look forward to your content each week! Curious? Let’s jump in!
Content Strategy
Develop a Consistent Posting Schedule
For the social media platforms you use, come up with a content strategy that works for you! Find something that works for you and stick with it! And no, you don’t have to post every day. That is a common misconception. Don’t put too much pressure on yourself. If you can share 3 awesome pieces of content Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, that is great! I find that people often get over-ambitious with posting goals and their content suffers as a result.
Having a consistent posting schedule will allow your audience to expect content from you on certain days or times. Maybe you share sales every Monday, or travel tips every Tuesday. Creating consistent content is a huge attractor for your community on Instagram – and hey, brands love to see it too! Narrow in on your posting strategy and content plan. Once you have it, write it down and stick to it! You can even share with your audience what days and times you’ll be posting each week so they’ll know what to expect from you. I always share my Tip Thursday posts for bloggers and content creators on Thursdays, and my audience knows to expect this from me. As a result, Tip Thursday posts always receive high engagement and views!
Start defining your niche & content style
Make sure you have a clear niche and audience in mind when creating content and writing captions. It may seem counterintuitive to get specific with your niche as you won’t be able to attract as many people. I get it. However, you can’t be all things for all people. And that is okay! Many people like to talk about how the influencer world is oversaturated and I disagree. There is room for everyone to grow, but you have to think about what makes you or your content unique. Maybe you’re a food blogger specializing in kid-friendly recipes. Maybe you’re a hairstylist focusing on extensions and balayage. Are you a travel blogger discussing luxurious trips on a budget? A friend of mine applying to PA school told me she follows a blogger who focuses primarily on tips for applying to PA field and success in the medical field. The point is, find what makes you YOU and RUN WITH IT! Your audience will be attracted to this. Once they know they can expect something from you, and they really love that thing, they will keep coming back for MORE!
Create content pillars
Once you have your niche in mind, you will be able to develop clear content pillars. It wasn’t until I got clear with my niche and brand mission that I was able to create my content pillars. I consider my niche to be Florida lifestyle content, creative photoshoots, and educational resources for new bloggers and content creators.
Creating content pillars gives you consistent topics to post about and allows your audience to start expecting something from you. Once you have your content pillars, you can even consider offering a regular series.
Start Offering a Regular Series
Offering a regular series is a great way to retain your audience. Series can be a great way to build trust and expertise with your audience as well. For example, I share my “Tip Thursday” post every Thursday consistently. Sharing this post has positioned me as a thought leader and expert in influencer marketing with my audience. This series has greatly contributed to the growth and loyalty of my community over time, as my audience has come to expect that each Thursday, they WILL get new influencer marketing tips FOR FREE.
The series has also allowed me to retain followers who want to read and save my content each week. The posts always receive the highest engagement of any of my posts.
Give it a try yourself and let me know how it goes!
Add Value with Each Post
Value comes in different forms. Every time I share a new post, I consider the following. “Would someone save this to refer to later?”
Adding value can be a huge way to grow and nourish your community. By adding value in each post, you are providing a service to your audience. This allows them to trust you and consider you a resource that they constantly want to refer back to. Think about what will get your audience to save and keep coming back to your content.
Adding value can be a huge driver of engagement and community growth, especially now that Instagram is likely prioritizing posts with a high number of saves and shares. When one of my posts receives a high number of either, it is a great indicator to me that I am providing value to your audience. Do a deep dive on your past posts and see what performed well! I use these metrics to drive content strategy moving forward as I know my audience enjoys that type of content.
Stop Cutting Corners
There are a few common mistakes I see influencers making when they are first starting out. I made these mistakes too, and I want YOU to learn from them! Many influencers cut corners by using engagement or comment pods. Comment pods are groups of influencers who regularly engage with each others content. They will share their latest post in the group message and the other girls in the group HAVE to engage (like, comment, save) before sharing their own post with the group. Now, this may seem like a harmless practice, but Instagram actually flags this activity. Instead of focusing your time on these groups, spend your time authentically engaging with your audience and finding new accounts to connect with. Same goes for practices like following people just to unfollow them. Same goes for those accounts that DM you and say “We can grow your audience by 100,000 over night!” If it seems too good to be true, it is. Cutting corners is a surefire way to turn off your community. Lead by example!
Interact With Your Audience
Spend time authentically engaging with those who do the same for you. Remember the golden rule? It applies in the influencer marketing world! I carve out time every day to interact with my audience. There are a few ways I do this. The biggest one is replying to comments that my followers have left on my posts. Typically when I do this, I also try to leave an authentic comment on one of their last posts.
I also seek out new accounts regularly. Finding new accounts is easy! I love to use hashtags to interact with other creators. I’ll typically choose a few hashtags that I’ve used on my own post and interact with some of the most recent posts in that category. When I do this, I leave authentic comments that show that I have actually read the caption. I often see people commenting “omg so cute” on posts with a more serious caption. Nothing shows more that you didn’t bother to take the time to look at the content or read the caption. When you are engaging, do so in a way that reciprocates what engagement you would like to receive. When other creators see you consistently engaging with their content, they’ll be more likely to spread the love and do the same!
Partner with Influencers in Your Niche for Giveaways
Partnering with influencers in your niche can be great way to gain followers and build your community. If they enjoy fashion content and follow a fellow fashion blogger, and you are a fashion blogger, chances are, they might enjoy your content too!
Giveaways can be great. But, don’t go overboard with them. Handpick some giveaways for products you as a consumer would actually want to win. Ensure that the influencers you have partnered with are people you would want to follow.
I did a whole blog post on the questions I ask when deciding to take part in a giveaway. I outline what makes a good and bad giveaway. Below are the questions:
Do you think you will implement some of these strategies as you work to build your community on Instagram? Do you have any tips that have worked well for you? Please share them down below – let’s all learn from each other!
Are you a new blogger or content creator looking for more resources? Check out these recent posts:
- What Rates to Charge as a Content Creator in 2021
- How to Choose the Best Platform for Blogging
- How to Provide Quality Content to a Brand
- My 2021 Content Calendar
- 9 Blogging Essentials You Need
- How to Maintain Relationships with Brands
- Pitching to PR Contacts (+ How To Find Them)
- Boost Your Instagram Story Engagement
- How to Get Noticed By Brands for Collaborations
- Pitching to Brands as an Influencer (+ real email templates that I actually sent!)
- The Tea on Instagram Giveaways
- Influencer Marketing Platforms to Help You Make Money
