SpotTheRedhead | London Travel Blogger

7 Ways To Up Your Instagram Game

1. Set your Instagram goal

What is your next goal? Do you want more followers, more engagement (people commenting on your photos),  or more shout-outs? Pick a goal that you can stick to for 3 months, and then tailor your photos and captions to reach that goal.

Example: If you want more engagement, try asking open-ended questions as your captions or ask people to tag the person that your photo reminds them of!

2. Post every day

When you post everyday, you stay on top of your followers minds. You are also more likely to show up in your followers ‘suggested posts.’ Instagram is always hungry for new content and likes when users are very active. Don’t feel pressured to post more than 2x a day though, just be consistent in your scheduling.

How to do this: Instead of taking 1 selfie or 1 photo of the beach when you visit, take a bunch! Then use an app like LATER to schedule 1 photo a day, spread out over time. A lot of bloggers reuse their photos and post a few photos from the same photo-shoot. Use what ya got!

3. Post in a theme

Have you ever stumbled upon an Instagram profile and you thought, WOW! How do they get all of those beautiful photos in the same color tones and angles? Creating a cohesive theme is one way to brand your Instagram and have your followers remember you.

How to do it: Use VSCOCam or the Snapseed app and use the same filters every time. You can also pick a color theme and snap photos according to your color theme. Other ideas include: take only shoe photos, only beach photos, or pick a certain angle. Pick 1 thing and stick with it!

My friend Brittany has a beautiful theme, check her out for an example! https://www.instagram.com/brittanyannedanger/

4. Use relevant hashtags

If you are trying to reach more people and gain more followers, don’t use hashtags like #travel or #airplane. Those kinds of words have MILLIONS and BILLIONS of users every day, meaning that your photo will get lost in the shuffle! Try using hashtags that are more targeted, more narrow, and usually less than 100,000 uses.

Example: Search #alldaytravel or #ihavethisthingwithcolor on Instagram and you will see the usage numbers. Use these narrow hashtags, splash in a few of those big, famous hashtags, and you’re all set!

5. Tag people in your photos

If your goal is to get more shout-outs from big name Instagrammers, bloggers, or companies, don’t forget to tag them in your photo! Use the hashtags that they promote on their page, definitely @ them in the caption, and tag them in the post to be sure that they see it! You never know who will feature you on their Instagram if they like your photos!

6. Ask open-ended questions

Get more engagement on your latest post by posting an open-ended question in your caption. You have about 3 lines to catch someone’s attention and make them want to click to read more, so what are you going to write? Start with your main point at the top of your caption and then work in your engagement questions.

7. Engage with others

Social media should be, well, SOCIAL! Write comments to people who use the same hashtags you do. Don’t just say, ‘cool photo’, why don’t you write a question or something specific that you liked about the picture? This will create dialogue, and who knows, you may be well on your way to networking and making Instagram friends!

BONUS TIP: Update your profile bio

Don’t leave your bio blank! This is an opportunity to brand yourself, express your personality, and even leave space for your latest blog post or website link. Use your keywords in the bio to help people find you.

Example: If you’re a travel blogger, use the word travel blogger in your bio! (This is the beginnings of SEO practices, if you were wondering!)

Let me know if you implement any of these tips in your game plan! Do you have any tips you would add to this list?

Don’t forget to follow me on Instagram! @spot_the_redhead and say hi!

Spot you soon,

Red

 

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