How to Improve Your Instagram
One year ago, I had less than 800 followers. I was posting once in a while and I never knew what to post. I was always trying to figure out what my followers wanted. I was wasting valuable energy in the wrong direction.
Today, I have over 5000 followers, 1000 of them I gained in one month. I wanted to share with you what I learned.
Content: If someone is to drop by your feed and take an overall look at your Instagram at a glance, what do they see? Do they know what you are about? If you are an artist, are they seeing more pictures of your dog than your art? I try to keep my posts mostly art. I use my stories for the other side of my life.
Frequency: Post at least three times a week. Honestly, daily posts are better but find a goal that you are comfortable with and stick to it.
Join in with others: If there is a challenge, a class, or hashtag join in and share. This helps you identify a community within Instagram that fits for you.
Comment and share: Commenting consistently can build trust and start friendships. Ask questions, artist love to share their love of art. Share the post to your stories of posts that you really enjoy. It helps others in your following to find others to follow that they might not have known about. AND if someone takes the time to comment on your post ALWAYS reply. Even if it is just an emoji. Let them know that you value their time.
Follow the experts: Follow people who inspire and help you. I learn so much from those I follow. If you want to improve your Instagram I highly recommend Roben-Marie Smith and her Tech-Savvy Artist account
Stories, Reels, and IGTV: Diversify your content and use all the tools available to you. This allows you to access a following that normally would not see your work if you hadn’t posted.
Think of it as your advertising in the classifieds in your local paper. At some point you will have run out of reach, your audience that you are tapping into would have already seen your ad. Now you expand to radio and television and you access a whole different audience.
Use Stories, Reels and IGTV to access more people who would love to be apart of your community.
Images: Post good clean images. Up the exposure and bump the contrast. Add props and use the varying stages of your process to your followers. They really do want to see it.
TOOLS: Tools to help you look professional.
I always wanted to do videos and I did not want to use a big bulky camera. I wanted to use my cell phone. I purchased this *Akron Phone Stand and it has been one of my greatest tools.
Clean lighting for crisp beautiful photos. I bought *this lamp and it has been a lifesaver in my dark Alaska winters.
Clean surface for laying out art to photograph. I use a sketch pad, I know so simple, but it works. I just flip to a clean page and take my pictures. I also use it to create on so that I have under paper to use later. I have also used *Flat Lay Backdrops a lot. They really helped me achieve the aesthetic I was trying obtain while not overshadowing my subject.
And do not forget props. Use your art supplies, cute little dishes and bowls to hold them, and your are set.
Share your life within your comfort zone. I live in Alaska. So, I try to share my beautiful surroundings. People love seeing moose, bear and caribou. I do not get as excited about it but sharing it with others and seeing their reactions also reminds me to be grateful for where I live. Stories are a great place to do this.
You can be private while sharing what inspires you.
Let them see you. They need to see your face. Ugh! I know, right? But they need to see you. They need to know you are really there. I try to post my face every couple of months because my audience connects with me more when they see me. I am HERE for them. So, I get over my anxiety and just do it.
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