Top Tips for Building a Popular Instagram Account*

Social media is a fantastic tool for enhancing our day to day lives. It helps you connect with like minded people anywhere in the world. From having discussions, to scrolling through aesthetically pleasing content, there is a social media platform for everyone.

My personal favourite is Instagram. I’m a very visual person and I enjoy looking at photographed content as well as spending time filling my own grid with my favourite things. I’ve been an active member of the Disney instagram community for years and spent only 18 months rebuilding an account from scratch up to over 10K. It’s a labour of love and although at times it can be hard to battle the ever changing algorithm (if you know, you know) I don’t see myself quitting any time soon. And thank goodness I can keep a track on my growth using an Instagram followers app. They make it easier to see patterns in my follower count.

If you wish to build your Instagram audience for personal use, to promote a business or share your life this post is for you. Today I’m going to be sharing my top tips for growing an account.

But first, I want to start off by saying, it’s not easy. Instagram is one of the toughest platforms to grow on. There is no magic wand waving that can get you from 0 to 10,000 followers and you have to be prepared to put some work in. If you’re willing to, it can be very rewarding!

Curate Your Grid

As lame as it is, picking to a style for your grid and sticking to it is somewhat important. Are you going to go with filtered photos? Or keep things colourful? What sort of content are you going to share? Parenting? Lifestyle? Travel? I actually have a mixture but I try to work to a three photo set. For example if I have a flatlay first, I’d have a travel photo next and then finish it with another flatlay. It’s aesthetically pleasing and if a new follower pulls up my grid it look symmetrical. Try to post good quality photos that are eye catching and ensure your feed flows together.

Schedule Your Content

The Instagram algorithm is a weird one, and be aware, it’s ever changing. However one of the main arguments for having a constant level of interaction or “reach” is posting at a regular time. Firstly you need to suss out what’s the best time for you to post at, and this is of course dependant on your audience. For me, it’s first thing in the morning and late at night. That way I catch my UK audience and my US audience. When I’m busy and can’t post at these times I use a social media scheduler that helps me get my content out at a time that works. Scheduling software is also great for tracking performance and optimising growth. These days when it comes to growing any platform you do need to on some level consider social media tools to help you as not everyone can rely on sheer dumb luck.

Be Active

If you want to see your Instagram flourish, you have to be active and you have to engage with your audience. It might not be something that comes natural but it’s the only proven way to grow. Your account has to be one that people want to share with their friends. You need to encourage engagement by asking questions and sparking conversations on your grid. Be active in stories! Instagram gives you the tools you need to engage, such as polls, videoing features and even a question box. Share your content on stories as your posts will not always show up on their feeds. If you want to see growth you do have to dedicate a certain amount of time to working on your Instagram account.

My LivvyBirdLife account is my baby. Yes, it gives me a headache, but it brings me just as much joy. It’s connected me to some amazing people over the years and has brought some great collaborations. In my eyes, it’s been worth putting all these steps into place and I hope you have your chance to shine too.

Do you have any other tips for growing social media platforms? Pinterest is my next target!