Everybody is talking now about the new Instagram Algorithm and how to beat it; so well, this is just my personal case-study about how I grow my own Instagram account.
I would like to share with you this personal experience and the exact steps I take because I think it will be of great help for a lot of people to get their Instagrams organically “on track”
.I have a good growing pace, not to mention my engagement rate and also I rank pretty well on the hashtags I use. I would be happy if you Take a look at my Instagram at @Oussama.9
These are the steps I take, and I’ve put them together in a step-by-step guide format, for a better understanding and ready to be put into practice. Let's get to it!
Ask yourself WHY you are or want to be on Instagram
Instagram is a social platform where you:
Share images (photo or video), with captions or comments.
Browse, like, and comment on other users’ images.
Other people browse, like, and comment on your images.
Now ask yourself if you really want or need to be there, and WHY.
Get a clear idea of your message and what you have to offer to your audience
(if your idea of being on install is just sharing images of your everyday life, or just random things for your family, friends, relatives, or even having a private account, you can skip this step. Actually, you can skip the whole guide… LOL).
Once you know the reason why you are on Instagram, you have to identify what is the MESSAGE you want to send out there: who you are, what do you have to offer, etc.
Just think in the same terms of any traditional means of communication: people consume social media basically looking for entertainment, information, or knowledge. You must adapt your message to these principles in order to develop a winning “MESSAGE”.
Be (truly) real and not only be looking after increasing your following
When you are preparing one of your messages (your photo, your video, your caption, your story…) do it because you truly want to share something VALUABLE with the community. In other words, be as real as when you share something interesting with your people in real life!
Take care of your feed theme but not worry too much
It is good to get inspiration from other interesting feed themes, but if you are not an artist, you just have to be more or less cohesive, just in case someone checks your profile.
BUT if one of the reasons for you to be on Instagram, is creating a stunning feed as part of your message (maybe because you are a designer, an artist, or belong to the creative world), then, of course, you need to take attention here.
Post stunning and attractive high-quality images
The KEY trigger for someone to LIKE a random image seen on Instagram is that image is attractive to that particular person. Mostly this will be the basic reason for just liking a post.
Write interesting and quality captions that make your audience engaged instantly
The second KEY for someone to Like a random post is the caption of that image. But the main KEY for someone to COMMENT is the text! (Instagram LOVES comments and will give you a better rank- exposure).
Post at the right time
Mainly posting at times when your audience is connected, just check your insights if you have a business account. Bust basically I used to post at the same time every day. This way, your audience will know went to expect your content.
Post once a day
This is not a fixed rule but it worked for me and I noticed the previous week that when I posted more than 2 images a day, the engagement or like per post dropped. (Definitely, this has to do with the algorithm because I remember in the past the good thing was like 3 or even 4 posts a day….). In case you need to express yourself more than once a day, go ahead and use Stories galore!!
Repost and mention people you like
Repost needs to be done with other apps outside Instagram, don’t forget you MUST mention the account where you are taking the image from! The app I use for reposting is Repost For Instagram.
Also, you can mention people on your own images, but just don just mention people randomly! it’s a bit annoying when you mention people for no reason.
Another interesting thing to do is recommend (or brag about) an account that you really like (a.k.a. shout out), explaining why you recommend that account (take this as part of your daily acts of random kindness )
Take a bit of time every day to engage with your audience and the people you follow
I was a little bit obsessed (I must confess) maybe you have other duties and don’t have all the time to be on Instagram, but find time just to be social (not posting) just liking, commenting, replying comments, searching hashtags you are interested in, follow new people…
Focus more in real, honest, thoughtful communications
When you are on Insta for being social, it really gets addictive in a positive way: you want to connect to catch up with your tribe! When you have that feeling, the magic is already happening! And most likely the feeling is reciprocated, and it all starts to grow bigger and bigger….
Take time and effort to choose, create and edit the images
Use quality images, with a quality message, use tools, and apps to get the best of your images, like for editing or adding texts, etc.
If you are a bit experienced Photographer even using your phone, you can make money online selling your Instagram photos, here is Dowson who is making $750 a week just selling his Instagram pictures, click here to see how?
Take time to search for relevant hashtags
using the right hashtags under your posts will take your account to another level, but be careful to choose the right hashtags because the algorithm works to detect the concept of your very first 15 hashtags and then it places your post due to those 15 first hashtags.
I created a designed Ebook of over than 1000 hashtags about the highest profitable niches on Instagram(fashion, food, photography, beauty, fitness,music..) click here to get the Ebook
Use mid-range popular hashtags, related to your content
Find the hashtags more appropriate for your image and your caption. (Instagram hates people using hashtags as spam, actually, it has a new feature to notify when someone is using hashtags with irrelevant content). Be careful and check your hashtags because there a some banned hashtags (sometimes only for 24 hours)
How to check if a hashtag is banned: go to the magnifier icon-search that hashtag, and if there are no results, that hashtag is banned right now (don’t use it!).
You can use up to 30 hashtags. I heard the new algorithm doesn’t like using all of them… I disagree. But you need to use more specific hashtags (and not the popular ones) maybe jus one or 2 very popular.
Follow hashtags of your interest
In the same way, you follow people, do follow hashtags that matter to you or you are interested in. Be active with the content of that hashtags when they appear on your newsfeed.
Check hashtags of your interest to follow new people
A very important part of growing your following is directly proportional to the number of people you follow. But you have to follow wisely and consistently (i.e. stuff you really like or are interested in). The best place to find new people to follow: your favorite hashtags!!!
Eventually, you will come across with a (NATURAL) group of friends; really be friends with them (comment. like, etc)
Actually, that is the spirit of Instagram and the reason why it was created! Instagram wants to recover that essence in its new algorithms and that’s why this tip beats the rest. And you know what? for you as a user, this is when you enjoy having Instagram: building relationships that add value!
Bonus
Well, you have read this much so thank you! I want to give you access to a bunch of upgraded tips and tactics (not in this article) but included in the eBook “INSTAGRAM WORLD“
If your goal not just having a tiny small following If you are planning to gain a huge following so you need a whole guide that gets you there! from that point Im giving you access to the VIP strategies, methods, tips, and tricks that made me reach over 60k followers on Instagram, and teach you the very detailed hacks that make you beat the algorithm easily.
In this blueprint, I implemented a bunch of very detailed strategies, starting from choosing your username until making decent money monthly from your Instagram account. so everything in between that is deeply mentioned!
Feel free to DM me at @oussama.9 if you got anything to ask!
Thanks for getting over here!
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