I’m going to share with you some of the beginning stages of starting my Instagram blogging account and what I’ve learned!

After watching YouTube video after YouTube video on starting and growing my account, I’ve learned a couple tricks! I’ll share my top 3 tips when it comes to creating a blogger and/or influencer Instagram account.

Creating An Account

1| Learn as you go

I created my account thinking I was going to do a 365project but it transformed into my new blog account. I may have never dove in unless I just plainly went for it. You don’t have to have a huge schedule lined up at first. Before you advertise you have another account or have any followers play around with your new account!

Here’s some areas to mess around with on your new account:

▪ Upload an original profile photo that displays what you want to convey because this will be the first thing others will see when you comment on posts, create a post, and be on your stories. It’s like your icon and needs to be so attractive people will tap it because they are intrigued. No pressure! Upload a few and see which one attracts your eye the best!

▪ Check account settings by making sure you are not on private and that you are a business account so your blogging website is displayed.

▪Use this time to be creative and try new things before you release your account to the world.

▪Think short and sweet when writing a bio. When people visit your account, you want them to know you’re a fashion blogger or whatever you’re going to choose as your focus. You want it straight to the point because who has extra time to dig through paragraphs lol

▪Find a theme that you like! This includes a photography style, color scheme, and photo edits that YOU like and go with it. For example, I like warm, bright colors so all my posted pictures I try to add warmth and brightness to my pictures to help them mesh together and look professional. If you have a fun filter you enjoy, use it with all your pictures so there is a similarity amongst all of them. (I would suggest not going crazy with edits to come across more real and authentic to your followers)

▪The simplest photos look the most professional. You want around 3 subjects in a photo. For example, having you, the sky, and a cup of coffee.

▪Have at least 9 posted pictures on your Instagram so those visiting you have something to look at and decide if you the right fit for their future feed. Plus, it shows that this account is active and cared for.

Once you have your new account set up, some posts uploaded, a capturing, simple profile, then its time to get yourself out there!

2|Make yourself known

▪Advertise your new account on other social media platforms to inform your family and friends. Family and friends will be your biggest supporters and some if your most loyal followers.

▪Follow bloggers/influencers just like you or ones you look up to. They will inspire you and help your followers know what you like.

▪ Like and comment on posts made by your favorite bloggers/influencers to get your name out there.

▪Be a part of conversations happening in the comments of your favorite bloggers/influencers (without being annoying and adding positive flare!)

▪ALWAYS BE KIND, COMPASSIONATE, POSITIVE, AUTHENTIC, AND BUILD OTHERS UP in your comments, captions, DMs, and in conversations.

▪ Use hashtags and tag brands and/or people that pertain to the picture in your posts

3|Engagement

▪Focus on your engagement (likes and comments) more than your follower count. Instagram looks at the likes and comments your posts get more than how many followers you have because some accounts buy followers which contain ghost accounts that will not interact at all with your posts.

▪Write interactive captions which include questions, an attention getting statistic or quote, or a funny tagline. Whenever I start with a simple question, I get more engagement on my post. Keep the first sentence short because instagram only shows a piece of the caption.

▪Engage with others and they will engage with you! Comment on and like other account posts because you can’t expect everyone to come to you when first starting out. They may even discover you and love your account enough to follow you!

BONUS Tips!!! (What I Do)

▪I scoll through my inspiring bloggers, choose one that reflects my style, look to see how many comments it has and decide which option I will do:

Make my own, unique, encouraging, comment with at least 5 words in it if there is less than 100 comments (otherwise my comment will be lost)

Scroll through the comments, looking at the profile pictures to decide which comments to reply with a short message. I then go through and like the comments I enjoy reading.

If I’m one of the first 10 followers to comment on their post, then I comment with a question (If you wait too long, most of the time your comment gets lost and it’s left unanswered)

▪I tag everything I can in my posts to attract brands and places.

▪I look up the specific hashtags my favorite brands have created and use them intentionally. For example, I love Madewell brand and on their website they inform everyone that their hashtag is #everydaymadewell so when I create a post wearing their pieces, I use that hashtag!