50 Ways For Photographers To Grow Their Instagram Account
Why should you grow your Instagram account? Instagram is the most popular social media platform for photographers, plus it’s one of the most popular social media platforms in the world today. It’s also one of the best ways to get your work out there, especially if you have an eye for good photos that are creative or artistic in nature.
The world of social media is changing. The days when you could just post a picture and wait for the likes, comments, or shares are over. Nowadays people want more than that; they want interaction with brands on their favorite platforms. This means that if your brand isn’t active in these channels then it will be left behind by its competitors who have already made this transition. So how can photographers get involved? How can you grow your Instagram account?
If you want to get started using Instagram as an effective marketing tool and to grow your account, then this article will help you understand how to do so effectively.
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Which Instagram Metrics Matter Most To Grow Your Instagram Account Fast?
Let’s take a look at the ones that matter the most.
- Number Of Likes On A Post: This metric tells us if our account has grown or shrunk over time. It also gives us insight into whether or not users like our content. We can use this information to make changes to improve user experience. For example, we might want to increase engagement by posting more frequently and/or adding new images with higher quality.
- Followers Gained Over Time: The number of followers gained is another important indicator of how well your audience likes what they see from you. If people are following you because they enjoy seeing your photos, then it’s likely that they’ll continue to follow you as their interests change. You should be able to track follower gains in real-time using Insights.
- Engagement Rate: This metric shows us how much interaction there was between our posts and other users’ comments. When looking at this data, we can determine which type of post gets the best response. For instance, some posts get lots of “likes” but few comments; others receive many comments but fewer “like”. Knowing these differences will help us decide where to focus our efforts when creating future posts.
- Average Interaction Duration: The average duration indicates how long each person spends interacting with one of your posts. Longer interactions mean that people were engaged with your photo longer than expected. In contrast, shorter durations may indicate that people weren’t interested enough to spend any amount of time viewing your image. By analyzing this data, we can learn things such as who visits our profile pages and why.
- Total Views Per Day: Total views per day helps us understand how popular our accounts are overall. This metric lets us know how often people visit our profiles and view our photos. The total views per day figure includes both direct traffic and indirect traffic.
How To Grow Your Instagram Account And Get More Followers
Here are the 50 tips I recommend to grow your Instagram account.
1. Optimize Your Instagram Bio And Profile Picture
Your Instagram bio is one of the first things people see when they follow you or visit your profile page. It should be short but sweet — ideally less than 140 characters. Your bio also plays a big role in how people perceive you. Use it as an opportunity to tell potential customers about what makes you different from other businesses in your industry.
Your profile image should reflect what kind of person you are — whether you’re funny, serious, creative, professional, etc. If you want to grow your Instagram account and attract potential customers, then your profile pic needs to convey something about your company or brand.
2. Create A Brand For Your Business
The first step is creating an image that represents you, your brand, or your company. This will help people know what they are getting into when following you on social media. It also helps them remember who you are as well as the products/services you offer.
3. Grow With A Thoughtful Instagram Marketing Strategy
Instagram has become one of the most popular social media platforms out there. It boasts 1 billion monthly active users — which means if you want to reach them, you have to make sure you’re doing everything possible to stand out among all those other brands trying to connect with their audience.
The good news? There are many ways to do this on Instagram and it’s not as hard as it seems. You can grow your Instagram account fairly quickly by following the tips in this article.
4. Design A Gorgeous Instagram Grid
Design a gorgeous Instagram grid layout. The best Instagramers use the power of the grid to their advantage. Work on creating an attention-grabbing Instagram grid to grow your following and for higher engagement rates. First impressions matter!
Your grid is the first thing users see and can determine whether they follow you are not. If you are a brand, an influencer, or creator it is essential that your grid be consistent in style. It’s what you can use to get your message across and show what you are all about.
Canva has a wide variety of Instagram templates and the essential design tools you’ll need for posts and stories. Use them to help create and identify your brand’s style.
5. Create Engaging Content & Quality Photos
Engaging content includes anything that makes people want to interact with it. It could be something as simple as adding a hashtag to your post so others can find related topics. Or maybe it’s more complex like creating a quiz where followers have to answer questions about themselves before they see their answers.
Be sure to post quality Photos – Quality matters. People aren’t going to spend time looking through hundreds of low-quality photos. Make sure that every photo you upload has been taken well and edited properly.
6. Write Compelling Captions
Instagram has become one of the world’s largest social networks because its photos and videos stand out among other types of posts. That means there’s plenty of room for great images with strong copywriting.
The key here is making sure each caption stands alone without any distractions. The more compelling the better. This helps keep readers focused on what matters—your message.
7. Post Photos Of Yourself Working On A Project
This tip works well for both professional and amateur photographers alike. Showing yourself working hard on projects builds trust among your audience. People appreciate seeing real-life examples of your craft. Plus, showing your passion for your job is a huge plus for prospective customers.
8. Share Behind-The-Scenes Pictures From Events
Showing behind-the-scenes pics during events is a great way to connect with your audience. You can share candid shots taken at parties, receptions, rehearsal dinners, bridal showers, bachelorette parties, engagement sessions, and so forth. These types of photos give viewers an inside look at what goes down before the big event.
9. Take Inspirational Selfies
Taking inspirational selfies is one of my favorite ways to use Instagram. I like sharing them with friends and family members who don’t follow me yet. If you have a special place that inspires you, post some snapshots of that location. Or if you find inspiration in nature, snap away!
10. Use Hashtags Effectively
Using hashtags effectively increases engagement rates and is another great tool to use to grow your Instagram audience.
Hashtags are keywords used by search engines to categorize content online. Adding a relevant hashtag to posts makes them easier to discover. When using hashtags, use them correctly. They should relate directly to your content.
For example, if you were taking pictures of food, you wouldn’t hashtag #photooftheday as that doesn’t really apply to your photos. Instead, you would tag #foodphotography or #foodblogging, etc. These tags allow other users to find your posts easily. But most importantly, they let search engines understand what type of content your post is and show them to others searching for similar topics.
11. Tag People In Photos
When you tag someone it sends a notification to them of the image you tagged them in. It’s a great way to reach out to your favorite brands, or anyone that you collaborated with, to showcase their services, photos, or products.
12. Be Consistent With Your Content
It may seem like common sense but consistency is key when building any type of social media presence. If you don’t stick to posting regularly then no one will know about your work. If you want to grow your Instagram followers you need to build up trust so that when someone does see something from you they feel comfortable enough to follow you back. And remember, even though you might not always be able to keep up with all the new trends, sticking to your own style is important too. Don’t try to fit into everyone else’s mold because you won’t stand out at all.
If someone follows you, it’s because they want to see updates from you. Make sure that you’re posting content consistently and regularly whether you want to attract followers or simply keep current ones engaged, consistency is essential. So even though there are no rules about posting frequency, aim to upload three times per week.
13. Engage In Conversation On Others Accounts
Another great way to grow your Instagram engagement is to comment on other user’s posts. Commenting helps establish a relationship between two parties. Not only will you receive likes and comments, but also you’ll learn more about your target market.
When you comment on posts by others, be genuine about it. Don’t just say “nice pic” if you really like their work. Share something meaningful you liked about the post!
Commenting on pictures posted by others is a good way to show off your personality. Don’t just leave comments; try adding witty captions and funny jokes. The goal here isn’t to spam people but rather to add value to their experience.
14. Get Creative With Filters & Effects
Filters and effects can help transform boring photos into something beautiful.
There are tons of filters available online that allow you to edit images after uploading them. Try using some different ones to add more interest to your photos. Also try adding effects such as vignettes, bokeh, etc. These give your photos a unique look. Experiment with different styles until you find what works best for you.
If you’re looking to spice up your feed with some fun effects, try creating your own filter! You can do this by using an app like Photoshop Express or Snapseed. Just take a picture that has something in common with one of your existing images — say, a similar color palette — then use those colors as a starting point for your effect.
15. Use Stories As A Way Of Sharing Moments From Life
Stories let users share moments from life without having to worry about uploading images. They’re perfect for capturing memories at parties, weddings, graduations, birthdays, holidays, vacations, concerts, sporting events, and other celebrations. Sharing an Instagram story allows you to get more personal with your followers.
16. Post Pictures In Different Ways
You should never limit yourself to taking pictures in one specific manner. Instead, experiment with various angles, lighting conditions, backgrounds, poses, and expressions. Doing so will give you plenty of options when choosing which shots to include in your feed.
17. Add Videos to Engage Your Viewers
Adding videos to your feed gives viewers another way to engage with you. They provide context to your photos which makes them easier to understand. Plus, there are many ways to share video content now including live streaming through Facebook Live.
18. Use Instagram Reels
Instagram Reels allows you to create videos that are up to 60 seconds long. Reels are similar to TikTok and have a set of editing tools for users to create fun short and engaging footage. The best part is that unlike Instagram stories they don’t disappear after 24 hours.
19. Create Longer Videos With IGTV
IGTV has become popular among photographers. They are long-form, immersive videos. It’s similar to YouTube videos but instead of being limited to 15 minutes like regular video uploads are, IGTV posts can be as long as one hour.
This makes them perfect for longer-form storytelling because viewers don’t have to watch multiple clips within their time limit.
20. Use Instagram Live
Instagram live allows users to stream live videos to followers directly through their Instagram stories.
Live video offers several advantages including being able to interact with viewers while broadcasting, allowing brands to create unique customer service opportunities, and giving businesses the opportunity to connect with their target audience at scale. It’s a great way to grow your Instagram engagement while establishing your brand.
21. Promote Yourself Online
One great way to promote yourself is to create a website where you showcase your best works. Include links back to your profile on Instagram so that visitors can follow you directly.
22. Join Groups That Interest You
There are thousands of groups available on Instagram. Some focus on photography while others cover topics such as travel, food, fashion, health, fitness, pets, technology, etc. Joining these groups lets you interact with people from all over the world. And because many of them feature contests and giveaways, joining them could lead to additional opportunities.
Joining groups related to your niche is a smart move because these communities tend to be filled with friendly individuals looking to connect. Joining groups allows you to meet new people while sharing ideas and information.
23. Follow Other Users & Brands
One way to grow your Instagram followers quickly is to start following other users and brands. By doing this, you’ll be exposed to different styles and ideas which will inspire you to create better work yourself. Plus, having lots of followers makes it easier for potential clients to reach out to you.
Following other accounts means that you’ll receive notifications whenever they upload new content. And since these accounts tend to feature high-quality photography, you may end up learning a lot from them.
Follow at least 10 accounts from various industries and try following some new ones each month. By doing this, you get exposed to many different types of photography styles and techniques which makes your feed interesting.
24. Follow Other Instagram Photography Accounts
Following accounts related to your industry is a great way to stay connected with fellow professionals. It also gives you insight into their techniques and style. This will make you more competitive when trying to land new clients.
Here are some of the best photography accounts that I follow on Instagram:
- Sidney C- @Sidney C. – A New York City photographer capturing life in New York City.
- Earth Shotz – @earth_shotz – Features beautiful landscapes from around the world from featured photographers.
- Long Exposure Shots – @longexposure_shots – The best long exposure shots on IG from featured photographers.
- 𝗦𝗧𝗥𝗘𝗘𝗧𝗦 𝗩𝗜𝗦𝗜𝗢𝗡 – @streets_vision – Daily street photography from featured photographers.
- Scott Kranz – @scott_kranz – A Seattle based photographer capturing gorgeous mountain landscapes.
- Marcus Rodriguez @memoryweaver – Still life and food photography with a painterly look.
- İlhan Eroğlu – @ilhan1077 – A photographer from Turkey featuring beautiful landscapes from around the world.
- Laurent Ballesta @laurentballesta – A marine and underwater photographer documenting life under water.
- Josh Packer – @Josh Packer – Features beautiful nature and landscape images.
25. Collaborate With Others
Collaboration has become increasingly important for businesses looking to grow online. It’s no longer enough to be seen; now you also need to be heard. The best way to achieve both goals is through collaboration. By collaborating with other influencers, you’ll not only increase your own following, but you’ll also help them grow too.
When you collaborate with other accounts, you’re essentially giving them free advertising. You may even get a shout-out from the account in return! For example, if I’m working on an article about how to use Instagram for photographers, I might include a link back to my blog or website where people can find out more information. This will give me some extra exposure as well as helping someone else gain followers.
26. Organize Your Stories Into Highlights
One way to keep track of all the content you share on Instagram is through organizing your Stories into “Highlights.” This allows you to easily see what types of photos and videos work well together.
For instance, if you’ve been sharing travel photos throughout the year, create a new highlight called “Travel” and tag each photo accordingly. Then, whenever you upload a new photo, add it to the Travel category so you don’t forget about it.
These are perfect opportunities to promote yourself as well as highlight what makes your company unique.
27. Add Location Tags
Location tagging is another effective strategy to help boost your follower count. Users love being able to share photos and videos wherever they go and using geotags boosts local discovery.
Instagram allows you to add location tags to your posts so that people will be more likely to find them in their feeds. You can also use the map feature to show exactly where your followers are from around the world.
28. Include Links Within Captions
When adding text to any social media platform, including Instagram, always link out to other pages. Doing so helps grow your Instagram engagement and traffic back to your site. Plus, it gives visitors additional reasons to visit your page outside of following you.
29. Tag Influencers To Grow Instagram Followers
Another way to grow your Instagram followers is to reach out to influential accounts in your niche. These individuals often have large audiences and may even promote your business. By tagging them in your posts, you’ll get their attention and potentially gain exposure for yourself.
30. Be Authentic And Stay True To Yourself
While we all want our businesses to look professional, being too polished can actually hurt your chances of gaining traction online. Instead, focus on making your posts relatable and genuine. People don’t care what kind of camera you used; they only care about what you’re sharing.
31. Ask Questions About Products
Asking questions about products is a fun way to engage potential buyers. People love answering questions, especially those posed by strangers. By asking questions, you encourage interaction between you and your audience.
32. Ask For More Followers
The best way to grow your number of Instagram followers is to ask people to like your page. You can send direct messages asking people to follow you, tag friends in photos, comment on other users’ stories, etc.
This method works because people tend to trust recommendations over likes. If someone recommends something to you, chances are you’d buy it too.
33. Avoid Fake Instagram Followers
When you’re learning how to get more Instagram followers, it’s important to know the value of your audience. Avoid fake Instagram followers. If you want to grow your following organically, avoid buying fake accounts that don’t represent real people. This type of activity could result in negative consequences such as being banned from Instagram altogether.
34. Create Content That’s Shareable
If you want to grow your Instagram account fast and effectively, then create high-quality images with a strong visual appeal. People will be attracted by the quality of your pictures and they’ll also be interested in sharing them with their own audience.
Create content that works with other social media channels. – Think about where your audience spends their time online. Do they prefer Facebook or Twitter? Or maybe Pinterest? Think about creating content specifically designed for each platform. Then share those links across all three networks.
35. Share User Generated Content
User-generated content refers to anything created by fans of a brand or company. Examples of UGC could be fan art, memes, quotes, reviews, etc. Sharing User-Generated Content gives your followers a reason to visit your page again and engage with you.
36. Create An Account With Multiple Usernames
If you have one main username but want to create another profile specifically for business purposes, it may not work out well if you don’t know how to separate personal accounts from professional ones.
A business account allows you to create multiple accounts under one name. A Personal Profile only shows up once per user. It doesn’t allow you to add additional pages as a business does.
You should always make sure that any profiles you set up are completely different from each other. For example, you might choose to use @johnsmith for your personal life and @johndoephotography for your photography business.
37. Use A Scheduling Tool
Scheduling is key when using any type of social media platform. But especially with Instagram where images need to be uploaded within 15 minutes of being taken, having a posting schedule set up beforehand makes all the difference.
A good way to start setting up your own schedule is to create a free account with Tailwind. It’s easy to use and allows you to manage multiple accounts from one place. You can add each individual profile separately or connect them together under “account groups” which helps organize posts across different profiles.
38. Run A Giveaway Contest
If you’re looking to grow your reach and drive traffic back to your website, running an online giveaway could help.A giveaway allows users to enter without having to leave Instagram, which means they’ll see your post even if they aren’t following you yet.
You can do this in your Instagram captions, work it into your content by pitching what your audience will get if they follow you or by hinting at content that’s coming up that they won’t want to miss.
To run a successful giveaway, make sure you include clear rules and guidelines, offer something valuable to participants, and promote the campaign well.
38. Create An Event Page
If you have an upcoming event that you’d like more people to know about, create an event page. This lets visitors sign up for the event as well as see all the details before attending. It also gives you the opportunity to ask attendees to follow you on Instagram.
40. Tag Other Users Who Are Attending Events You Attend
When tagging friends who attend similar events, it shows how much thought you put into planning each occasion. If you tag multiple people, make sure to mention why you chose them specifically.
41. Aim To Get featured Or Mentioned
Aim to get featured or mentioned on popular blogs and publications. This isn’t always possible, but it does give you exposure to a wider range of readers than just your existing fans. Another option is to reach out to influencers in the industry and ask them to share some of your work. Many will be happy to do this as they want their followers to see what great images other people are taking too!
42. Aim For The Instagram Explore Page
The Explore tab is where people go to discover what others are up to on Instagram. This means if someone follows you, they may not see any of your photos unless they specifically look for yours. But if you want to grow your visibility, make sure to add yourself to the Instagram Explore page.
43. Add A Call-To-Action
A call to action will encourage users to click through and visit your website or blog. You can also use it as an incentive to get followers by offering them something in exchange for following you. For example, offer free downloads, discounts, etc.
44. Monitor Follower Growth Closely Over Time
Most of your followers aren’t likely to be interested in seeing all of your old posts from years ago. But there may come a point where you want to share something specific about yourself or your business that only makes sense after a certain amount of time has passed.
For instance, maybe you started a blog recently and want to highlight your writing skills. Or perhaps you’re launching an online store soon and would like to show off some new products before they go live. Whatever the case, it’s important to monitor how many people are following your account so that you can make sure you don’t miss out on any opportunities to promote what you’ve got going on right now!
45. Use Instagram Analytics To Optimize Engagement and growth
Keep track of your posts engagements with Instagram analytics. The Instagram algorithm determines what content appears in your feed. The more you post, the higher it will appear on your followers’ feeds. You can also use hashtags and keywords to help boost your posts.
This means that if you don’t optimize your posts or engage with other users, you’ll lose followers as well as engagement. Luckily, Instagram analytics allows you to track these things easily.
46. Use The Instagram Tools At Your Disposal
Instagram has made it easy to measure engagement across all platforms, including Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Tumblr, YouTube, Vine, Snapchat, LinkedIn, Reddit, Flickr, Vimeo, SoundCloud, StumbleUpon, Delicious, Foursquare, and even email!
This means there’s no excuse for ignoring any platform when trying to grow your Instagram reach. If you’re not using these tools, then you should be. You can use them to see which posts are getting more likes or comments than others, as well as how many people have liked a photo on each of those other sites. It also helps if you know what kind of content is working best with different audiences.
For example, photos that include text tend to do better in general because they get shared more often. But images without captions perform much better among younger demographics.
47. Showcase Your Instagram Everywhere
When you’re learning how to get more Instagram followers, it’s important to know the value of your audience. Showcase your Instagram everywhere. If you want to grow your Instagram reach, consider adding links to your profile from all over the web. This includes websites, blog posts, and any other place where you can add a link.
Instagram has become one of the most popular ways to showcase products online from eCommerce sites to blogs, businesses use this platform to promote themselves and sell their goods.
48. Advertise On Instagram
Advertising on Instagram ads manager allows businesses to target people based on location, age, gender, interests, lifestyle, etc. You can even choose which platform you would prefer to advertise on.
The best part? This service offers three different types of ad formats – carousel, grid, and video. These allow advertisers to showcase multiple pictures/videos per ad unit.
49. Use A DSLR OR Mirrorless Camera, Not Just Your Smartphone
If you use an iPhone or smartphone, there are plenty of apps available to help you take beautiful pictures. But nothing beats having a real camera with which to capture those moments.
A DSLR or Mirrorless camera will give you more control over lighting, composition, and other aspects of image quality than any app can provide. Plus, you’ll be able to print larger prints at home.
50. Don’t Forget To Have Fun!
Don’t stress over trying to figure everything out right away. Just enjoy being creative and sharing your passion with others. Remember, the goal here is to connect with people and spread awareness of your photography skills. Once you’ve built up a solid base of followers, you’ll be ready to expand your business further.
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Creating unique content on instagram is surely easiet way to grow. Be consistent, post a stories, ask a public opinions, use polls to know what people like to see from you.