27 Nov Instagram + blog = instablog (and how to make a good one)
Checking pictures on Instagram is not new and this is a reason why we use Instagram in the first place. While visual content matters, the caption below the picture shouldn’t be underestimated either.
Instagram allows writing pretty large texts (2,200 characters, which will give you room for about 300 words). That is why Instagram keeps poaching bloggers from popular blogging platforms like Blogger and LiveJournal offering them an easy way to communicate with their audience and attract new readers.
For those who enjoy writing blogs fitting all the thoughts in 300 words might be quite a challenge, but for those who hates writing its even worse. While you can always put an emoji under the text, to get a deeper connection good quality text is very important.
If you plan to start your Instagram blog (Instablog or microblog), focus on the following important points that will help you with this.
1. Pick a catchy username
While going by your own name is ok if you plan to get famous, getting really catchy name which will reflect the idea of your blog will get you famous for the field you are writing about. After all, your Instagram account name is what people see first and the right name can give people a better idea of what they are about to see. Especially if this someone is looking for something specific, your username should be screaming that it is exactly what they are looking for.
2. Stick to your niche
You can be proficient in a few things at the same time, but it is highly unlikely that your audience is interested in the same things – at least not all at once and not everyone. Choosing one category will increase your chance to attract more people to what you are writing about and what is more important to stay there for a long time.
3. Storytelling
Try to tell a new story under each post. You can share your experience, life views, techniques you are using, anything that can benefit your niche and your account. Don’t include the text in the picture, separate visual material, caption text, and hashtags.
4. Hashtags power
Instagram allows you to use 30 hashtags under each post. You don’t need to use all of them, but hashtags lead to engagement and this is how people will be able to find you in a pool of other accounts. Instagram made sure of it by introducing new function lately – you can subscribe to hashtags same way you follow people.
If you are looking for specific Instagram hashtags for your niche, you can check websites below. They can give you a pretty good idea of what is in use these days and how many people view certain hashtag.
- Here you can find the popularity of hashtags by category with the number of pictures labeled with it
- Here you can find hashtag suggestions for each Instagram post
- This page has selection of hashtags by category which can be copied with one click
You can follow this order for hashtags, this way you will always come up with 30 hashtags, so your post can get maximum out of it:
Blog-related hashtags >>> Category specific hashtags >>> Picture related hashtags >>> Your location-related hashtags >>> Author-related hashtags or source-related hashtags
If you are writing in several languages, don’t forget that each country has different trends, so you need to use hashtags for each country.
5. Locate yourself
Locations help people discover profiles easily. You don’t need to go in depth and specify all the details, but trendy neighborhood would make a great work. This is especially helpful if your post is not related to any specific location and you are free to pin it to any place on the earth.
6. Treat your “instamates” right
Following, engaging and tagging other instabloggers on your best posts can help you get discovered. They might notice you and feature you on their own account or stories. You should always keep an eye open for competitions and giveaways which are great chances to get your content visible. If you are loving your meal in a restaurant or a hotel in which you are staying, tag the business on your picture. Your picture might get featured by the business and your content will show up when people look at that account, which will help you broaden your audience.
7. Use Instagram slideshow to build a story
Instagram constantly works on the flexibility of their posts features and now you can upload more than one image at once. This is a good way to display a range of things or show a number of places in one post, depending on what fits best the idea of your instablog. Even though the text is a one-size-fits-all, i.e. you can’t create multiple texts under each image in the group, you can tag individual photos to give credit to the places, which is already a big plus.
8. Stories tell stories
You might not be good at speaking on camera, but you can always use stories for backstage of your Instagram posts.
Another option is just to post there some things you are personally interested at and highlight something beyond your instablog niche. This way your followers will have a choice of watching (or not watching) your stories, but they will never miss the important content that comes in a posting form.
Not every follower is the same and some people like to “spy” on a blogger’s personal life while others are looking for specific information and can’t care less of what food their favorite movie critic is eating.
9. Schedule
Regular posts keep people aware of your existence and keep them interested. In fact, the more regular you post, the easier it will get for you to build an engaged audience that will be aware of your posting habits. By posting at roughly the same time every day, you also increase your chances to connect with the same people and possibly to create a community around your account. Remember to always reply to the comments people leave on your pictures, it shows that you value your readers and make them motivated to be your follower.
10. Don’t fake it
Buying followers is the easiest way but if you truly want someone to read your instablog, you will need to put an effort in it. Investing time and energy and planning the topics you will write about is the only right way to make a reader believe that you care. Make a research of what your followers are interested in, see how it can help you to generate a good post, analyze your insights. Study other accounts to see what to do and how to do it, do not copy other’s post but make yourself unique in some way.
These are the basics to start with. Once you get a small audience you will get a better idea which way to go. Instablog will take more effort than personal account because you will need to make friends with unknown people and keep it right for them so they can make your account noticed.
HARSEST
No Better Than The Best, Better Than The Rest
info@harsest.com
facebook
instagram
Knowledge is Power
하세스트 뉴스레터를 가입하시면 많은 유익한 정보를 메일로 받아보실 수 있습니다.
Sorry, the comment form is closed at this time.