Transcript:

How can we all be expected to be #instafamous when Instagram makes it so bloody difficult to be seen?

You’ve got some beautiful photos, a bunch of hashtags and you think you’re doing everything right. So what’s going on? -shrugs-

Well, with over one billion accounts to battle against, your best weapon is an optimised account.

So get ready to boost engagement and grow that following, because Wednesdays are about to get GIANT.

Hello, my name is Danny and welcome to Giant Wednesday, the only place to be to discover the wonderful world of digital marketing. Don’t forget to subscribe to our channel and post your comments below.

Every now and then Instagram likes to mix up their algorithm and make it harder and harder to have your posts and your account seen.

Yeah… thanks, Instagram.

But who doesn’t like a #challenge?

No no, not the ice bucket challenge!!

As with most social media platforms, there are a few little things you can do that will help make a GIANT difference.

Whether you’re looking to increase follower numbers, generate more engagement on your posts or just build a bit more awareness, then I’d recommend these five things.

Let’s get started.

 

Number 1: Your bio

It’s an obvious one to start with, that’s for sure. But so many people are still lacking!

Your username is editable, but don’t make a habit of changing it too often. You do however want it to be simple, recognisable and easy to find.

Don’t change it to @ilovecats when your profile is all about your travel blog… 

Make sure your profile picture is relevant to your profile, and not some blurry mugshot. Let it reflect the level of quality you’re trying to promote. 

And then when it comes to the ‘about you’ section you want to make the most of the limited characters available. A little known fact, or at least one that’s barely used… is that hashtags in bios are searchable.

If there’s a popular, well-used hashtag that’s relevant to what you do and post, then add it! Just like we have… 

Sometimes your bio is the first chance you have to demonstrate your brand or personality, so make sure it reflects these things.

Keywords, hashtags and relevancy – very digital marketing.

 

Number 2: Size matters

Yep, I said it. 

Instagram is based on visuals so you really can’t let the side down here!

Every single social media platform seems to have different image dimensions, keeping you on your toes.

Keep this in mind because that amazing photo you took might not fit the dimensions Instagram allows and could easily destroy the beautiful composition you slaved over. 

Fortunately, though, Instagram has three image sizes so you should be able to accommodate that clever composition somehow. 

For reference, these are: 

Square posts: 1080px x 1080px

Landscape posts: 1080px wide

Portrait posts: 1080px x 1350px

 

Number 3: Having a theme

Obviously, as I just mentioned Instagram is all about the visuals and having a visual theme will really help you.

A visual theme that runs through your grid can be as simple as a text overlay, a consistent filter or some form of a watermark.

Having a theme helps your audience to recognise your content, and, as a consequence improves awareness of your brand.

But don’t fret, this doesn’t require a load of editing and some expensive software. As I said, it can be as simple as an Instagram filter.

There are loads to choose from but a little bit of insider knowledge, from me to you, is that the most engaged with filter as I speak is… Clarendon! 

The way we do things is to use people. People are our brand and therefore people are our theme. They dominate our feed with their smiley faces.

Consistency can do your brand a whole world of good. 

 

Number 4: Hashtags, obviously

I think everyone in the world knows by now that hashtags increase your reach no matter what platform you’re on.

In fact, it was found by TrackMaven that on Facebook and Twitter, you should only use one or two hashtags to ensure maximum engagement.

But on Instagram, before the algorithm changes again, the more the better. In fact, nine hashtags see the best results overall with a limit of 30. 

There’s an art to hashtags and staying on top of trending topics but you should never sacrifice relevancy for popularity.

Use trending hashtags where possible, but don’t include them if they have nothing to do with your brand. Duh.

Use tools like Hashtagify to see popular hashtags related to what you’re posting and use them appropriately.

A consistent hashtag in all your posts will draw in a similar and engaged audience each time, hopefully resulting in some new followers for your account.

 

Number 5: Business & creator accounts

What’s the point in doing all these fabulous things if you aren’t going to measure them?

For those of you who haven’t opted to transform their account into a business or creator profile… do it.

Having one of these accounts, whether you’re a business or not, gives you access to analytics and promotional tools which will aid you greatly when looking to improve your efforts.

These analytics are related to things like post performance and follower growth, as well as being able to archive your stories and delve deeper into your audiences demographics.

This kind of information will be able to tell you what kind of thing does better on your profile, prompting you to do more of that and less of the poor-performing bits and bobs. 

 

And voila! If you action some of these things I’ve just covered, you should see improvements in your account over time.

Whether that’s follower growth, more engagement or more reach.

Get ready to be #instafamous now that you’ve improved your Instagram profile. But don’t let that fame go to your head…

That’s it for today, go forth and comment your views on this and give us a like and subscribe to see more great digital and marketing content every week.

Thanks for watching, and we’ll see you next week for another GIANT Wednesday.