To become successful on Instagram and to become an Instagram influencer – many dream of it now. But how do I build a real, active community? I’m not a fan of pretending that it’s all coincidence or luck. There are an awful lot of accounts posting amazing photos, having a great personality and having a lot of trouble with their profile – but still barely reaching followers by buy custom instagram comments. The days when you got to know Instagram overnight are long gone. This is mainly due to the huge and ever-growing number of Instagram users and thus also to the Instagram algorithm, which always causes a stir. So what should you pay attention to?

Here I explain to you in 5 steps how I proceeded to reach through Instagram my target audience and thus to increase my blog reach.

Step 1: The red thread

You’ve probably read that a thousand times, but it’s one of the basic requirements for growing Instagram: your profile should be consistent. What do I mean by that? You should first think about what you want to say with your profile. Take a look at the accounts of big Instagrammer. You will notice that when you look at the feed, an emotion is instantly transported, be it through a dominant color, through a common subject, or through the captions. So, be clear who you are and who you want to address, so who your target audience is. Of course you usually like several styles, but to let your potential subscribers know what they are about, you should choose a path, It can help you with a consistent visual language, for example, by one or two specific filters that you then implement as consistently as possible. I like to use the apps VSCO (mainly the A-filter) and Facetune (for the detail sharpness) on the smartphone.

Step 2: Content is King – Make good Instagram pictures

Instagram is mostly about pictures. Accordingly, you should deal a bit with photography. Think about how your picture should look like in the end.

Inspirations

I usually get inspirations from other bloggers at first. Of course, you should not copy the photo 1: 1, but to get inspiration and then create your own image makes the whole procedure much easier! At the beginning I just took pictures or had those done (thanks, Yannick 😉) and did not really know exactly what I want for a picture. Accordingly, it took a long time until then a photo was taken with which I was reasonably satisfied. That’s why I’m taking a screenshot now , when I see a picture on Instagram that I really like. Then I sort it into one of my photo folders (eg I created folders like “summer”, “Café”, “Accessories” etc.) and look in the folder, if I’m in a certain situation that fits. For example, I would like to make a picture in the cafe – then I open the folder “Café” on my phone and get inspiration for each pose, the perspective, the image, etc. This helps immensely!

Exposure

I do 90% of my Instagram pictures with my smartphone . With a professional camera, although much more experiments eg with backlight and the like are feasible, but if you also want to take pictures with the phone and you are not really good with ISO, Aperture, etc., then you should pay attention to good light. You usually have good exposure when the light is soft and comes from the front (ie mostly mornings or afternoons). For that you go in the shadows and then look from where the light reflects – then you turn to the side. Direct sunlight is rather unfavorable, because then you have shadow in the face and it seems, as if you had dark circles. An alternative if you want to take pictures in direct sunlight:Put on sunglasses ! Then the eyes almost do not care.

Step 3: Set the right hashtags

Meanwhile, the reasonable setting of hashtags has become more important due to the new features of the algorithm. After all, your image has disappeared within seconds in the hashtag search, because in the same second tens of thousands of other users use the same big hashtag as #fashion, #food or similar. use. The chance of reaching people is accordingly low. That’s why it’s even more important that you use more specific and slightly smaller hashtags, For example, if you’re a fashion blogger in Munich, rather than #fashionblogger, use the hashtag #fashionblogger_muc. On the one hand, this helps you to reach your target group and, on the other hand, the hashtag is not that overcrowded. However, you should not set too many hashtags, because then you will quickly be classified as spam and thus removed from the search function. In short : use fewer and more specific hashtags matching the image and your target audience!

By the way: so the chance of being discovered by companies or being invited to events is also much greater. Because how would you search for bloggers as a PR agency? Of course, googling and looking for appropriate hashtags on Instagram and Co!

Step 4: Stamina and regularity

Regular posts and stay on the ball – important, if exhausting points. But you should be aware that only an active account is interesting for Instagram users and that the regularity of your posts also has an impact on the Instagram algorithm. Because the more often you post a picture, the more reactions you get, and as a result, the algorithm also classifies you as “more important” and gives you more reach. But still, quality always comes before quantity! Because a convincing feed is a prerequisite, otherwise you can still post so much and you still will not follow. Persistence although you may not get as many answers or likes as you wish, is not always easy. But you should keep in mind that you will reach many more people than you get reactions. After all, it’s not just a number, it’s real people who feel addressed even if they do not click the “Like” button or leave a comment. So do not be discouraged! I have looked at IG Accounts myself every day for a long time and thought the pictures were great, but I still did not like them. Why? Because I just did not think about it! Nevertheless, I was a fan of the accounts and have always liked to look at them. Today I know that every little reaction is good for the person behind the profile. And that brings us to the next step.

Step 5: Leave tracks

Instagram is a social network – so you should also behave “socially”. Leave tracks, show if you like something and reply to comments and messages. To find profiles and images that you really like and that you want to achieve, you should look for hashtags behind which your target audience hides. You have to find out for yourself, depending on which topic you have. You can also look for accounts that are similar in concept or imagery. The people who comment on these images may also be interested in your account. The whole thing is of course quite elaborate, but no one has said that it is easy.

Of course, there are many more screws that you can turn to get known on Instagram. Some of the secret strategies of this are providing a real boost for growth to go up quickly. Since the topic is however extremely extensive, I explain you these tips in detail in my eBook.