How to Grow Your Instagram
Hello!
After receiving so many messages, kind words, and questions during my one year Blog Anniversary, I decided I should write out a blog post of my experience! I started with 230 followers on Instagram, only my mom reading my blog, and now I've grown to almost 18K followers on IG and a few thousand views on my blog a month.First, I want to say I still have A LOT of work to do on both my blog and Instagram. There's always something to work on. Also, this is all my story and personal opinion below. I'm sure there are a ton of ways to grow your Instagram and grow your blog and there are a lot of bloggers out there with great tips. But, because many of you asked if I would write this, here it is :)
How To Grow Your Instagram
The first thing I did was make my Instagram profile public AND make it a business profile. It was hard at first because I liked having things special and did not like to publicize everything about my kids and family. But that's what you do (in moderation) when you sign up for this....it's just part of the gig.
Next, I started joining mama loops.
If you don't know what those are, look up some mom follow hashtags and follow loops and you'll find one. Basically, you post a specific photo on your Instagram feed with a hashtag. You click the hashtag and follow everyone you want. It's a great way to "meet" new people.Out of those mama loops, I met a ton of bloggers that helped me figure out what I was doing and answered my questions. I asked SO MANY questions, you guys, haha! How else are you supposed to figure it out? Then, I asked a friend if I could join in on one of her comment pods...Now...this is where I got super sucked in. I joined like 7 comment pods, even started my own at one point, and I even joined a "like group" on telegram AND on Facebook once!!! It was crazy town. Let me break those down for you if you have no idea what I'm talking about.Comment Pods - A group of 4-20ish girls on Instagram that are all in one message. You send your photos that you post, like each others, comment on each others and basically just support each other. It looks good for your photo if you're trying to get more engagement. But....it's A LOT to keep up with if you're in a lot of these groups. My suggestion is to work really hard, and then slowly back down to maybe one or two that you really like. Or get out of all of them, like I did, haha! (I did just recently join a Colorado group which I still have a hard time catching up on.)Telegram groups - These were short lived for me because it was too much. But, basically, it's an app and it was the same thing as the Instagram comment pods except you could add more people, which means more upkeep, more interactions, more time, but more likes and comments on your own photos. Again, a time and a place for everything.Facebook groups - I wouldn't reccomend this, but there are a ton of Instagram Likes or Instagram Comment groups on Facebook where you share your link and like everyones photo in that post. It took SO MUCH TIME. Apparently, there is a google chrome extension called "LIKE ALL" and it basically goes in and likes every photo from every pod and comment group to save you time. I think that's a great invention....but it just seems like too much.Since I was still so small and started with 230 followers, I took about $300 and tried to invest in this collab thing to put myself out there. A few of the things I bought were: a graphic tee on sale, some clothes for the boys, I reached out to a baby company for a swaddle, a blanket company, and a few other random places that were willing to give me a DISCOUNT on a product. Notice I said "discount." I didn't get stuff for free right away. Let's be honest....why would I? HahaI invested in a great camera
After hitting around 2000 followers, I reached out to small shops that had around 1000 followers that were just getting started or maybe just started their business on Instagram.
I asked them if they wanted to collab with me. Now, if you don't know what that means, usually a collaboration means that a company gives you a product in exchange for a review/post on instagram. It's a genius way to market your item because if I was a small shop, why not give a free item to a girl that has thousands of followers so that they can tell their friends about you?It's pretty great. I started with getting things for a discount, then worked my way up to getting those small items for free as a product exchange. You're marketing for their product. Once you get more followers, you definitely need to charge for your time and product exchanges, though.At this point I was in a ton of comment pods, I was getting reposted by different companies and small shops on Instagram, and I was meeting new women and moms. Then, I decided to do a giveaway for $30 where the winner received a Disney package. I think I gained 1000 people when it was over. It was crazy to me because I felt like I was working soooooo hard and gaining slowly, and then all of a sudden I almost doubled my following with my first giveaway. So, I tucked that info away.Sidenote: If you don't know how to find giveaways, just look them up in the hashtag section of Instagram or type in "loops" or "giveaways" under people and they should pop up :)At around 3000 followers, I started to get offered free stuff and got collabs with DockATot, Binxy Baby, Ollie Swaddle, and Lorena Canals rugs. At around 5000 followers, I saw that companies and small shops started reaching out to me.Throughout all of this, I was writing what I was passionate about on my blog. I really had a heart for mothers in difficult seasons because I was pregnant, chasing two toddlers, and my husband was rarely home. It was hard and so I wrote about it. Honestly, it's STILL hard because my husband is heading to his pediatric residency soon and I have 3 boys under 4...but that's another story.
After I had my third baby, I stopped caring about the comment pods.
I left every single one. My focus needed to be on my family. Even though I really wanted to continue this IG/blogging journey, I wanted to refocus. What I really wanted to have was genuine comments and "likes." It's hard to be forced to comment on everyone's posts if you don't have a lot to say or you don't like their photo. Honestly, you can only see so many friends with their kids at Target, drinking coffee, or a baby in a milk bath. I think gaining genuine followers is important.
I don't know about you, but I don't have time to comment on everyone's posts and be the "super engaged IG girl" all while being the best mom and wife that I can be. Too blunt? :)
Next, I signed up for influencer sites. This is a great idea if you want to specifically be an influencer and make money!You guys, I have done a TON of these (especially in the beginning) because the compensation was a product exchange. When you're just getting started in this world, a product for free sounds amazing right?! Slowly but surely I started getting paid. Even $20 was awesome and so exciting for me! Here are a few:Social Native - If you have more than 1000 followers and are interested in this one, message me and I'll give you the direct email to create content with this company!HeartBeatLinqiaActivate - This is a good one if you're a blogger and have a great blog going!Aspire IQThere are a ton more but keeping up with 5 is still a lot in my opinion. It can never hurt to sign up with a lot and then just pick and choose what you want to do :)These sites give you, as the influencer, opportunity to promote a product on your blog or Instagram feed. Some even ask that you share via Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and YouTube. The more sharing and social media avenues that you have, the more opportunity! The brands might even repost you!As I was starting to get actual work from companies, a friend of mine told me that I needed to make a media kit. I had NO idea what a media kit was. Even at around 9000 followers, I was still doing stuff for free with just a product exchange all the time. It finally hit me: why haven't I been charging for my time?! I work SO hard ( see post about 6 Things You Might Not Know About Mama Bloggers) and it's taking a lot of time to do all of this just like any other job. I needed to charge.So, I downloaded Canva on my phone, signed up on my laptop, and made a media kit! My media kit details who I am, who I've worked with, and what I charge along with some photos! It's very professional and nice to send to companies. If you need media help kit, I'm more than happy to show you mine and talk about it! Just message me or find me on Instagram!
Now, here's my big secret.
I had the hardest time going from 5-10k followers on Instagram. When I was really close but couldn't get past the 10k followers mark, I paid $60 for a giveaway that would help me gain 1-2k followers from the US and South America (hahahaha) and not many people from my niche. I just did it. I didn't even care.My big secret. There it is. I basically paid for followers who aren't moms and I probably blocked 50 of them because they looked sketch. Seriously, I should screenshot you a picture of all these crazies that I've blocked, haha! Bad idea!?!?!
Here's my reasoning and I expect that there will be some people who will not agree with this.
My Instagram follower number was SO close to the 10k mark. I wanted the swipe up for my business. I was so sick of saying and writing 9240. It was my goal for so long to reach 10k!!! I also knew with giveaways like that, you might gain 2k but you never know how many will actually STICK with you. So, it's up to me to keep working my IG to make sure I have followers who are staying and not just leaving after the giveaway is over.I KNOW it's a total numbers game and some people would say "tisk tisk" and get mad at me because "I didn't grow organically." However, I think if you're so close to a goal and stalling out, why not give yourself that extra push? Because, guess what? Now I don't care! People can come and go as they please as long as I'm above that 10k mark and bringing my followers the best products and content that I can! My numbers are all over the place, anyways. Literally, all.over.the.place.Let's recap. Mama loops, investing in businesses, collabs, comment pods, engagement groups and putting yourself out there. Also, sign up for influencer sites, start writing good blogging content, participate in mom giveaways (or whatever niche you're in), and create your media kit.
All in all, it's been an incredible journey...one that I would never have guessed I would be on.
If you're wanting to do this, check out a few of my latest posts and things I've learned. One thing I would tell you is to NEVER COMPARE! There will always be better bloggers than you with a bigger Instagram following. There will always be moms with more followers, prettier houses, cuter clothes, and so on. Don't get sucked into that world. Be the best person/mom/wife/daughter/friend you can be and focus on that. You are unique and have much to bring to this world.Yes you :)Thank you for bearing with me and I REALLY hope that these tips help and that you can grow! Let me know if you have any questions! xoxoNicole