You can read all of the advice in the world, but none of it matters unless you take action.

To set up your Instagram to be a massive success, you have to ruthlessly focus your efforts on things that work, and stop spending precious time on things that don’t.

 

Today I’m going to make it easier for you to take the action you need to take to make your Instagram better. All you have to do is set aside 10 or 15 or 60 minutes to tackle one of the 21 simple steps below.

Every single item on this list played an important role in building an audience of over 21,000 followers on my Instagram account.

The more you complete, the more progress you’ll make.

You’ve probably already completed some of these, but I guarantee you haven’t done all of them. If you have completed all of ’em, please tell me in the comments. Better yet, share one of your own extra tips.

Action #1: Make Your Account a Business Account (5 – 10 Minutes)

Why is this important: If you haven’t converted to a business account, you’re missing out on some powerful analytics and tools that will help you to create more successful posts.

Business accounts give you the ability to see in-depth analytics on your account, your posts, your stories, and your followers. Having access to analytics makes it easier for you to make smarter decisions about your content.

Having an Instagram business account helps you:

• know what time of the day to post your content in order to get the most views
• how many people see your post, even if they didn’t like or comment it
• know exactly how many people click on your website link
• see your week-by-week account performance

You can also add contact buttons beneath your bio, making it easy for people to email, call, or text you.

Set up your instagram business account in 5 – 10 minutes:

1. Go to your profile and tap the gear at the top right of the app screen
2. Tap Switch to Business Profile
3. Connect your Facebook Page (see Action #19 if you don’t have a Facebook Page)
4. Review your business’s contact info, make any changes, and tap Done

Action #2: Use Analytics To Figure Out The Best Time To Post Your Content (1 Minute)

Once you’ve converted to a business account, you’ll be able to use analytics to see the peak times are that your followers are most active.

Instead of getting over-excited and posting your content as soon as you finish making it, use analytics to plan the best time to post your content.

You want to post during the time of day that your followers are most active on Instagram. The best time to post will change from day to day, so the analytics help you make the biggest impact with your content.

If you post one of your best pieces of work, but no one is on instagram to see it, does it a make a noise?

Action #3: Do Hashtag Research (30 to 60 minutes)

You want your content to appear in as many places as possible, at the right time, when all of the right people are looking. There are lots of people already interested in what you are sharing, they just need a chance to see it.

Hashtags get you targeted exposure for your content.

There are two types of hashtags you need to consider: Niche Hashtags and Influencer Hashtags.

Niche Hashtags are all of the keyword hashtags relevant to your niche. For instance, a hand-lettering artist would use hashtags like: #letter #lettered #lettering #handdrawnletters #handlettering.

These hashtags help get you into the eye of people interested in lettering.

Influencer Hashtags are related to a specific Influencer blog that curates high quality content, and has a large amount of followers. Often these blogs will promote their hashtags and encourage instagram users to use their hashtag for a chance to be featured.

Getting featured on an influencer account is one of the fastest way to get more followers.

@Goodtype is a great example of a curator blog. With over 700k followers, these guys aren’t fooling around. I gained 250 followers in less than an hour when they featured one of my illustrations.

Side note: Blogs like @Goodtype have a large audience because they share high-quality content. If you want to get featured then you really have to make your work stand out in quality and uniqueness.

So what do you do?

Do your research, and start using hashtags on your posts.

If you want to learn how to do hashtag research, check out this article about hashtag research tools from socialdraft.com.

Action #4: Identify and Explain Your Unique Selling Proposition (30-60 minutes)

Determining your Unique Selling Proposition (USP) is possibly the most important decision you can make for you Instagram.

What is a USP?

Your USP is what makes your business stand out. It’s what makes you different and earns you a special place in the minds of your potential customers.

Take time to get really clear on what makes you stand out — how is your page different than the thousands of other pages out there?

You really want to figure out what your “special sauce” is, that makes your page unique among your peers and competitors.

Determining your USP is so important to your success on instagram, and in business. Everyone’s USP is different and you have to determine what yours is.

 

I recommend reading  The Ultimate Guide to Finding Your Unique Selling Proposition from Fizzle.co.

 

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Action #5: Make Your Bio Clear and To The Point (5 minutes)

I see this same mistake again and again and again…. and again… and again!!

People with an Instagram bio that tells you ABSOLUTELY NOTHING.

Take this bio for example:

What do you learn from reading their bio?

I’ll give you a hint: You learn nothing. Without some context you have no idea who this person is or what they do. Their bio is generic and unclear.

A better bio might say: 21|3rd Year Psych Major, Standford Cheerleader, Co-Founder of #1 Cheerleading Camp in California.

This bio is way more specific. It gives credibility to their self-proclaimed entrepreneur title. It creates interest and authority.

How to write a quality Instagram bio

You only get a few seconds to convince new visitors to follow you, and your bio is the first thing people see when landing on your profile.

Your bio should clearly communicate your point of difference or unique selling proposition (USP).

If you haven’t taken the time to clearly define your unique selling proposition, then scroll back up to Action #4 and do it.

Before you can make a really good bio, you first have to answer the question “why should I follow your profile instead of the thousands of other choices out there?”

A Quality Bio Will:

1. Supports your brand
2. Reflects the content in your feed
3. Gives visitors a good enough reason to scroll down and check out you out

Your bio tells visitors what to expect, and having Epic Content is what will convince them to click ‘Follow’.

Action #6: Act Like You Are Visiting Your Page for the First Time (5 – 10 Minutes)

Okay, this should seem pretty obvious, but not that many people take the time to do it!

You only get one chance to make a good first impression. As a rule of thumb, you only get 7 seconds to make a first impression to to someone seeing your page for the first time. Think about what someone experiences if it is their first time visiting your instagram page

Of course, because of the curse of knowledge, it’s impossible for you to truly know what it is like to visit your page for the first time. You’ve spent a lot of time thinking about every part of your profile and the work that went into it.

If you really want to know what kind of first-impression your page gives, ask people. Ask a friend to look at your Instagram and give you feedback, or ask people in your audience for feedback. Ask them what they notice when they first visit your feed, what message do they get, what is their first impression of your brand just from looking at your Instagram page.

Action #7: Delete the Clutter and Put Your Best Foot Forward (5 – 10 Minutes)

Take a few minutes to clean up your feed, and delete all of the photos that don’t relate to your brand.

If you must, back them up on your computer using a site like Vibbi (a free tool that lets you download photos from instagram).

When people land on your page, make sure that your feed clearly communicates your brand and gets some of your best content right in front of them.

Its okay to repost old content every once in a while.

Action #8: Make a List Of Influencer Blogs To Get Featured On

Like I mentioned in Action #3, getting featured on an influencer blog is one of the fastest ways to grow your followers on Instagram.

I gained 250 followers in an hour when my illustrated ‘G’ was featured by@Goodtype.

Make a list of Instagram Influencers Accounts relevant to your niche, that you want to get featured on.

If you don’t know of any influencers in your niche, a great place to start is by looking at other accounts posting content similar to yours, and see who they are tagging and what hashtags they are using.

Tag Influencer Accounts every time you post something to instagram.

Most influencers have their own hashtags. Make sure those hashtags are included in your list of hashtags.

Action #9: Start Using 60 Hashtags (2 Extra Minutes When Posting)

Instagram doesn’t make this very obvious, but you can use up to 60 hashtags on each of your posts. This is one extra way to maximize your reach and get in front of a lot of people with very little effort.

How to add 60 hashtags to your post:

1. Share an image to instagram. Make sure there aren’t any hashtags in the caption.
2. Comment on your image with your list of 30 hashtags
3. Edit the image caption and add 30 more hashtags

If you are confused, check out this guide I made for Using 60 Hashtags instead of 30 Hashtags.

Action #10: Examine Your Feed’s Overall Layout and Theme

A lot of people will tell you your Instagram feed needs a theme… but it’s more than that.
You need to get clear on your brand — the framework that defines and shapes everything you share.

You should be able to clearly answer questions like: What do I do? Why do people care? What is the underlying messages on my content? What are my values? Why am I making and sharing content in the first place?
Once you are clear on both your brand and your USP, then its time to decide on an overall theme for your feed.

In this picture of my Instagram profile, you can see that all of my photos are desaturated, monochromatic, and complement each other.

There are common elements in the photos:

• old/reclaimed wood
• vintage keys
• ephemeral qualities (look up “ephemera” on Google)
• all of the photos have similar tonal values – not too bright or too dark

This makes my entire Instagram page more attractive. It’s like visiting one big gallery of my work.

Action Step: Decide on the theme, and only share images that fit your theme. (But first, are you clear on your brand?)

Action #11: Create a Test Account

It’s really helpful to have a test account — a private account without any followers — so you can upload everything ahead of time and experiment.

When using a test account, you have the freedom to plan out the content on your page without the pressure of people watching you.

Create a test account in 5 minutes:

1. Go to the options menu in Instagram
2. Click Add Account
3. Click Sign Up and make a new account — Make sure the account is private (I recommend choosing an account name that that isn’t similar to your current account name, so it doesn’t confuse people by showing up when they search for you)
4. Make your test account a clone of your real account — including your profile picture, bio, and website link. Upload the last 6 to 12 images that you shared on your main account.
5. Use this test account to plan out your content before posting it to your main account. This give you the ability to see what your work looks like on your screen and on your page (and no one is watching if you mess up!)

Action #12: Find Popular Accounts To Use as a Role Model

Why this is important: The key is to learn from the experts — those who have already done what you want to do.

No need to reinvent the wheel. The fastest way to achieve what you want is the model successful people who have already achieved it.

For Example: One of my favorite Instagrammers is Christian Watson and his brand @1924US.

Christian is a brand designer, illustrator, and photographer. His style resonates with my work, and he has over 550,000 followers.

I have torn his page apart, studying every little detail: How often does he post? How long has he been using Instagram? When did he start getting noticed? What is the common theme in his photos and captions? How does he format his photos?

You get my point.

Find someone who inspires you and model what they do.

Don’t think of it is plagiarizing or being “unoriginal”. Think of it as learning from a coach.

If what they are doing is working, then: 1) Figure out what they are doing and why it is working. 2) Incorporate their techniques into your own strategy, making sure to not plagiarize.

Action #13: Set a Time Each Week for Planning Your Content

If you are serious about growing your instagram, attracting more people, and doing more business, then you need to have a bit of discipline.

Benjamin Franklin said “If you fail to plan, you are planning to fail.”

Set aside a 30 minute block of time each week to sit down and plan out your content.

Don’t go too crazy. Just have an idea of what you want to share, and focus only on the things that get you closer to your goals.

Action #14: Use Your Story to Ask Your Followers For Feedback

Two things I want to address here:

1. Self Awareness
2. Connecting With Your Audience

SelfAwareness

You can only see yourself and your Instagram from the inside. The only way to truly know what people think of your page and your content is by asking them.

Don’t get caught up in romanticizing your work.

If someone tells you that your page is boring and needs improvement, thank them for their honesty, take a very honest look at your page, and then figure out how to fix whatever is “boring”.

If you think your page is great the way it is and that’s fine too – just don’t lie to yourself.

Connecting with your Audience

While you could just ask people for feedback in your captions, you’d miss out on an opportunity to create more personal connection with your audience.

Humans crave emotional connection. You can only feel so connected with someone by reading what they write.

By hearing their voice or seeing their face, you get to see facial expressions and hear the inflections in their voice.

Don’t be afraid to put yourself in front of people. Use the Instagram story feature to connect with people.

Remember, Business is all about relationships and community. Give your audience a chance to connect with the real you!

Action #15: Get Familiar with the Instagram Algorithm (30-45 Minutes)

Instagram uses an algorithm to prioritize certain content over others. If you want to maximize your reach and get the most traffic to your page, you should become familiar with the basics of the Instagram algorithm.

Without getting too in depth, the algorithm is affected by: whose content you like, who you search for, who you message, the format of your posts (image/video), when your content was posted, how many people engage with your content, so many more variables. (for a deeper explanation check out this article by Alfred Lua)

Basically, try to be at the top of your game when it comes to sharing content. Know that it’s important to be engaging with your followers. Try having call-to-actions in your content to encourage people to interact with you and your account.

Action #16: Read The Book “Crush It!” by Gary Vaynerchuk (60-90 Minutes)

Gary Vaynerchuk is one of the leading entrepreneurs in the media. He has used social media marketing strategies to help him grow 2 companies, that are each worth over $50 million.

In his best selling book — Crush It! Why Now is the Time to Cash In On Your Passion — he lays out a framework for how to do business in this new world of social media and online business. The book is a quick read. It pushed me to take my work more seriously and to start making a name for myself.

If you haven’t read it, I strongly recommend that you pick up a copy. It will definitely challenge you, and will change your perspective of what you think is possible in this online world.

Action #17: Connect and Share to Your Other Social Media Accounts (10 Minutes)

If you haven’t done so already, you should definitely connect your Instagram to your other social media accounts.

Instagram makes it so easy to share your work on to other platforms. With very little effort you can share your work to all of the other platforms, helping you to maximize your reach and get in front of as many people as possible.

You’ve probably got friends on Facebook or Tumblr that don’t use Instagram, or that don’t follow you on Instagram. If you want them to see your work too, you’ve got to make use of the other platforms.

Action #18: Make Sure Your Website Link Is Being Used Effectively (5 Minutes)

Not much to say about this one. If you have a link to a website in your bio, make sure you are using it effectively.

If you are using an Instagram business account, you can see how many times the link to your website is being clicked on each week. Make sure you’re site supports your brand and adds value to your audience. If you don’t have a good website, then don’t advertise in your bio (though I recommend getting a website sooner than later)!

Action #19: Develop a Facebook Fan Page (60 Minutes)

Facebook has almost 2 BILLION active daily users, and guess what… Instagram is owned by Facebook.

Even if you don’t plan on completely building out your page now, you should get one sooner than later. Besides, you have to have one if you are going to take advantage of the analytics and tools that are only available for Instagram business accounts.

Action #20: Tell a Good Story (30 Minutes)

Why is this important: People want to be entertained and feel an emotional connection to the world around them. Telling a story is one of the best ways to grab people’s attention and turn them into true fans.

You may be attracting people to your Instagram with quality pictures or inspiring art, but getting people invested in you and your brand is all about sharing a compelling story.

As an artist, I found more success through storytelling than any other avenue. When I started opening up and sharing what goes into my art — the emotions I feel, my battle with depression and anxiety, the frustration and discouragement, as well as all of the wins and achievements — I started to get noticed by a lot more people. I often have people message me just to thank me for sharing, or to tell me about a similar experience in their life.

Bottom Line?

If you want people to care about what you do then learn how to tell a story

Action #21: Research The Trends In Your Niche (30 Minutes)

Get familiar with what is trending in your niche. As an illustrator I know that I have some level of guaranteed success if I make content involving coffee, the word hustle, anything related to exploring/travel, or anything that can be associated with the word hipster.

Dig around in hashtags related to your niche, look at what posts get the most attention on influencer blogs, and use all of your research to get a better idea of what your audience wants to see.

 

I really hope you enjoyed this content, but more importantly I hope you’ll do something with it. Take a few minutes today to set up your Instagram so you can start reaping the benefits, and if you enjoyed this post then please sign up for my newsletter so we can keep this conversation going and leave a comment letting me know!

Cheers and keep living with passion!

-Brandon

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