Instagram is much more than just a way of keeping in touch with friends and family. For good and bad, Instagram has helped redefine how we interact with others and even how we find and purchase products.
Perhaps no one knows this better than Instagram influencers, the people who make a living through providing high-quality content to engaged niche audiences. From brand partnerships to designing and selling your own products, there are plenty of ways to make a living as an Instagram influencer.
But as exciting as it can be to grow and maintain a thriving influencer account, these activities can also become stressful, and even overwhelming — the following techniques will help you continue to grow your account while still finding time for the real world.
1) Find Followers With Kicksta
Finding new potential followers can be a time-consuming and mentally draining task, but it is of the utmost importance if you want to continue to grow your brand. The good news is that thanks to tools like Kicksta, you don’t have to do all the work yourself.(
Kicksta works by evaluating follower demographics of other accounts that you’d like to target. It then uses this information to engage with relevant potential followers by liking their posts. This simple action encourages users to check out your profile and engage with your quality content, allowing you to achieve organic audience growth without “buying” followers.
2) Don’t Worry About Being Perfect
All too often, Instagram influencers fall into a trap of only wanting to post content that is absolutely perfect. While you should always try to create posts that accurately reflect your persona, this doesn’t mean that every single image needs to have a professional look or even the same type of messaging.
Don’t be afraid to give your followers something different every once in a while …
A behind-the-scenes look at your daily life where you explore other topics besides your main niche can help followers develop a stronger personal connection with you. Better yet, it can serve as a great way to “fill in” your post schedule when you aren’t sure what to do next.
3) Beef Up Your Bio
Most potential followers will discover your profile by stumbling across one of your posts, but a single post doesn’t tell the story of who you are. One great photo doesn’t necessarily mean your content is going to consistently appeal to a particular person. In addition to scanning through some of your other content, they will also likely take a look at your bio.
Because of this, your Instagram bio needs to clearly and succinctly describe who you are and what type of content you post. For example, travel influencers DAMON and JO have a bio that simply reads, “Got tired of cheesy travel shows, so we made our own”, followed by links to their other accounts. Tell people what to expect, and you’re far more likely to get a follow.
4) Let Iconosquare Track Activity
How successful was your latest post? Are you actually posting at the best time for maximizing audience engagement? These are the kinds of questions that can keep an Instagram influencer agonizing over their decisions or meticulously comparing posts for hours on end.(
Why go through all that work when you can have a software program do it for you?
Iconosquare measures audience engagement and post performance so you can have a better idea of what content performs best. This will provide the insights you need to create better posts without having to rely on guesswork — a surefire confidence boost and stress reliever.
5) Create a Daily Calendar
With so many different activities that go into managing an Instagram influencer account, it can be all too easy to get sidetracked. You might start your day thinking you’ll spend a few minutes engaging with followers, only to find yourself spending the entire morning responding to comments and subsequently behind schedule with other important tasks.
Establishing a daily calendar for your essential Instagram activities may seem simple, but it can go a long way in helping you better manage your time and reduce stress.
Make room for content planning, image curation and editing, audience engagement, and brand outreach. Set reminder alarms to help you stay on track! This way, each task will get the attention it deserves.
6) Set Up Post Scheduling
An influencer’s schedule can change each day, and this can make it hard to post on a consistent basis. But when your audience expects daily posts, this can quickly create added stress in your life as you try to come up with something at the last minute.
Rather than frantically rush to create a last-second post, tools like Later and Hootsuite allow you to schedule posts in advance. This way, you can plan out what photos you want to share, putting more time into thoughtfully crafting a post that will appeal to your audience. By taking the opportunity to maximize post quality and avoiding the stress of daily posting, you’ll be able to consistently produce great content.
Maintaining the life of an Instagram influencer may look glamorous at times, but it can also be a lot of work. By using these strategies to lessen your burden, you can ensure that becoming an influencer won’t have a negative impact on your mental and emotional well being.