What I Learnt Posting Everyday On Instagram

04:04
I challenged myself to posting one picture per day on Instagram and this is what I learnt.
Image result for instagram logo

1. Right Hashtags, Quicker Following

If you use the right hashtags, you can build up your following much quicker. This point is an obvious one, but it still surprised me how many followers I managed to gain by putting hashtags like #discoverunder1k and #bbloggeruk (for other examples, just look at the first comment on any of my recent posts). I managed within the first two weeks to gain around 100 followers through this method. This may not sound a lot to some people, but my followers went from 160 to 260 which is definitely a big percentage boost. I have found that the best way to hashtag your pictures is to write them in a comment immediately after posting. That way they still appear under the hashtag, but people who stumble across them and current followers won't get irritated by multiple hashtags. Keep the caption short and sweet if you can! Unless you're listing products you've used in a makeup look, of course!

2. Losing Some Long-Term Followers

If you start posting regularly, you may find that that person you once spoke to in English class in Year 9 has unfollowed you. And that's ok. Obviously they weren't that interested in your posts, which is fine as everyone has their own preferences for what they have on their feed. They probably would have unfollowed you ages ago if they had actually realised they still followed you, you just haven't popped up much on their timeline until now. Just let it go, they aren't worth worrying about.

3. Preplanning Is Crucial

If you want to post every single day on Instagram, there has to be an element of preplanning involved. My worst posts came on the days that I hadn't bothered to line up a new picture, resulting in reduced quality, and thus reduced engagement. Try to keep a couple of posts in your drafts so that you aren't putting out random and uninteresting posts. If you're a beauty blogger, for instance, take around two or three pictures of the same look then post them in sequence. That way you don't have to create a new makeup look everyday, and if you have an off day it won't matter, as you'll have plenty in the bank!

4. Keep Track Of Engagement and Followers Using Followers+

This app literally changed the way I viewed Instagram completely. Now you can see who unfollows you, who isn't following you back, and when the optimum time to post is. The most interesting thing I learnt using this app was that some accounts out there follow you for a day maximum, then unfollow you. These people just want to get people to follow back but want to maintain an impressive looking following to followers ratio. This is immensely frustrating, as if I didn't have the Followers+ app, I would have no idea that they were doing this. Yes, this is a 'clever' way to get lots of followers, however now I have realised people do this, I unfollow them as soon as they unfollow me, and if someone has an impressive looking follower ratio then I just avoid following them back. It might sound petty, but I dislike the way these people go about getting followers. It is much better, in my opinion, to follow people back if you like their content as you are more likely to retain a good engagement from these followers.

5. Comments Lead To Familiarity

Anyone can absentmindedly like a photo, but to take your time out to write a thoughtful comment (not just 'Nice' or something boring like that!) will be greatly appreciated by other aspiring bloggers and it can lead to people wanting to comment back on your posts. I am much more likely to look at someone's profile if they have commented on my posts, rather than simply liked it!

6. Don't Buy Followers

I did not try this obviously, but I thought I'd throw a word of caution in here. Buying followers is definitely a waste of money for a start. Even apps which allow you to gain followers for free are bad, because according to people who have tried them they lead to follows from spam accounts and you end up following so many random and uninteresting accounts that it can ruin your Instagram experience. These kind of accounts will not increase engagement in your posts, and often close down after a few days so you lose all the followers you gained anyway. Growing your Instagram organically might take more effort, but it is much more rewarding.

7. Don't Obsess Over Numbers

Instagram is fun as long as you don't let numbers dictate your experience. Though it was great to watch my follower numbers increase, there were days when I'd lose 10 followers for what appeared to be no reason, and I'd get stuck around the same number for a while. It's just the nature of Instagram. Some posts may do really well, whilst others will appear to be a flop. People who post similar content to you may have thousands more followers than you. If you let this get to you then you will hate every minute of Instagram. Just relax, watch the numbers fluctuate without letting it affect you, and you'll realise that like everything your account will have good days and bad days and as long as you are posting quality content then you should be proud of yourself and your account.

These are the main things I discovered during this challenge. My inspiration for this post came from therosebeautyfiles.com so be sure to go check out her post on 'How To Grow Your Instagram'! Have you tried posting regularly on Instagram? What was your experience? As always, leave any questions you have in the comments, and remember to subscribe via email (either in the side bar or below this post) to get notified when I write a new post.

EBB x

2 comments:

  1. This was such a helpful post!!! Definitely great to know for those of us who are keen to grow our blogs!!! Great content as always 😘

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    1. Thank you Niki! Glad you found it helpful 😘❤️ X

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