How you can become a successful Instagram influencer

Instagram has become perhaps the most popular platform for influencers to create and share content. With the number of influencers increasing every year, the race to capture the interest of larger and larger audiences is becoming more competitive. Gone are the days when online scams, Instagram pods, fake followers, and other hacks could work, particularly since there have been recent changes in Instagram’s algorithm and scrutiny of accounts. Today, genuine posts, representation, relatability, accountability, and dedication are imperative if you want to stand out from the crowd. In order to achieve just that, we have outlined some of the most important tips for you to follow.

1. Identify the niche you are targeting

The importance of this initial step cannot be ignored. You know best what you’re passionate about and you’re more likely to succeed in working on your passion than on any other niche. Once you know what you’ll be working on, you want to find out the audience that shares your area of interest and is most likely to enjoy and engage with your content. Identifying who you want your posts to target will help you streamline your content and give your account a sense of direction. However, try not to narrow down your content too much that it only resonates with a handful of people. You should aim to provide a good balance of different types of content within your broad area of interest.

2. Personalize your account

For your influencer profile, you can create a new account altogether or convert your existing personal profile into a business account. As an influencer, you should add a personal touch to as many elements of your profile as possible. The starting point is your profile picture, which is likely the first thing people will notice when they reach your profile. Similarly, when posting, try to upload as many pictures with people in it as possible, since adding that human element will help your audience engage more with your content.

3. Organize your posts

It is important to plan ahead of time; you don’t want to post haphazardly or at highly irregular intervals. This will ensure that your profile remains regularly visible in your followers’ feed and also shows up in the Explore section of other people who share your interests. Organizing your posts also entails taking care of the details, such as ensuring that the quality of the photos you upload is high and that you adopt a nice theme or aesthetic for your photos. You need to accompany your photos with captivating captions and relevant hashtags. You can also leverage Instagram stories as a key tool for capturing audience interest. Similarly, occasional live streams can also allow you to enhance personal interaction with your audience.

4. Keep updating your bio

Appearing at the very top of your profile, your bio needs to be kept up to date as it is one of the first things people will notice. In as few words as possible, create a powerful description of your work, purpose and interests that will capture the interest of people who visit your profile. The bio is also an excellent place for you to share your ongoing projects, promotions or any of your creations that you would like to share with your audience. It will serve as a good indication to first-time visitors to your profile that your account is highly active.

5. Maximize engagement!

Your Instagram account is likely to grow much faster if you encourage two-way communication with your audience. Try making your posts as interactive and engaging as possible. Sure, the number of followers you have does matter, but without high engagement rates, your account will likely be overshadowed in the huge pool of influencers out there. So  if you want to boost audience engagement, you can often do so just by asking - calls to action are the way to go. For example, you can ask questions to invite comments, or ask your audience to double-tap if they share an opinion if you. It does not stop here though; try to reply to as many comments as you can on a daily basis, especially in the early stages after you launch your account. Look out for feedback from your followers and try to incorporate it wherever reasonable and possible.

6. Be authentic and transparent

This cannot be emphasized enough. The idea of ‘fake it till you make it’ cannot apply to influencers - at least not anymore! Honesty is a trait that your followers will certainly appreciate. By accepting and showing that you are imperfect, you will enable your followers to relate a lot more with you. It will go a long way in helping you develop real and meaningful connections with your audience; and meaningful connections are far better than a whole bunch of fake followers. Building trusted relationships with dedicated followers will make them stick with you in the long run and provide a robust base for your profile to flourish.

7. Work with the right brands

Once you have a solid, highly engaging profile set out, you can collaborate with brands that align well with your interests. Remember, you will only be able to attract the interest of good, high profile brands if you effectively implement the steps outlined above. Working with relevant brands can also provide an additional source of inspiration for your content. Finding the right brands to work with and reaching out to them successfully can be a challenge though, especially for smaller-scale influencers. This is where an influencer marketing agency like Influencer Hub can help you. We have over 100 brands registered on our platform, which you can collaborate with based on your areas of interest. Follow the simple tips we've outlined here and let Influencer Hub take care of the rest for you. With a simple process to create a free account, you can take the first step today to become a successful influencer on Instagram!