Blogging Tips,Lifestyle (Home, Travel, Family),Uncategorized

How to Grow Your Style Blog’s Instagram Account: 10 Tips To Increase Followers and Engagement

tips to grow your Instagram following

Connecticut life and style blogger, Pinteresting Plans shares 10 Tips to increase your fashion blog instagram engagement and following on Instagram.

I’m certainly no social media expert.   In fact, I get very little blog traffic from Facebook which is the most popular social network.   There are only so many hours in a day so I invest the majority of my social media time on Instagram.   I have been lucky to grow my account rather quickly compared to some and I get messages just about every day asking for advice so I rounded up my best tips into one post for those who might be interest.

I started my blog nearly a year ago and a few weeks later a corresponding Instagram account.  My first pictures are quite amusing but by the time I hit the 1 year mark next month I should be at 30,000 followers.  I never would have dreamed that was possible.  I remember begging my husband to follow me so I could see my follower count hit 100!   So truly I am so grateful for all the support!  Like most things in life – it takes a village.

Tips To Grow A Fashion Blog Instagram Account

1. Content is King: Be choosy about what you post.  In the end you want your pictures to speak for you.  When people click to your feed they only see the first 9 photos.   People you don’t know won’t continue to follow you if you post boring content.  Beautiful pictures will keep people wanting to see more from you.  I personally don’t show many pictures of my kids.  Of course I think they’re adorable but I don’t think people who only know me on the internet care much about pictures of the ins and outs of my children’s daily life.

2. Create a theme: I don’t wear many bright colors or patterns and it’s not something I show in my feed.  That’s my style or “brand” as the fashion world refers to it.  My colors and theme are more muted.  That is my style so it keeps things cohesive and lets people who find me have an idea of what to expect if they follow me.  Whatever your style is – let it drive your theme.  Stay consistent so people who follow you because they like your style will stick with you.

3. Engage with others in your niche:  It’s called SOCIAL media for a reason.  I can’t tell you how quickly you’ll make virtual friends.   Instagram has been like free match.com for girlfriends for me!   I’ve met so many funny and kind people in my blogging journey.  Most of my local friends are moms as well so we don’t have wild nights out very often – so I congregate with my blog pals and share pictures most nights of what (we wish) we wore that day.  Show your appreciation for those who support you!  Thank those who took the time to comment on your pictures and as best you can return the favor.  As a mom of 2 I don’t always have the time to do this on every pictures but I try my best.  Also, making a blog bestie gives you someone to bounce ideas off of and see what’s working for others.

4. Hashtag, hashtag, hashtag:  If you want to be discovered this is how many people stumble upon accounts they might not already follow.  Instagram allows 30 hashtags per pic.  I try to add 30 to every picture.  I add around 5 hashtags specific to my picture at the end of my caption.  I keep a list in the “note” section of my iPhone with about 25 popular style hashtags (#ootd, #outfitpost, etc) and then add that in the comment section below my caption.

5. Crosstag and Geotag: You never know where people are looking for pictures.  Perhaps they’re looking at pictures tagged under Gap’s Instagram feed or wanting to see how someone is styling Abercrombie sweaters.  I also tag accounts that report fashion posts like @ootd_channel, who has reposted me several times and @stilkolik, etc.  There are hundreds.  Find the feeds that might line up with your aesthetic and tag them in hopes of a repost.

6. Be authentic: Are you intellectual? Funny? A health nut?   Whatever you are – let it shine!!!  I try to add some humor into my posts because in the real world I am sarcastic and not on the cutting edge of style.  I want people to follow me and engage with my content so I figure even if my picture is a flop maybe they can relate to my stories about my kids, husband, insecurities – whatever it is I’m talking about that shows I’m just a real girl who is growing the confidence to put herself out there!

7. Quantity:  While you want to put out beautiful content you can’t spend 6 hours shooting every picture.  I have gotten away from pretty filler pictures and instead just put in iPhone pictures of my more everyday outfits that aren’t worth writing a blog post about.  These are relatable because most people are wearing everyday outfits.

8. Ax your face:  Cutting my head out of pictures generally makes them more well received on Instagram.   I tell myself this is because then people can see themselves in the clothes and not just because they hate my mug.   Either way – if you’re aiming for likes and followers – I have found cutting my head off helps me gain more of both.

9.  Mention price: If you’re a style blogger trying to interest people in buying things you’re show on your feed I find it helpful to mention price.  High or low in my opinion people are more likely to check out your items if they have a ball park price range.

10.  Repost pictures that did well:   If I had a picture that got 3,000 likes and I notice the jacket I wore in that picture has gone on sale I will repost to let followers know about the sale in case they were on the fence about purchasing.   Readers who were on the fence might be swayed at a lower price and you have the benefit of gaining more followers thanks to a picture you already know will do well.

11.  What did well?  Repeat it!   Something simple like mirror selfies does really well for me.   Like I said above – brands are not going to reach out to me or repost my content if I’m only posting mirror selfies but they’re relatable and easy.   I do them when my kids nap and I don’t even have to put make-up on because I hold my phone in front of my face!    Find your top 3 pictures and try to recreate similar outfits and photos to repeat your success.

More than anything – be nice!   Not just in the Instagram world but in everything.   “A candle loses nothing by lighting another” (I’m not sure who said this but I LOVE IT!!).  Mean people might get ahead in the game, but not in the game of life, and the game of life is certainly more important than social media.

As always if you have questions feel free to reach out!  I respond to direct messages on Instagram.  I’d be happy to help you if I can.

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  • Amber
    December 15, 2016 at 6:02 am

    Great information girly!! Cindy told me to check it out from Foreign Fresh Fierce. I am def. going to start implementing some of your tips!!

    • rachelmacgillis@gmail.com
      December 15, 2016 at 4:21 pm

      thank you amber!!

  • Liz
    December 15, 2016 at 3:12 pm

    This is super awesome! I’ve been on Instagram for two years and no matter what I do I can’t seem to get above 1300 followers and its like the main source of anxiety in my life. Thanks for sharing this.

    • rachelmacgillis@gmail.com
      December 15, 2016 at 4:23 pm

      AW! at the end of the day real life is more important. try not to let instagram stress you. i hope these help though.

  • Cathy, your Poor Little It Girl
    December 15, 2016 at 4:27 pm

    Just stumbled upon this post, great tips! However I notice that your weekly increase in followers is larger than that of bloggers with 1million followers. Do you use bots/Insta-gress programs as well? Or have you been featured by high-profile brands that have helped expedite your increase?

    xoxo
    Cathy, your Poor Little It Girl
    http://poorlittleitgirl.com

    • rachelmacgillis@gmail.com
      December 15, 2016 at 4:44 pm

      i am not using bots. i have been lucky to get reposts by liketoknow.it and several fashion accounts with large followings and thanks to hashtags i have been lucky to land in the “popular feed” for well loved hashtags like #ltkshoecrush, #ltksalealert and those days favor large gains.

      • Cathy, your Poor Little It Girl
        December 15, 2016 at 9:52 pm

        Thanks for clarifying. The only reason I ask is because I’m working on future post on Instagram techniques myself and when I see your outstanding organic growth I wanted to double check on other factors used. For example, I did the percentage on two top VERY well known style bloggers (who have between half a million to a million followers each, numerous LTK features, etc) with similar esthetic to yours. Their average growth percentage per week is between 0.06% and 0.13% respectively of their entire following. When I calculate your growth it shows you average a full 1% of your total followers growth per week (currently at 27K followers) which is amazing! I’m just trying to understand fully what techniques bloggers are using nowadays since Instagram has become such an integral part of business planning and partnerships. Thanks!

        • rachelmacgillis@gmail.com
          December 16, 2016 at 12:44 am

          well I am honored to even be compared to them! I hit 20K on thanksgiving and have been posting 3 times a day since a week before. that other 7K came in weeks where is took me nearly a year to get the 20K. I think it’s wise to hustle now when it’s a busy shopping season (since a lot of my content is geared at fashion/sales) to pick up active followers and then in January and February I will probably hibernate because I only have so many winter coats to show off. anyway – hope the made sense! I’ll look forward to your post. always new things to learn!

  • Krystin Tysire
    December 15, 2016 at 11:12 pm

    This was very helpful and I definitely agree with you! Great tips are reposting, I’ll definitely keep that in mind!

    Krystin
    http://www.girlinbetsey.com

    • rachelmacgillis@gmail.com
      December 16, 2016 at 12:52 am

      YAY! I hope they help you. keep me posted!

  • Jen
    December 16, 2016 at 12:03 pm

    I love you!!!! You are a beautiful inspiration to us all!!!:):)

    • rachelmacgillis@gmail.com
      December 17, 2016 at 1:14 am

      thanks JEN! love you back. xoxoxo

  • Laurie
    December 16, 2016 at 2:06 pm

    What a beautiful and truly caring post. You are a gem–wish there were more people like you!
    Blessings

    • rachelmacgillis@gmail.com
      December 17, 2016 at 1:14 am

      wow. that’s so sweet. THANK YOU!!!!!

  • Ashley|@curlsandcashmere
    December 16, 2016 at 3:28 pm

    Thanks for the tips Rachel! Your account and feed are awesome and on fire!!!

    • rachelmacgillis@gmail.com
      December 17, 2016 at 1:14 am

      thanks ash! xox

  • Maggie
    December 18, 2016 at 7:23 pm

    Interesting that cutting off your head helps!! haha! Great tip though – I’ll have to try it!

    http://www.maggiealamode.com

  • Glor // Always Creating Blog
    December 19, 2016 at 4:46 pm

    Thank you so much for this very informative post! I have am at a crossroads with my Instagram and what content to post. I find that I gain a ton of followers when I post outfit photos but when I post anything lifestyle/mom life/decor, I lose all of them. So in 2017 my goal is to fully transition into a fashion IG, and this would carry over to my blog. Do you have any advice? Thanks so much!

    • rachelmacgillis@gmail.com
      December 19, 2016 at 5:16 pm

      hi!
      the same happened to me so when I blog about topics outside of outfits I usually leave them off my Instagram feed and mention them in Instagram stories or in the caption of my outfit post so that the blog post still sees traffic but not at the expense of my Instagram feed’s theme. Pinterest in particular would be a great source of home decor and mom posts – so I would focus those posts more heavily there.
      hope that helps!
      rachel

  • Nicole
    January 5, 2017 at 4:46 pm

    Thank you so much this was extremely helpful. Im wondering what site is great for blogging?

    • rachelmacgillis@gmail.com
      January 17, 2017 at 1:11 am

      I’m sorry, I don’t understand your question. can you rephrase it?

  • Mary Grace Faulkerson
    January 20, 2017 at 6:48 am

    Nice article, very insightful. Looking forward to you future posts thanks for the tips!

    • rachelmacgillis@gmail.com
      January 20, 2017 at 8:09 pm

      thank you mary!!

  • Lou
    February 8, 2017 at 4:43 pm

    I I love your blog & I love this article! Especially the part about being nice. A little bit of kindness goes a long way 🙂

    • rachelmacgillis@gmail.com
      February 9, 2017 at 4:06 pm

      thank you lou!!! appreciate that xo