8 Instagram Tips

 

Instagram is a mobile sharing social media application. Instagram is photography based and good for uploading photos you take on your phone or with another camera. 

Instagram is one social media network that took me a while to get in to, but now I really like it. I have the accounts. My first is mythreadofthought and I use it to upload blog photos and photos from my shop. My second account annaleeheybusiness. It is more personal, but I am trying to promote my second Etsy shop on it more. 

These are some Instagram tips for your small business:

1. If you have an Etsy shop, show off studio photos  and product photos. Also, add a couple of personal photos. I like to keep a schedule of what I post each day. For example, on one day I will upload studio photos and another art journaling photos. 
2. Instagram is meant for adding photos you take with your phone. If you have photos you have taken with another camera or older photos, you can add these by saving them to your phone and uploading them. I will sometimes repost photos I have posted on Flickr on Instagram, but will add a filter to give them a different look.
3. Do not feel you only need to use the Instagram filters. You can edit photos first with apps such as A Color Story or Canva. A Color Story is good for making photos brighter and give them a colorful style. Canva allows you to add text to photos.
4. Use the maximum number of hashtags in your post. You can use up to 30. Check which hashtags are popular and find ones that relate to your photo.
5. Make your Instagram look cohesive. Think of how the photo grid looks overall and think about what photos will look good together. For example, you might use a certain filter for your all of your photos or choose to focus on a certain color. You can also try to form a bigger photo out of smaller photos which will give your grid a unique look.
6. Choose to upload a certain number of photos a day. You can upload one photo or do a group of photos. I like to upload either 3 or 6 photos at s time to make my grid look cohesive.
7. Fill in your bio. Wrote a short couple of sentences about yourself. Include a link to your website, blog or mailing list. 
8. Follow people related to your niche. Leave comments and like people's photos to gain followers. Respond to comments you get.

Do you use Instagram?