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I wanted to create a post where I could just lay out any tips I had to organically grow your Instagram account! Here is a post filled with all of my Instagram growth tips and secrets.
Disclaimer: I am in no way an expert, I just have over time realized what things have really helped me expand my reach on Instagram.
If you found this helpful please let me know! I’m sure I have so much more to delve into on this topic.
Before we get into the nitty gritty, let’s lay some ground rules.
1.Be open to your followers.
If you feel comfortable with it, try to be more open & honest to your followers. I know I love seeing others open up about their life and daily routines on their stories. It makes me feel like I know them!!!
2. Create content with value.
Try and create content with VALUE! What I mean by this is give your followers a reason to keep coming back. I love giving my coffee brewing tips or like am I here, my suggestions to grow on Instagram.
3. Stop comparing your account to others.
I KNOW it’s much easier said than done; I very much still struggle with it myself. When i get into a mood where I’m down about myself or my content that’s my sign to get off the app – OR just post and then get off!
I also try to turn it around by instead of feeding my energy into the negative thoughts of myself, to instead admire the talent of others.
I know, I know, I’m sure you’ve heard this many times before but it’s SO vital. The current Instagram algorithm favors content from those that are consistent. Now, whether your version of consistent means posting every day, or every couple days, it’s up to YOU! Don’t burn yourself out over it (I know from experience)!
I usually try and post at least every other day, but if there’s four days that I just don’t have anything I feel like posting or talking about, then simple as that – I won’t post. It’s taken me a while to accept that I’m not a content machine who just can churn out all these photos to post every day – and that’s ok!
Besides posting photos consistently, posting stories is equally – if not MORE important to keep up with (in my opinion).
Think about it: Instagram shows you the stories and posts of the accounts you interact with most. So if you keep up with posting stories at least a couple times a day, that means that over time you are MORE likely to be recommended to your followers as one of their first stories.
I know for me, a couple months ago when I really started posting more honest & valuable content on my stories my overall engagement REALLY increased.
Especially on days when you don’t post, use all of Instagram stories’ engagement features (polls, reactions, questions, etc). Again, the more people interact with your content the more it will be recommended to them in the future.
I didn’t realize until more recently how important the hashtags I use in each of my posts is. The 30 hashtags you choose can really make or break the amount of people who see it.
Typically, I try to only use hashtags that have under 1 million posts. That way it gives your post a greater chance of being seen. Another tip I’ve seen is to look at the amount of likes & engagement the top posts in a hashtag are getting & compare that to yours. Ultimately, getting one of your posts in the top to a hashtag makes them seen EVEN MORE!
My best tip to choose what hashtags to use is to look to other creators in your niche and play around with the ones they’re using. The easiest way to see how many people are coming across your post in hashtags is to look at the insights. Insights is a feature of Instagram if you switch your account to a creator or business account (super easy to do)!
I forget exactly where i heard this first, but it really stuck with me. For example, I love when people respond to my stories, reach out to chat or comment really nice things on my posts. Coinciding with that, I try my best to do those same things to the accounts I really love and enjoy.
Once you have that foundation set, move on to this next step, and the step where i see the most IMMEDIATE results from.
My favorite way to find new content while organically growing my own account is by going through relevant hashtags in my niche & engaging with that content. I usually will spend a decent amount of time per day (maybe 20-30 minutes if I have the time) to go through some hashtags and like/comment on posts I genuinely like.
PRO TIP: don’t do it too fast or Instagram will think you’re a bot and action block you. I know from experience, as back in April I got blocked from doing anything on my account FOR ONE ENTIRE WEEK!
So after every 6 posts or so you engage with, on the 7th post instead of liking it directly from the hashtag feed, go to their profile and like/engage with it there. After, you can go back to that hashtag feed and continue on with your day! This helps to ensure that you aren’t seen as a bot!
To explain this tactic in a bit more detail – As I went into it a bit above, hashtags are the PERFECT way for your content to be seen and also for you to discover new content. I genuinely enjoy seeing what other coffee lovers post (even if I don’t follow them)!
I just wanted to end this by saying that YES I’m sure these tips can really help most of you – but I do not personally have control over the Instagram algorithm (shocker, I know). Some specific things really depend on your niche, when you post, what exactly you post, etc.
The Instagram algorithm can be different for every one of us. There is no guaranteed formula for success.
At the end of the day, it’s YOUR account. So do what makes you happy. I know social media can be a toxic place so don’t feel pressured to have to do anything.
If this helped you at all or opened your eyes up to new possibilities please let me know! I’d love your feedback.
Lots of love,
Quarantine has positively challenged me to find ways to create content while stuck inside my house. FIRST go here to see the giveaway I’m doing!! I’ve always had a fascination with flat lay photography and the way so many people on my instagram feed were able to style photos to be so stunning and well…
I used to spend so much time scrolling through instagram being like “Wow, I want to do that. I want to be able to piece flat lays together!”. Like many things, it just got to a point where I was like ok now let’s try this out and see how it goes. also, for reference:…
One thing that has stayed a constant in my life the last 59 days of quarantine is how important structure is. Whether it’s just having a small to-do list or actually having blocks of time set aside for tasks. I just find that I feel more validated and put together if I have some sort…
These past couple weeks I’ve been taking the LadyBossBlogger “How to Make Money as an Influencer” course. At first, I was a bit skeptical, as this course comes at a big cost. But quickly I realized how much valuable information was jam-packed into its seven sections!
You can find the first part of my review of this course here, but keep reading to get my final thoughts on it.
If you’re ready to start a course, I’d love for you to use the code ASHLEIGHFAY to get 40% off your purchase of any course by LadyBossBlogger! There are multiple payment plans available to split the cost up; this promo code works with any of the payment plans as well!
The course contains everything you need to start your blog, market your blog with Pinterest, increase your Instagram engagement and how to professionally do sponsored posts in all forms. I was really impressed with how the course broke it all down for me starting with the very basics.
I could list so much more but that would ruin all the fun wouldn’t it?
If you’re ready to start a course, I’d love for you to use the code ASHLEIGHFAY to get 40% off your purchase of any course at LadyBossBlogger!
Links contain affiliate links. Big thanks again to LadyBossBlogger and Elaine Rau for teaming up with me and sponsoring this post.
Lots of Love,
I was so excited when Grounds & Hounds Coffee Co reached out to me to try their coffee (ad)! If you’ve been keeping up with me on Instagram, I love to review coffee over there and give my honest feed back. I wasn’t sure what to expect from them, quality wise, but I wanted to…
I’m sorry I’ve been neglecting you! It wasn’t intentional I promise. If you know me, I “love” to keep busy so I’ve been up to a lot. I just got back from a three week vacation in Alaska and those vlogs will all be up soon on my youtube. The first Alaska vlog is actually…
Hello! I’ve been drowning in grad school assignments so I haven’t been posting as often as I would like. I’m hoping to go more in depth with updates in my next post but for now here’s how I like to spend my days off from work and grad school – cafe hopping, what a surprise!…
This past week I’ve been taking the LadyBossBlogger “How to make money as an influencer” course. At first I was a bit skeptical, as this course comes at a big cost. But quickly I realized how much valuable information was jam packed into its seven sections!
Read till the end to see how you could win a free course for yourself!!
More recently, I’ve been making strides to take my blog and instagram more seriously. I’ve been googling all the tips and tricks to social media marketing to figure out ways to expand my reach but it’s been such an intimidating process.
If you’ve been keeping up with me for a while, you’d know that I am a scientist by trade and far from business-savvy. I’ve heard of “influencer courses” and other tools but I never really knew where to start.
This is where LadyBossBlogger comes in. It was founded by Elaine Rau and her passion for helping people who want to learn how to start, grow, and scale an online business. They offer a number of courses on monetization and how to make money as an influencer.
The LadyBossBlogger courses are pricey, but regardless, I think it’s worth putting the investment in if you’re able to. This is a valuable way to invest in yourself and your own personal brand. It really was the stepping stone I needed to start looking at my blog and Instagram in a more professional way.
The “How to make money as an influencer” course is broken up into seven sections, with the main ones being:
The course starts at the basics like how to stay organized and set your days up for success and then moves into things like steps you could take to build your own brand. It’s all very strategic and the information is organized in a way that flows from one step to the next.
So far, my favorite part of the course has been how to build relationships with brands. One thing that I was extra curious about was how to professionally reach out and pitch ideas to brands. It was this super intimidating idea and I was clueless on how to go about the whole thing.
Something that I’m excited to take advantage of once completing this course is all of the super helpful resources that are linked within it; this will help me put what I’ve learned into practice and expand beyond the course.
If you’re ready to start a course, I’d love for you to use the code ASHLEIGHFAY to get 40% off your purchase of any course at LadyBossBlogger! There are multiple payment plans available to split the cost up; this promo code works with any of the payment plans as well!
Head over to my post on instagram post to enter to win a free course of your choice:
note: the winner will be asked to post on their feed talking about winning the course in order to claim the prize
Great FREE resources by LadyBossBlogger
I’m excited to check back in with you guys in a few weeks once I finish this course!!
Links contain affiliate links. Big thanks again to LadyBossBlogger and Elaine Rau for teaming up with me and sponsoring this post.
Lots of Love,
I recently sat down with Ella Jesmajian, co-founder of Honey & Roses Coffee Company, for a mini interview. As a customer of Honey & Roses, and a fellow coffee lover, I was really intrigued by the back story behind the business.
Furthermore, in a time like this, it’s reminded me how it’s extra important to shop small and shop sustainably!
Honey & Roses Coffee Co. is a coffee marketplace where you can find the highest quality coffee roasters from all around the United States. They also sell high quality, artisanal homeware along with other sustainable items, like there adorable travel cups!
But beyond what they sell, they’ve created a community based off of coffee & travel: two of my favorite things!
So let’s learn about how Honey & Roses came to be, and maybe even where they’re going in the future.
Tell me a little bit about the team behind Honey & Roses
At this time it’s myself and my partner Joe! We met a few years ago, as he is one of my closest friend’s husband. We are both big travelers and foodies and kept brainstorming businesses idea for fun. Somehow one day, while enjoying some Vietnamese noodles, Honey & Roses was born. Joe’s the practical one and I’m not. I come up with the ideas and he executes them unlike anything I’ve ever seen. He brings me down to earth and vice versa and that has really been the key to our success. I think having a business partnership is similar to having a successful marriage. You have to communicate constantly, trust each other, complement each others differences and have fun!
I was born and raised in NY and Joe is from England. He had spent the last five years working in finance and I have been working in the restaurant industry. I think the polar opposite career paths have helped shape our business in more ways than one and that’s been really cool to watch unfold.
Ella Jesmajian, co-founder of Honey & Roses
What were your goals when you first started? & was there anything specific you wanted to accomplish?
We just wanted to create a really high quality product and work with people who are passionate about their craft. I had always wanted to pursue design in someway or another. So our home line and reusable bottles were influenced heavily by my desire to create our own unique product. Joe and I really just wanted to create an online community. We want to offer more than just a bag of coffee in the mail.
Which leads me into my next question of how do you pick the roasters to include in your marketplace?
It really depends. Many of our roasters were either coffee companies I had previously tried and loved. Or ones that were highly recommended to me. At this point, some roasters will reach out to us and that’s been a really gratifying shift to see. We would love to have roasters from all 50 states, so If a roaster is from a state we don’t currently carry, it heavily influences us in reaching out to try their coffee.
Let’s talk about the Honey and Roses Aesthetic: what was the main inspiration, because you clearly have an aesthetic (boho, beachy, etc.) How would you sum it up?
It’s such a blend. I would say it’s Moroccan, tropical, bohemian and contemporary. I have been heavily influenced by traveling and exploring the world. I love incorporating pieces of art and my travels in my home and office. And I think that translates to the business.
I saw Honey and Roses did New York and San Francisco coffee festival last year, how was that?
It was awesome. We were just starting out and it was the first advertising and project we participated in. It was really gratifying to see something we were just creating come to life. You also get access to a very different customer base and it was amazing to see the real coffee drinkers, loving our newly founded brand and roasters coffee.
Would you do something like that again?
I think we would if it was safe. It was truly a blast and we learned a lot. I also have to give credit to Joe. I was in the hospital during the second festival and he handled it all on his own and never complained. It was really amazing to watch, even from a distance.
There are a couple side projects I’ve seen stemming from Honey and Roses: Travel Blog (with recipes and other travel posts) and a go fund me page for COVID relief would you mind talking about them a bit?
We really wanted to create a community and blog from the beginning. We want to share more than just products with people and we felt like recipes would be a great place to start. We have created a few series, including coffee around the world. Highlighting a different coffee and breakfast recipe from a new country each week. This has been a really fun way to give people the experience of traveling, without leaving their homes. If you look at how Dalgona coffee spread across the globe in popularity, we hope to replicate that on a smaller scale and share fun new food and coffee recipes with our customers.
I mean I was on it (the blog) last night and I saw one that was a maple cold foam.. I was like omg I want to try that!
It’s truly amazing. It’s such a mix between sweet and savory and really compliments a more bitter and acidic cold brew perfectly.
Anything exciting coming ahead that you can hint to? I think you mentioned maybe expanding some of the homeware?
Yeah it’s just been quite difficult with everything going on in the world and we have been hit with several delays. We are planning on expanding our home collection and improving our coffee marketplace, but it will take time and funding. We have lots of projects and ideas in the works and will be launching a kickstarter campaign in the next couple of months.
Big thanks to Ella for sitting down with me, especially with everything going on right now in the world.
I hope you guys learned something ant that it even sparked your interest to go check these guys out!
Mini disclaimer: I am in no way affiliated or partnered with Honey and Roses Coffee Co in anyway, All photos belong to Honey and Roses.
If you liked this sort of content let me know down below or over on my instagram!
As always, thanks so much for your support.
Lots of love,
