How to use Instagram to Market your Blog!
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How to use Instagram to Market your Blog!

style me prettyAs you guys read in my Awe-Inspired June post, I am all about Instagram these days. I credit it all to Jenna Kutcher and her course for this love affair. I had no idea that Instagram could really be anything other than a place to showcase your work. I really didn’t think of it as a marketing tool. Let me tell you right now, It’s pretty much right there next to Pinterest with driving visitors to my blog. 

I am so excited about it that I want to teach you guys some basics on exactly how to use Instagram for your blog.

Have an aesthetic

How does your feed make you feel when you look at it? Is there a theme? Are your pictures telling a story? 

Personally, I try to keep a mixture of high quality pictures of my personal life sprinkled with blogging and sponsored posts. People don’t want to see you trying to sell them something post after post. They are intrigued by your real life and its way easier to connect with people this way, too.

Your pictures should always be high quality and have generally the same aesthetic in each picture. That could mean that you use the same filter in each photo to create that aesthetic. I use the VSCO app to edit all of my pictures , it’s a free app and has tons of free filters and paid filters to choose from! 

Have a Plan

As Jenna teaches, your Instagram grid should be carefully curated. That means the overall look and feel of your grid should flow well. 

Once you’ve figured out what kind of vibe you want your feed to have start planning out your content. This has helped me SO MUCH!  I use Planoly to upload all of my edited photos to see how they are going to look in my grid before I actually upload it to Instagram. I also use it to write out my captions in advance. MAJOR TIME SAVER! 
 

This is Planoly. It is an app and website that will change your instagram life. I pay $8.99 a month and do not regret it one bit. It has truly helped my brand !

On the left you can see the photos I have posted as well as unscheduled photos. This helps you see exactly how your grid will look before you post, which is kind of why I LOVE it! You can easily move the photos around to see how they would work next to different pictures. On the right you can see the calendar of when I have posted and at what times. I try to post once a day at the time I get most engagement, which this website/app also helps you figure that out! 

Planoly can also help you figure out what your followers like, what are they commenting on and you can easily see the times you posted which helped with engagement. These are all great things to think about when planning your content! 

Best part: you can post everything right through Planoly. 

Engage

MAJOR KEY. Whatever, I’m listening to DJ Khaled as I write this. But, seriously engagement is major key. Not only is it important to have engagement on your posts, it’s also important to engage on others. Use the hashtags you use and go through them and find people you can relate to – like, comment and share their posts. I PROMISE you your engagement will sky-rocket in return. 

Also, anytime someone engages by leaving a comment on your post be sure to comment back with something thoughtful. Even if it’s just thanking them! 

Use Insatgram to market your blog

On the left you can see each photo I have posted, the caption and how many comment/likes it has received. On the right you can see and REPLY to each comment very easily. This makes it a heck of a lot easier to comment back than trying to do it on your phone in the Insta app! Just like Instagram it pulls up their user name as you type it in!

Use the RIGHT hashtags

 Hashtags are the key to getting your pictures in front of the right people. Therefore, the hashtags you choose should be the best of the best and really tailored to the kind of followers or clients you are seeking.

For example, if I post a new DIY I want to tag it with hashtags that are trending but don’t have millions of people tagging to them. That means you want to avoid using the generic hashtags like #diy, #doityourself because your picture will likely get lost due to how many people use them. Instead you want to use something like #creativityfound or #studiodiy 

Now, both of those hashtags are in my arsenal and let me tell you why. Studio DIY is actually an instagram account I have been following for a while. She created that hashtag that went viral and if you use it, it gives you the opportunity to get in front of her followers.

Much like Studio DIY if there are brands you love use  their hashtags! This is often the best way to get noticed and possibly regrammed by that brand (along with tagging which we will talk about in a sec!). 

You WANT to be regrammed by others because it gets you in front of their followers which can potentially turn into your followers and/or clients!

*Start to use hashtag #ArrowsAndAweInspired for the chance to be regrammed by me! 

Tag

When you post pictures that are featuring certain brands, you should be tagging them in the picture! This also will help you be noticed by those brands. By tagging I’m not just saying to credit them in the comment, but also tag them on the picture itself! 

Use the URL space wisely

In your instagram bio you have a little space to add a URL. As you add pictures you should be updating your url to match what you are posting about in your pictures. 

For example, If you post a picture featuring your most recent DIY blog post, your caption should be directing people to your bio to click on that little link!

 

More Blogging Resources:

5 Ways to Drive Traffic to your Blog


 
I hope you guys enjoyed this! If you would like to know anymore about Instagram or blogging in general, let me know in the comments below! 

 


Office Pic : Style Me Pretty | Stats : Planoly

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46 Comments

  • Kay

    Such a good, well thought out post! Is “well thought out” a lame compliment? Hah, but I did love it! & I hadn’t heard of Planoly until now and I think I need it in my life! Xx

    August 8, 2016 at 10:58 am Reply
    • Tiffany C

      It is a great compliment! Planoly has literally changed my life lol

      August 8, 2016 at 11:35 am Reply
  • Ana

    This is so helpful!

    August 8, 2016 at 12:30 pm Reply
  • Emma Francis

    great ideas!

    August 8, 2016 at 1:03 pm Reply
  • Casey

    Cool. I have not heard of Planoly. Love the glace at stats. Do you have the business instagram? I am still using the personal because I kept hearing bad things about he business version.

    August 8, 2016 at 6:45 pm Reply
    • Tiffany C

      I do have the business instagram. I personally love it. It gives you insights like best time to post, how many people you reached, how many engaged. It helps me a lot in knowing when to post my pictures on top of planoly helps me best to write out my instagram captions and schedule them in advance

      August 8, 2016 at 8:21 pm Reply
  • Candis Barbosa

    Great post! I’ve never heard of Planoly before. It looks really helpful. I’m always wondering how my feed will look when I post my photos. Trying to work on creating a theme, but it’s been a struggle for me for some reason.

    August 8, 2016 at 7:47 pm Reply
    • Tiffany C

      It is actually still a struggle for me when it comes to the aesthetic. I haven’t necessarily got that part down, but it will come!

      August 8, 2016 at 8:20 pm Reply
  • courtney

    Thank you so much for this! It was truly so helpful! Planoly looks like the answer I have been looking for!

    La Belle Sirene

    August 8, 2016 at 8:30 pm Reply
    • Tiffany C

      Awesome !!! I’m so happy I could help. It is a game changer !!

      August 8, 2016 at 8:44 pm Reply
  • Anna

    What a great post, Instagram is a really fun social media tool that I love to keep learning about. I think I need to find more hashtags to use! Thanks for sharing!

    August 8, 2016 at 10:56 pm Reply
  • Sarah

    I might have to try this app! When I get a minute. I’m barely writing at the moment *sigh* #twinklytuesday

    August 9, 2016 at 8:37 am Reply
  • Amber

    This is great. My Instagram isn’t growing how I would like and there are a lot of people following just to get your follow and then unfollow. I hate those games. I just want authentic followers who enjoy my pictures. I need to put in some work!

    August 9, 2016 at 10:20 am Reply
  • Sarah

    Thank you for the great advice! I just started my blog in July, so I welcome all the tips to help make me grow!

    August 9, 2016 at 10:52 am Reply
  • Holly

    Will defiantly look into getting PLANOLY it looks pretty too! I need to focus on my insta much more if I’m honest xoxo

    August 9, 2016 at 12:09 pm Reply
  • Caytee

    Great advice. I don’t usually use hashtags but I might need to start after reading this post. Thanks!

    August 9, 2016 at 12:23 pm Reply
    • Tiffany C

      You totally should! It’s how you get in front of your ideal clients !

      August 9, 2016 at 12:38 pm Reply
  • Grady

    I’ve never heard of Planoly but I’m excited to check it out – I’m only just now starting to up my insta-game, so I love learning new things about how to use it well! Thanks!

    August 9, 2016 at 1:40 pm Reply
  • Kim

    I never really thought of how the grid looks, but it is true…it has to look cohesive so readers want to take a longer look

    August 9, 2016 at 1:50 pm Reply
  • Rachel

    I am in LOVE with Instagram. The theme was the hardest part for me to get down. It’s easy to take pictures, but editing them to make sure they flow aesthetically is crucial and a lot more challenging. I use UNUM to plan my pictures out, but I’ve heard great things about Planoly, too!!

    August 9, 2016 at 2:00 pm Reply
  • Danielle

    I love this blog post! I have never used Instagram to market my blog because I never thought that you could. You really can, and I”m going to put this post to use and start using Instagram more for my blog!

    August 9, 2016 at 2:27 pm Reply
  • Jennifer Panehal-Pelayo

    This is very helpful! I have slowly been learning and dipping my feet in the blogging world and with that comes social media, I actually just did a tag today on instagram that caught the companies attention, I was so excited! Great advice!

    August 9, 2016 at 3:49 pm Reply
  • Dicia

    I needed to read this. I have been using instagram for my blog some, but I need to put more effort into using it.

    August 10, 2016 at 1:10 am Reply
  • sara

    These are great tips! I need to up my IG game. Thanks for sharing these simple ideas!

    August 10, 2016 at 6:26 am Reply
  • Sarah

    I just got planoly (literally yesterday) and I am already loving it!

    Sarah || http://www.stylishsassyandclassy.com/

    August 10, 2016 at 9:40 am Reply
  • Helena

    Thank you for the tips and for sharing this post on #TwinklyTuesday

    August 10, 2016 at 4:38 pm Reply
  • Lisa @ Fun Money Mom

    These are awesome tips! I get overwhelmed by commenting sometimes because it does take forever on my phone. I’d never heard of planoly but am definitely going to look into it!

    August 11, 2016 at 1:29 am Reply
    • Tiffany C

      You would love it! I also have found that using my phones microphone feature works wonders in keeping up with the comments!

      August 11, 2016 at 1:18 pm Reply
  • Tammy

    Great information! Thank you for the tip on Planoly.

    August 11, 2016 at 5:55 pm Reply
  • Jill

    So going to check out Plainly. I have been trying to decide between a few… haven’t heard about this one before yet.

    August 12, 2016 at 5:04 pm Reply
  • Suzy @ In The Lyons Den

    Great tips! I am a fairly new blogger and am loving the insta community. I am not as great with layout, my pictures aren’t perfect and it is my daily life but it is me but love all these tips helping with layout and planoly. Would love the check that out.

    August 14, 2016 at 7:29 am Reply
  • the cape on the corner

    right now this is confusing only b/c i don’t use instagram. but, i’m thinking of getting back into my blog (maybe?) and this post would be helpful. thanks for the great tips!
    b

    August 15, 2016 at 3:02 pm Reply
  • Mudpie Fridays

    This is great thank you for bringing this to my attention I do think specific social media programmes seem to be better than general ones! I really need to look st the has tags I’m using too. Thank you #TwinklyTuesday

    August 16, 2016 at 2:18 am Reply
  • Janet Vinyard

    Thanks for all the info – I’m new to Instagram and found this post very helpful! Blessings, Janet

    August 16, 2016 at 11:25 am Reply
  • Izzy

    This was so informative! Thank’s for sharing!

    August 16, 2016 at 12:52 pm Reply
  • Dara

    This is a lot of great info! I am pinning this for further study. I really like Instagram, and so far it doesn’t drive a whole lot of traffic to my blog. I am going to take a hard look at my grid and overall feel.

    August 16, 2016 at 8:49 pm Reply
  • Shirley

    This is good information. Thanks for sharing with us at Merry Monday. I hadn’t heard of planoly yet.

    August 17, 2016 at 7:04 pm Reply
  • Ashley

    LOVE THIS! Thank you for so much sharing! Question – can I use your #ArrowsAndAweInspired for any kind of gram or is there a theme to it? Just want to make sure so that when I DO post and use it, I use it properly 😉

    August 20, 2016 at 9:41 am Reply
    • Tiffany C

      Yes! You totally can!

      August 23, 2016 at 10:16 am Reply
  • Nicki

    Wonderful advice! Thanks for sharing this with us at Totally Terrific Tuesday! Hope to see you back to this weeks party!

    August 22, 2016 at 10:35 pm Reply
  • Victoria @DazzleWhileFrazzled

    Thanks for the tips. I’m slowly working on Instagram and am starting to really enjoy it. It’s easier for me than Facebook, for whatever reason. Visiting from DIY Collective.

    August 25, 2016 at 12:46 pm Reply
    • Tiffany C

      Same for me ! I prefer Instagram over any other

      August 25, 2016 at 4:43 pm Reply
  • Mackenzie Glanville

    Instagram is by far my fav social media, I love seeing all the gorgeous pics that get posted by those I follow and love posting mine too, I only discovered hashtags a while ago and love them it is such a greta way to find new Instagramers I love

    September 14, 2016 at 7:31 pm Reply
    • Tiffany C

      It is the best way! They are also great for getting yourself discovered

      September 15, 2016 at 9:08 am Reply
  • Nat Otalora

    Love seeing my office on this post ❤️❤️

    March 26, 2017 at 10:49 pm Reply
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