This article originally appeared on the Sonicbids Blog
With 500 million active users, Instagram is a great visual social media platform to build your online community. Instagram allows you to give your fans a peek into your world through your photos and videos. While funny memes, quotes, and viral videos may get attention, building a community of fans for you and your music requires the right strategies. Here are six tips to grow your fanbase on Instagram.
Think of your Instagram feed as your personal online magazine. Use your photos and videos to visually tell your story. Pick main content themes that show who you are as an artist, and build a consistent feed. Some example of content themes are performing, recording, your musical interests, fashion/style, and religion/spirituality.
When someone visits your profile, your first nine photos should have a consistent look. Decide if you want your Instagram feed to feature photos with an array of bold, eye-catching colors or if you want your photos to have a more minimalist, monochromatic look. You also need decide to whether you want your photos to have cool undertones or warm undertones.
Use a photo-editing app like VSCOCam to edit your photos to match your theme.
Along with having a consistent theme, you also need to be consistent in your posting. Consistency is key in building your followers over time. Sporadic posting could actually cause you to lose followers.
Post to your page one to three times a day to build your following. Create some of your posts and schedule them ahead of time with apps such as Hootsuite and Later to stay on top of your social game.
Think of hashtags that both represent your brand and what your fans are searching for on Instagram. Use an analytics tool such as Iconosquare to see which hashtags are popular among your fans. Switch out your hashtags every few months to keep them fresh and correlate with your fans’ interests.
[Musicians: 7 Best Practices for Instagram Hashtags You Need to Know]
You have to give in order to receive likes and comments on your Instagram content. Ask your followers questions, and post call-to-action photos to engage them. Like other peeple’s photos, and leave genuine comments on their content. Commit to engaging with a specific number of people per week to grow your following.
In order to receive the most engagement, you must post your content at the right times. Post your content morning, afternoon, and evening to reach your fans in different time zones. Use Iconosquare to analyze when your followers are online. Study your followers’ behavior for at least a month and make adjustments to your posting times based on your findings.
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Lauren Gill is the founder and chief power specialist at Power Publicity, a marketing, branding, and public relations firm that empowers entertainment, nonprofit, and lifestyle brands. She has executed several successful marketing and PR campaigns for major and indie recording artists. You can follow her on Twitter @IamLaurenGill and @_powerpublicity.