Do you find yourself scrolling through Instagram, wondering how you can be someone who ‘travels for a living?’
Do you want to up your Instagram game to create your dream lifestyle? Or have cool and creative content but not getting it seen by as many eyes as you are hoping for?
Here’s my TOP 10 TIPS to up your Instagram game, to make that dream a reality.
1. Be your true and authentic self
It’s true what they say, there is no one like you. Trust me, ‘showing up’ on Instagram everyday for years is no easy feat & it’s only achievable in the long term if you share what’s natural! Be genuine with your audience, find your niche and those with the same values and beliefs – these are your people! Instagram is no longer just a numbers game, real engagement is crucial, so you want quality of quantity anyway!
2. Engage with your community
I am so lucky to have so many incredible humans within my SALTY fam and I’m genuinely SO grateful for each and every one of them. I believe it’s so important to give time back to those who support you and send love to you, because without the support of our community, we wouldn’t be where we are now! I recommend trying to write back to your DM’s & comments daily to stay connected, however try to break up the time you spend doing this, as writing back to hundreds of comments at a time may appear spammy & have negative impacts on your account.
3. Buy a killer Preset bundle and learn to use them
If you want to up your Instagram feed but don’t have much experience with editing, get your hands on our Salty Luxe Presets and learn to adjust them for your style. You will be AMAZED how just a few small adjustments can really make your images POP! With everyone able to take an epic shot now (thanks to iPhones etc) presets have never been more important to elevate your content & get people to your page!
4. Lighting is everything
You don’t need the best camera to take a good photo, but you do need good lighting. We tend to shoot just before sunrise when lighting is soft & dreamy or during golden hour (1 hr before sunset), that way you minimise shadows & high contrast. When shooting above or on water, I prefer around the 11am mark when the water is vibrant & clear, but you can still retain depth & detail. If shooting underwater, you want to shoot during the middle of the day when the sun is high over head.
5. Up your hashtag game
Although hashtags don’t always look aesthetic, they are SO important and can be really helpful in getting your content seen outside of your community. Pop your hashtags IN your caption, not in the comments. That way, when the hashtag is searched, your image or video will be seen. Another common mistake made is using the popular hashtags with millions of users. These hashtags can be SO saturated and often your content won’t be seen. Try to find hashtags that are relevant to your post and used often, but not overly popular. Aiming under 1mil is a good place to start!
6. Get your posting rhythm!
You don’t have to post every single day to go viral! You don’t have to post every single day for your posts to be seen or for your engagement to increase. BUT, finding a routine is the best way! If you can only post 3 days a week, then assess your analytics, find when your audience is most active and the best time of day to post and VOILA!! Posting on the same days at same times can help boost your engagement.
7. Make your stories LOVEABLE
When you’re posting stories, find a way for your audience to interact with them. Whether it’s through GIFs, swipe bars, question boxes or comments, get creative!! Another pro tip is to always post stories before posting a feed post to boost engagement.
8. Speak to your audience
Create content that will inform, educate, entertain or engage your community. If you are wanting to grow you IG, don’t just post because you feel like you have to post. Use your creative flare or knowledge to make the post beneficial to your viewers. When you know your audience, you can address their questions & pain points, providing them value regularly. Just another reason connecting with your audience daily is important!
9. Find your best performance
Created a killer reel with banging content, cool transitions, fun text and it still flops? Maybe reels aren’t your best asset. Find out what sort of content performs best for you and utilise it! Video posts, photo posts, carousel posts, reels, IGTV all give great exposure opportunities. Find your fav & what works for you, but definitely mix it up. I aim for a few static carousel posts per week, at least 1 reel & 2 video posts.
10. Support local
If you create your content outside the IG app, find a way to utilise one of the features within the app when posting. This will make your post more appealing to IG so it will be ‘created’ by IG. You can do this easily by adding text, music, stickers or transitions.
‘Believe you can and you’re halfway there’ – Theodore Roosevelt
The comments +