1. SETTING UP YOUR ACCOUNT:
Don’t be Empty
Start with 5-10 pictures when opening a new account.
Don’t start following people or creating stories with an “empty” page.
One Link. One Shot.
IG only let’s you post one link in your profile.
You can NOT post a link anywhere else, including your posts & stories (unless they’re a paid promotional post on a business page)
Linktr.ee let’s you post all your links in a mobile friendly looking site with buttons.
(You must upgrade for in-depth stats, auto updates, and color customization)
I recommend a
A “Subscribe” button at the TOP
A “Listen/Watch/Play” button
A “Visit Website” Button
Maybe a contact/email button
Or design it on your own site...
Use bit.ly or google link shortener to track clicks from Instagram
Keep it Personal
Instagram is following the footsteps of Facebook (since they are Facebook, basically, anyway) and showing brands less and people more.
You get stats with a business page. You need stats to track which posts are doing well, but you can get a good idea based on “likes”.
With a business page you also get insights on stories to see how many people visit your profile, do a call of action (phone, e-mail, or website), exit your story, view the next story.
This can be useful to look at but the price you pay of less exposure isn’t worth it, in my opinion.
You can make promotional posts/ads, which allows you to post links (but that costs money)
You can add an e-mail or call button as well as products you can tag for Facebook shopping or integrate it with Shopify/BigCommerce.
You can also link a Facebook page to cross post ( otherwise your posts will go to your personal Facebook page)
BUT...
Instagram punishes business profiles. They are shown less, given less priority. Your followers may NOT see your posts, which is bullsh*t
You can always switch back and forth between the two types though at anytime. You do NOT lose your stats.
There may be some exposure punishment to do this if you do it too often.
2. MAKING YOUR POSTS
What to Post Memes your niche would laugh at
Quotes your niche would be inspired by from big influencers or your own blog.
Shots of activities your niche would enjoy (ones that you’re doing anyway if you’re targeting a niche you’re personally active in and a part of)
Make your page look like there’s plenty of variety.
Don’t have all your posts be of the same exact thing but with different angles
Make lighting, colors, and fonts different.
A page that looks too much of the same looks boring and people won’t follow it.
Make a short video up to 60 seconds (limit). Give quick insight, informative commentary or a humorous opinion. Take clips from your YouTube videos if you’re creating content there or from your podcast
Create an audiogram with Headliner (free) Put a custom waveform shape & color on a background image you choose and include a logo.
You can caption it too. There’s an auto caption feature but it’s not that accurate, so you’ll have to edit it manually. Just type what you hear. Most people are browsing with sound off, seeing a moving waveform may encourage them to turn up volume.
Seeing captions let’s them read the content without adjusting volume, which they may not be able to do depending on where they are.
Captioning videos and audiograms is optional but may help with views and engagement.
Create a Collage (on “Layout” separate app) with multiple photos of an event relevant to your niche (ComiCon, Car Show, Hogwarts at Universal Studios, etc.)
You can repurpose these collages in a story too.
Make a mix of albums, layouts single photos, and videos on your profile. Don’t stick to one format or media type.
You can post promotional content but remember the 80/20 rule.
Find the Content
Use your own content and repurpose it for the platform. Quotes for your blog, clips from your videos and podcasts, etc.
Find quotes on WIkiQuote or BrainyQuote or just google “[Name] quote” or “quotes about [niche]”
Find memes on 9Gag, Memecenter, 4Chan, or Reddit
Look on on t-shirt sites (Redbubble, TeeSpring, Threadless, TeeFury) and find niche related designs. Credit the author always. Tag them if you can.
Sell the designs in your own TeePublic store
...or post & sell your own designs
Follow hashtags relevant to your niche and large influencers
Design it
Use a site likeGetFunky or Canva to create “Quote-a-Grams”
GIMP or ArtWeaver for FREE photoshop. Create a template with your logo. Play around with saturation, brightness, color balance, layout, and transparency.
Font Squirrel or 1001 Fonts - free commercial use fonts
FreePik and Needpix for background images (creative commons license photos)
Repost it
There’s no native feature to repost or share someone else’s post, so you have to use a third party app
Use Repost App to well, repost. It’ll put a slug of the username of who you reposted it from.
You have to manually tag that person.
Caption it
Write something witty. One liners. No more than a paragraph.
If you can’t think of anything, copy & paste a comment from the original meme.
Give a plug at the end.
Mention how the post is relevant to a recent blog or video then say “Link in bio”
You can’t hyperlink in IG posts, unfortunately. You only get that one link in your profile and that’s it (unless you pay for promotion but we like doing this the cheap way, cause we’re chepa & lazy)
Tag It
There is a 30 limit per post hash tag limit per post
For the most exposure, use as many hash tags as possible
Use a tool like Display Purposes to search for relevant hash tags and copy them
Instavast let’s you select specific hash tags then copy the ones you check in a box. You can also upload image or URL
3-5 hash tags is the sweet spot to not seem too spammy.
You could start with the max 30 and later delete most of the hash tags.
IG is mostly focused photos, but people do read the captions and comments.
I wouldn’t recommend EVERY post being filled to the max with hash tags for that reason.
Otherwise, you’ll come across as annoying and spammy.
You can also leave a comment or two on your own post with even more hash tags, but again don’t be overzealous.
Are you likely to follow an account with nothing but hash tags in the captions and comments? Probably not, so don’t do it too much,
- CREATING YOUR STORIES
People are swiping through stories more than scrolling the feed (now in 2018).
Make compelling stories.
Give context.
Every story has a Beginning, Middle, and End
Use one or two hash tags
Behind the scenes, “daily life”, more personal than posts Each video is limited to 15 secs. Use Story Cutter app or iOS equivalent to automatically cut up a long video into segments.
Remember: consistency. You can start out doing a post or story once or twice a week and eventually level up your game to do something daily.
Just be consistent with your post time. Pick a day, any day you want. Pick a time, any time you want.
There are charts and graphs out there that show you the peak time of engagement but typically it’s between 2-4pm. Don’t worry about hitting that deadline though.
You can choose when you like to post and your audience will follow you, as long as it’s consistent.
Also, you can make promotional announcements “Hey I just posted a new blog/video/podcast” but again, follow the 80/20 rule.
You can see who views your story. Keep this in mind later when you decide who to interact with, strategically.
4. LIKE, FOLLOW, UNFOLLOW
Follow hash tags relevant to your niche. Like the “most recent” posts.
Look at the top posts in a hash tag or from someone big in your niche and follow the people who like and commentthere.
Keep your follow count less than double of your followers.
People might think you’re just a spam account if your follower/following proportion is too skewed.
Some people unfollow everyone, but that might get your actual followers to unfollow you
To find out your unfollowers, you must use a third party app.
The Follow Cop Android app lets you unfollow in batches. 20 for free and 200 for paid. One time fee.
CopyFollowers by Dominator House is a good app for copying the followers of big influencers
The down side of this is you blindly copy the followers and don’t see who’s actually engaging so you’ll get a lot more “duds” this way, but it will be on auto pilot.
Limits:
Trusted account
Likes: one like in 28 – 36 seconds (1000 at a time, with a 24 hour break);
Follows: one in 28 – 38 seconds and below 200 an hour (1000 a day, with a 24 hour break);
Follow + Like: below 2000 (1000 + 1000) a day, at the rate of once every 28 – 38 seconds;
Limit of Comments: below 12-14 an hour with a 350 - 400 seconds break
New accounts:
The actions interval for the first 12-20 days after the account has been created is 36-48 seconds;
The total limit is 500 actions a day (follow, unfollow, like);
5. INTERACT
IG is starting to punish “spam” accounts
They are hiding posts of people who do what I just told you to do: follow a bunch of people, unfollow the unfollowers, and tag your posts with a bunch of hash tags
So to avoid being labeled as a “spam” account, have some meaningful comments and DMs with your current followers
Meaningful does not mean effortful. Think about your most favorite movie moments. It all comes down to one memorable and powerful line. One meaningful sentence.
“Luke, I am your father”
“Asta La Vista Baby.
“We’re not flying; we’re falling with style”
Make it short but have impact.
Questions are an easy way to get interaction. The person will likely answer.
If IG sees people are replying to and liking your posts and comments, they’ll see you’re providing value and not just spam.
Comment on posts and reply to stories of your followers.
Target your active followers - the people that like and comment on your posts, the ones that watch your story from beginning to end.
Develop a relationship with your actives. Show them you’re a real person and not just a spammy bot or billboard.
Just a couple per day. No need to spend hours doing this and no need to get every single follower.
In other words, use IG as you normally would, if you weren’t trying to promote your own website/brand
Follow me on IG: @a_procrastin8r
Leave me Voicemail: +1(267) 332-1050
Check out the Lazy R’ Us T-Shirt Shop:
http://www.LazyRUs.com
or http://www.procrastin8r.com/shop
SUMMARY:
SETUP: Start w/ 5- 10 posts. Keep your profile as personal. Make that one link count
POSTS: gather memes, quotes, activities, reposts from top influencers, repurpose your own content, hash tag the heck out of it. Be consistent with your post schedule.
STORIES: include beginning, middle end, behind the scenes and personal life, make special announcements (but limit it)
GET FOLLOWERS: follow people liking and commenting on top influencers and posts, unfollow your unfollowers, like most recent posts in your niche
INTERACT: leave short comments on your current followers posts and send them DMs, like you normally would using IG.