Top 5 Habits to Practice Consistently on Instagram
Posted by Team Pose
Here's a curious question for you: When Jack (Jack & The Beanstalk) planted the magic beans, did he just leave them there or did he water them?
Ask yourself that same question but when it comes to your Instagram.
As a brand or online personality, posting to your profile and leaving it to do its own thing can only carry you so far. If you're looking to level up your Instagram profile, you have to think about it from a community perspective.
Why?
That's the way the network is built.
People are on Instagram to share, interact, etc. So ask yourself if you're doing all the things necessary to "water" your content.
If Jack was on Instagram, he'd water things by...
**Bookmark this blog post for quick reference or take notes in your Instagram Planner.**
Why are those 5 things so necessary to your brand when it comes to habits to practice consistently on Instagram?
1. Replying to all comments.
If your goal with your Instagram profile is to grow your following, by replying to all comments, potential followers will gravitate towards you because you’re acknowledging them. Instagram at times is a one-sided experience, and by replying to comments, you’re not only making your profile more inviting to potential followers but you’re helping establish an online community.
2. Reply to all DMs and DM requests.
This is where important communications usually reside or interactions with your stories. Just as you would reply to all comments, the same should be followed for DMs and DM requests. Of course, there will be some exceptions: a company is trying to pitch a sale to you or a fake profile is spamming you. In those cases, you can decline as you wish. As a matter of fact, don't interact with any bots or spam.
3. Use relevant hashtags.
To draw in potential followers, you want to make sure you're broadcasting your content under the right tags for those people to find them. You can organize your post types and their respective hashtag groups in the Instagram Planner at this link.
4. Comment on other Instagram profile's posts.
It doesn't hurt to give more than you take! Not only are you helping others out in engagement, but you’re also making a digital footprint that could lead potential followers to your profile. The most important thing to keep in mind when it comes to this specific habit is that Instagram shouldn’t be a one-sided experience. By reinforcing the social media platform as a community, we’re working on making online experiences more enjoyable.
5. Don’t post too early or too late.
Think about your follower demographic and coordinate posting times that are most visible to your followers. If you reside in California with a primarily west coast audience, then you should focus on posting with that timezone in mind. You can get more detailed in deciding what times you should post too. For example, if your audience is mostly made up of people who are family oriented, you wouldn’t post at dinnertime as they’re surely occupied.
