MAKING THE BEST USE OF INSTAGRAM

One of my first posts on my blog was a 5 point general instruction on how to use your Instagram account to blog ( 5 things a food blogger should be doing on Instagram ). I still go by all the things I said as they still stand enormously relevant. However, with time Instagram has also revamped itself and introduced some new features. To this day, Instagram remains my priority medium where I regularly post and interact with my followers.

As a food blogger I cannot be more happy with the many new features at my disposal. But again, there is a way to go about it and I think when you take blogging, or insta-blogging very seriously, you should be well acquainted with these helpful tips to improve your blog activity

Post stories on Instagram stories feature:

I honestly think this is an amazing feature that makes up for all the behind-the-scenes stories that I cannot post on my main insta feed. In trying to maintain a theme on your insta profile, we have to leave out a lot of interesting content. Insta story is one great way to post pictures, videos and boomerangs that will allow your followers to see your activities beyond the regular food posts and recipes. It is a great tool to help you engage with your followers and give them a sneak peak of all that goes into the work you do, and all the events or social occasions that you involve yourself in. Use this feature daily and make it as light-hearted and casual as you can, so that people are attracted to your work.

Go LIVE on Instagram:

As a food blogger, I am invited to a lot of workshops and other events that has a lot of activity going on. Normally, I would probably put up a post about it or casually mention it in one of my regular posts. However, Instagram’s LIVE video feature allows me to directly broadcast my work on events from the location, and trust me when I say, this appeals a lot to your followers. Word on the Instagram street is that Instagram also pushes and promotes accounts that use the live feature. So make sure you go LIVE whenever you can to attract more people to your account.

Make your caption game on point:

If you are a food blogger, THIS is important. Your caption must be the right length, with the right amount of information and the right tone. Try not to go for essay-length captions as no one sits around to keep scrolling for the gist of it. Again, do not go overboard describing each and every minute details of the recipe image, or the detailed story behind it. Mention the essential and let them read the entire story on your blog. Finally, try and make your caption attractive, witty or heartfelt. Two or three lines describing your day or asking the followers to comment on their favourites won’t harm, in fact it is one way to facilitate engagement. Do not make it dry and monotonous that does nothing to interest your viewers. Your caption should complement your image and make people want to put in a good word or two in the comments section.

Crosstagging and geotagging your posts:

In the last post on using instagram, I talked about how hashtags are important and not “tacky and “uncool”. I still stand by that, and would still definitely encourage you to add as much as ‘relevant’ hashtags to your post. Cross tagging is when you tag relevant accounts or popular tags that match the context of your post, these are also tags that are most searched on insta explore page. Geo tagging is when you tag the places or locations you are in so that people looking up for those places can stumble across your posts too. Since insta explore page is highly customised for different users, incorporating as many related and relevant tags as you can will only enhance your viewership greatly and attract many followers. But, again, make sure to not go overboard with it!

Following the right accounts:

It helps when you follow the accounts that can greatly inspire your work. They do not only have to be food referenced, they can be something completely unrelated to what you are involved with. Some users on instagram have a brilliant way of assorting and managing their feed or maybe making some very good posts that could provide you with inspiration for yours. Find such accounts and make a point to follow them. Their features on your home page could routinely help you to get ideas to customise and style your own accounts, or take notes of how they increase viewership and engagement as well.

Posting fun Instagram videos:

Instagram videos are also a great way to post content in motion. In fact, Instagram has reported a 40% rise in video posts last year and has added a special section in their Explore page just for videos. You can post a 60 second of anything, be it a tutorial or even a fun boomerang. Instagram has also brought back multi-clip video on iOS versions to make videos out of multiple clips from your camera roll. Posting your content as videos could be very attractive, as long you customise it with some edits, eye-catchy animations and probably a good background music to complement the whole package.

Instagram is genuinely a fun place to be and while you do all of this, make it a point to enjoy yourself. Your followers will like some good spirit and fresh attitude on their home page. Following the above points will definitely go a long way in establishing yourself well in the field of insta-blogging. I have had a lovely experience all these years, and I am pretty sure so will you. 🙂

Do let me know if you have more queries on this regard in the comment section below. And feel free to share your experiences on Instagram here as well.

Until then, happy insta-blogging to all! 😀