Getting recognized on Instagram is harder than ever with the expansion of Influencer Marketing and people turning their accounts into Influencer brands. Often, the ultimate (and sometimes constant) goal of an influencer is to become noticed. If you’re looking to build a brand for yourself whether it’s an online one or locally as someone on the scene in your city getting recognized on Instagram is a key part of that equation. Instagram is looked to by everyone for the who and what’s hot for the week, with people leveraging it to find the latest style trends, beauty tips and local restaurant openings. As a social media persona getting recognized on Instagram isn’t just the only goal, but getting recognized in person too.
On the Instagram platform of today, aka with today’s algorithm, simply posting a photo isn’t enough to achieve those goals of getting recognized on Instagram. It takes a lot of finesse, hard work and dedication to get noticed these days. So, now to address the magic question: How do we make it happen? In this article, we’re sharing our favorite hacks to getting noticed on Instagram.
Getting Recognized on Instagram
Tip #1: Use (The Right) Hashtags
The benefits of using hashtags has been a widely debated topic surrounding Instagram growth for as long as we can remember. But using them no doubt helps better your chances of getting recognized on Instagram. There’s been tons of talk about the dreaded “shadow ban” and Instagram “hiding your posts” if you use the same hashtag combo on every photo. We’re here to set the record straight and confirm that hashtags are incredibly beneficial for growth and exposure on Instagram. Hashtags come up in google searches, Instagram searches, in feeds of those who follow specific hashtags. If you aren’t fully utilizing your 30 hashtag allowance on your Instagram posts, you’re wasting a valuable opportunity to reach a lot of people.
Simply throwing a random mixture of hashtags onto your photo isn’t going to reward you with getting recognized on Instagram. Like most everything else on Instagram, you have to be strategic with your hashtag selection. There are a ton of paid tools out there to help you optimize your hashtags and find those that will work best for your niche. If you’re like us, and might not necessarily want to pay for a service like that right away, don’t worry. When typing in the hashtags on Instagram, it gives you a photo count. This tells you the amount of people currently using the hashtag on Instagram. It gives you a quick-and-dirty overview of what people are posting about. We suggest using a mixture of super popular hashtags, and more specific, niche hashtags that really speak to the content you’ve posted.
Tip #2: Get Tagged
One of the most effective ways to grow your reach on Instagram these days is by getting tagged. Working with and getting tagged by a brand, a PR agency, or another blogger is all exposure to that person’s audience. And chances are, there’s a ton of people in that audience who don’t follow you yet. This is great way to work on getting recognized on Instagram.
Getting tagged by brands and PR agencies is a little bit more tricky than getting tagged by a peer blogger. This is because getting reposted by these groups requires amazing content that they think is in line with their own branding and shows off the product in a pleasing way. Typically, this is where the most growth comes from, though, so the work you put in rewards you right back in this case. Tags from PR agencies is great to boost your chances of getting recognized on Instagram by brands and businesses that may work with the agency, or are interested in the brands they represent.
Getting tagged by peer bloggers and influencers is a little easier to attain, and only requires a collaborative spirit and some friendliness! Reach out to other influencers in your area and ask to meet up to take photos of one another, invite them to come as your +1 to an event, or take group photos. This is a great way of getting recognized on Instagram by fans and everyday Instagrammers who might be interested in you and your content. We see tons of new influencers tagged in photos they aren’t in, but were the photographer of! For lots of bloggers, this is a really good way to gain exposure to someone else’s existing audience. The best part about this type of exposure is that it’s targeted. For example, if an influencer with a fashion focus tags your fashion-focused page on their photo, you get the benefit of being exposed to a group of already engaged potential followers.
Tip #3: Consistency is Really Key
This tip is probably included in every and any Instagram grow articles you’ve come across but when it comes to getting recognized on Instagram it’s no less important. There’s a good reason why. Consistency on Instagram is one of the main ways you’re going to see success on the platform. Why? Instagram is a content sharing platform, and the app rewards you when you use it the way it wants you to (and as frequently as it wants you to). It also comes down to a little bit of logic. The most you post, the more people see your photos. The more you post, the better the chances of ending up on the explore page. The more you post with hashtags, the more exposure you gain through them. Make sense?
Another note about consistency is that it lets people know what to expect from you. Do you consistently post skincare videos on your IG stories? This gives a potential follower who is interested in beauty a good reason to follow you. This goes for all things. If you often post cute “outfit of the day” photos, then it gives a fashion lover a good reason to turn on your post notifications. You guys get the picture. Be consistent in what you do and Instagram will reward you!
Tip #4: Use All of Your Resources
When it comes to the topic of getting recognized on Instagram, it only makes sense to utilize all of your resources. Are you on Twitter? Facebook? Pinterest? When you post to Instagram, be sure to use the function that allows you to post to multiple channels at one time. It’s important to foster growth in all areas of social media, because as you can see with YouTube stars who start Instagram pages, all growth will eventually trickle over to Instagram.
Quick tip when it comes to using all of your resources: get your PInterest on! Pinterest might seem like an outdated platform, we know. Think about it, though. Anytime you need inspiration for home decor, travel, photos, literally anything, where do you turn? More often than not, the answer is Pinterest. Even a relatively inactive Pinterest page will have thousands of monthly views. Use this to your advantage to help drive Pinterest users, and ultimately potential followers, to your IG page.
Tip #5: Be Selective and Unique in Your Content
This one might seem like a no-brainer, but it’s not always in the forefront of an Instagram-er’s mind. Far too often, the platform ends up looking all the same, with people getting inspired by others and creating similar content of their own. Because Instagram is so much of the same (the same filter, the same poses, the same clothes, etc.), it’s more important than ever to find the thing that makes you unique. If you’re 1 fashion blogger in a sea of millions of fashion bloggers, you’re going to have to make yourself stand apart from that crowd to earn a follow, and more importantly, keep the follower. So if you’re working on getting recognized on Instagram you have to start by standing out from the crowd.
The easiest way to do this is to take an objective look at your Instagram and find the thing that makes your page different than the rest of the people in your niche. Once you find that thing, capitalize on it, emphasize it and make it part of your personal branding. This is referred to, in the business world, as your competitive advantage. This is a pretty simple concept, but it boils down to it being the thing that gives you an advantage over your competitors. If you’re having trouble looking at your own page objectively, ask a friend or a fellow blogger!
Getting recognized on Instagram isn’t has tricky as it seems to be, and it all comes down to how much effort you put in your personal brand. If you’re looking for more tips that can help you boost your Instagram presence, checkout the Wolf Blog for more articles today!
