Whether you want to be Instafamous or you are trying to grow your brand, you should be on Instagram over Facebook or Twitter. Why? With over 300 million active users on Instagram, your ideal consumer/target audience is probably on there… and wait for it (it gets better)….? Instagrammer’s are 58 times more likely to engage compared to Facebook users and 120 times more likely compared to Tweeters.
In other words: Your target audience is on Instagram and likely engaging!
I have been stepping up my Instagram game over the last month… In fact since March 23rd I’ve grown my Instagram following from less than 300 followers to over 2000!
Yeah, that’s right in just over 30 days I grew my Instagram followers by over 600%!
While I won’t go into all my tricks in this post (I am working on re-launching my e-course in early 2017)!
I will talk about two of the most powerful (and cost-effective) tools I’ve used to grow my Instagram following:
The first one is PicTapGo. This is probably the best beginner Instagram tool in my opinion. It’s really easy to use plus it’s only $1.99. There are other in-app purchases you can make, but what you get for $1.99 is really good and valuable (I still have never purchased their additional packs). This app gives you so much more flexibility than Instagram’s basic filters. You can edit the intensity of each filter, add filter’s on top of other filters, and save recipes. One thing that I really love about this app is it allows you to take control of lighting, while still adding some intensity and vibrancy, which lets you avoid that gray washed out feel on your overly brightened photos.
The second one is Crowdfire… Now I know to a lot of people think the following and unfollowing is a pretty gross habit to be in… but one thing I will cover in the Instagram E-Course is how to grow a following, and one effective tool is following other accounts (in a non-spammy way that gets you engagement, but more on that later!). Crowdfire is a great way to see who follows and unfollows you. I don’t recommend upgrading to the paid version, I just recommend using it as a nice free way to monitor unfollowers.
RELATED READS:
Frustrated With Instagram? Here’s the blog post you ACTUALLY need to read
My #1 Hashtag Hack For Instagram
How To Connect With Brands For Sponsored Posts
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Amanda Schoch
May 4, 2016 at 2:11 pmI love pic-tap-go.
Rachel Ritlop
May 4, 2016 at 3:11 pmRight?!? It’s so user friendly and cost effective!
Rachel Golden
May 4, 2016 at 3:48 pmThats awesome you grew your Insta so fast! I’ve definitely noticed Instagram users are the most engaging. Probably one of the reason I’m obsessed with it! 🙂
Rachel Ritlop
May 4, 2016 at 3:50 pmThank you! Totally can relate! It’s so much fun connecting with other millennials and bloggers 🙂
Harvey Weidman
May 4, 2016 at 4:43 pmLove this Rachel. My biggest problem is knowing what to post pictures of. You know, I feel like the most successful Grammers are those with beautifully composed pics of exotic places and artistic slivers of the world. I WISH I was a part of that kind of world. But in reality, if I insta’d everyday, then it would just be more and more pictures of a) my dogs or b) my desk at work. Any thoughts or advice besides "be more adventurous"? lawlz
Harvey Weidman
hashtag-adulting.com
Rachel Ritlop
May 5, 2016 at 1:22 pmI’ve totally been there! I used to only post once every 1-2 weeks because I felt like I had no idea what to share! This is something I am going to go over in detail in the Instagram course!
In the meantime, this is a great resource for cheap & easy backdrop ideas: http://www.melyssagriffin.com/5-backdrop-ideas-blog-photography-30-create/
And
Nazanin Yousefnejad
May 4, 2016 at 4:59 pmI don’t like the whole following game either but it is important to track in some senses. Ill have to try to app you mentioned. I blog about tea and when I first started a lot of tea companies followed me…I followed back then unfollowed me…this was really important information to find out! Thanks for sharing!
Rachel Ritlop
May 4, 2016 at 5:33 pmIt’s so true! I would get so excited when an "influencer" would follow me and then I would follow back, only for them to unfollow me 2 days later… but it’s a strategy that works and definitely has it’s benefits! I started looking at it as a friendly reminder (like the Facebook poke) that they/I am out there 😉
Anali Martinez
May 5, 2016 at 2:41 amYEEEEES!!! I soooo needed this!! Thanks for sharing!!
Rachel Ritlop
May 5, 2016 at 1:19 pmYou’re welcome!!
ace.♤
May 5, 2016 at 1:54 pmThank you for this! I already use CrowdFire, but I’ve been looking for more tools to step my game up!
Nena
November 30, 2016 at 2:42 pmI use Crowdfire for the same thing and it is great! Haven’t heard of PicTapGo before. For editing photos I usually use VSCO or Snapseed, both of which are free:)
thesophiadiaries
June 2, 2017 at 8:05 amnever heard of these apps, gotta check them out!