The other day I got a DM in a long line of similar messages asking for tips on creating a successful Instagram account. The first time I received such a message, I was flattered. I thought to myself…”I’m successful? Wow!” Then I tried to share tips that came to mind but ended up coming up short….I’ve since realized that it’s not possible to share IG tips and tricks in a DM, a conversation, or even a blog post. There are soooo many factors that make an account successful and I thoroughly believe they are mostly unique to each account. The long and short of it is, there’s isn’t a secret sauce or series of steps one can take to become an overnight success. But there are a few questions to ask yourself to set you on the path of success. Here are the 3 questions I ask myself every time I create content that I hope will help you create an account that is true to you and will resonate with your audience.
1) Who Are You Speaking to?
Obvious right? Every time you open the app, write a caption or pose for a shot, I think it’s crucial to have an idea who you’re trying to engage with. Who are you trying to help, inspire, or even sell to? Once you have the answer to that, it shapes everything you do. Suddenly a wealth of ideas pop up that resonate. And most importantly, you’re able to infuse value into your content because you understand that you are helping or connecting with someone out there.
What has helped me – Writing down and picturing the lady/girl I’m connecting with. Writing my captions like I’m actually speaking to a friend. Adding hashtags to my posts that I envision who I connecting with would look for (check out tools like Display Purposes or MetaHashtags). Creating content that isn’t necessarily about me, but infused with a message that will connect with who I’m trying to engage with. This could be as simple as styling a look that inspires ‘my person’ to more be adventurous with their clothes.
2) Why Should Anyone Care?
So you’ve figured out who you’re speaking to. Now, why should they care?! Let’s be real, there are a BAJILION other accounts out there competing for their attention with way more fabulous content than yours. Why should this person click follow? Why should this person like, share, comment on your post? I would advise looking at your content or what you’re trying to do through a critical lens and ask yourself, would you follow YOU? How does your content compare to others in this space? Do you stand out in any way? It doesn’t have to be big and glaring. It could be the quality of your storytelling, the insights you share, your humor, your imagery, or a combination of lots of things. I think this is one of the hardest questions to answer but with time, you will figure this out by refining what you create, seeing what resonates and what doesn’t.
What has helped me – Looking at accounts I love and analyzing why I love them. Particularly accounts that aren’t similar to mine. Not to copy what they’re doing but to figure out what emotion it elicits in me, to help me figure out how I can achieve the same thing for myself. For example, I love Humans in New York because of Brandon’s amazing storytelling. I dare you to check out that account and not feel something. It’s taught me the power of storytelling. This helps me write captions that resonate even more with my audience. I also try my hardest to add value. I can guarantee you that your fav IG accounts give you some sort of value hence why you follow them. If you consistently deliver content that helps, teaches, makes someone feel seen, less alone, laugh or, just happy, they will pay attention and stay.
3) How Will You Be Consistent?
Now onto the toughest part of all this IG stuff. Showing up day in and day out, delivering, and creating. This my friend, is VERY hard. You come home after a long day and the last thing you want to do is write a caption to inspire someone out there. Much easier setting your phone aside and trying again when you’re less tired. Well, I can tell you now, you will never be successful in this space if you do that. Pretty much all the successful accounts that I know and follow, put out engaging content consistently. Doing this while adding value makes a MASSIVE different. That’s why you have to equip yourself with every single thing you can think of to help you be consistent. You have to plan, plan, plan, and PLAN, or you will throw in the towel at the first huddle that comes your way.
What has helped me. Thinking ahead and writing out content ideas as far as ahead as I can. I try to shoot most of my content weeks in advance. I use a grid planning tool to plan my feed to help me create a consistent grid that stands out (Mosiac, Preview, Later, Planoly). I write my captions ahead of time. I try to learn from others that have been doing this successfully for years. I also try to focus on creating content that excites me….because burnout is real!
As I said, there’s no secret sauce to all this but if you focus on answering these questions, you will build traction over time. This brings me to my final point, you have to be patient. There are no overnight successes. Every single account you see out there that’s soaring, has someone who has put in the work over a long period of time to make it happen. You just have to continue creating, learning, and refining as you go along. Trusting that you are making a difference in someone else’s life.
