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Organically Growing

Your Instagram

AudienceBy: Wendy @thecuratedfarmhouse & Jessica @itty_bitty_farmhouse

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Our

Advice! There is no quick fix! You have to invest your time, into the RIGHT type of growth!

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Key

Points

✓ Keys to successful growth.

✓ Consistency.

✓ Just be you.

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1. Consistency

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Are you

consistent?

● By posting consistently, engaging, you will grow!● Post & Track your analytics. Do morning or evening

posts resonate better with your followers?● When your followers expect you to post, they will

look for your content.● Post at least once a day!● Test a time for a week before changing posting

time, when you’re looking for your best engagement.

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Be genuine, be real, and be relevant. Your voice is unique, so own it. Just be consistent! Show your followers who you are and they will come, and they will stay. Your followers want to know who you are! They want to see your personality shine through on your feed, storis, and your captions.

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Giveaways!

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What about Small giveaways?● Small giveaways are an awesome way to work with

brands and reward your current followers with products you love or support.

● Small business giveaways are a great way to collaborate with other Instagram accounts and small businesses. These help you grow with other like-minded accounts in an organic way.

● Example would be if 6 home decor accounts come together to give away some of their favorite products. Our followers would be similar a niche so you would gain people that would be interested in your feed.

There are some giveaways that are good for your account, and some that can hurt your growth.

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What about large giveaways?

● They usually require the participant to follow 50-60 accounts in order to be entered in the giveaway.

● You never want to make your followers feel as if they were “forced or required” to follow you. That is not organic growth.

Larger giveaways tend to require more accounts to follow you that your niche is not necessarily aligned with.

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Comment Pods

Many people will say, let’s do a

comment pod.

Being a part of a comment pod

makes IG think those are the only

people that you want to see your

feed.

You are limiting yourself .by

training Instagram that these are

your committed commenters

Again you are forcing

people in the comment pod

to comment on your

photos. When you stop

these comment pops,

these individuals will stop

commenting on your

photos.

They are a ton of

work, so instead

why not train your

followers or other

IG accounts to show

you the love.

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Share

Group

Share groups are a great way to network

within your niche, and get in front of

quality followers that are interested in

your type of content!

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Do Not Buy

Likes or

Followers!!!!

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There are a ton of services who promise you “organic” growth. They

promise hundreds to thousands of followers for cheap.

There aren’t really any shortcuts to growing your Instagram following. Unless you think that buying followers is a good idea – be warned, it’s not!

No Shortcuts

This will only result in poor engagement and brands won’t want anything to do with you. It’s not good practice so avoid trying shortcuts!

Poor Results

All this is “quantity” (more followers/likes) not “quality” followers/likes

Quality

These followers probably won't “engage” or buy what you’re recommending or selling.

Pointless

They will not be quality followers. You want followers who want to follow you. Who will show up for you!

The Why?

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It’s easy to spot foreign followers

NO Large Giveaways-

These are looked at as

buying followers!

Again your forcing

people to follow you,

not good practice!

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Business IG

AccountsMake your account on Instagram a Business Account to get insights about your stories, posts and followers.

Get real-time metrics on how your stories and

promoted posts perform throughout the day.

Get insights into your followers and how they

interact with your posts and stories.

Add information about your company like

business hours, location and phone number.

Convert to a Business Account within your app

account settings.

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Creator IG

Account

Business and Creator accounts have many

similarities, but each is geared toward a slightly

different user. Creator accounts work well for

personal brands and influencers, while Business

accounts are meant for brands and influencers who

have already built in their monetization strategy.

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Utilize

Your Bio

Make the most out of your bio!

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Your Profile is the first thing people see when they land on your feed

You want it to be attractive and informative so that your followers know who you are and why they should follow you.

Quality Profile

Optimize your profile for the best possible results.

Results

This tells visitors who you are, what your brand is about and why they should follow you!

150 Characters

Spacing and Line breaks make your profile easier to read.

The Bones

Spacing and Line breaks make your profile easier to read.

Must Haves!

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Utilize every space IG gives you!!

Add your website link to your bio. If you have multiple social media platforms, blogs, email sign up, etc. use a service such as LinkTree.

Website

Instagram only allows one website link. So this allows you to list multiple sites not just your website only. You can link all your social media platforms. Blogs Posts, Email sign up list, Sales, Drive people to your most popular content.

Linktree

Make sure your profile picture represents your brand or individual, as this is the first thing people see when they visit your profile. This how remember and associate this photo with you are.

Profile Picture

Add your contact info!

Email

You need to fill in every possible thing you can!

Must Haves!

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You will

grow when

you engage!When someone has liked and commented

on multiple photos, and you see their

logo fill up your feed, you will take

notice!! Do this with someone you just

started following, to let them know you

are there to support them.

.

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Share the Love!You can share on your stories or on your

feed. People love to get shared just make

sure you give proper photo credit. You want

to include their IG name in the caption and

tag them on the photo.

Instagram is all about

sharing inspiration. So if

you come across a photo

or an account you love,

SHARE, SHARE, SHARE!!!

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Credits

Presentation Template: SlidesMania

Images: Unsplash

Please keep this slide or mention us and the other resources used in the footer of a slide.

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Planning Your Content

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Most people ask me “How do you plan your Instagram content in advance?” Do you spend hours trying to come up with your content?

Everyone is busy with life, work, kids, and all the things! We all want to leave an impression with our posts. So how do you find the time to

prepare your posts, and create content to keep your followers coming back?

Don’t stress, there is good news, you can totally rock this! You can find ways to be more efficient when planning your content.

Planning your content in advance is the biggest tip we can give you. Having your posts planned out in advance can take the pressure off figuring

out last minute what you post each day.

It also allows you to create a cohesive and aesthetically pleasing feed. This helps you take your content to the next level. Planning your content,

hashtags, and photos will level up your strategy, and boost your engagement.

We all want more followers, and by delivering consistent content, you will wow your followers and keep them coming back to your profile. First

you need to focus on your feed, as a grid. Planning your content at least 2-4 weeks in advance.

This allows you to move your photos around, and see what looks best in your grid. You don’t want your feed to look too crowded or too busy. So

by shifting your photos you can easily plan out your grid in advance.

If you can plan out your month (theme, color palette, season) it will allow your feed to flow better and be more appealing.

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Curating Your Captions

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Connecting with your audience is so important to grow your brand and audience. Do you know who your target audience is? Why are people following you, what

service or purpose are you offering them? Once you figure this out the rest is easy.

It is important that your feed and captions remain relevant, valuable, and appealing to others.

You can produce the most beautiful photos, videos, and content, but if none of your followers are interacting with you, what good is that doing for your growth or

your business?

You can’t get away from the value of quality content. You want to make sure to show that you are the person behind your brand or page. You need to show some

personality. You want to use captions that your followers want to respond or engage with.

Be sure to ask a question or even your followers opinions. Your followers want to feel like you care about their voice, so be sure to try and engage them.

For example, maybe you’re thinking of taking a vacation, ask them where they would go. Maybe you’re looking for a new couch, where do they love to buy

furniture? Value what they say and the time they take to engage with you.

Ok let’s be honest, how many of you roll out of bed and say “Oh no what do I post today?” Take a quick photo of whatever doesn’t look like a full blown disaster in

your home? To be successful on Instagram, you need to plan ahead. You can’t just post any image, with any caption, and expect high engagement. Well some people

are that lucky, for the most part we aren’t.

Your followers want more, more details, more love, more you. They want behind the scenes, to know as much about you as you can give them, and about your

brand. So by planning ahead ,you can take control of what you want to share and when. Also by allowing yourself more time, you can avoid any typos, spelling

issues.

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Why Should You Plan

Your Content?

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There are plenty of apps out there that allow you to upload photos and move them to imitate your

instagram feed. Tools like Preview ColorStory and Content Office. These apps allow you to drag and

drop photos so you can choose what looks the best on your feed. Once you like how your photos are

placed, you can plan out your content and captions. ColorStory also has filters you can purchase in the

app to adjust the look of your photos.

When planning in advance remember, life happens, you can plan, but sometimes things can arise that

throw you off your schedule, and that is ok. You will learn to roll with it.

So why plan in advance you ask? First you allow yourself more time to edit photos, research

hashtags about your topic, and be selective more about your content.

Your feed will look curated, professional, and in the end aesthetically pleasing. This will not only bring

in more followers, it will get them engaging with you.

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Plan Your

Photo

Shoots!

So we typically spend 1 day taking all

our photos for an entire month. You

may think wow 30 photos in one day

how will I achieve that. It’s actually

simpler than it sounds. Think about

what rooms you want to show your

followers. For me it’s my entryway,

living room, kitchen, dining room,

laundry room, bathroom, and

bedroom. I also incorporate recipes into

my feed and blog. So right there are 8

different areas. So if I just take 4 shots

in each space I will be covered for the

month. Not so overwhelming when you

break it down.

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Find Your Own StyleYou want to create your own unique visual content (that is easily recognizable.)

Having a theme or color pallet to your feed will help your followers follow along with your style

When you create a uniquely curated feed, it helps keep others engaged. They are looking at something that is not all over the place. You stand out. Your style can be recognized by your photos or your editing style.

Your audience chose to follow you, and that’s because something you do, that resonates with them.

When you find your style, continue with the winning look you’ve already established. This will ensure high engagement and continued loyalty.

You want to

stand out (Be

unique.)

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High Quality Photos

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● Whether you use a phone or a camera, make sure that your photos are crisp and bright! (unless your vibe is dark and moody!) Make sure that the subject is the main focus of that photo. Most of your photos will be taken with your mobile, so learn the techniques that produce good looking images. Instagram’s filters are easy to use, so apply them to your photos. These filters also allow you to have a consistent theme or feel throughout all of your images – if that’s what you choose to have.

● If you want to be successful on Instagram you have to have great photos! Photos that inspire! You do not have to be a professional photographer with a lot of equipment. Most of our photos are taken with our iPhones.

● Natural lighting is always the best, and try and avoid harsh light. Late afternoon is an unbeatable time to take photos. Cloudy days are better than sunny ones for mid-day shooting.

● Try different angles. Crouch down, stand on a chair–do whatever it takes to get the most interesting version of your shot (as long as it's safe to do so, of course).

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Our Favorite

Photo Apps!● SnapSeed● LightRoom● PS Express ● Picsart● Afterlight● VSCO

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You can easily edit your photos like a pro! No matter

how great your photos are, you’ll likely want to

edit them before posting to Instagram. Consistent

editing is one way to maintain your brand aesthetic

and make your images recognizable. Also Instagram

has editing within the app before your post.

Download some free apps and play around with

them. Have fun and find your own style.

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PresetsPresets are one-click photo editing tools that are saved in

Adobe Lightroom. They are similar to what you would call

a “filter.” They are pre-saved edits that can be applied to

any photo.

Once you have edited the light, color, details, you can save

it and that is a preset. You can make a preset or purchase

one. They can be purchased on Etsy or sold by individuals.

Presets are

and amazing

editing tool!

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Instagram Stories

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● Stories are just that they are a video/photo tool to share your story or thoughts. So make sure they are great ones!

● Instagram Stories are a great way to interact with your followers. This is impromptu content produced when an opportunity arises, and the lifespan of this material is very short (24 hours unless saved to highlights.)

● These formats are ideal for giving your followers a glimpse into what happens behind-the-scenes. It gives your brand some personality, so keep it genuine. It’s unscripted so perfection is not expected and in fact, isn’t desirable. Anything interesting happening in the office, at home, or an event you’re participating in, would work really well for this format.

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● Once you start doing stories regularly , IT GETS EASIER! The more you do it, the less awkward it becomes.

● Perfect platform to be creative and take risks, with attention grabbing photos and videos.

● Content Disappears after 24 hours unless you pin in to your highlights. This is saving it so it appears on your profile after the initial 24 hours. (These can be deleted at any time.) We will talk about this in the next slide.

● A call to action is anything that makes your followers engage. On your stories you can ask questions, post polls, adding locations, mentioning other @accounts, adding hashtags etc. All these options are available when you post a story.

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Instagram Highlights

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● Highlights are where you can store any stories that you think your followers would like to reference later on.

● This is a great space to store a DIY or a tutorial because when you are new to someone, they can look at your highlights and see just what you love to share about. They may have never known you do DIY’s and that could be a reason they start following you.

● A place to store your favorite home products for others to check out anytime.

● If you want your feed to look cohesive try to keep your colors similar in your photos. Having one consistent similar color will give your feed that cohesive feeling. Not to say you can change or add in some color but keep the mood/tone similar.

● Be you. Don’t try to be like everyone else. There is NOTHING interesting about your photos looking the same as everyone else. I totally understand the learning curve of using Lightroom and presets, but my advice would be try to edit your photos, and try and make them your own.

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IGTVA detailed video on a topic, a timelapse

video of you styling a video, or even a quick

tutorial on how to do a task.

A great way to reach followers who may

not follow you, that land on your video

because they were searching a topic.

IGTV is a minute or

longer video, that

can be posted to

your feed with a

cover photo, or just

onto the IGTV

Explore Page.

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● Geo-Tagging is when you add a location to your posts or stories.● You can tag the city you live in or major cities around you. I would recommend rotating these.

● Tag Where you live, events, cities, or venue locations. ● When people are searching for different topics in certain cities, this will help you pop up in the feed.

● So use cities all across the U.S. to have a higher chance for people to land on your photos, and your feed!

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Thank you!

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Hashtags

Hashtags are what Instagram was built off and around. This is what you will use and add to your posts. Anything that is relevant to what you are posting about.

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● When used effectively, Instagram hashtags can grow your Instagram account.

● Hashtags are used to categorise your photos and videos, and increases your exposure.

● It’s an effective way of exposing your brand to targeted audiences and gives you the opportunity to increase engagement, get more likes, and grow your following.

● Relevant/Trending hashtags are important, so look at what your friends and other accounts like yours are using.

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● There are two types of Instagram hashtags:

● Branded hashtags – these are unique to your company and may be your company name, a tagline, a campaign or a product.

● Community hashtags – these connect people with a common interest. It’s a good way to find your target audience. You can find these hashtags by checking which ones your favourite accounts, competitors, industry leaders and audience are already using.

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HashtagsParticipate in hashtag games. Become part of the conversation.

Comment on posts with that hashtag.

For example: If you are posting a photo with Iron Stone in it, you can

use a hashtag that others use to share their favorite Iron Stone for

that week. This will give you a chance to be featured on a group of

Instagram accounts.

Captions on Instagram are not searchable, but hashtags are. When

someone clicks on or searches for a hashtag, they see all the associated

content. It’s a great way to get your content in front of people who

don’t already follow you.

Hashtags help make your Instagram content easier to find.

Instagram allows you

to use up to 30

hashtags per post,

the more hashtags

you use, the more

likely you are to be

discovered on the

explore page.

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The Explore

Page

The explore page is a great place to see photos of what interests you. Also this means that you will see new accounts that you may not be following. You can share that person’s photo which in return creates a new friendship with that account.

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Your TribeInstagram can be a very supportive community, one known to inspire businesses and brand growth, through professional and personal connections. Your tribe is your group of Instagram friends who inspire you to be the best version of yourself. They will work to connect and help you with a successful Instagram journey. However, it is a give and take relationship! Like any good relationship you have to put in the work! When people show you love or take the time to help you, reciprocate the love.

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Do the WORK!!!!

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● When people feel like they know you, they can’t wait for your next post, and notice when you’re inactive!

● Remember that social media is meant to be social, so start responding in a genuine way.

● Respond as often as you can to messages and comments. Make everyone feel like they matter!

● Often, the comment gets made, “ I know that I am a small account compared to you”, This is where you can make your followers know that you care about them no matter how big or small they are.

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Remember

we all

started with

ZERO followers!

You’ll want to find people

whose posts appeal to you

and follow them and

engage with their

content.

When they receive the

notification that you’re

following them, they may

choose to follow you too.

Here’s something to keep

in mind.

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Share Groups

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What is a share group?

A share group is where a group of IG accounts gets together and shares someone from the group each week.

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There are many ways to do a share group, that is just up to how the person who started the group wants to go about. Some groups share the same person that week and others share the person below them on a list of people in the group

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Thank You!!!