The million dollar question... how do I build a large following on Instagram?
Spoiler: it does not happen over night. Damn.
At Wild One Interiors we have spent over 2 years building a following of over 100k followers, all of whom are genuine followers! Don't be tempted to 'buy' followers, they are just bots who don't interact and can actually be a detriment to your account through zero engagement and not to mention the security issues behind it.
As some of you will know if you have followed us since our home account began, documenting our renovation of our Victorian house is where we first began our insta journey. This set us up for learning the ropes to gaining genuine followers who want to engage with you and like what you do;
Photography is key - this funny old platform started its life of rather artsy photographs of interesting topics and has morphed alot since then. Remember, insta is still a quick - hit scroll until you see something that catches your eye and makes you stop and look. My photography skills were average at best when I started documenting our renovation, looking back at some of the images I cringe a little at lighting and angles I used but it's all part of the learning process. Creating imagery continuously, you find your own way and create a style that people come to know as 'you' before they have even read a caption. Some simple tips for getting your photography on point are;
1. lighting is very important, if you're lounge is looking more like a mortuary on a gloomy winters evening with no natural light then naff it off and wait for the morning light.
2. Shoot with an iphone! You honestly do not need a fancy camera to create beautiful images, aslong as you have a fairly new iphone you don't need anything else. Would you be surprised if we told you that the majority of our product images are shot with an iphone 12 pro?
3. Position yourself. When you're looking at your screen, make sure your subject matter is lining up. Is your ceiling looking off? Is there something sneaking into the shot that you don't want there? As a basic rule, hold your camera at stomach height if photographing a room, it makes the viewer feel more present in your image.
Now, the bones of your account are there by posting great content but there is much more to it! You want people to follow you, get involved with a page that shares the subject matter of your account. Whether that's fitness, cooking, cars, sewing, follow people with similar accounts, join in hashtag challenges, ask people questions, and most importantly reply back to comments people leave on your posts! This gets harder the bigger your account gets trust us, but is a great way of creating genuine connections with people who will want to engage and come back to your page.
Stories are a great way of getting a different kind of engagement and conversations going with people in a more private and personal way. This goes both ways, whether striking up a chat from someone else's story or responding to someone who has popped in your DM's too. A little more light hearted and your less perfected and preened photography is perfect for stories.
Viral posts help of course! If you can produce an amazing photo which stops people's scroll, gains hundreds of likes and then goes to the illusive search page where you are shown to a huge audience of people who
Remember nobody gets a huge and engaged following overnight, unless they have some sort of celebrity status already. The key is persistence, showing up regularly in your followers feed or stories and providing a reason for them to want to engage with you and you brand or story.