I get a ton of questions in my DMs about how to grow and establish a presence on Instagram. It seems like there are more people than ever who are looking share, create and establish a brand on social media. It’s awesome! I personally have found a lot of meaning in sharing my passion of living, being and eating healthy with so many! I am so grateful for where I am.
It took a lot of seriously hard work to get here. I want to emphasize is how much goes into being a creator in this space. So many people take it for granted and just chalk it down to posting pretty pictures. It actually takes a lot of skill, creativity, and patience. Today I will be sharing some of my top pieces of advice for anyone who wants to grow on social media or just join the space. My focus is obviously wellness and food, but I think these will help you across the board.
Create Quality Content.
This is a non-negotiable. Instagram is a visual place. People are attracted to beautiful photos and well thought out words. Spend some time to learn the best editing apps and play around with it to establish a look and feel for your page. I never post a bad picture, if I do not LOVE it – it is not going up. It is not my best work, you will not see it. I have worked really hard to create a look and feel for my content with an editing formula that matches my brand. NOW – I do want to point out that there are some people thriving on IG that do not have “perfect feeds”. It all depends on your audience and your voice. Your content can be great without being picture perfect. It is about finding how they work together for you.
Provide Value.
Ask yourself – what do you want to say? How do you want to say it? And what do you want people to feel when they come to your page? For me – it is simply being healthy and balanced can be an inspired, happy and a beautiful way to live. I want to show that in all my posts and especially in my stories. I share recipes, healthy eats, and tools to live a balanced life. I portray this through my real life personality on stories and my curated photos. There is a lot of value in that for a lot of people and I never forget it. It is important to bring something to the table. This is especially key to if you use your page for business – brands are attracted to people who share the same values as them.
Be Consistent.
If you really love what you are sharing this will be easy. Show up most days and share. Yes, it takes a lot of work, but it is so important. If I suddenly I didn’t post for a month, my page would suffer. Obviously, we need boundaries with social media – but you get the point that it is important to keep up with it.
Join The Community.
It is so important to engage with others like you or those who you admire in your given community. Engagement is also so important for growth and exposure to your account. Keep your engagement authentic! If you are inspired by someone – tell them. If you love someone’s recipe – tell them. If you think someone’s words are powerful – tell them! Fostering a community on Instagram has been huge for me. Not only have I met some amazing people IRL (in real life – that’s for you Mom) – but I truly feel I have a support system through @eatwellwithsari. For example – the other day I had a terrible IG troll writing horrible things on my account – for no reason of, course – and I had tons of messages of support and kindness from my community. It really warmed my heart! It is kinda crazy how you get to know people so well through a digital medium. The connection to others has personally been really the best part of all of this.
Stay True To You.
This may seem cliche – but seriously if you are not honest and real on IG people will see right through it. If you are a creating a brand – stay true to that brand voice, but if the brand is YOU that is even more important. As you grow and people get to know you, they can sense in an instant if you aren’t being authentic. People love realness and they appreciate that! Do not be
Don’t Obsess Over Numbers.
This is the cherry on top. I know it is easier said than done. It is so hard not to focus on it the number of likes, followers and views. I get it. But you have to remember why you are there and keep that at the core of what you are sharing. I totally understand it can be frustrating when you pour your soul into something and it doesn’t get shown, but remember it will always go up and down. Be patient with it. IG’s algorithm changes a lot and it’s hard to know exactly when and where and how to post, but let go a little bit of control and just do your best.
That is it for now! Thank you for reading. I hope you learned something :)\
xx
Sari
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