How To Start A Blog Page On Instagram

Bloggers: How To Really Promote Your Blog On Instagram

Last Updated on June 15, 2021 by

In this post, you'll discover some super powerful and engaging ways to promote your blog on Instagram. Forget all of what you've read anywhere else; this is the real deal!

So, here's my deal with Instagram:

I've been using Instagram since 2012, however, it's only been in the last few years that I've really pushed more content on my Instagram profile.

Before I started taking Instagram seriously, I was kind of skeptical whether it was the right platform for me to use to promote my blog, content, and my business services, etc.

I only signed up to Instagram because it was the thing that everybody was doing. My friends and family were all talking about it, so I jumped on board.

I kind of underestimated Instagram. And what I mean is that I always assumed it was a platform best suited for kids and celebrities.

I knew that it was a great place for lifestyle and travel bloggers to share their content too, but never did I imagine it would be a place where I could promote my blog and content, or more amazingly, generate leads to my business.

Then, I discovered something interesting - 70.7% of US businesses were actually using Instagram.

That kind of shocked me:

Despite this, could I really be bothered to start learning how to properly use yet another social platform?

I mean, it wasn't like I didn't have enough on my plate already, with Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin, Pinterest, and YouTube.

Let's fast forward to 2020

Yes, 2020 is just a few months away. But as I'm updating this post in late 2019, the short story is:

If Instagram were to disappear tomorrow, I'd be a very unhappy person. It seems that I've become addicted to the platform, at least in a business sense.

Instagram is now my favorite social channel for sharing and promoting content relevant and related to my blog, my business services, and my life.

Seriously guys and dolls, I get the most value out of Instagram than any other social media channel right now. Second, to Instagram has to be YouTube, for me at least.

If you're not familiar with Instagram, and for whatever reason, let me brief you quickly:

Instagram is considered to be the largest visual content-based social media platform, and it's primarily mobile-app based.

As of June 2018, Instagram has 1 billion users worldwide, 500 million of which are active daily users. (Source)

Have I got your attention now?

Bloggers, and businesses: Why should you even concern yourself with Instagram?

Asides from the basic maths that Instagram has a boatload of users, if you're still unsure whether you should or shouldn't be on Instagram, don't worry, because that's exactly how I felt before exploring the platform properly.

So, let me share with you some more 'startling' statistics to get your Instajuices flowing. Sorry, that was lame -

According to this article on WordStream, 60% of Instagram users say they have learned about a product or service on the platform.

And, according to this article on Sprout Social, Instagram's users has the most percentage of interactions with brand's post when compared with Twitter or Facebook. See image below.

11 Smart Ways To Promote Your Blog On Instagram

Room for one more?

Today, a staggering 86% of top brands have an Instagram account. (Source).

So, with those statistics now firmly in your mind, isn't it time you really considered leveraging Instagram in your blog and content marketing strategy?

Of course, you don't need to be a top brand name to use Instagram. You don't need to be a social media marketing expert either to figure the platform out. You just need some direction.

If you're a blogger, solopreneur, or freelancer like me, and you're not yet using Instagram, or don't have a profile, your first action should be to go anddownload the app on your smartphone and create an account.

I have an Instagram profile but I don't have an audience

That's OK, don't beat yourself blind about it! We all have to start somewhere.

Even if you're starting from flat zero. You can start to build your audience up slowly.

Obviously, you can't build an audience properly, or organically at least, without first posting some quality content, which I'll talk more about shortly.

In the meantime, though, here are some simple ways to start growing your Instagram followers for your blog.

Connect your Instagram profile to your blog's or brand's Facebook page. Click here to learn how.
Link to your profile from all your other social media channels.
Mention you're on Instagram in your marketing videos, vlogs, and Livestream events.
Add your Instagram profile to your outgoing email signature. See mine below.
Do the same for your email marketing newsletters.
Add your Instagram profile URL to your blog's author box.

There are plenty of other things you can do to start building up followers asides from the obvious above tips, but this post isn't about growing your Instagram audience, it's about promoting your blog and content on Instagram, so let's get to it.

13 smart ways to use Instagram to promote your blog and content

#1. Introduce yourself (Add a Bio)

Let's start with your Instagram profile bio.

Now, you can't afford to NOT make this the best you possibly can.

Worst case scenario, you leave it completely blank! Don't do that.

Make sure you write a short but accurate bio telling users who you are, what you're passionate about, and what you do over on your blog. It doesn't need to be an essay, just short and sweet,

Also, make sure you add a nice call-to-action and a link to your blog or website. This is very important because you can't add a clickable link anywhere else on your Instagram profile, not even your posts unless you are promoting your content using Ads. See mine below.

Recommended post: Best Instagram Bio Links Tools To Boost Website Clicks!

#2. Post quality and highly relevant content

Before you start adding photos and sharing cool videos on your Instagram profile, here's a big tip! Think quality and relevancy.

If you're trying to promote your blog and your content to a specific audience, start by making a list of all the types of Instagram posts you could create that's related to your niche or subject.

In addition to keeping your content sharing consistent with your blog or online business goals, make sure whatever it is you're sharing is high-quality stuff.

By this I mean, always use beautiful photos, add cool filters or light effects in your photos, explore with text overlays, really get creative with it. Make your content unique, make it stand out and shareable.

Follow me on Instagram to get some inspiration from my images.

#3. Screen-capture your latest blog post

A great way to share your latest blog post with your Instagram followers is to screen capture your actual blog post using your smartphone.

You can then edit the image a little bit before posting it. Here's an example below.

You can do better than that, I'm sure, though.

There's a great 'Layout app' for Instagram that I like to use and recommend for adding a featured image to your blog post screen capture.

If you're going to implement this strategy for your blog posts, I'd also recommend adding a short description and some appropriate hashtags relevant to the topic of your article.

What I also like to do is add a call-to-action and tell people to click on the link in my bio to read the post. Since the link in my bio actually leads to my blog page anyway.

#4. Follow other bloggers and engage with their content

Posting engaging and "Likable" content is one great way to get noticed and to grow your Instagram followers.

Another effective way is to actively follow, 'Like', and 'Comment' on content shared by users in your blogging circle of friends.

See if any of the bloggers you follow are actually on Instagram, to begin with. Then start following them.

Do a search using 'people' or 'tags'. Find content similar to your own and 'Like' and 'Comment' away to your heart's content.

Be patient with this, it takes a bit of time to propagate yourself around Instagram.

Follow me on Instagram and let's share each other's content.

#5. Share behind the scenes stuff

When you take your fans and followers behind the scenes of your blog or online business, some amazing things can happen.

Not only do you add that all-important 'human-element' to your brand, but this strategy can also help you gain trust and loyalty from your followers.

I think that's pretty important, don't you?

One of my favorite things to do on Instagram right now is to share some behind the scenes of whatever is going on in my business.

This could be a picture of myself writing a new post in my favorite coffee shop, or a short video of my setup, or, simply a cool picture of something I'm working on. Here's an example. It's a picture of me pretending to be busy working!

#6. Get all themed up

A beautiful photo can capture your audience's imagination and tell your story in a way that no other form of content can.

But why stop there?

Why not experiment and use multiple photos to create an even bigger picture?

Or, how about using some beautiful filters to enhance some of your images?

If you take a look at some of the most creative brands on Instagram right now, you'll notice that many of them love to have a unique theme or style.

It's what helps them to stand out from everyone else.

If you're thinking of getting creative with your Instagram posts, check out Pinterest here for some amazing theme and style inspiration.

One thing you could do with your own theme is to incorporate your brand image into your theme.

So, for anyone following your blog, they'll immediately recognize your brand and content on Instagram and hopefully begin following you.

Follow me on Instagram and let's share each other's content.

#7. You've got 60 seconds...

Literally...

Even though photos generate 36% more engagement than videos, with Instagram, you can also create a 60-second video about almost anything.

For promoting your blog content, for instance, you might want to use video to quickly introduce a brand new blog post, or mention some key points of your article to tease your audience, and so on.

You could also create a 60-second video to share even more 'behind the scenes' with your followers. Or simply share a quick and inspiring story.

Here's an Idea:

How about using the Hyperlaps app to create a time-lapsed video of you 'hard at work' on your next big thing?

Or, simply use the 60 seconds you have to give some quick tips because providing value is what it's all about, right?

I think that's enough ideas for your 60 seconds video... But, you could go one step further and start using the brand new Instagram TV feature!

Whatever you do, don't avoid using video in your Instagram marketing. Here's another stat for you -

By 2021, mobile video will account for 78% of total mobile data traffic, according to Instagram Business.

#8. What's your story?

Just like videos, stories are great for sharing what is happening right now, or what you're currently doing, or working on.

Did you know you could even convert one of your epic blog posts into a mini-story or mini post to share on Instagram?

Check out this amazing post on Social Media Examiner to learn how.

Keep in mind, though, stories only stay for 24 hours, after that they disappear.

This is great because the next day you could share a completely new story.

#9. Let them know what's coming!

Are you working on something new and cool that you can barely keep it a secret?

Maybe you're writing a brand new eBook or adding finishing touches to a hot new product or incentive offer?

Or, maybe you're about to launch a podcast or vlog!

Check this out:

A great way to start creating excitement, hype, and buzz around your new 'thing' on Instagram, whatever that new thing might be, is to tease your audience.

Let them know that something BIG is coming, take a photo of what you're working on, create a custom banner poster with some cool text overlay, or create a teaser video even.

Or, maybe you've got an event coming up, a Facebook Live Q&A Session, or a webinar. Just Instagram it!

#10. Be consistent

Like any serious effort to make social media work for your blog or your online business, you've got to be consistent.

There's no point in feeling all inspired and motivated now and posting content every day, to only drop out of using Instagram a few weeks later.

Great content + Consistency = more content views and engagement = more followers = more clicks to your blog or website.

According to this infographic on Tailwind, actually posting more frequently increases engagement.

In a recent experiment, I decided to increase my activity on Instagram by posting twice a day instead of once every few days, and what I saw was an increase in both followers and website clicks by over 100%.

A great way to be consistent with the content you share and promote on Instagram is to create a Social Media Content Planner.

You can either create one using Google Docs or Excel. Or, check out my Ultimate Pro Blog Planner Workbook here. It includes a useful Social Media Content planner for Instagram.

#11. Over-deliver on the value 'thing', give, give, give!!!

Regardless of whether you're sharing a powerful photo, or sharing a cool and funny video, or a story to inspire and motivate your followers. Whatever you do, just make sure you're providing some form of "value".

Instagram is a special place, so think of creative ways to market your blog and content while continuing to provide great value for your followers.

Sure, from time to time post a cool pic of your delicious lunch, or a smooth cup of coffee and muffin! But always think of ways to give some kind of value back to your followers.

This will give them more reason to follow and stay loyal to you, and even check out your bio and click on the link to your blog.

#12. Use Instagram Ads to drive traffic to your blog, or blog post

Using Ads to promote your content on Instagram is not expensive at all. Well, I don't think it is, anyway.

And, the great thing about using Instagram Ads is that you can actually select where you want to send people. In this case, your blog, or your latest blog post, or a conversion page on your website.

You can also quickly select your target audience by either letting Instagram target people for you, or you can create your own using targeting options.

#13. Install the awesome Instagram Feed Pro plugin on your blog

Last but not least, and this is completely optional. Consider installing the Instagram Feed Pro plugin in your blog.

Instagram Feed Pro is my favorite plugin for adding customized responsive Instagram feeds into my website.

Check out my about page on my other site here! Scroll down and you'll see I have a feed of my Instagram content shown on the page.

This is a great way to increase engagement, get more likes, and more followers. You can check out my review of Instagram Feed Pro here.

It's a wrap!

So, peeps, that's it. That's my list of tips for promoting your blog and content, as well as your business services on Instagram.

Let's do a quick recap!

Create an Instagram account if you don't have one set up.
Add a great bio and link to your blog or website.
Post quality, relevant, and shareable content.
Screen capture your blog posts, add a description and use relevant hashtags.
Follow, like, and comment on other content similar to your own.
Share behind the scenes stuff. Everyone loves that kind of stuff!
Develop a unique theme or style for your Instagram posts.
Make the most of the 60-seconds of video to promote something cool on your blog.
Start a vlog on Instagram TV
Share your story, or create mini posts!
Create excitement, hype, and buzz, let your followers know that something BIG is coming. Like an amazing new article on your blog, or video post.
Be consistent.
Provide nothing but amazing value every time.
Promote posts using Instagram Ads, sometimes.
Install the Instagram Feed Pro plugin 🙂

Remember above all to be consistent, plan ahead, be creative and have fun, and you'll be rewarded. You don't need to have thousands of followers to get the most from Instagram.

I hope you enjoyed reading through these 13 tips, and more importantly, I hope you're going to take action and start implementing a few of them into your Instagram marketing strategy to help you boost the growth of your blog.

I wish you awesome luck and don't forget you can Follow me on Instagram, let's share each other's content!

Recommended resource

If you're a business looking to learn how to use Instagram to grow your brand, check out this information-packed resource article titled The Ultimate Guide To Growing Your Online Business using Instagram over on Foundr.

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