Tips for Growing Your Personal Brand Using Instagram

With over 1 billion monthly users, Instagram ranks sixth in social media apps, trailing closely behind Facebook, YouTube, WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger and WeChat. The social media giant has been at the forefront of marketing strategies and brand awareness over the past several years and doesn’t seem to be lagging, even as apps like TikTok attract similar user demographics.

Consistency

Whether you are someone who has their heart set on being an influencer, or would just love to explore your passions with an audience, consistency is one of the most important factors when trying to grow your following. There are two main parts to consider when maintaining consistency on your page: post frequency and genre of content.

Considering your posting frequency is a great way to make sure your followers are staying engaged over time. Take the time to think about what kind of goals you’re trying to achieve through your page. Buying instagram follows and likes is a thing, it could help you out at the very beginning. Although there are certain risks of buying Instagram likes, that you should take into consideration.

Whether your content is leaning towards beauty, lifestyle or fitness, a variety of different posting schedules might make the most sense for you. This allows your current followers to know when they can be on the lookout for more content and also gives the maximum opportunity to have posts be recommended to similar users on the explore page.

Authenticity

Rapidly growing social media influencer Jessie Sims shares her modeling with her 708k followers. Moving to Los Angeles, CA in 2016 to pursue a career in acting, she found that it was hard to get the time of day from casting directors due to her lack of social media presence. Deciding to pursue content creation full-time, Sims has shaped her personal brand across Instagram, Twitter and TikTok, becoming a social media savant.

The influencer market has become saturated over the past several years, with a slew of creators’ content across all genres pumping out similar content often attributed to trends. She shares that not only users respond better to authentic content, but marketers and business owners in search of brand ambassadors and representatives.

“I’d rather post content that is true to who I am than posting a bunch of things that are all very similar just to get views,” Sims says. “I think it is still important to be relatable and approachable to your audience. I don’t want to feel disconnected from them.”

The influencer shares that it’s important to note that if you’re looking to become verified on social media platforms, having a large following won’t always do the trick.

Notability

Instagram is one of the social media giants where the coveted checkmark by your user name may be tough to get. There are four things they take into consideration when an account applies for social media verification: authenticity, uniqueness, complete profile and notability.

“Growing your personal brand also means creating content or doing something that sets you apart,” she says.

It’s important to add subsistence to your interests. Whether it comes in the form of creating a small side business within the fashion or beauty industry, finding a home at a modeling agency, writing a cookbook, or engaging in charitable work — doing something that spreads your name beyond your profile page helps increase notability.

Additionally, notability comes within the form of press. When considering verification, Instagram managers will be on the lookout for several articles written about you. This lets them know that your content is of high quality and interest!

Diversify your content

Sims also shares that it’s important to take advantage of all features Instagram has to offer and focus beyond the standard photo posts. Nearly 500 million people use Instagram Stories every day and social media users have become more likely to check the short clips rather than their feed. Taking advantage of this feature, along with Instagram’s addition of Reels and IGTV can help direct attention to your page and drive brand awareness.

Growing your personal brand is a continuous effort and executing content that reaches your target audience relies on a lot of trial and error. Despite that, Instagram has been a social media platform that has paved the way for individuals and brands to explore their passions on their own terms.

“Instagram has given me an opportunity to be my own boss which is probably my favorite part.”