Grow your instagram organically and use it to drive traffic to your blog. Article updated January 2020: I will update this post probably every few months since the IG changes keep coming at us, so you might want to bookmark this page and check in periodically!
Using IG is fun and can lead to income in the food niche -- especially within the burgeoning healthy food market -- if you can gain enough of an audience or at least engagement (number of likes and comments per post).
But it has changed radically since the advent of its new algorithm 2017 and keeps ON changing with each update! Whew! Every time I wake up, it seems, there is a new sweeping change on IG!
You must know by now that Facebook owns IG and since they bought it, they have imposed unrelenting changes that are sometimes good for food bloggers, but often not, or, at best, disruptive. In early 2019, the founders of IG abruptly left their posts in the Facebook corporate offices where they had previously been given free rein to run IG as before. No more, apparently.
Now IG is headed up by a Facebook executive and we can expect big changes. Already, at the start of 2020, we are seeing lurches in the algorithm, basically requiring even more consistent posting and time on IG, not that any of have anything else to do, right?
Oddly though, there was a rumor (April 2019) that the new leaders of IG are considering removing Likes from each post to encourage more creativity in post content, and less attention to the need to grow like numbers. Hmm. Interesting, isn't that?
Before the biggest algorithm change in 2017, it was relatively easy -- in the healthy food community and lifestyle especially -- to obtain steady growth on your IG and use that traffic to grow a blog for someone who was active and had quality content to share. Now, it's harder to grow on IG. So, conversely, it is harder to get that traffic to your blog.
But it is STILL POSSIBLE.
And there is at least one change that makes it easier to refer what traffic you do have to a connecting blog, so that's at least some good news. I think it's possible to grow on both - IG and your blog via IG - if you make a real effort, and you are quick to change your sails to follow the winds.
And I am here to offer some tips in that direction.
So here are my current top general ten tips to help you bring your A game - sort of in reverse order of importance although I think they are all important:
Top Ten List Count-down to Faster Growth
on Instagram (updated Jan 2020):
10. Quality Content (duh!):
This rule merits repeating: you need awesome quality content and captions - recipes, information, camera work! I LOVE this book for fast and easy food photography basics: Tasty Food Photography.
Ready to upgrade your camera equipment? I have my photography equipment posted here and my selections are great for someone just beginning to work with manual camera settings because I use minimal equipment and it is very user-friendly.
Feel free to DM me on IG if you have any photography setting questions on the equipment I have.
And here is a new effective tip to boost engagement: post in a pattern.
Mine is alternating perspective, have you noticed? Overhead, straight-on, overhead, straight-on. Sometimes I mess it up, haha. Can you guess the angle of my next post? Others post in groups of colors or recipe types.
Sometimes the pattern isn't so clear but if you pay attention, you pick up on it. Presumably the pattern prediction is interesting to people. So, try it! Pick a pattern and stick to it!
9. Don't Update Profile Photo:
Use a photo of yourself in the profile, not logo, to create a human connection. And here is something that might surprise you: Make it rather colorful or clear and don't change it, at least not often. Because it becomes a sort of logo/gravatar for you, and people learn to flash-identify the author of a comment or post by this image so don't keep changing it up or people won't recognize that that circle is YOU!
It's important that they recognize it because if they see it - when you comment or if you view stories - it reminds them of you and your page and awesome content and they will more likely remember to pay you a visit.
Engagement is fueled by being noticed.
8. Put Hashtags, Topics in Profile:
Create a bio/profile description that connects with your niche community, list your food recipe topics, food style, even quirky interests. And, new since a few weeks ago, now add hashtags that are directly related to your content. For instance, I have #plantbased and #vegan in my IG profile.
THEN follow those hashtags yourself, and use them in your caption hashtag bank. After a while, presumably, IG automation will associate you within this circle and might present you in searches under those topics, possibly putting you in the top six of those hashtags, etc.
7. A Business IG Account Helps Blog Traffic:
Want to collaborate with brands? You really must switch to a business IG or a Creator's account. This last is new this month, so I am not sure how it appears as an offering to those with a personal account - but both business and creator's account offer similar helpful tools.
One of which is that these account types allow you to LINK in your stories.
So I use that stories link option to showcase recipes and send visitors to my blog or - to a brand if I am doing a collaboration, or to a featured post if I want to thank a feature page and send traffic to a share of my recipe. You get the picture.
And, although this is not a new change, I also use the profile link option IG has always offered to link up a IG-approved paid linkinprofile app that links all my IG posts directly to my blog posts - this has made my blog traffic soar, presumably because people can now more easily find my blog recipe posts that are featured in my IG.
6. Make Connections Cross-platform:
Try to connect with your followers cross-platform, such as on Facebook, their Food blog, or especially Pinterest. Go visit them there, comment, like, even DM - become a part of their community there as well. And share others' posts, at least in stories - maybe you made their recipe, maybe you were influenced by their style, maybe they shared you and you want to thank them which also drives traffic to that share, or maybe you just want to let your own followers of an account they might like.
5. Post Once a Day:
Post regularly, once every 1 day is best if you expect real growth. And as of April 2019, the IG masters have made changes that abruptly to basically require daily postings to grow. I am struggling with that myself only because I am publishing a book series and the deadlines are relentless! (First one is due out 2019!).
If you can't create new quality content daily, re-post older content (this content is new to your new followers), share work from other accounts (but be sure to tag them in the first line of the caption so it is clear at a glance who created the posted image), or post lifestyle or travel posts or blogger/photography tips between food posts.
4. Post at the Same Time:
Here is an important rule: Post at the Same Time Every Day.
Let your visitors get to know the time they know you will have a new post. Some people actually plan meals on what you post so give them a convenient way to depend on you! Observe your community's most active time, commit to a time that works with your schedule, and stick to it. I myself post at noon which is a time most of my followers seem to be lively.
3. Hashtag Changes:
As of Jan 2020, hashtag rules are still changing. So my advice here might not apply in a few months.
One tip suggests shortening list down from the IG-allowed 30. I use about 15. I have seen people use more and less and even none. If you check "Insights" of each post, you can see where your traffic comes from. A huge amount amount of my traffic comes from hashtags so I won't be leaving them off any time soon.
The possibility of banned hashtags is still out there so be careful. Test your hashtags after you post to be sure your post shows up on at least one. That means you don't have dead hashtags. If you did, then like Christmas lights, one dead one can "turn off" all your other hashtags so your post wouldn't appear on any hashtag.
If your hashtags seem to not be working, try spot testing by removing hashtags that are general or that you just added.
Also, be sure to make your hashtags relevant. Now that we can follow hashtags, IG added a feature that allows posts to be muted in that hashtag for your feed. If your posts get too many of those, IG will begin to distrust that your hashtags reflect your content and who knows what it might do.
Here is a new hashtag tip as of Jan 2020: Put up to 10 relevant hashtags on your stories. Your story then might be shown in that hashtag's story, upping your visibility.
Didn't know hashtags even had stories? I was surprised too. Go test it out. Go visit a hashtag, say #vegantreats , and click on the profile circle. Success! You are now visiting a hashtag's story. It doesn't matter if you are in Top or Recent view in that hashtag - the stories are the same. And if yours is lucky enough to show up there, you can see it in your stories insights - just look at the column on the right that shows who viewed your story. If your story showed up in a hashtag, it would be listed first. If nothing is listed, your story did not make it into a hashtag.
Also, I am not sure if hashtag stories last 24 hours. I don't think so. I've seen my appearances last only a few hours. Hmmm.
Here are tricks:
- You don't have to add all 10 allowed hashtags. That gets time-consuming to add, right? I have been adding about three and usually end up in at least one story.
- You can hide your hashtags. Just type them, shrink them with your fingers, type a space and choose a background color in your story picture. Then slide the hashtag so it "disappears". Go see my stories in IG and see if you can find my hashtags, haha. Sometimes I don't do so great a job hiding them.
- Choose very relevant hashtags. I have been having success with ingredient or food-type-specific like #veganchocolate or #cashewcream. Sometimes I appear in the big sharing stories, like #bestofvegan #feedfeed or Whole Food's market #makesmewhole. But not as often.
2. Answer Comments Right Away:
Another call from experts came up recently that IG values your post more if you respond to your own comments within 60 minutes. Also, apparently there was a rumor that you shouldn't edit your post for 24 hours after posting or you'll risk being bumped off the top 6.
I agree with the first tip, it has helped my engagement to answer promptly. It's also more fun, because the person is still "there" and will sometimes answer back, having a quick convo!
The second tip, I'm not so sure. I HAVE edited within a few minutes of posting and still end up in the top six of some hashtags, so you decide. An important edit to make is to add the ALT text to your post (allowing accessibility to your post content for those using screen readers) which you cannot add until after you have posted. To add your alt text, post on IG, click edit, and hover over the image where you normally tag. You will see the words "Add Alt Text" in lower right. Click, add a description of the image, and hit "done" twice.
1. Comment on Old Friends, Go Find New Ones:
The number one tip I can give you today has been slightly varied. I've always said comment on others' posts daily. I've always said to do so especially if they comment on your post: Once you answer someone's comment on your post, go directly to their page and comment on their newest post. BUT now I'm going to tell you to find new accounts to comment on, and four great ways to do this is:
One, visit search and like random posts that appeal to you. Hopefully your like will be visible to the post owner as well as their visitors. And if you comment, that ups the chances of visibility.
Two, visit the accounts of those folks who commented on accounts you follow or admire.
Three, visit accounts completely unrelated to food, but who post content you still like. Chances are you'll "meet" other commenters who might decide they are interested in your content too, and click to your page. (Of course, it helps if your handle indicates your own page's theme) For instance, I love interior design and world travel and fitness so I also follow many IG pages on that topic and I know I have received followers from my comments on those pages.
Four (new!), new to my list here: As you visit the accounts of those you follow to leave a comment. Don't stop there. Go through their comments and like one or two comments made by accounts you are familiar with or even follow. There is a lot of competition for attention now on IG. It helps to remind these familiar accounts of you and your page, and of your interest in them as well.
No matter if you practice one or all four tips, hopefully traffic to your page will rise, and your numbers with it!
***
There are many many other tricks and more will unfold this year as we deal with constant IG changes, but hopefully this will give you a few ideas. And yes, this all takes time, and do not feel bad if you can't invest in every move. Do not stress about it. Just do your best, and you will probably grow anyway, albeit a bit more slowly. No one says you have to do this, and enjoying life should be your first priority. And if you are happy, that will show in your pictures and comments and that matters too, I don't care what the Algorithm says.
I am always updating this post, so please subscribe to below if you want to be sure not to miss that update!
Happy posting! And be sure to come on over to my IG page and say hi! I'm at @greensmoothiegourmet
Dee Dine is founder of Green Smoothie Gourmet, a plant based recipe blog, and author of the recent cookbook, Crazy Healthy with 4 Ingredients and another immunity-boosting smoothie shot book, 4-Ingredient Smoothies + Juices , due out in January 2021. On this blog you'll find incredibly easy recipes with hidden veggies for anyone wanting to eat healthier, regardless of diet. Dee has graduate degrees in sciences and journalism, editor at The Feedfeed and a nutritional expert at WikiHow. More about Dee Dine here.
Eric Swindle
A long article but worth reading. Very helpful tips.
Dee Dine | Green Smoothie Gourmet
Glad you found it helpful Eric! Dee
Lucinda
Thank you for these great tips! I have a relatively new cooking instagram and am trying to increase my engagement. This was a really helpful article.
Dee Dine | Green Smoothie Gourmet
So glad if these tips help Lucinda! Good luck to you! Dee xx
Annie @ World Recipes
My tip would be - stay patient. It is key for growing... not that easy sometimes as it seems. It takes time to master it but later you can get some awesome results. So many people give up because they don't get results fast.
Debbie
Great tip Annie! Dee xx
Supriya Kutty
Hey Dee, Nice blog. I got so many key points for making my blog more popular on the Instagram. Thank you for sharing your knowledge with us. Your tips are so useful for me. The most I liked here is expressing our emotions through emogies. Thank you so much for these tips. I wish you all the best. Keep sharing.
Tania | Fit Foodie Nutter
Hi Dee! Thank you so much for a great post. A lot of us with smaller accounts (and big ones too I suppose) are in the same boat after the big A... I keep telling myself to persevere and remember why I started my account in the first place - to connect with like minded people who share the same passion. Yes, it's upsetting and frustrating when the numbers are rapidly dropping and photos are getting no engagement (albeit you've spent hours cooking/styling/photographing/editing) but we have to keep our chins up, share and create anyway. If it wasn't for the sense of humour, I would be crying every time I look at my Instagram account!
Have a great day Dee xx
Debbie
Hi Tania! So happy my tips helped you, it does help grow your instagram to really push "join my instagram" in strategic places on your blog - above the fold, sidebar, at the end of every post. And even in Facebook posts, and Pins, hope that helps! You have a beautiful IG, I do hope you'll continue ! Dee xx.
sirke reivo
Hi Dee!
Thank you for this instagram post! Instagram has been my favorite online forum and I loved it since the day I started my account. Many of us including myself are frustrated by the changes. As you know I just started my blog and I thought it would be great getting visitors via instagram. Im also trying to grow my followers . Now it has become a real struggle, lol. I feel that all my hard work goes to waste. I was just starting to grow and then... all the changes.
Sometimes I feel Im gonna quit everything but I've never been a quitter so I keep on struggling like everyone else. Do you know how important it is that we have you on instagram? You give your own time giving tips and supporting us like a mother. It really is important to me. I don't connect super easily with people on ig but Im glad we connected. Thank you for always being so caring, supportive and genuine. best, Sirke
Debbie
Ah Sirke, so happy if this helped. Also read @nutsandblueberries post about growing your Instagram to 100K! Click here for her post here on her blog! And do not despair! You will grow, just post daily and a bit more if you can, and comment, comment everywhere and enter contests. It will be okay, you will grow, you will see! Good luck my friend, and thank you so much for visiting my blog.
Oh, and you should get Gravatar so your picture and your email is clickable on comments like this. Visit Gravatar.com, create an account with an email that you ALSO always use to comment with on other blogs and your own blog will follow you so that people can click your name and visit your site as well. It increases traffic. I will write a post about that too soon. Love from DC. Dee xx.
sirke reivo
Hi again! I have tried to get the Gravatar in use but it doesn't accept my e-mail or username it says it's invalid... I i tried it first time a week ago or so and again today. Do you know what seems to be the problem? I had a web designer building my blog... and there has been so much problems. Im getting more gray hair because of him doing his job badly, lol. Thanks for you time replying my message Dee! I try to be more active on instagram or at least to the extent it's possible. I have read @nutsandblueberries post by the way. I try to figure out this gravatar problem myself too. Thanks Dee!
Debbie
Oh Sirke! Sorry you are having trouble! I wish I had been your designer! Do you have login information for Gravatar.com? Can you login? Dee xx.
Debbie
Hey Sirke, Did you ever fix this?
Olivia
Hi Dee,
Thanks you so much for this article. It helps reiterate that the most important part of growing on Instagram is being authentic, posting great quality content and connecting with like-minded people 🙂
Love you and your account <3 Olivia xx
Debbie
Thank you Olivia, so true about being authentic and having fun. So many people seem to be stressing about growth, but I think it will come with those three aspects you noted from the article. Glad you enjoyed! Dee xx.
Tara
Hi Dee!
Thank you so much for this post!!! Super helpful as a total newbie blogger!! 🙂 I will be visiting your blog a lot!
Debbie
Tara! You are welcome to visit, and I will pop in and visit yours too sweetie! Have a lovely Sunday! Dee xx.
Nisha / @paleoandplants
Hi Dee,
Thank you for sharing your info! I love that you are always supporting others in the IG foodie community! The reason I admire you so much! Along with your ability to turn superfoods into delicious meals and your beautiful food photography 🙂
Debbie
Ah Nisha, so kind. It was fun to write and obviously helps me if everyone in our community is successful! And I admire you too my friend, with your picture perfect displays and happy supporting comments. Have a nice evening! Dee xx.
Traci | Vanilla And Bean
Hey Dee! What a great list! Thank you for sharing. There's a new one here for me... the emoji # . Wow! I've not tried it, but will give it a go. I generally post 2-3 times per week and this has worked well for me as I personally don't want to be glued to my phone every day which, to grow an IG account, it IS important to engage with others and leave comments. However, I've struggled in the past year to find balance with IG and I think I've finally gotten there. What Edgar said too... something else has changed within the past few days... a slowdown if you will, of likes and comments. Not sure if it's just Summer or the new IG A . Thank you for sharing Dee!! Have a fabulous weekend!
Debbie
Hi Traci, yes, that is good that you found a balance, plus your blog and Facebook are huge for you so they keep you busy right? And Edgar is right, I guess. I was hoping he wasn't, I think they have put a premium on top places in hashtags. Oh dear, another change! Well, at least we are together! Have a great day Traci, thanks for sharing your balance! Dee xx.
Klara
Hi Dee, thank you for you Top 10! I love to read it and I will use the emoticons #? they are so funny ? .
Have a beautiful day.
Love Klara xx
Debbie
Hi Klara, so fun you stopped by! I love those emoticons. Sometimes I'm on a laptop though and I can't do it then.. ha! Dee xx.
Jenny Rai
Hi Dee,
Keeping this short and sweet the way you like it! This info has been really helpful and valuable.
These changes on ig have hit us hard especially with small accounts, it's been a struggle of late but I hope things will look up for all of us who have a passion of sharing good healthy food and drinks. Jenny.
Thanks again for this awesome tips!!
Luv and hugs
Debbie
Thanks of stopping by Jenny! So true, I will continue to share tips as I see them, and keep up your tasty posts. And good luck with your feature!! Dee xx.
Edgar Castrejon
Most definitely Dee, that is a good thing for sure and chocolate? Haha I should have known. Thanks for all that you do Dee you're so awesome. Wish we could meet in person some day. Anyway, have a good night eh?
Debbie
Haha! Not always chocolate, sometimes some really good meal like a tasty Buddha bowl or toasts work well too! You have a great day Edgar! Dee xx.
Amanda
Love this post Dee , I have being waiting for you to write this , thankyou for your Insite , I have much to learn but am having fun with it and not taking anything to seriously 🙂 very interesting info about cross platforms , my only social media is IG , and love the idea of emoji hashtags , I seriously never thought of that but how cute and fun ? I have enjoyed reading everyone's comments on this topic as well , for me the big A change meant either way less likes or way more on what I post , nothing is consistent anymore and agree we are all in this together so thankyou for sharing your knowledge xxx
Debbie
So true Amanda, it definitely feels better that we are all trying to deal with this together. Love that this helped clarify things a bit for you and, yes, love this conversation as well, so helpful! Take care, Dee xx.
Olena
Hi Dee,
Thank you so much for sharing such valuable insights. I have been struggling greatly, and truly hope to be able to turn things round. Will give it a go! Thank you
Debbie
Good luck Olena, keep me posted about your progress! Dee xx.
[email protected]
Great tips! I didn't know about the new algorithm for instagram!
Debbie
Hi Jenn! Great, I'm happy if any of my tips help shed some light! Good luck! Dee xx.
Healthy Eating Jo
A great list Dee. Thanks as always for sharing your knowledge for everyone's benefit xx Jo
Debbie
Thanks for reading Jo, that's so sweet of you to say! Dee xx.
Sara
Hi Dee, really enjoyed reading your post! Great to see all this 'known but unspoken' knowledge typed up 🙂 and from what I've observed recently yes there are new 'rules' like fast response times etc mattering more. The one thing I had completely missed is #? !! That's cool! Will put that into practice asap 🙂
If you have any other articles you can recommend about the insta changes I'd be really interested if you wanted to share.
Thanks for a great post Dee!! Much love from across the pond and the palm of your hand ✨ Sara x @shisodelicious
Debbie
Sure Sara, I will email you a few and it is a moving target so not everyone knows everything. Good idea to share and see what others are sharing. Love your sig, Dee xx.
Dey
Thank you so much for sharing this info Dee ☺️ In my account the hashtags are not showing my post since yesterday and well... I was getting More and More likes from everybody in IG And now only likes from my followers and u can notice It in the Numbers ? Anyways i will continue posting and sharing my journey with my 569 followers ☺️ And of course i will add and email and follow ur tips ☺️ Thank u so much!! Kisses and Hugs from México!!?
Debbie
Dey, something odd is going on with hashtags for accounts below 50K. Hope it evens out, but one thing I do know about algorithms is typically they are set up to adjust to each person's behavior individually so I suggest you define your path as you said and be optimistic! That's the spirit! Dee xx.
Arzu Dogan
Dee thank you for such an insightful post, I feel like I have good content I genuinely follow and comment on fellow foodies and accounts, but don't always receive the same love back...then I question myself am I not good enough, etc, and start to doubt what I am doing, this is my passion and so I will continue to do what feels right. I love to bring awareness about living and eating organically and toxin free. I enjoy connecting with like minded souls here and have found so many caring and giving people. Sadly I have also come across people that I am not sure what their purpose is here and follow me, I follow back and then they unfollow. This I find to be extremely disrespectful and doesn't bring any joy to the whole experience, I am also a little safety of entering shoutout comps too at the moment for the same reason. Overall I thank you for the connection, love and knowledge you pass on. Take care, Arzu Dogan xx
Debbie
So true Arzu, my advice is to know pay that much attention to who follows and who doesn't - easy to say I know, but put the energy into your awesome content. And as I suggested in the article, cross-platform is important and isn't that much extra work - just take the same caption and image and pop it into Facebook and Twitter. Traci from @vanillaandbean is also on Linkedin which I have to ask her about..You can suggest people follow your IG account from those others as well so they feed on each other - if you have great content, and you do, you'll grow! Dee xx.
My Paleo life
Great post! Congratulations for your page!!!
Debbie
Thank you so much for dropping by! Love your blog !
Helle
Hi Dee. Thank you so much for sharing this info!
Debbie
So so welcome Helle! Have a lovely weekend dear! Dee xx.
Edgar Catrejon
Hey Dee, I totally agree with everything you said, recently it has been hard replying to comments because I often cannot see all of them! I don't go to my followers page i probably should because it always feel good to get likes and comments by people that inspire you right? I actually have not been very active, but recently I've been trying to go to my friends pages and just spread some love. Also, for the past 2 days instagram changed again, These pictures are getting less likes than usual. I noticed it from everyone!! its crazy how all this is changing and probably making it harder for new accounts to gain constant followers. I know before the changes I was growing pretty fast and was shocked indeed. Now I am loosing half the follows I make. Also, noticed that when I featured accounts in the past when I was around 8k-15k I was sending tons of follows more like 500 per feature (of course it varies depending on the picture. Now when I feature people I cant even send 100 follows. I was very disappointed yesterday when i featured the bunnies. Since me and Geraldine featured them I though we should send a good amount... anyway hope this comment isnt to long. 🙂
Debbie
Oh Edgar, but remember it is also summer. I have slowed my posting and responding just because of summer breaks and responsibilities. I know though all accounts are slowing in growth, both large and small. But with sending follows, I always notice what they have posted that day because if it is good, especially chocolate (haha), that helps increase their follows. Just a thought. Don't worry, though. Just do what you can do. Your content and recipes are awesome and that is great because even if you grow more slowly than before, you will grow with people who really really want to learn from you and eat more fun and healthy meals. Dee xx.