New to blogging and wondering how to get some traffic to your site? Or, maybe you’ve been blogging for a while but your audience is as empty as it was on day one. Queue the tumbleweed.
Do not fear! Growing your blog’s traffic is easy once you know how to properly utilise your social media platforms. In today’s post we’re going to talk you through the wonders of Instagram, and how it can be used to deliver a regular stream of traffic to your blog.
First off, Instagram attracts over 1 billion users each day. That’s a lot of potential readers for your blog. When used properly, Instagram can serve as a great way to grow both your followers and your readers. Here’s how:
Now that we’ve covered the benefits, let’s walk you through the best ways to create and operate a successful Instagram for your blog.
A good username will grab attention and draw people to your brand. If you already have a blog name, stick with that so you’re consistent across platforms.
If your content is all over the place, you’ll struggle to build a decent following. At the start of your Insta journey, you need to decide what your niche is going to be. This will be the topic or theme of your content.
If you’ve been blogging for a while you might already have a niche, for example if you write about food and publish recipes on your blog then you’re in a great position to build an Instagram page full of food related content. You could post video reels of the dishes being created, and photos of your final products. This will attract an audience who’re interested in food, and are likely to want to read your blogs.
Think of your Insta bio as your elevator pitch. In 150 characters you need to persuade your audience to stick around and follow you. You can make use of emojis, hashtags and mentions to make it as interesting as possible. This is the only place you can insert a link too, so make sure you add a link to your blog here.
It’s no good posting once in a blue moon if you want to build a substantial audience. Consistency is key. Everytime you publish a blog, create an Instagram post letting your followers know. Use high-quality images, attention grabbing captions, and of course, relevant hashtags.
To optimise your growth rate, aim to post on Instagram 1-6 times per week. So, if you’re only publishing 1 blog per week, you’ll need to try and fill the gaps in between with photos and videos relevant to your chosen niche. It might seem like a lot of effort, but trust us, you’ll thank us later.
Hashtags act as a discovery tool that allows anyone interested in your niche to find you. If you’re blogging about upcycling furniture… use hashtags like #upcycle #recycle #repurposed #homeinspo.
Top Tip: don’t use spaces in hashtags, anything after the space won’t be included in the tag.
Everything we’ve said up to now will help you grow your account and gain followers. But how do you get those all important followers to take the next step and actually read your blog posts?
This is where CTA’s come in. CTA stands for ‘call to action’, they’re words or phrases used to persuade your audience to perform a specific action. So if you want your followers to open a link to your recent blog post..tell them to. You could say something like the following: I went meat-free for an entire week, read about how I got on here, .
Within your chosen niche there is bound to be an entire blogging community. Interacting with others’ content will make you more visible in the community, and fellow bloggers might ask you to collaborate which is a great way to expose your brand to a tonne of new potential followers interested in your niche.
Now you know how to properly utilise Instagram to grow your blog’s audience, there should be no stopping you! Go on, give it a try.
If you need more advice on how to identify your audience, take a look at this blog we wrote on how to find your social media audience.
Good luck!
Lewis Banks
Lewis is the Founder and Director of Byter Digital, driving strategic vision and client relationships from the agency's Mayfair headquarters.
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