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In today's age, social media has great power. From Tiktok and Snapchat to Facebook and now Instagram, the trends in social media have been changing and are sometimes difficult to keep up with.

Instagram is the number one social media platform today, and a good following on Instagram can become a steady source of income for just about anyone.

With the increasing number of influencers, attaining good growth on Instagram today is complex. However, it is possible. Most users view the Instagram algorithm as an unpredictable obstacle to their growth on the platform, but it is easy to crack.

With a solid and consistent social media strategy, one can steadily increase their influence on Instagram.

Here Are Eight Tips on How To Become an Instagram Influencer:

1. Know Your Niche

'Niche' is a term coined and used by social media marketers. Niche is the category under which you would be posting on Instagram.

It is the field in which you wish to hold influence through your opinions and ideas. Finding out your niche requires a significant amount of self-introspection. 

You must ask yourself what you are passionate about and what your skillset best aligns with. You must also question whether you would happily work in that niche without monetary benefits.

The narrower and more focused your niche is, the better. A small niche helps grow a loyal audience that truly enjoys your content.

Once you have chosen a niche, you can also select sub-topics under it. These sub-topics are 'content pillars', which build a foundation for developing your content.

For example, your niche could be fashion, and your content pillars could be luxury, women's, and traditional fashion. 

It is essential to know that it is okay to wait for your niche. Try out 3 to 4 niches you are confused about together and narrow it down to the one you like. However, it is not advisable to pursue multiple niches long term. It makes your page vague, and your audience needs clarification.

2. Know What Works on Instagram

The audience's attention span is decreasing, and you need to make content according to that. Right now, on Instagram, short-form, bite-sized content works best. Instagram's latest feature, 'Reels', which includes a maximum of 60-second videos, is getting the highest engagement rate lately. 

Instagram shows reels consistently to the best results. Firstly, research what others in your niche are making and what content works best for you. You also need to learn how to create short videos and posts. 

Some people dwell over the hows and whats of making content on Instagram. There are no 3-step solutions to being the best influencer, and you will only know what works for you and your audience if you experiment.

3. Make The Best Reels

The effectiveness of Reels is growing, and you should take advantage of it. The Instagram algorithm rewards value, and it rewards Reels. Your Reels should serve a purpose and give value to your audience.

To reach more people on Instagram, you can use certain tricks to increase the probability of your reels going viral. 

Firstly, you must identify the week's trends and use the viral sounds best. Secondly, you can start your reel with a hook and end it with a call-to-action (CTA). A CTA is a prompt that induces your audience into doing something you like them to do. 

For example, 'Follow me for more induce the viewers to follow you. A hook prompts the viewer to watch the video until the end, while a CTA (call to action) changes the viewer into a follower.

Lastly, you should make the reels more personal and less technical. Using words like 'you' in your hook makes the viewer think the video is for them. (For example, Three mistakes YOU are making in your everyday outfit)

4. Consistency Is Key

If there were no competition, you could grow your Instagram followers without posting frequently. However, in the current state with increased competition, regular posting is critical.

Any influencer must have a content calendar and must follow it regularly. It is optional to post every day, but it is required to be consistent in your posting. 

Do not make a goal that you may not be able to achieve at the start. You can start with posting three times a week and then increase the frequency of posts. If making daily feed posts is difficult, you should always post multiple Instagram stories.

Stories are an excellent way to show your side and post about things unrelated to your niche while engaging with your current audience.

Instagram is a side business for most people, and daily posting is a hassle. To tackle this, you can try content batching.

Through content batching, you should make a week's worth of content in one day and then keep posting it throughout the week. Find a content creation and posting schedule that is best for you.

Engage with other influencers: You can engage with influencers in your niche to attract an audience related to your niche. The optimum time to do this is 15 minutes before and after you post. This increases your post's engagement rate, and the algorithm rewards you for the increased engagement.

You can search the top hashtags from your niche and comment on the posts you like, and share your opinions about them on their posts.

You can follow influencers like you and connect with them through DMs and replying to their stories. Like in the real world, social media also works on networking.

5. The Strength of a Good Caption

Earlier, what used to work on Instagram was a pretty photo, and the caption did not matter. Today, the caption holds excellent strength.

The ideal length of an effective caption has increased throughout the years, from about 142 characters in 2016 to 405 characters in 2020. Since blogging is outdated, your captions can replace your blog posts and become mini-blog. 

For instance, if you are a fashion influencer, your photo could be of you in an outfit styled by you. The caption could entail the thought process behind the women's costume, followed by some tips.

Like Reels, your caption must have a hook to prevent viewers from scrolling past your post and a call-to-action at the end. Your caption should be easy to read and soothing to the eye. There is no need to use unnecessary jargon in your caption. 

Instead, you should use language that appeals to all and be understood. Try to make your caption not one enormous paragraph but several small lines to make it aesthetic and easy to follow or scroll through.

You can also use some emojis in your captions; it is a great suggestion to use them as bullet points. They make your captions more eye-catching and thus increase their probability of being read.

6. Know Your Audience

Posting regularly and posting right will only work if your posts are for the correct audience.

To have a higher growth rate on Instagram, the more you know about the audience, the better. Once you know your audience, you can make posts that resonate with them, and they will perform amazingly.

Instagram's analytics dashboard gives you your audience's basic demographics. It tells the audience's location, the percentage of males to females and their ages. You can curate your content using this information, keeping in mind this audience.

Another feature of the dashboard is that it tells you at what days of the week and what times of the day your audience is most active on Instagram. You must only post your content within these periods.

You can also use the analytics dashboard to compare your posts. You can see what kind of posts performed best and got the most engagement and then make more and more of those posts.

Learning about your audience helps create successful posts allowing you to make a product or service you wish to sell or market on Instagram. 

Knowing their desires, likes and dislikes, you can design the product to appeal to them and use marketing strategies that work best for them. You can also know your audience through polls on Instagram stories.

Instagram analytics only gives you the numbers related to your audience. Still, to know them personally, you may ask questions about likes and dislikes through polls. 

Polls also increase the engagement of your stories. Put a survey related to your post a few minutes before posting it, and then share the post on your story. After polls, online surveys are the next best method to know your audience.

However, surveys are time-consuming, so only some of your viewers will fill them out. You could prompt your audience to fill out a survey by giving them an incentive like an entry into a giveaway.

7. Make Your Profile Searchable

You probably have heard that you must optimise your profile to grow on Instagram, but what exactly does optimisation mean? Optimise your profile and take the initiative to make it more visible. Make your name appear at the top when someone searches for influencers in your niche. 

First of all, you must have a Creator profile. You can get a creator profile in the settings tab on Instagram. Next, you must start by making a good bio. 

The bio is an introduction to you and what you do, so make it as authentic as possible. You can add what you do besides your name itself. For example - 'Your Name | Fashion blogger' could be at the start of your profile.

Then, in the bio, you can add some things about yourself, like your age, where you are from, and the services you provide. 

You can also use your bio to direct your viewers towards other links you want to share with the world. This could be your website or other social media accounts that you are active on.

8. Build Your Brand

You should build your brand to get collaborations with other brands and strengthen your hold in the field. After having posted regularly for a substantial time on Instagram, you can approach PR agencies and introduce yourself to them. 

You should make yourself known in the PR world as much as possible. You can also approach brands you want to work with and send them your social media kit to get more collaborations.

It is essential to seem confident and know your value while talking to other media professionals. You must never underrate yourself in the eyes of others. Many brands exploit micro-influencers by asking for collaborations through a barter system or at a minimal price. Do not undercharge sponsored posts.

Now that you know the world of Instagram, you can follow these nine steps to get optimum results in no time! Take your time posting on Instagram since that could lead to burnout, start slow and steady and then pick up your ideal pace. 

Keep hope if you see the desired growth at the start. Instagram is a long-term gain, and consistently posting for a long time surely reap its benefits.

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