I'm starting to steadily gain steam on growing my followers on instagram, but I don't know... I fall in love with most of my followers and tend to follow them back. I notice on my profiles follower vs. follow ratio, of course right now I follow more cause I like too much, but does anyone think would it hurt my public image or people from following me if they see the ratio is leaning with more following than followers?
I wonder this too and have been more inclined to not follow people back (I know that sounds bad) but I do end up following more people than I'd like. theres just so many talented people out there and I'd like to see their work on my feed to maybe draw some inspiration from.
I don't care about ratios. If I want to follow someone, I will, as long as their images are compelling. And I've found that my photos may lack the polish of some over-manipulated images, but they still resonate with people. I picked up at least two new clients so far, and that's in what is essentially my first month with my new Instagram.
I think from a business standpoint, it definitely makes you look more sought after to have more followers than you follow. I got excited a couple of weeks ago when we finally tipped the scales in the more followers direction. We specialize in high school seniors (who all of course have followers in the 1,000s), so it's a bit disheartening to have them see we only have around 500. But, we're still getting bookings from them, so I think the best strategy is still to post great content consistently and engage with your followers/followees.
I'd also try going through all the people you follow and possibly unfollow anyone who is not a potential client or who doesn't motivate or inspire you (and doesn't follow you back of course).
I follow people who's work I like. I don't care if they follow me or whatever. I do try and keep my ratio pretty low, and I only really follow other photographers (I don't like me feed cluttered up with my friends nights out and such.) I have about 40k followers and I only follow about 300 people.
With 40k followers, I believe you are in a completely different league than most of us! While I think your pictures definitely set you apart from other IG accounts, do you have any other tips or ways that you grew your following?
Like anything in life, if you want big results it takes big effort. So do your research on the best times of day to post, and how to use hashtags effectively (most articles on the internet about hashtags are old and don't account for the new hashtag system on IG so just spamming 30 popular hashtags on your post is a waste.) Other than that, consistency is key. And being unique. Find your niche and STICK TO IT. You will lose followers if your posts are all over the place. Most importantly, it takes luck. I got on Instagram's Suggested Users list, so that was how I grew initially. There are millions of people who want to be on that list, and only a few hundred will ever make it. The community team at Instagram are REALLY good at their jobs though, so if you're really doing great things, they WILL notice you.
Thanks for the advice!! I think staying within a niche is probably the hardest part, but definitely solid advice!
Once you find your voice on Instagram it's not as difficult as it sounds. I talk a little bit about it a little here in this interview I did with WIRED.
http://www.wired.com/2015/07/john-spannos-can-i-get-a-hand/
I'm so envious! My follower amount has been slowly climbing, emphasis on the slowly lol I'm definitely going to check out your interview! thanks!