Building Significant Followships Using Instagram

If you’ve considered building significant followships using Instagram, then Tony Huynh is your guy.  His passion for building businesses was ignited through his own shift toward wanting to grow a business in the fitness world.   

Today, he teaches effective ways to grow your following on Instagram, and ultimately become a top influencer.  Join, Tony, The Instagram Guy, to learn a few tips and tricks to rapidly build your audience on Instagram.

Understanding the Platform

• Instagram is a visual platform.
• • Photos, videos, IG lives, etc. are what you’ll focus on posting.
  • If you prefer to write, this may not be the best platform for you.
• Get clear on who your audience is.
• • Post content which speaks to your audience.
  • Check out hashtags and posts in your category and model content based on those posts.
  • Example: in the fashion or makeup categories, selfies are huge and relevant.
• Share your own content, other’s content, and share viral content.

Hashing Out Hashtags

• Hashtags are really the only way you can be found, so use them strategically.
• The image you choose must capture attention.
• • Either long or short text can be used.
  • Remember people consume info differently so change it up.
• Use search features to determine best hashtags in your niche.
• • Pick those which have 100’s -10’s of thousands of posts rather than 10’s of millions in order to increase your luck at catching eyeballs.
• Instagram allows a max of 30 hashtags per post.  
• • For aesthetic purposes, hashtags may be put in the first comment, but there is no right or wrong way to display them.
• Rotate through multiple groups of hashtags to determine which ones perform best.
• • Shortcut:  go to keyboard settings → text replacement to set-up auto-complete on your phone so when you type in hashtag1, hashtag2, etc, it will autocorrect with a group of hashtags.
• Constantly switch 4-5 out of the 30 to gauge which ones work best.
• • If you see huge spikes in likes and comments when using certain hashtags, you know you found good ones.
• Be aware that using the same hashtags all day looks a little spammy through the IG algorithm.  
• • This may cause shadow banning--even though you can see your post, no one else can see it under the hashtag.

Building Significant Followships

• Get into Instagram Top Post & Latest Post categories by:
• • Posting daily, as much as 6-10 times per day.
  • The more you post the more you’ll get in categories within chosen hashtags that you're targeting in your niche, which will get you more views.
• Build your following, increase engagement, then funnel into product/service.
• Look at top influencers and viral content and model what they are doing in order to grow your instagram.  
• Working with top influencers is very cost effective with high roi.
• • Consider what influencers are looking for and how you can leverage your time and energy to maximize reach.
  • High engagement will trump large following number and will make you more appealing to top influencers.
  • Consider if your product goes well with their audience.
• Negotiate: offer free product, comp a meal, etc. in return for a mention in their post.
• • Ask to purchase x amount of posts in return for a plug for your product.
• Connecting with influencers:
• • IG direct messaging or check for contact info in their profile.  
  • Explain what you have to offer or invite them to check out (your restaurant, your climbing gym, your product, etc), then ask them to talk about it to their audience.
• Static vs my story:
• • Static refers to a finished product such as a beautiful dish at a restaurant.
  • My story shows the process behind the scenes from meeting the chef (if you have a restaurant), to watching the dish being created, plated, then served.
  • Each story play connects with different types of audience so change it up.

Final Thoughts From Tony

• For beginning entrepreneurs, focus on getting those first customers and honing in on your product and service.  
• • Doing so will give you confidence to move forward.  
  • Consider offering product/service at a steep discount to get testimonials.  
• Logo comes later and much easier once you have customer base.

Connect With Tony

• The InstaGuy.Co: Special offer to our listeners- time doubled for free audit of your Instagram.
• The Fit Asian Man on Instagram
• [email protected]