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If Facebook is a family reunion, Instagram is a really awesome party. The kind of party where you have to make an effort and work the room, but if you do, you’ll have a fantastic time! So how do you grow your following on Instagram?

Since I started my blog just over a year ago, I’ve had a lot of people ask how I’ve built up my following so quickly. Well, it wasn’t chance – it took – and still takes – hours and hours of work each week, not only online but going out to events to meet people in person. I will say I’m lucky in that when I jumped into this, I already had almost five years’ experience on the board of AIGA Baltimore, a local chapter of the largest national professional association for design. Having headed up that organization, I understood the importance of making real connections with people, having an elevator pitch, and nurturing a community.

Examples of some of the local events I participated in last year.

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Here’s how I grew my following on Instagram (and in real life):

Get social

It goes without saying, but you need to establish a presence on all social media accounts. Even if Instagram is where you plan to focus 99% of your energy, I believe it’s critical to have a Facebook page and Twitter account as well. Why? You want people to be able to tag you on those mediums, you want to be everywhere your audience is, and you want to claim your username on every platform. If you’re a little OCD like me, register name variations like “primpysheep” as well as “theprimpysheep” just to make sure a troll can’t go out and nab it, confusing your followers.

Get local

Being on social media takes time and focus, and if you’re doing it right you should have a strategy as well. I had two when I first started using my Instagram account to promote my blog – the first was to grow local roots. To do this, I went and followed local boutiques, hotels, restaurants, and other small businesses. I found local bloggers and followed them, commenting on their posts and watching their stories. It helps to go into this with a collaborative mindset – other local bloggers are not your competition, they’re people who can help you grow, and who, ideally, you can create value for someday as well.

Fast forward a year and here’s a photo from the Blogger Brunch I planned back in December to talk about best practices for pitching and getting paid for brand collaborations.

Get targeted

My second strategy on Instagram was to find people who like the things I like and would therefore find value in my content. I went to all my favorite brands’ accounts and found people who had commented on their recent posts (and were, therefore, engaged with Instagram content). I went to those people’s pages to like and comment on their posts. There isn’t a 100% return on doing this – it’s probably more like 10-15% – but it’s worth it because unless you’re proactively engaging with new people, you’re relying passively on hashtags and geotags for people to discover you – that’s a critical piece of to how to grow your following on Instagram quickly.

Get out there

Events, parties, coffee dates – you have to put yourself out there in real life (IRL). If you don’t know where to start, start by DMing your favorite local blogger. Invite her out for coffee, and ask how she got started. Most bloggers are more than happy to help someone new to the scene. You should also keep tabs on local events – other bloggers’ stories are a great tool to see what they’re promoting and attending so you can connect in person. You can also use Facebook and Eventbrite to see what’s going on in your area. My number one rule: Don’t. Be. Afraid. To. Attend. An. Event. Alone. In talking to up-and-coming bloggers, that seems to be the top barrier holding them back from their social potential. Which leads me to my last tip…

I still attend 99% of events alone! It’s fun to be surprised by who’s there.

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Get out of your own way

Stop thinking you aren’t good enough. Stop thinking no one will want to talk to you. Stop second-guessing yourself. You will always have your own story to share. All you need to do is approach ONE person and ask them a simple question, “How did you hear about this event?” Hopefully that will open the door to the next question, “Oh, how do you know so-and-so?” or “How long have you been a blogger / event planner / social media manager?”

When in doubt, keep asking questions – we all love talking about ourselves – and when the conversation fizzles, move on to someone else. You can even (gasp) be honest and say, “Hello! I don’t seem to know anyone here but I’ve just started a blog and am hoping to connect with people in the area. What do you do?” You might surprise yourself with how many people are excited to meet YOU.

At a HeidNSeeks Entertainment event last spring – one of the very first first times I met these amazing ladies who I’d go on to collaborate with on photoshoots, events, business opportunities, and more.

I hope my tips about how to grow your following on Instagram are helpful! Do you have a question about starting off as a blogger? Ask me anything in the comments below! You might also be interested in these recent posts:

How to Start a Style Blog: Bluehost & WordPress

What’s a collab? How to connect with photographers on Instagram

Let’s collab! How to plan and execute a successful styled shoot