Do you ever feel like Instagram is a waste of time for your blog? Do you figure that if it’s not driving traffic to your blog, it’s not worth your time and energy? I get that. But today, I want to show why Instagram matters for bloggers and how to use it to its fullest so that it can impact your business.
IE 246: Why Instagram Matters for Bloggers
I started my original blog in 2009. Instagram wasn’t even in existence at the time, and as it came on the scene, I wasn’t fully convinced that I needed to spend any of my limited energy on it. When I finally got on the platform, I could not figure out the purpose of it.
All of us OG bloggers were used to being able to drop links to our blog on Facebook, Pinterest, and Twitter. Those links drove traffic, and traffic is what we needed.
Instagram didn’t have the capability of leaving a direct link, so we all figured, why bother?
That was all back in 2021. We’re now 12 years past that, and Instagram is more important than ever. But if you don’t know how to use it, it will still be frustrating for you.
Why Is Instagram Better than Other Social Media Platforms?
Instagram is actually 5 platforms in one.
- IGTV – (Compared to YouTube)
- Reels – (Compared to TikTok)
- Stories – (Compared to Snapchat)
- IG Live – (Compared to Facebook Live)
- Feed – (The original IG feature)
If you look at all the ways that Instagram has changed over the years, you can see that they are very focused on becoming more of a video-based platform.
Now, if you are afraid of video and you’ve decided to buck the system and not use it, I want you to go back and listen to episodes 205, 206, and 228, where my guests and I go in-depth on why reels are important, how to create reels to build your brand, and how to create more audience engagement through reels.
The reason I say that IG is a better social media platform is that you can create multiple types of content and put them in one place.
Building Your Personal Brand on IG
Another important aspect of IG is that it allows you to build your brand when you take the approach of the 4 pillars of content.
Go back to that episode and decide whether your content will educate, entertain, inspire, or advocate. I went into detail in that episode on what each of those pieces of content will look like and how you can use them to benefit your business.
Back in the olden days of blogging, it wasn’t uncommon for bloggers to not let their personal life or even their face be part of their blog.
Food bloggers, in particular, were happy to put out their recipes but never let their audience know anything about them personally. And when that happens, it causes a disconnect with the reader.
One of the benefits of Instagram is that it lets your ideal person into your life. You can show your audience parts of your real life and who you are. You become your brand, and your audience wants to connect with you more.
Selling Without the Slime Factor
I see too many bloggers who are afraid to sell to their audience. And I get it, it can feel weird.
But that’s another of the great things about IG. Stories allow people to slide right into your DMs to ask you for something you mentioned, and it gives you the opportunity to speak directly to your audience without it feeling spammy or slimy.
If you’ve been around for a while, you might remember how we used to build community in the comments section of our blogs. Well, just because people don’t comment on blogs like they used to doesn’t mean they don’t still want that type of community.
And IG is a great place to develop that community.
When you can get people into your DMs, and you can have conversations with them, you are building that community.
My favorite way to do this is with the poll feature. You simply ask them a question, have them answer, and then you can have a conversation. And if they’re requesting something that you’re offering, you can drop a live link in the DM for them.
Instagram Matters to Brands
If you want to do sponsored content, you need to know that brands absolutely care about Instagram.
86% of the top brands are now using IG on a regular basis. They get 56 times the interaction of their posts on FB and 120 times more interaction than on Twitter.
If they’re getting that much more engagement on IG, they understand that the bloggers they work with are getting it as well. So, not only can you build your own brand and community on IG, but you can leverage that audience for sponsored content.
It’s Time to Take IG Seriously
If you’ve not been taking Instagram seriously, it’s time. If you think it’s just a photo app for you to dump pictures in, you need to go back and listen to some of the episodes I’ve done on IG.
Start making a plan for how you can incorporate all of the features IG offers: reels, stories, IGTV, IG Live, and your feed. What questions can you poll your audience on to get more engagement?
How can you show more of your personal side to your audience? What parts of your life would your people love to engage with?
When you are engaged with your audience, they will tell you what they need from you. No more guessing what to create; let your people tell you!
IG isn’t the only place to build your business. It’s rented property, so don’t put all your eggs there, but if you want to work on sponsored content, you need an engaged presence there.
Be sure to grab my Instagram Engagement Guide so that you can get started building your brand on Instagram.
Action Steps:
- If you liked this episode of Influencer Entrepreneurs, please subscribe and leave a fabulous review!
- Join the conversation on Instagram by tagging Jenny when you’re listening to the podcast. She’ll send you a personal message whenever you tag her.
