Career / Career Development / Marketing Yourself

What It Takes To Make It On Instagram: Quotes From Those Who Have!

. 6 min read . Written by Sanjana Bhagwat
What It Takes To Make It On Instagram: Quotes From Those Who Have!

Is Instagram one of your favourite social media platforms? Does your daily screen-time always skyrocket because of your time spent on the app? If you’re like the rest of us, who spend most of our screen time using, loving, and hating the addictive powers of Instagram, you might as well make the most of your time spent on it!

Whether you’re looking to make money on the platform, or simply want to build your online presence, Instagram is an incredible tool at your disposal. Here are a few quotes from individuals who have succeeded at making it on Instagram, so you can make the most of it too! 

Don’t set out with the intention to become “famous”

“Don’t set out to be Instagram famous! Create beautiful work and use the app as a source of inspiration … not a numbers competition.” – Emma Hoareau, beauty and travel influencer.

Be authentic and consistent 

“The content that you put out – whatever it is – should be an extension of who you genuinely are. No matter what your genre is – it could be cooking, it could be fashion, it could be anything – your personality needs to shine through in your content. It’s going to be hard for you to keep coming up with content if it’s not what you actually like to do.” – Karishma Govil, Instagram influencer and head of MissMalini Trending. 

“I got into this knowing that at no point can I pretend to be somebody I am not. That’s how people accepted me… The only thing I made sure of was posting consistently, because that is key. [Because I needed to] consistently put work out there, I just sort of started deriving content from my own life. If I’ve had a tooth extraction, I will do something around it because this is what I’m feeling. I don’t go to unbelievable lengths to make content, because that’s not me at all.” – Kusha Kapila, digital content creator and influencer.

Have a bio that is engaging and is clear about who you are 

“If someone comes to your page for the first time, and your bio is something vague like “Big movie fan”, when your content is mostly about food, they’re not going to stick around. But if you write something clear and descriptive, it really helps people understand what they can expect from your profile and they’ll be more likely to engage.” Karishma Govil, Instagram influencer and head of MissMalini Trending. 

I think the only way to build your audience now is to find that niche – whatever defines you – and just focus on that. What do you stand for? If your social media handle were a visiting card, what is the one line it would say?” – Nandini Bhalla, digital content creator and editor of Cosmopolitan India. 

Invest in resources and equipment if you can

Investing in equipment is a great idea, but if you don’t know how to use it, it won’t get you anywhere. We would recommend spending money on sites like Skillshare, or even investing time in YouTube tutorials about photography and editing basics. Once you feel comfortable with that stuff and know you can take a good photo, then graduate to some higher quality equipment.” – Jackson and Graham Buoy

Have a plan for your posts

“Planning my future posts and subjects is also a good way to put things in order and see more clearly when crisis strikes. It’s all about organization!” – Audrey Rivet, graphic designer and Instagram influencer.

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Use specific hashtags to get more reach 

“Have a limit to the hashtags you use. The ones you do use should not be generic or random. They have to be very specific to what your post is about. For example, if you’ve made pasta Arrabbiata and are posting about it, one hashtag has to specifically be #pastaarrabbiata. If someone is looking for the dish on Instagram, your post should come in the top 3 posts. People have a wrong notion that if you write popular hashtags like #food, #fashion or #beauty, then your posts will do well. Generic hashtags like that don’t work because they will get lost with millions of other posts. So, more specific hashtags always work better.” – Karishma Govil, Instagram influencer and head of MissMalini Trending.” 

Mentally imagine and define your target audience to reach the right people 

Return the engagement you receive

“I always try to have a call to action in my post’s captions – asking a question or asking people to tag their friends. But if you have asked a question, then you have to make sure that you reply to that answer. I make sure I reply to every single comment I get on these posts. If you ask a question and don’t respond to people’s answers, then they’re not going to feel like replying and engaging again. You have to give back to the community and acknowledge them.” –  Karishma Govil, Instagram influencer and head of MissMalini Trending. 

Ride online trends with original content 

“Having said that, it has to be extremely different from the original content, and extremely different from what other people are doing. Give every trend your own twist. 

Another important thing is having tent pole ideas for holidays and big events like New year’s, Women’s day, Father’s day, Diwali, etc. You should do something with your own twist.” – Karishma Govil, Instagram influencer and head of MissMalini Trending.

Collaborate with other influencers and choose brand partnerships that fit

“Research your level of influencers – either in the same genre or with a similar amount of followers – and collaborate with them, so you can exchange audiences – quite literally.” – Karishma Govil, Instagram influencer and head of MissMalini Trending.

Remember to take a break and disconnect  

“I think the most important thing is to be able to disconnect from time to time. To not be online or connected all the time. To have moments where you just enjoy and relax.” – Carin Olsson, Instagram influencer.

Take these expert-backed tips with you and go conquer Instagram!

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