How to build a community on Instagram?

10. May 2022

Our top 15 tips for building an Instagram community

Would you like to know how to build an Instagram community? Below you’ll find our top 15 tips for building your own Instagram community, but first, a little side information:

Even though TikTok is currently generating the most growth in users, the number of Instagram users in January 2022 is still larger by almost 500 million users, according to Statista*.

In the ranking of the largest social networks and messengers according to the number of users in January 2022* (Statista, 2022), Instagram is among the top 4 social media networks and messengers. Currently, Facebook, YouTube and WhatsApp are still in positions 1-3. Thus, the number of Instagram users in January 2022 was still larger than TikTok, despite the rapid increase on TikTok.

Instagram has long ceased to be just a platform for users to share their activities with friends and acquaintances. Creators in particular draw users to the platform by entertaining them with reels, stories and posts, enriching them with knowledge and more.

In his short video about the plans for Instagram in 2022, Instagram CEO Mosseri also mentioned „One of the most important things we can do is help them make a living on our platform“, which refers to the fact that several new monetisation tools are planned for Creators.

But how can you, as a creator, build a community to attract the attention of brands and sponsors and earn money through Instagram?

In the following, you will find our top 15 tips for building your own Instagram community:

1. Which topics are interesting for your community?

Find out what interests your community and people in your sports sector and address exactly these topics. But also, be authentic and post stories and facts about yourself, because that makes you sympathetic and approachable for the community.

2. Focus on your niche

Have you decided on your favorite topic? For example, the sport you practice? Then stay in your niche and don’t post about new topics every day. Because your community chooses to follow you to get content on a specific topic. As soon as you post other content you will lose followers again. So stay in your niche and build a community of like-minded people faster.

3. Use captions for more engagement

With the caption, you have the opportunity to tell stories and convince users about you. The caption has become more important and should provide value that leads to engagement. And the more engagement you get from your community, the more your post will be rewarded with reach.

4. Invite your community to actively engage

Also, encourage your community to interact and comment actively. By asking and answering questions, you not only show your gratitude, but become more approachable to your community. It also gives you insight into what your followers want.

5. Instagram Stories are a necessity

With Instagram Stories, you can tell little stories and share your day with your community. Likewise, as mentioned in the previous point, you should also involve your followers. For example, by using the stickers to ask questions, have them vote, or take a quiz.

6. Video content

TikTok has given video content a whole new meaning: Videos offer the greatest reach and keep users on the platform. And that’s exactly why Reels have become a focus for Instagram. With the help of Reels, you have the opportunity to go viral more easily and thus draw the attention of even more like-minded people to you – so take advantage of the opportunity.

7. Recognition value

Add your personal touch to your posts, for example by using certain colours, a cool filter, matching hashtags or other creative aspects with which you can give your posts a uniqueness that everyone associates with you.

8. Perseverance

Building a community on Instagram takes perseverance, because no one reaches 10k followers overnight unless you buy fake followers. By posting regularly on the right topics, with appealing stories, pictures and videos, as well as engaging with your community, your followers will become real fans and thus a community. But also remember to like and comment on your followers’ posts and answer their questions in the comments and DMs.

9. Golden thread

Pay attention to what your target group is interested in and what content you can deliver to them. Equally, look at what doesn’t fit to your channel. For example, your followers probably won’t be interested if you suddenly make a post about a flower, even though you usually only provide bike content – to exaggerate it.

10. Continuity

The more often you post, the more reach you gain. Posting every two days is recommended, but quality should still be a priority. I.e. if you post less often, but with quality content, this is still better than only focusing on quantity.
You should also continuously interact with your followers’ posts by responding to their comments and commenting on their posts.

11. Quality over quantity

Instagram is, among other things, a channel for inspiration and for this you should focus on interesting and high-quality content. Sort out pixelated, underexposed or overexposed pictures and videos directly. Rather post less and take your time for good content, because Instagram now relies more on honest comments and how often a post is shared than just on the number of likes.

12. Preparing posts – create beforehand and then plan ahead

To avoid the pressure of having to post a good post quickly, you can also prepare and plan your posts in advance. Think about what is planned for the next few weeks and when you would like to post what. You can also create a small posting calendar so that you don’t miss any suitable action days (e.g. The International Sports Day) that might interest your community. And if, for example, you plan to post 3 posts from your last day of action during the week, you can use Facebook Creator Studio (free) to pre-plan the 3 posts so that they are posted automatically.

13. You don’t have an idea what to post? Research will help you!

Studies have shown, for example, that Instagram users like light-hearted and humorous content. They also like authentic pictures and videos rather than polished and perfectly presented posts. Show that not everything always goes perfectly, that not every trick works out right away, etc.

14. Instagram trends for more reach

If the trends suit you and your channel, then include them directly. Be it challenges, hashtags, popular audios from Reels or even effects. As mentioned in point 6, Reels in particular have the potential to go viral, allowing you to build more and more reach and followers.

15. Collaborations with other Instagram accounts

It’s not always easy to find a suitable cooperation partner directly, as you won’t have that many followers yet, especially when you’re still building up your community. But collaborations are about creating added value for all parties and especially for the community. Nevertheless, your channel can be interesting for component manufacturers, for example, to place shout-outs or a competition in the community. You should also make sure that you exchange information with other athletes and carry out collaborations that could help you both gain more followers, such as joint projects and shoutouts.

And now it’s time to implement the 15 tips and build your Instagram community 😁

*https://de.statista.com/statistik/daten/studie/181086/umfrage/die-weltweit-groessten-social-networks-nach-anzahl-der-user

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