instagram tips

5 Tips for Boosting Your Teacher Instagram

Growing your Instagram takes time, and it can be easy to get distracted chasing the latest new strategy to make that happen faster.  These 5 tips are what I’ve tested and used for a while now, so I can tell you that they are time-savers and effective.

Before you start with any strategy though, you do want to make sure you have your foundation well laid.  You always want to know who you are creating content for, so that it really resonates with them.  If you need to get a clear picture of your audience, check out how to pick your niche or why an ideal audience is important (and how to connect with them).    

Once you know your ideal audience, you’re ready to start creating with them in mind, and these 5 things will help you connect with them better and boost your IG.

Create a Reels Idea Bank

We all know reels are here to stay, which means you need to figure out a way to integrate reels into your strategies if you want to grow. 

Since you already have your audience in mind, you know if they like the reels with a lot of dance and pointing… or not.  That’s right, you don’t have to dance if it won’t resonate with your audience!  You’re welcome ;)

Your idea bank is simply a list of ideas that you’ve gathered while searching IG or TikTok, and includes whatever you need to help you create reels from those ideas.  Mine is currently in the notes section of my phone.  I keep a list of any reels I’ve found that I think I can adapt to my niche plus a link to the original so that I have the entire video and the song easily available for reference when I am ready to start recording.  You can copy a link reel by tapping on the 3 dots to save the link.

You can add to your bank whenever a new idea comes to you.  On the move, at home.  Just pull over the car if inspiration strikes while you’re driving!  This will massively help you when it comes to actually creating the content for your reels.

A few places that you can look for inspiration for your reels idea bank:

  • TikTok- much to IG’s dismay, most challenges or trends still start on TikTok before migrating to IG
  • IG Reels Tab
  • My IG @thejillianfernandez

Let Your Stories Expire

This may surprise you!  I’ve been using this hack for a while, and it seems to consistently work.  Here’s what I want you to try:

  • Post your story and let it expire.  
  • Wait 24 hours.
  • The next story you post should be a picture of you with an interactive sticker.  

Every time I use this strategy, I see significantly more views than other recent stories.  I’ve also noticed the most success when I have a poll on that first story back, but any of the engagement stickers (Q & A box, quiz, etc.) will give you a boost.

The best part of this is that your content will have a chance to connect with a bunch of people who don't usually watch your stories.  Be sure you’ve planned quality content for your next posts since you’ll hopefully have a few more people watching your stories! 

Now this is not something I would suggest you do more than once a week because you still want to show up consistently with your audience, but giving your stories a break for 24 hours can significantly boost your views. 

Get Serious About Instagram Search

Instagram Search is Instagram's new golden child. It is gearing up to be the best way for people to find content related to a specific keywords or for you the creators to reach a broader audience.

So what does it mean to get serious about Instagram search?  It means you should start:

  • Researching your keywords
  • Writing down keywords related to your profile, content and audience
  • Use those exact keywords in your posts

If you already have posts ready, or as you write new posts, you’ll then want to take that list you’ve written down and audit it, asking yourself:

  • Do I have enough keywords in here? 
  • Am I describing this caption well enough? 
  • Are any of these words likely to be searched by my ideal audience? 

If the answer is no, then you’ll want to revisit that caption, and add some keywords in there naturally.  Be sure you fit them into a normal sounding sentence.  You don’t want to sound strange for someone reading it!

This advice will also still work with your bio and hashtags.  It’s all searchable now!

Show Your Face

Some of you may hate this one, and that’s ok.  You don’t have to think the camera loves you and you don’t have to do a 20 minute IG live interview.

You should strongly consider getting your beautiful face out there though!  You should be showing your face on your stories and throughout your IG feed.  You can still use other images and quotes.  Just be sure your face is also there.  

For stories, you don’t even have to start with video.  You can use a still photo of just your face where you're giving a wrap-up of how your day's been or you're doing that thing where you give your face and you're saying what you've achieved that day. 

If you're feeling up to it or if you're one of those people who love being on camera then get on your stories and just start talking to the camera. Tell people about how your day's been. Tell a funny story that's happened in your classroom recently. Tell them anything! Even better- include a q&a box and get people to ask you some questions that you can answer in your stories later. 

For those of you who are really hesitant about putting your face out there- Remember that it will help people connect with YOU.  Showing your face is going to allow people to build a deeper connection with you. People want to know who is behind the brand, and who is creating the products. Allowing them to see your face is going to strengthen your relationship with them.

If you're really really hesitant then I recommend checking out my new reel series on Instagram  (@thejillianfernandez)  where I show you ways to create reels without showing your face as a teacher seller. I show you different ways you can create dynamic reels with your resources as the main star of the show. 

Identify Your Advocates

Your advocates are the people who frequently and repeatedly:

  • Like your photos
  • Leave comments
  • Send you DMs
  • Watch your stories

To find these people, you’ll want to go through your previous content to identify and make a list of who they are.  These are the people who are already supporting you, whether you’ve noticed or not.  

Once you’ve created a list, you’ll want to start intentionally engaging with these people.  

Here’s one way to do this regularly in your schedule.

  • Create a folder or list called “Advocates”.
  • Save one post for each advocate you’ve identified.
  • The next time you have an extra 10 minutes (or during your regular engagement time), pull up that folder and spend some time engaging with your advocates!

Engagement with them can be viewing and responding to a recent story or checking for a post you may have missed.  Choose whatever makes sense to help keep a close relationship with them.

There is a new feature being tested called Instagram Favorites which will make that whole process a lot easier.  I’m excited to see that launch, and will definitely be posting more about it.

 

Where will you start boosting your engagement?  I’d love to hear what you think, and maybe even show your IG account some love.  Come engage with me on Instagram or the Thriving Teachergram Tips Facebook group.