This post contains affiliate links. For more information, see my disclosure.
Kelly Beswitherick joins Marly on The Marly Dice Podcast to chat about how to grow an authentic and engaged following on Instagram, including why it’s important, how she did it, and how you can too.
Transcript:
Hey guys! Marly here. You are listening to the Marly Dice Podcast, and you’re about to learn how to step up your Instagram game and take your account to the next level. This episode is packed with practical ideas you can easily implement on your home décor Instagram account right now.
I chat with Kelly Beswitherick, who transitioned as a stay at home mom to a health food blogger to now a home décor blogger. She’s an entrepreneur, who started an online program called Décor Addicts Unite to help other home décor accounts grow an authentic Instagram following.
She’s got an online shop where she sells wooden arches made by a local craftsman (cool, right?), and get this: she’s about to launch a line of decorate pillow covers that she designed herself. I mean, Kelly is the real deal. She is doing it all, and with an authentic approach. She’s garnered a loyal Instagram following along the way, and we chat all about that in today’s episode. This episode is one you’re going to want to take notes on, so get ready…let’s dive in.
[podcast intro]
Hey there and welcome back to another episode of The Marly Dice Podcast. If this is the first time you’re joining, welcome, I’m so glad you’re here. I’m so thrilled about today’s episode because we have a special guest: Kelly Beswitherick from the blog Home with Kelly.
Kelly is actually one of the first home bloggers I started following on Instagram when I really got into the platform. Not only is her home and her Instagram feed stunning, she’s also such a genuine person, which I think is one of the main reasons I started following along in the first place.
Kelly started her Instagram account, which is instagram.com/homewithkelly in November 2016 and has grown it to over 17,000 authentic, loyal followers and counting. She even has her own online program called Décor Addicts Unite, where she helps other home décor Instagram accounts (that’s us) grow an authentic following on Instagram.
Growing an authentic following is something I think we all want to do as home décor bloggers, and Kelly has done exactly that.
So welcome, Kelly, to the show. I’m so glad you’re joining me today.
Kelly: Thank you so much for having me. It’s such a pleasure to be here with you.
Marly: Before we get into all the Instagram things, can we talk about your transition from being a heath food blogger and having a blog called Kitchen Caleigh and putting out a cook book of recipes and doing live cooking shows at large trade shows in Vancouver to becoming a home décor blogger. Can you talk a little bit about that? How and why did that transition happen?
Kelly: Yea, well, I became a health food blogger because I was using food to help save my life after I became very ill and almost died. It’s a crazy story, but at the end of 2011, my husband and I (and our two young children) actually moved into a rental home, which we didn’t know was toxic. We found out later that we had essentially (unknowingly) moved into a former grow-op and meth house. The bottom line for a meth house is that it is incredibly toxic and the toxins go right into the drywall. And everyone’s liver can process a different amount of toxins, and I’ve since learned that my liver was overrun and my body became flooded with these toxins.
Within 2.5 months of moving into the house, I was bed ridden with debilitating migraines, severe vertigo, numb patches and muscle spasms through the my body, and even my sight and my hearing were both affected. Then 5.5 months after moving in, with the help of a naturopath, we found the remnants of the grow-op and where they cooked the meth in the crawl space below the house.
So I began very intensive treatments to detox my body and one of the things I had to do was to go on a very strict detox diet, basically a limited Paleo Diet, in order to save my life. I started documenting my food journey on Facebook and then I had a friend approach me who owned a health food company and asked if I would come work for them as their recipe writer and food blogger, all while sharing my health journey and using their products.
I was happy to do it and I loved the blogging. And then not long after, I started my own website and my own Instagram and Facebook page under the name Kitchen Caleigh. And I shared my story on radio shows, and at Trade shows, even in a cook book, and it was a lot of fun. But… in the back of my mind, something felt a bit off. I would describe it to my friends, like “I was going the right direction on the wrong track.” And I just kept coming back to the fact that cooking and baking wasn’t really my passion. I had actually never enjoyed working in the kitchen and this was something that was born out of an illness, but not something I really wanted to do with my life.
So, in the Spring and summer of 2016, I started slowing down my food blogging and began praying about “what next?” Where was I really supposed to be? And it was a long, 6-month conversation with God about my passion, my calling, my desires… I felt God asking me, “What could you do 5 days a week, and never get bored?” After a lot of thought and prayer, my answer was “home decor”. I had always loved home decorating, since I was a little girl. It’s something that was always in me and it was always a creative outlet for me. And I felt like I had my answer, and this time it felt right. It felt good.
On November 29th, 2016, I started Home With Kelly with an Instagram account and a Facebook page, and I finally felt like I was going in the right direction, on the right track.
Marly: Wow, wow that is a crazy story though, like from the meth house and how it all got started. I’m glad you’re better now, first and foremost .. And I’m glad you started your blog and your Instagram account because I look up to you and I know a ton of other bloggers – not even bloggers but also home décor accounts on Instagram look up to you. So with that, lead’s chat about Instagram.
You have an authentic, loyal following of over 17,000 people, which you’ve been building since November 2016. There are a lot of tactics to grow our Instagram accounts, which we’ll get into, but let’s talk about the ‘why’ first. Why is it important to grow authentically rather than pay for fake followers or bots or use the follow/unfollow method for gaining followers, for example? Can you talk about the why?
Kelly: To answer the “why” here, I’ll first answer the “why not”. Paying for fake followers is just so pointless. Fake followers don’t actually engage with you. If you’ve set up your Instagram to inspire people, or to sell a product, those fake followers are worth nothing. You’re certainly not going to inspire them, and you definitely won’t sell them anything!
Plus, people can tell when an account has bought followers. They have this large following and very low engagement. It just looks shady, and at the end of the day, our reputation is worth so much more than our follower number.
Buying fake followers will kill your reputation. Brands won’t want to work with you, and other influencers won’t want to work with you. It’s a dead end and it’s never worth it to buy followers.
As for the follow/unfollow method… it boggles my mind that there are still people teaching this as a method to grow your account. It’s just a terrible practice. And when people catch on that you’re doing it, your reputation will be seriously damaged.
And people will catch on! Almost everyone has a “followers app” now so they can see who has followed just to unfollow them. It is not worth it and it is not the right way to grow a following. Plus those who follow you, just because you followed them first, those are not engaged followers who actually care about your content. The likelihood of them engaging with you is pretty slim, so they’re just damaging your reach. Every time Instagram offers your post to someone and they don’t engage, that signals the algorithm to offer it to less people. We don’t want those kinds of followers. At the end of the day, they hurt our accounts, and they hinder our growth.
To answer the “why”… why is it important to grow an authentic following… a following who follows you because they choose to, rather than “have to” will be engaged with you. They will become invested in what you share, and they’ll listen to what you have to say, because they are there simply because they want to be, not because they have to be, and this really changes their level of engagement.
Engagement is KING when it comes to Instagram. It’s really not so much the followers that matter, it’s the engagement that matters, and then the following will come naturally. For example – If I have 50k followers but they never engage with me, that sends a signal to the algorithm that my content must not be very good, so Instagram will stop offering it to more people. My reach would be so low, and then those followers would be useless. Nobody would see my content. So what’s the point of having 50k followers is very few of them ever see what I post? There’s just no point in that.
But on the other hand… if I have only 5k followers, but those 5k followers really love my content, and they’re following me because they want to, and they engage with my posts regularly, then my reach will be huge, and my content will be seen by more and more people all the time because their engagement tells the algorithm that my content must be really good so it’ll offer it to even more people. My hashtags will become more effective (because I’ll start hitting Top Posts) and my stories will be more effective because my audience is actually going to watch them when they come up in their feed, instead of clicking past them. With Instagram, the more engagement you have, the more Instagram offers your post to more people, and that can snowball very quickly. This is how a post can go viral. It’s this snowball effect that starts by having an engaged following.
So basically, a forced or a fake following will kill your engagement, and it will limit your reach, making it virtually impossible for your content to be seen, let alone ever going viral. BUT an authentic following will boost your engagement naturally, and that will increase your reach, which will increase your exposure, which will increase your following – naturally. It’s a perfect storm, and it’s so rewarding to know that your content is being seen by tens of thousands of people each week.
When your engagement is solid (which it will be if you have an authentic following) then brands will want to work with you, influencers will want to collaborate with you, and it’ll be easier to sell your products or your services, because your content will be seen by more people.
At the end of the day, having a smaller following who is engaged with you is actually better for you than having a massive following who is not engaged with you. So I’m not chasing a quick following, I’m putting in the time and effort to attract a loyal, engaged following who will interact with me and in return, Instagram will extend my reach, and give me more exposure.
Marly: Yeah, I’m so glad that you said that, all of that but particularly when you started talking about having a smaller following because I have under 10,000 followers and I have brands reaching out to me. So just because you don’t have 100,000 followers doesn’t mean you can’t work with brands.
And actually I heard somewhere that some brands are seeking accounts with smaller followings who have these really engaged followers, so it’s just interesting to put that in perspective a little bit.
So now your Instagram feed. I want to talk about how beautiful it is.
And, I think there’s two parts to the actual images on our feed. There’s the actual styling part of it and the photography side of it. So, can you talk about the importance of a beautiful feed, and how you achieve such beautiful photos?
Kelly: Thank you very much. That’s very kind of you to say. Instagram is a visual platform and our photos are what either draw people in right away or encourage them to just scroll on by, BUT I still think there’s a balance to this, particularly for new accounts.
Many new Instagrammers who want to become influencers, feel paralyzed and frozen in fear because their photos aren’t perfect. So as they agonize over their imperfect homes, and their imperfect photos, they talk themselves out of ever posting. And then their account just sits there, abandoned.
So I always encourage new decor accounts… just start posting, just start getting some content up. In the beginning, quantity is more important. The best way to learn how to get better is with PRACTICE. Like any sport, or talent, we only get better by practicing.
So in a sense, we have to start exercising our styling and photography muscles and 9 times out of 10, it’s not pretty in the beginning. Like when a child is first learning to ride a bike. They fall down. A lot. But if they don’t get out there practicing every day, they’ll never learn.
And as we start our Instagram accounts, it’s the same thing. We just need to get out there and start doing it. Understand that it won’t be perfect. Allow yourself to make mistakes and don’t let that initial low engagement discourage you. And as we start to get the hang of it, then pay more attention to the styling, the lighting, the angles, and start playing around with editing programs – and start making that mental shift from quantity to quality.
So here’s what I did with my account… when I first started it, my goal was to just start snapping home decor photos, doing my best to style each area, and doing my best to take a well lit, visually pleasing photo. I knew it wasn’t going to be perfect. But I posted it anyway.
Then, as I become more comfortable with my styling and my photos, I began to take notice of what my followers were responding to. My followers want to see more layers. And some of my photos were over exposed. I started to look at my photos objectively (notice I didn’t say critically – it’s important that we’re not hard on ourselves) But I began to look for ways to improve my feed, and allowed myself to acknowledge areas where I needed to work on my styling or my photography. And then I started playing around with free editing apps and again, that helped me grow, and helped my photos looks more professional and polished.
Now that I’m 2.5 years into it, I have learned a lot. I carefully style each space, and look through my camera lens to see how it is coming across on camera. And I adjust as I go. I use photography lighting, and I have found some excellent photo editing apps that I use all the time.
All of this put together has helped me achieve a cohesive, bright feed, that isn’t over exposed. I’ve learned that layering is something I love and something that my followers enjoy so I always work to create layered spaces that have a lot of visual interest, and create a cozy atmosphere.
As much time as I spend on styling an area, I spend just as much time snapping pics to get one that feels good to me. The slightest adjustment in an angle can make a big difference so I play around with it each and every time. And then I spend just as much time editing that photo. I take my content seriously, and I make the most out of every single post. I pour myself into this. Is it perfect? Definitely not. But is it better than it used to be? Yeah, I definitely think so!
It’s all about growing.
We have to always remember that Instagram is a visual platform, and though we have to start somewhere, and it’s totally ok to not be perfect, it’s important to grow and become more self aware of our styling and photography, and even our editing. It’s important to always be improving our skills, and to never stop growing and learning how we can express ourselves better in this area.
Marly: Yea, absolutely. And I love your point about just starting somewhere. Just start posting and you will learn and get better over time. I think it’s a really good reminder. As far as photography itself, what do you use when you take pictures of your home?
Kelly: Yeah, I don’t have a fancy camera. There’s nothing fancy here. I actually just use my iPad.
And when I started, all I had then was a really old, quite broken iPad. So, I used that for a solid year. It was pretty sad.
But it is amazing. You don’t have to have big expensive equipment.
You don’t have to go out and spend a fortune on this stuff. You just use what you have. Some people just use their phone. And I just use my tablet because I like to see a bigger image up on the screen.
It’s working for me. I’m not going to go buy a fancy camera at this point. I’m still just really happy with my iPad and that’s what I’m going to use.
Marly: Yea, yea, so, it’s funny actually, when I first started my blog and learning Instagram, I did invest in a camera. I was spending all of this time taking pictures and learning photography and while I think it has its place, especially on Instagram I was finding I wanted those real life, quick snaps. And I wanted to be able to put it out quicker. And with a camera, it takes so long because you got to get the tripod and you got to set it up and you got to find the right time of the day, so it was just all of this, and I was like there’s got to be a better way. And then I started taking pictures on my iPhone. And I’ve since been taking pictures on my iPhone.
And I’m like man, I invested in the camera and here I am taking pictures on my iphone.
And yes I still love my camera and I use my camera for certain things but the day to day Instagram photos, they’re all my phone and my apps, just like you. So it’s interesting, we just back to what we have. And like I said phones make it so much easier, tablets make it easy. You can just quickly prop it up and take a quick pic.
So along with the actual photos come the captions to the photos. Captioning our photos is a large of part of what we do on Instagram, both in writing the actual caption and then using various hashtags. So let’s start with how to write appealing captions that promote engagement. Can you talk about that?
Kelly: Yeah, I agree, captions are so important. Second only to the photo itself, our captions are what will draw people in and encourage them to engage. And yet, attention spans are just at an all time low. So I like to think that I have about 2-3 seconds to draw my followers in.
With that, we need to understand that the first sentence is so important. I always try to do something of value with that first sentence – whether it be a funny remark, or a question, or something personal to pique their interest. I try to steer clear of general conversation in that first sentence. Don’t waste your first sentence on general conversation.
And then after that first sentence, I think it’s important to convey a little bit about who you are and why you’re doing this in every post. Give your followers something to connect with… BUT DO IT FAST! You can’t write a novel. You’ll lose them. I generally keep my captions to one paragraph, but occasionally I’ll pop a little extra in there. I’m naturally a long winded person, I can’t help it, I’m a chatty girl, so I edit myself and try not to go overboard with my captions, but I still want my personality to come through.
And I think that It’s really important that we put some of our personality into every post. People don’t connect with robots; they connect with living, breathing, real people. And even if you think you have nothing to offer, I want to encourage you that you always have something to offer. In real life, you have at least one friend, you likely have a lot more than just one! So ask your friends what they love about you. What do they love about your personality? We all have a story to share. We all have something to offer. And sure, not everyone is going to love us, but that ok.
We’re not going to be everyone’s cup of tea, but we are someone’s cup of tea! When we are really being ourselves and allowing our personality to come through, we are going to start resonating with people. Your people might be different than my people, but we’re all going to connect with someone. And that is why taking time to think about your captions is just so important. This is where you bring life to your account. This is where you bring your story, and your personality. And when people start feeling connected to you, then they will start engaging with you, and following your journey very closely. Those are the kind of followers you definitely want to have hanging around! Those are the ones who are engaged. Those are the ones who like and comment and share your photo with friends and they are gold. They’re the cream of the crop.
Marly: Yea, you know, and I love when you said that we’re not robots. People connect with living breathing real people, It’s so true and it builds that know, like and trust factor. And I think a lot of us with home décor accounts, eventually may want to become part of the Like to know it family and promote products or eventually make some type of money with our account and so having that know like and trust factor build up through showing our personality in captions, I feel like is a great way to do that. So yeah, really great point.
So let’s shift gears and talk about hashtags for a minute. How to we go about finding the best hashtags to use on our photos, does it matter it they’re in the caption or a comment? And which ones are your favorites to use?
Kelly: Yeah, hashtags are so great, so important. I go into serious detail about hashtags in my online class, but I’ll try to give you a brief overview that I think is helpful.
Hashtags – They’re what give you exposure to people who don’t already follow you. Used incorrectly, they’re kind of useless, BUT used correctly, they can be so helpful, and they can cause your post to go viral.
Finding the best hashtags is going to be different for everyone. What’s best for me might not be the best for you and vice versa. But some general rules apply to help you find good ones that will give you some solid exposure.
Ok, so anything too popular is not helpful. If there are dozens of posts every minute posted to a certain hashtag, there’s almost no chance your post will get seen. And then if you use hashtags that are too unpopular, sure you’ll make “Top Posts” but nobody is going to ever see it because nobody is searching that hashtag. So those middle of the road hashtags are so good and so important! I try to use 12-15 solid middle of the road hashtags in each post. Then I add in some more popular ones, and a few less popular ones.
And something that I think is more important than even the “best hashtags” is actually having 5-7 awesome hashtag lists. Repeating hashtags is a bad idea, the algorithm doesn’t like it so creating lists that are chalk full of those awesome, moderately popular hashtags are not only a life saver, but they’re a time saver too! For me, I have 6 lists of hashtags that I try to rotate through, so I rarely repeat a hashtag within a two-week span (because I typically post 3 times per week). Each of my lists have about 18 hashtags. About 12 of them are those moderately popular decor hashtags (with 50k-300k posts). Then I have a few more popular ones, and a few less popular ones. And I just copy and paste the hashtag list into my caption when I get my post ready. And I’ll add 2-6 more hashtags that are specific to the space. Like #fireplace, or #farmhousedining room or #throwpillows or something that’s actually in the room.
And I always put my hashtags in the body of my post. I know people are torn on this, but I’ve heard too many times that putting them in your comments can trigger the algorithm to think it’s spam, and therefore you can end up with a restriction on your account. So I’m not going to risk it. I’m quite happy with them in the caption of my post. I get a lot of reach through the hashtags I use, usually tens of thousands each week, so I feel like this is working for me right now.
Marly: That was some really great information. If you missed any of that, if you did not have your pen or pencil, I suggest you re-listen to that part because there’s a lot about the algorithm in there. And making sure that you rotate your hashtags. Really great advice. Some things I didn’t know in there, so really awesome for me too.
Now another, arguably, more important part of Instagram is stories. And I say arguably there because I’ve heard talk the Instagram is putting more emphasis on stories these days. What’s your thoughts on story importance, and can you talk about how to best utilize stories to grow your Instagram account?
Kelly: Definitely, Stories are so important. I don’t believe stories should ever replace feed content for influencers, meaning I still think that your feed content is your number one form of engagement, exposure, and growing your following. But I think stories are a very important secondary form of engagement that should not be ignored.
People want to be entertained, and people want to see behind the scenes, real life stuff. They want to know you’re a real person and they want to connect with you. This is where stories come in.
Stories are the place to share some behind the scenes stuff that’s going in your life. It’s a great place to share your home as you work on it, projects and DIYs, and where you can share your family and home life, and even shopping trips! You can do video tours there, or turn the camera around, show your face, and actually have a conversation with your followers. People want to see more than just our perfectly styled rooms. Stories are a great place to share your story and share your real life.
I think of the show Fixer Upper… although everyone loves the reveal, the majority of the show was all about the process and the behind the scenes. That’s what made it special. Think of your stories in the same way. They won’t replace your styled photos, but they compliment it and bring all kinds of life to your account, but in a raw and real way. And people love that, they love seeing your real life out there.
Marly: Yes, for sure. And one thing I actually recently started doing. I don’t know if you do this, but I’ve started, when I will do a story, let’s say I style my dining room and I may have posted about it in my feed and then I’m sharing the behind the scenes, like what you just said, in my stories.
So what I’ve been starting to do is add a hashtag in my stories. So, like for example, if I was doing my dining room, I might have #diningroomdecor in each of those stories and I’ve noticed over time, when I have a hashtag in the stories, they go so much further, the reach goes so much further. It’s just another way to get more eyes on my stories and then they’ll eventually get to my account.
Kelly: Absolutely
Marly: Yeah, yeah, So that’s just something I’ve recently been doing that’s been helpful.
Similar to stories, can we talk about IGTV? I’ve never done IGTV. I don’t know a lot about it.
What are your thoughts about IGTV? Is it important? Should we be doing it? How is it different than stories? And if we should be doing it, what should we even talk about?
Kelly: I think a lot of people have that question. When I think of IGTV, I again think of the entertainment value, and that includes educational entertainment too. You know, showing home tours or DIYS, or how to’s. It’s a great place to show how to decorate a mantel, or how to change up your tablescape in 3 easy steps, or to showcase a decor product being used in multiple areas of your home. The possibilities are endless. Get creative, make a plan, and go for it!
Be ready to edit the videos because when I think of IGTV, I think of polished videos that are well edited and well thought out. That makes it very different from stories. Stories are more raw, on the go, in the moment, spontaneous, but IGTV is like your own little personal TV station, a lot like a YouTube channel. The content has a lot of thought behind it, and it’s put together well. It adds one more layer to your account. One more way to increase your exposure, and gain an audience. So of course, I think we should be using it! Anything that gives you more exposure is good!
So get in there and start trying it out. Make a little plan of what kind of things you’ll share in IGTV verses what you’ll share in your stories. And maybe set a schedule to motivate yourself to post to IGTV once a month or once a week, and to post stories much more often because they’re easier and don’t require the editing that IGTV does.
Marly: One of the takeaways that I just took away from what you said here, which is really good. When you were giving off some examples for IGTV such as decorating a mantel or you know a tablescape or something like that. It reminded me of – it’s like when you’re doing a blog post. It’s almost like making a blog post and then converting it into a video, if that makes sense.
Kelly: Yeah, totally.
Marly: OK, got it, cool.
OK, so I hope that gives you some clarity on IGTV vs. stories. So let’s talk about growing alongside other Instagram accounts, and different ways we can help each other grow.
I know early on, Kelly, I reached out to you and that was the initial way that we met and I was like hey, let’s do a photo swap on our accounts. And that one of the best ways, I really wanted to introduce myself to you anyway.
Kelly: Yes that was awesome.
Marly: That was really cool. That was such a fun way that we worked together awhile ago. So what are the best ways to work with other home décor Instagram accounts?
Kelly: I’m big on community within Instagram. It’s a top priority for me because it’s such a big sea, and we are all such small fish that we need the support of a community to help encourage us and to have people who we can collaborate with so we don’t get lost in this giant abyss with endless competition and give up. Instagram is not for the Lone Ranger. I’ve seen too many people get discouraged because they’re all alone and not growing.
The slogan for my online program (Decor Addicts Unite) is “Strength In Numbers”. I run all kinds of collaborations for my group. And not all collaborations are equal. Some are great, and some are terrible. And you might be surprised to know that the number of followers gained, isn’t what makes it good or bad.
Any collaboration where people are required to follow you is inferior in my opinion. This is typically giveaways, follow trains, and follow loops. Even if you gain 300 followers. How many of those 300 would have chosen to follow you if they weren’t forced? So how many of those 300 will engage with you? Probably not many. (Remember, engagement is KING on Instagram, not followers.)
This is why I prefer collaborations where people aren’t forced to follow you. They are much more likely to engage with you and genuinely be interested in your content if they chose to follow you on their own.
Now I’m not saying I’ll never do another giveaway. I’ve done them in the past and I’ll probably do them again – occasionally. But I haven’t done one in 4 months (and that was a very small one where I only gained about 30 followers), and before that one it was over 4 months as well. So I haven’t done any serious giveaways in the last 9 months. So I’m not going to rely on giveaways to increase my following. My engagement has been better and more stable since I’ve done this and my reach has increased significantly.
Let me give you an example. My three posts a week now typically reach 20,000 -30,000 accounts. Back when I did giveaways more often, my reach from three posts was averaging less than 7000. And another week recently reached over 50,000 accounts with three posts. I even had one post reach over 125,000 accounts recently. So I’m growing more slowly now, because I’m not doing giveaways, but my reach is increasing substantially. And that is what’s important to me. That’s what I value. That’s what I’m going after.
Because again, when it comes to Instagram, engagement is King. So when choosing collaborations, try to look for ones, or CREATE ones where people are not obligated to follow you. These are the kinds of collaborations that I organize for members of my online program. In my opinion, they’re the best, hands down, even if you don’t gain as many followers as from a giveaway.
Marly: I’ve actually never done a giveaway before just because I have a hard time throwing in $30 or $50, whatever it is, to then give something away, I don’t want to say I’m stingy, but I’m just like I can grow this without, like, throwing money in.
Giveaways can be good, I think they have their place if you’re trying to hit something like 10K and you’re almost there. So, speaking of 10K, which is like that golden number for a lot of Instagram accounts because once you hit it you can access that swipe up feature.
Now this is not something I’ve hit, but this is something you’ve hit, so can you talk about this?
Is this something that you’ve found to be really beneficial for your account?
Kelly: The swipe up feature is great, for sure. I like to use it when I’m talking about my online shop and a certain item that’s for sale. It’s great for people to be able to swipe up and immediately be taken to the website page. That is so convenient.
It’s also a great tool to help monetize your page, like influencers who work with affiliates where you get paid per click. Then the swipe up feature will help them earn some income, probably not much, but some.
And it’s also amazing to be able to use this feature to link directly to your blog posts, or to your YouTube videos. it’s just so convenient.
But I do I think that because people are so eager to hit that 10k, that they tend to do anything to grow their following number without thinking about their engagement. And I would caution against that. Swipe up is a cool feature, but it’s not worth sacrificing your engagement for.
Marly: Yeah, you know, I feel like 10K is something I’ve am striving so hard to hit, but lately I’ve gotten to a point where I’m like, I’ll hit it when I hit it.
I’d rather that those people come in and be actually authentic loyal followers, people who want to follow me.
And to that point, I’ve still had brands reach out to me, even though I’m below 10,000 followers. So it’s not like you can’t still do other things and work with brands even though you may not have 10,000 followers.
Kelly: One of the things brands look at the most, I know because I’m a brand. I have products now to sell. And what I’m looking at more than your followers is your engagement. That’s what I’m looking at.
To me, the engagement is so much more important than the following because people can so easily grow their following quickly through giveaways and through buying followers. They’re not actually reaching as many people.
I think you’re doing great. You have great engagement.
I wouldn’t be discouraged at all if I were you. Under 10K with the engagement you have. To me that’s the goal is the solid engagement. That’s the goal right there.
Marly: Aw, well thank you, you’re making me feel better about my slow growth.
If you had to sum up your best advice for growing an authentic following on an Instagram account quickly, what would it be?
Kelly: I would recommend focusing on 3 areas. The 1st is community. The 2nd is exposure. And the 3rd is the algorithm.
I would suggest getting plugged into the community as quickly as you can. Engage with lots of accounts, and join in on some excellent collaborations with accounts who share a similar style to you, and where nobody is required to follow you.
When it comes to exposure, make your photos as pleasing as possible. That means doing your best with each and every post. (Beautiful photos will typically reach more people.) So, work at your styling, work at your photography, and editing as much as you can. Really find your style, and don’t waiver from it. Then use every available opportunity to increase your exposure naturally. Post regularly to your feed and your stories and create a plan for your IGTV. Use it all, use lots of great hashtags and get yourself out there as much as you can with the best quality that you can.
And then the algorithm. This is the computer system that runs everything behind the scenes on Instagram. Learn everything you can about the Instagram algorithm. It has a set of rules that you need to follow to keep it happy. Learn the rules, and work within it. When the Algorithm is happy with your account, it will allow your posts to reach more people. So it’s really important to figure out how to keep the algorithm happy. When you offend the algorithm, your reach will go way down.
Marly: Yea, it’s interesting because I’ve noticed even on some of my posts, I must be doing something wrong on certain ones. but some of them I will get say 200 likes and 5 comments and another post I will get 2000 likes and 60 comments.
So it’s one of those things where it’s like wow, this post went so much further. What did I do differently on this post? And I think sometimes I think it has to do with the actual image. I notice that images of my dining room go way further than images of my kitchen, so I guess that means you guys like my dining room more than my kitchen. Or time of day, I think impacts that as well.
But yeah I think you’re so right, learning that algorithm and how to make it happy is spot on.
So now that we know what we should be doing on Instagram, what should we NOT be doing on Instagram?
Kelly: We should not assume that Instagram is as simple as posting a pretty pic once in a while and that we’ll just grow without much effort at all.
This is going to take effort, and it’s going to take time. You’re going to need to put in some hard work. You might need a schedule to stay disciplined and to get into the habit of posting regularly. You’ll need a game plan and to hold yourself to it.
But if this is your passion, and possibly your business, or a door that allows you to start following your dreams, then this work is absolutely worth it.
And at the same time, Instagram should not be all work and no play.
You need to have fun with it! Yes it takes hard work, but that work can be and should be so much fun! Instagram is a fun platform and people go there to be inspired and to enjoy it. They will feel if you’re not enjoying it. They will feel your boredom and your negativity. So sometimes you just need to push aside all your care about numbers and followers, and reach and just have fun! Remember that this is your passion, so be passionate and enjoy it for all it’s worth.
And the last thing I think we should never do on Instagram is get caught in the comparison game. Nothing will discourage you faster than comparing yourself to accounts who are growing faster, or accounts who have better engagement, or who have nicer homes, prettier decor…. the list goes on. We can compare anything and on Instagram you will always find someone who seems to be better than you. Just don’t go there. Love yourself enough to just stay away from all the comparison and allow yourself to enjoy your own journey. No matter how fast you grow, or how much engagement you have – this is your journey and you deserve to enjoy it. Don’t let the comparison game steal that from you, no matter what.
Marly: Ohh you know and I love that. I love that so much because it is so easy to get caught up in that comparison game, especially when you’re first starting out.
If you do start to go down that path of comparison, one thing I always like to say too, is having that group of blogging friends because they get it and you can always turn to them. If you haven’t developed a group of blogging friends I would say try and do that. Or Instagram friends, they don’t necessarily have to have a blog but if they have an Instagram account, they get it. They’re right there with you.
Kelly: Definitely.
Marly: Yeah, so there was so much great information there.
Thank you so much for your insight into growing an authentic following on Instagram. I know you mentioned a couple times about your online program. I brought it up too. Can you tell us more about that? I’m sure there are people out there who are wanting more help with growing their Instagram accounts so can you tell us about your program?
Kelly: Absolutely! My program is for people with public home decor accounts. And there are three parts to it. Lessons, Collaborations, and Community.
Anyone interested can send me (homewithkelly) a DM on Instagram saying you’re interested and I’ll get you all set up.
The cost is only $10 USD (a one time payment) and as soon as they’re signed up, they’ll have access to all the lessons in a private Facebook group. Once in the group, they will have unlimited access to learn at their own pace, and ask questions in the comments under each lesson. I’m very active in the group and reply to all the questions. There are some written lessons and some video lessons. There are lessons on hashtags, the algorithm, engagement (why it might be low), tips and tricks for an active account, photo editing, and so many others… PLUS we have all our group collaborations where they’ll have many opportunities to join with other decor accounts and work together to gain exposure.
And their membership includes access to our private, large Collaboration group where we have well over 800 members who are all supporting each other. It’s an amazing group! So many encouraging, and supportive individuals. It is an instant community. I love it. We have a blast.
Marly: And we were just talking about that, if you are struggling to find people in the community and connect with them. Here it is. You’re serving it up on a pretty platter for them. There’s so many accounts already in this group.
So right away, you an easily meet a ton of other home décor accounts who are trying to grow as well. So that’s awesome. I absolutely love what you’ve created here.
So, how can we find your blog, your social accounts, as well and your online shop, where you sell beautiful wooden arches? I’m so obsessed with them. I keep seeing them in your feed. I just love that style anyway, I want to scoop them all up.
So, you tell us how to find all of those things?
Kelly: Yeah, for sure. My website is www.homewithkelly.net and my shop is there along with my blog. And you can find me on Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest as Home With Kelly.
Marly: Awesome, awesome. And just as a little bonus for those listening today: you’re about to launch a line of decorate pillow covers that you designed, which is so darn cool. Can you talk about how your line: when will it come out and how we can find it?
Kelly: Yeah, I’m so excited about my new line of pillow covers that are about to come out! I’ve been working at getting this all set up, and making the designs for several months now. We’ve done a few test runs and we’re just about to receive the last bit of product that we need, today! Then we will start production and our final trial runs later this week, and then the covers will be added to my online shop. I’ll be showcasing them on Instagram, and Facebook so keep an eye out! We’re hoping to have them listed in about 2 weeks!
Marly: Wow, congrats to you for doing all this and expanding. I know we’re talking about Instagram today. But this is just another really cool avenue to get into. You can spin off, like you said, you’re your own brand now. You are selling things, you’re selling wooden arches. You’re about to sell pillow covers. So it’s just really cool. The possibilities are endless. And you start, you have a great following on Instagram, you immediately have people right there who want more from you.
TRUE.
Yea, so awesome, there’s been so much great information today.
I know I took a lot out of today’s episode and I’m sure all of you listening in did too. Thank you so much, Kelly, for taking the time join me today.
Kelly: Thank YOU so much for having me. I really appreciate the opportunity to chat with you about Instagram and I’m so glad we had the chance to do this! Thank you so much!
You are quite welcome.
And don’t forget that if you loved this episode to please take a minute to subscribe and to leave a review on iTunes. Have a great rest of your day, and thank for tuning in.
Links mentioned in today’s episode:
Want to start a blog? Learn how to start a blog right now using WordPress.org and Bluehost in my simple, start-a-blog tutorial!
PIN IT FOR LATER
