How do you get Sponsored Posts on Instagram?

Post date: Aug 18, 2017 11:33:50 PM

Instagram Tips and Tricks

How do you get sponsored posts on Instagram? The more you know, the better chance you’ll have of getting sponsored on Instagram. Use these Instagram tips and tricks to make sure your profile is optimized for the best results. You don’t need to have thousands of followers. Sure, some companies won’t offer you sponsored posts unless you have 25,000 followers, but you don’t need them! While you're growing your Instagram, you can work with smaller brands and startups. Optimize your profile with these Instagram tips and then follow our Facebook Page for opportunities.

The posts might not pay as much, but they’ll make good material for your portfolio of work or media kit. And, you’re likely to get a lot more of these smaller posts. Most companies just want a quick shout out or a repost of something they’ve already posted. Easy Peasy!

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Optimize Your Instagram Profile for Sponsored Posts

• • Add a description in your profile. Less bragging, more what you have to offer. For example, rather than saying: “Best-selling author, #1 Mom, loves to eat pizza,” say something like this, “Product Reviewer, Easy ways to stay motivated, Sharing the best pizza recipes for families.” This tells possible sponsors what you can do for them, not how awesome you are.They want your spotlight, you want their money. Win-win!

• • Add a link to your website, but change it up when you post. Change it to your latest product review, Amazon listing, or a sponsor’s page.

  • Add a smiling photo of your happy face. A logo is nice, but Instagram is a close knit, friendly community. Share your face instead. This way, we know the real person behind the logo.

  • Create a Business Account. Some people complain about reach after switching. I didn’t have a problem. You’re going to get a bigger reach by utilizing as many relevant, real hashtags as possible. Current word is you can use up to 28. Do that, every time you post! You’ll pop in the most recent of all of those hashtags and if you’re lucky, you’ll pop up in the top posts too. For now, hashtags seem to work better than ads.

  • Post Frequency. Post once a day with great hashtags. No need to post more than that. No need to post the same image twice. You don’t want to repost images and text. They may compete with themselves in the Top Posts. Change it up.

  • Stay Active. I recommend posting only once a day, but you can and should be more active than that. Pop in a few times a day to like posts of others, comment, check your stories, and respond to comments on your posts. The more active you are, the more LIVE your homefeed becomes. (At least for now!)

  • Recent Posts. You can and SHOULD post more than once a day to your stories!! This keeps you up top of everyone’s feed and on their minds. For stories, post as much as you want! Beware though, others can hide your stories. So, keep it interesting and not spammy.

Instagram Stories

• • Links - Did you notice you can add links in your stories? You can! Just click on the link at the top of your phone, pop in a url, preview, (to make sure it works) and done!

  • Hashtags - You can add hashtags to stories. Click on the “Aa” at the top of your device. Start typing! #Influencer - choose from the most popular hashtags at the bottom of your screen.

  • Secret Hashtags - You can even hide them so that it doesn’t look spammy. Type them and cover them with stickers or text with a background.

  • Tags - Tag a brand or a friend, just like you would in a post. Go to the “Aa,” type @ and the name. @kidscreativechaos

  • Selfie Tags - Take a photo of yourself and make a sticker! Tap the sticker button at the top of your screen, choose the camera, smile into the tiny pop up circle, click your pic!

Click here for more Hidden Hacks for Stories.

Miscellaneous Instagram Tips

• • Upload Videos for more Impressions. I don’t get as much feedback (likes and comments) on videos, but I get way more post views.

  • Multiple images? Some say they get less reach with multiple images. I haven’t noticed that. I have noticed that most people don’t swipe right on Instagram. One image seems like enough.

  • Followers do matter and then again they don’t. 200 niche engaged followers is better than 200k fakes or random people who could care less- #dontusefollowforfollow #dontbuyfollowers

  • Build your followers organically. Find a great profile in your niche that is growing daily by more than 200. Follow their most recent 25 followers (the first time) and then check back every day and follow up to 200. As your account grows, you can follow more people each time you log in. Be careful! Follow too many at once or within a 24 hr. period and you’ll get blocked. Blocking can last 15 minutes to 72 hours. If you're really bad, it might last forever, go slow!

  • Beware of dead profiles. If you blindly follow people who are following a brand in your niche, you may be following inactive or fake accounts. They won’t follow you back. Also, most brands won’t follow you back.

  • Find active people to follow. Go to your home feed and follow people who have recently liked the posts of others.

  • Engage with others and be engaging! Build a profile with images that your audience will love or that benefits your audience in some way.

  • Find a tribe on Facebook and hook up on a follow thread or an Instagram Pod. I’m just learning about pods. I’ll keep you posted on how it goes!

  • Don’t buy them on Fiverr. It’s no good, eventually, Instagram will do a sweep and remove all fake or inactive accounts. Don’t waste your time or money.

When working for new accounts, I often follow until blocked, wait an hour and then follow again. There’s a general consensus that says you can follow up to 200 profiles per hour. However, I’ve gotten blocked after following less than 25 people, and I’ve followed up to 1000 without getting blocked. It all seems to have something to do with the age of the account, how active it is, and how much other people engage with it.

Final Thoughts

For now, you can’t follow more than 7500 profiles at a time. Meaning, you won’t grow past 7500 with a follow for a follow. You’ll need to do some strategic following and unfollowing or be so super awesome that everyone knows you and can’t wait to follow you. Some people find it offensive to follow with the plan to unfollow. You decide. It's really difficult to grow very big otherwise- without cheating.

I use an Unfollowers app and unfollow people who don’t follow me back within a week. I whitelist everyone I want to keep following. The app allows you to add a star to profiles that you want to keep following. When unfollowing, it will skip over anyone with a star.

Occasionally, I get close to 7500 and have to unfollow some people I’d prefer to continue following. I have to focus on goals. I want real people. If they notice I unfollowed them and they unfollow me because they think it’s yuck, so be it. For this reason, I don’t follow all of my Facebook friends or family. We’ll keep in touch over there. Once you reach your goal, you can go follow them all back. What’s nasty, is that Instagram puts this limit on our accounts. We should be allowed to follow everyone who follow us!

Want to see what I’m up to? Follow me on Instagram or on my blog, Kids Creative Chaos. For more sponsored social media posts opportunities sign up for IZEA.

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