It's the New Year and like many others, you may have made the decision to improve your fitness in 2017. A great way to do this and to stay motivated is to use social media to track your progress and show others how well you're doing. If you're publicly showing your fitness journey then the chances are you will be much more motivated to stick to your training and not give up.
So how do you go about starting a fitness Instagram account? You pick your username, edit your bio, and add your profile picture. After using it for a week, you begin to realize that it’s actually pretty hard to get attention to your account. Becoming an Instagram success is not easy, but with these tips, you just might get to your goal a little bit quicker.
#1 Use Hashtags
Hashtags are one of the most important aspects of Instagram that you use to gain followers when you are just starting out. Hashtags, such as #fitness, #fitfam, #goals, help others around the world to discover your photos and profile.
People will discover your post from others looking up specific terms or if the terms are relevant to their interests, so this is very important for your photos to get noticed. For each post, you can use up to 30 hashtags, so make use of all of them. The hashtags should be relevant to your image and what your profile is all about. Since you are making a fitness Instagram, make sure to use popular fitness words as well as phrases and lingo.
#2 Consistency is Key
Posting one image is not going to get you followers. Constantly posting and being active over time will result in more followers and more likes on your photos. It takes time to build up your profile, and remember, an object in motion stays in motion. The more you post the greater the opportunity for people to see your photos and this will give a greater incentive for people to follow you because they will know you are active and committed. It takes a while to find out how people respond to your content, so hang in there and don’t give up too quickly!
#3 Take Advantage of Instagram Stories
Instagram stories are a new element that Instagram incorporated recently and you should utilize it. This feature is exactly like Snapchat stories, providing a short video feed of the Instagrammer. People looking to follow you are looking for content and to be affected in some way, so if you do not use stories, they may focus on others who are using this new feature. You must do everything you can to get noticed and retain the attention of your followers and potential followers, so post a few stories as another way of engaging your followers' attention.
#4 Use The Basic Features Obsessively
When on Instagram, you should be following individuals, leaving comments, and liking photos. This gets your profile out into the world more and gives others the opportunity to find you. People don’t want to just like you for your body, but also if you are active with your followers and other people. Make people like you and show that you are actually a human being trying to help others and make a difference on Instagram. Try to connect with others, which will eventually lead to more followers. Also, tagging people on your posts never hurts.
#5 Work On Your Content
Content, content, and content. Find out what kind of content is getting you the most attention. Try to see what images are getting the most kind of attention on Instagram. Maybe its bathroom mirror selfies that are getting you noticed, or maybe even the fact that you post videos on how strong you are. In reality, you are trying to encourage a fitness lifestyle and promote health.
Try posting your workouts or workout advice. Give tips on nutrition and how others can be motivated to achieve their goals as well. Try to help as many people as possible with your advice as well as highlighting your physique, which can truly help you get followers on its own. Find out what makes you different from others and utilize the strengths of your individuality. Don’t always post the same thing over and over again (all bathroom selfies would get boring), so add diversity to your posts and see what your followers are enjoying and reacting to.
Take Home Message
These tips will guide you in your journey towards gaining followers on a Fitness Instagram account. Time and being consistent is key, so make sure not to give up too early. There are a lot of Fitness Instagrammers, but being unique and staying active as much as possible will definitely help you go along way.
