Bloggers, take note: Instagram is an amazing tool to grow your blog! You can artfully use the visual platform to drive targeted traffic to your blog with skillful use of posts, videos, and Instagram Stories.
However, finding the perfect mix of methods and tools to grow your blog and get those traffic numbers can get tricky if you’re just starting out!
That’s why we’ve put together a few easy tricks showing you exactly how to use Instagram to promote your blog. By putting these simple practices in place, you’ll be driving targeted traffic from your Instagram content to your website in no time at all! ⏱
Ready to clear the roadblocks from your Instagram-to-website traffic? Let’s get your blog growing!
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How to Promote a Blog on Instagram | 5 Expert Tips
1. Share Your Blog Post to Instagram Stories
One of the best ways to get your latest blog post in front of your Instagram followers is by using Instagram Stories!
Why? According to Vidmob’s 2018 State of Social Report, it’s where your followers are! Over 70% of Instagram users watch Instagram Stories every day, and the popularity of Stories isn’t shrinking anytime soon. Using Instagram Stories to promote your blog content is a great way to hook your existing followers. Plus, you can potentially reach all-new fan bases who will help your blog grow! Here’s how to do it:
How to Create a Clickworthy Blog Teaser in Your Instagram Stories
If you caught our FB Live with style blogger Chloe Alysse, then you heard her spill an amazing tip about using multiple frames to catch your viewer’s attention when promoting a new blog post in Instagram Stories.
(If you didn’t, we strongly suggest you take some time to watch the episode below or listen to the podcast; it’s filled with amazing tips about creating engaging Instagram Stories!)
Chloe explained that she often spreads out important information over multiple Stories rather than piling all the details in one. The reason? Instagram users are usually tapping quickly through dozens and dozens of Stories, looking for something interesting.
If you put all the relevant information about your new blog post in just one Story frame, there’s a good chance that most of your viewers will see it for just a second or two as they get in the rhythm of tapping through.
However, if you create 3-4 slides full of engaging visuals and a story building through each Frame, you have more of an opportunity to disrupt that automatic tapping and capture their attention.
If you do snag your viewers’ attention like this, they can then tap back to take your Story in from the top! Then, if you have over 10,000 followers you can use the Link in Stories feature to promote your blog post and take your followers right to it while it’s still top of mind!
If you don’t have Link in Stories quite yet, growing your blog from Instagram is not a lost cause. There are some handy workarounds to drive your followers to your link in bio, a handy tool that also makes a huge impact on the growth of your blog!
Tag Yourself to Help Viewers Find Your Latest Blog Post in Your Link in Bio
We have a pretty handy hack for driving traffic from your Stories when you don’t have access to Link in Stories just yet, if we do say so ourselves (and we do.) Simply direct your followers to your
Bio instead, where the latest blog post you’re promoting is eagerly waiting!
You might have to spell this one out for your viewers, since they may not understand exactly why you’re tagging yourself in your Story or what they’re meant to do next!
Don’t worry though, teaching them what to do is a snap!
Here’s how to promote your blog content with Instagram Stories when you don’t have the swipe-up feature yet:
- Craft your blog post promotion in Instagram Stories (as many frames as you need to build interest, curiosity, and a strong desire to find out more!)
- On your last Frame, include the @Mention sticker with your username. (This creates a clickable link from Stories!)
- Using the Text overlay feature, type out a fun call to action (example: to find out how I XXXXed, tap the sticker to head over to my link in bio!)
- Include an arrow pointing from your CTA right to the sticker you’ve tagged yourself in.
Your followers are now clued in that they can find your blog post in your link in bio. Plus, it saves the time-suck (and a chance to lose interest) when your followers have to navigate out of your Stories, search your username, and go through to your profile to find that link in bio!
Presto, two steps eliminated. You’re well on your way to growing your blog with Instagram!
Don’t miss the best times to post! Schedule your Instagram Stories with Tailwind! Try a free trial of Tailwind for Instagram now — no credit card required!
How to Use Instagram Posts WITH Stories to Grow Your Blog
But Story teasers aren’t the ONLY way to get your followers excited to learn more about your blog using all of your Instagram content!
We’ll break down an easy-to-use strategy using your Instagram feed posts and your Stories to promote your blog and get your followers invested in your latest and greatest content.
Here’s how it works:
- Share an Instagram post talking about your latest blog topic, and craft an engaging caption that draws readers in (pssst… more on that later!)
- Include not one, but two calls to action in your caption. The first will be to go check out your Instagram Stories to learn more about one specific topic covered in your blog post. (This could be a tutorial, a demo, or more detailed information!) The second will be a call to action to go read your blog post by tapping your link in bio (in case your caption already sold them!)
- Share your feed post to your Stories, so that your viewers can tap it to take a look!
- Now in your Stories, create that tutorial, demo or display of more exciting information that’s different from what you already said in your caption.
- End your Instagram Story by including a link to your blog, or a link to your profile (if you don’t have Link in Stories yet!)
Using more than one stream of content on Instagram means that you offer your followers another chance to learn something new, and be intrigued by all the amazing information your blog post contains! Cool, right
2. Network With Other Bloggers to Expand Your Reach and Grow Your Blog
When you’re figuring out how to use Instagram to promote your blog, it’s easy to focus only on the things you can do, and not what others can do for you! In reality, building a strong community with others in your niche can expose your content to new audiences who might really benefit from your latest blog post!
Make networking a part of your larger blog promotion plan with these easy tips:
- Search for accounts, influencers, brands, and companies that naturally complement your interest, industry, and blog topics and that resonate with you
- Interact with and support these accounts genuinely, with the same level of interaction you’d hope for – commenting, liking and even resharing!
- Introduce yourself and feel out the opportunity for partnerships, features, and collabs if available!
Curious where to find other bloggers in your niche? Start researching relevant industry hashtags! You can see how popular hashtags are – and how many posts they have attached to them – using Tailwind’s Hashtag Finder tool!
How Focusing On Community Over Competition Helped One Style Blogger Grow Her Blog on Instagram
Skeptical about networking? It really works! Chloe Alysse of Chlo & Clothes gave another powerful tip in the FB Live we mentioned above. She credits the strong community of loyal followers and fellow bloggers as part of her quick rise to Instagram success (over 25,000 in one year!).
A regular part of her Instagram plan is to share the love – and reshare! – cool posts from bloggers, Instagrammers, and brands that resonate with her and she believes her followers would also appreciate it.
Those accounts are more than happy to share the love, too, giving Chloe exposure to their audiences who could then become fans!
3. Use Breathtaking Images and Videos to Promote Your Blog Posts on Instagram
Of course, getting attention from new Instagram users depends on their first impression of your posts. Since Instagram is a visual platform, the photo or video you use has a direct effect on whether you’ll grow followers, engagement, OR your blog traffic!
Think of it this way: Unless you just so happen to be at the tip-top of your followers’ Instagram feeds every time, chances are they may have to scroll through their feeds for a moment before encountering your post.
The longer your followers scroll, the less likely they are to stop and read each caption or examine each image they see. If they did, that would be information overload, right?
That means that the image or video you choose should disrupt that mindless perusing and make them stop their thumbs mid-scroll (just like that Stories tip in #1!).
Here are some good ways to do that:
Invest Time In Your Creative Elements
In order to grab attention quickly and wow your followers, you’ll need high-quality images that stand out from the sea of content vying for attention. Source and create images, videos, and graphics that wow, especially where they relate to the content of your blog post.
This doesn’t necessarily mean you need to run out and buy the latest camera or phone, but make sure you’re taking your photos in clear lighting, with a decent-quality camera and paying special attention to your backdrop, colors and photo composition.
Our new tool, Tailwind Create, was created with this in mind! All you have to do is upload the images you want to feature and Tailwind will build multiple layouts to choose from. You can rely on Tailwind Create to do the legwork, and let you focus on creating perfect content with engaging captions.
Try it for free! See some examples of Tailwind-created Instagram story and post templates here.
For more, read our how-to post on taking gorgeous lifestyle photography!
Your image also plays a huge supporting role in the story you’re telling… or should be telling!
Curious what we mean? Keep reading!
4. Tell Your Followers a Story They Can’t Resist… That’s Finished On Your Blog!
Chances are, your blog post tells a story. Whether you’ve written about a recipe, fashion, or wellness, there’s an underlying story that your reader will connect with. At heart, your life was different before and after you encountered this topic, and your blog post can help inform a reader, sway them, or in some way change their lives, too!
To achieve that buy-in from your followers and get them to click from your Instagram to your website, you want to give them a taste of the journey, as well as a happy ending.
While your image or video should be eye-catching since it’s the first thing people notice, our image should tie into the overall story and support it. In fact, it’s the hook to your story that draws attention. It’s like the cover of a fairytale! However, the real story is told just below your post image… in your caption.
How To Write Instagram Captions That Drive Traffic To Your Blog
Why is it that the caption is crucial to connecting with your audience and driving traffic to your website, but we often leave it to the last minute? #GuiltyAsCharged When posting to Instagram, it’s all too easy to focus all your attention on the image in your post, and write your caption as an afterthought.
However, flipping the order that you approach your Instagram content may just be a gamechanger for you – and spell successful promotion of your blog!
That’s because the place you should really be spending most of your time when planning Instagram content is your caption. While your image or video snags attention, it’s often the caption that your followers relate to, emotionally invest in and is ultimately what drives them to your website.
Therefore, the story you tell in your caption is the most important part of the post, and what you should focus on first.
Here’s how to write amazing captions yourself:
- Decide on the most relatable way to start your caption is. A shocking hook, a question or a funny story? They all work!
- Make yourself real to your followers by sharing relatable thoughts or experiences from your life, especially where they relate to your blog’s ultimate purpose or content
- Give your followers a taste of the “happy ending” in your story by zeroing in on the core desires someone interested in your content would have. Would your topic make them happier, more fulfilled, or answer a goal they have? Tell them about it!
- Show them where to find that happy ending. Your call to action (CTA) doesn’t have to be complex, but should instead spell out to your reader where to go next and reinforce what they’ll find there.
Most people have a fear of sounding too sales-y or pushing too hard when it comes to the last part of your CTA in particular, but keep this in mind: if you believe in your content, and that it will help someone or answer a need, then you aren’t just being a salesperson. You’re sharing experience and providing tools to help improve someone’s life in some way. Shout it from the rooftops!
Plus you can really bring your story home with caption font formatting – now available with Tailwind for Instagram! Highlight words, phrases or your entire caption with bold font, italics, cursive or serif fonts to bring your storytelling to life. ✍️ Try it with a free trial of Tailwind for Instagram.
5. Turn Your Instagram Followers Into Blog Traffic with Tailwind’s Smart.bio tool
Okay, now you’ve promoted your latest blog on Instagram every which way and your followers are well on their way to clicking through to blog bliss. That’s great!
However, there are a few important things to keep in mind about your link in bio, and what kind of tool will help you successfully promote your blog post on Instagram.
Ready to find out how to put your personal blog in your Instagram bio, and drive traffic to it with ease?
Let’s go!
Don’t Put Your Website In Your Bio Link
You may be a little skeptical of this one, but hear us out. While you absolutely want to drive traffic to your website, you may be making this a little harder than necessary on your curious followers by just linking your homepage in your link in bio.
Why?
Unless your site is very well organized, with your new blog post immediately visible on the home page, you run the risk of your followers getting lost and losing interest navigating through your website for that specific post.
Lost, bored or frustrated readers won’t help you grow your blog!
And here’s the thing: even if your site is the most organized website that ever was, followers who see a website homepage in your bio may give up before ever clicking, because they’ve experienced that frustration on another site before. AND, you won’t be able to track your link visits without a trackable custom link anyway!
To avoid this, and signal to your followers that you have a unique Instagram landing page with all of your relevant links available just one click away, it’s safest to opt into a link in bio tool – like Smart.bio by Tailwind!
Maximize Your Link Strategy to Get the Most Traffic to Your Blog
One of the unique things our users love the most about smart.bio is that you can choose two types of links for your content. They are:
- Static Links, which are buttons that sit at the top of your page and are best for blog posts and pages you want to drive Instagram traffic to and grow consistently over time. Add emojis for a bit of fun!
- Post Links, which appear on your Smart.bio landing page under those static links. In the Smart.bio dashboard, you can add a link to any of your most recent posts, and it will appear on your landing page in real-time! OR, if you schedule your linked post with Tailwind for Instagram, it will automatically update!
These two types of links allow you to strategize with your blog content. Static links are often best for evergreen pages that you’ll always want your followers to click on – things like newsletter links, featured collections, or links to other content platforms (link to Facebook, YouTube, or LinkedIn, for example!).
On the other hand, post links tend to catch the eye immediately, and your followers will recognize your post image and know that it corresponds to the blog post they’re looking for.
Wait… how will they know, exactly?
That’s where the customizable CTAs come in! You can enter a catchy, clickable prompt like “Check It Out!” or “Grab It Here!” in your landing page customization settings, and that text will appear under your link posts.
Smart.bio is the perfect tool for Instagram bloggers and allows you to promote your blog post on Instagram and snag traffic to your website.
Are you as excited about this tool as we are? Opt in to be a beta tester and grab your FREE customizable smart.bio URL today!
Main Takeaways
Are you confused or even frustrated wondering how to effectively promote your blog posts on Instagram? Banish your worries! There are just five important strategies to remember when growing your blog with Instagram:
- Use Instagram Stories to promote your blog post and drive instant traffic to your website.
- Build a strong network with other bloggers to gain new audiences and exposure (and grow your own blog!)
- Carefully curate your images and video to make your followers stop in their tracks and NEED to know more.
- Begin telling a story in your caption with a happy ending your followers can’t live without – only found in your blog post!
- Choose a Link in Bio tool (like Smart.bio by Tailwind!) that offers a customizable landing page, easy link updating and in-depth analytics you need to maximize your traffic!
Smart.bio helped Instagram influencer Chloe Alysse grow her web traffic and newsletter signups without even trying! Read all about how she grew her personal brand with Tailwind tools in our latest interview, “Confessions of An Instagram Influencer: How to Grow Your Personal Brand!“
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