Instagram Expert tips from 10 successful Instagrammers (With 100k followers!)

We have all been there. Tired of the new Instagram algorithm and struggling with the follower count. Just like you, I have struggled with Instagram for months. I tried using hashtags, using captivating captions, improving my photography skills. But still, my follower count crept up at a snail’s pace. Not until I knew of some of these Instagram expert tip used by top Instagrammers which grew their account from 0 to 153K!

Below are the only tips you need to master Instagram. Why do I say that?

They have been used by the best of the best. From Swedish Nomad to Nomadic Boys, here’s a tell-all of how they grew their Instagram accounts to become one of the Top Travel Instagram influencers in the world.

1. Alex Waltner Founder of @SwedishNomad

153K followers

“Connect with other travel bloggers and Photographers to build a real community”

I started my Instagram by the end of 2015, and now I have 153,000 followers. It’s been a long journey, and during this time, Instagram has already changed several times. From the very start I always posted my best photos and constantly tried to better myself, and quickly decided to go for a strong travel theme with landscapes and some photos where my girlfriend Christine Abroad (christineabroad.com) is in it.

While doing this I also connected with other travel bloggers and photographers, and in just a few weeks I had got myself a small community. Since then, I have realized that the best thing you can do to grow your Instagram, is by doing the things you love and become one of the best in your niche and is the best Instagram expert tip I can give.

The key to connect via Instagram is to only do it with people who inspire you in some way. Then its easy to leave genuine comments or write a message to them.

And don’t do it with the main goal of growing your channel. That’s just a bonus. But instead do it because of a real interest and take the opportunity to learn from those who’ve already become successful.

And of course, networking, as in any other business with people in your industry. But, make sure to be genuine when you write to people. It’s easy to see through messages and comments that aren’t genuinely written. This is one of the best Instagram expert tip I can give.

Read his blogs at: https://www.swedishnomad.com

2) Stefan Arestis and Sebastien Chaneac Founders of @NomadicBoys

100k followers :

Nomadic Boys

“We love engaging with our audience both in the comments and in DMs and use this as the main way to grow our account.”

Our Nomadic Boys Instagram started shortly after our website was created in early 2014. It has grown and evolved during our travels around the world. The best Instagram expert tip I can give is that we aim to do 1 post every 1/2 days, and have been doing so since we started.

Today our account reaches almost 100,000 followers, and we always aim for at least a 3% engagement. We love engaging with our audience both in the comments and in DMs and use this as the main way to grow our account. Engagement is the most important thing for us and is the main reason why our account has grown the way it has over the years. This is one of the best Instagram expert tip I can give.

We have two main strategies. The first is to engage with our followers- reply to their comments and like/comment on their posts back. The second is to maximise the 30 limit hashtags so as to increase the engagement of each post. We hide the hashtags in the comments and always ensure to go back to delete the hashtag comment before posting the next post.

Read their blog at: https://nomadicboys.com/

3) Linda, founder of @lindavoltaire

13.5k followers

“ If content is king, engagement is the QUEEN. Nothing comes for free so the more you engage, the higher engagement you will get.”

I started my blog adventure one year ago when having a 3 month break to explore South America. Since then I have step by step built up a growing social media platform consisting of Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest, Youtube as well as my blog. I really love what I am doing and will quite my job this fall to focus full time on traveling.

If someone would have told me that I would be a travel blogger and instagrammer at the age of 40, I would have laughed big time. But life is full of surprises and everything is possible if you are passionate about what you are doing.

I have managed to organically grow my instagram account from 300 followers to 13 500 in one year with an engagement of around 10-15%.

So what is my secret? No short cuts, just consistent hard work based on the 5 key success factors below:

1. Plan: Make sure you have a clear objective and focus when you start. What do you want to achieve? What will make you unique? Based on this, plan your content accordingly. I work with a monthly content plan where I set the weekly themes & a daily one with the actual content. I also have a clear hashtag strategy, with various groups that I rotate.

2. Create: Content is KING so invest in time and skills needed to create good content like photography & photo editing. Find your own style, a well curated feed is a must for Instagram but most importantly stay true to who you are. Stories are great for your followers to get a glimpse of your life.

3. Learn: Get a business account and all data that comes with it. Make sure to analyze it daily/weekly and change the content plan and content creation based on findings

4. Engage: If content is king, engagement is the QUEEN. Nothing comes for free so the more you engage, the higher engagement you will get. Find accounts and communities that you like and support each other. A high engagement rate is in many cases more important than the number of followers, so keep engaging!

5. Have fun: If you love what you do and are having fun while doing it, it will show! I love being an instagram influencer. It is the perfect mix between strategic, tactical and creative work! I wish you all the best on your Instagram Journey! These are the best Instagram expert tip I can give.

Read her blog at: >http://www.travelwithasilverlining.com/

4) Ruben Arribas Cañamares and Rachel Pregunta, Founders of @gamintraveler

130k followers:

“With Instagram, we were able to increase our income to 5 figures, and we’re now working with coaches in various parts of our business to help us grow better and help impact more personal brands and businesses.”

We grew our Instagram account from 0 to 130K in 2 years. In the beginning of us doing work online, our whole focus was in our travel blog. It was natural for us. We love traveling, and it’s a non-negotiable part of our life and relationship. When we discovered what we can do with Instagram, we decided to focus a big part of our time and energy there. We can say that it was a good decision.

As bloggers, Instagram is a great way to collaborate with hotels, tours and lifestyle brands that fit our brand. We were able to find our tribe in the platform, some became even close friends. And this has shaped the way we look at our craft and content. Made us push ourselves to become better in photography, and business as well, as we run our own Instagram Marketing Agency. There is no secret for growing a following, every strategy takes time to root. We just need to stay consistent with what we’re doing, always show up, to always work on improving ourselves but to not be afraid and feel threatened of other people’s work.This is one of the best Instagram expert tip I can give. Building your network is also very important. With Instagram, we were able to increase our income to 5 figures, and we’re now working with coaches in various parts of our business to help us grow better and help impact more personal brands and businesses.

Read their blog here: >http://gamintraveler.com/

5) Kiran, Founder of @ChicColourCloset:

. I’ve been blogging for 2 years now and using social platforms like Instagram to build my work. I have learned a lot in these past few months.I highly recommend PREVIW APP.This is one of the best Instagram expert tip I can give. It’s a visual planner for Instagram. It has got amazing features like: drag and drop, hashtags, analytics and most importantly schedule. I think posting pictures at a right time also plays a major role: I tend to post early in a morning and sometimes late evening.

6) Liz Galloway, Founder of @wildadventure.lizgalloway

6704 followers:

I use Later.com to automate my posts with themes and hashtags, and to see the layout. I also do hashtag and video promotions for small amounts ($5 – $20) that gain a lot of engagement, and attaching a contest to them works great too. I use things like instazood to send auto messages to people who have engaged with a sign up or a contest to send them a discount invite, and of course spend time searching for the right hashtags and brands to follow, like and share. It’s growing steadily. I’ve gained around 4000 in the last 7 months, and it seems even with big brands and average engagement of 1-2% of total numbers with the insta algorithms seems to be average. This is one of the best Instagram expert tip I can give.

7) Nikita & Harry, @thevagabondstories,

11k Followers (you know us) –

Our basic strategy to increase engagement is to build a relationship with our readers and followers on Instagram. A personal touch is extremely important. Whether it’s in the caption of our Instagram posts or replying to each and ever comment, these are all extremely important practices. And of course, we aim to push content everyday, which is why we try to post daily. One of the best Instagram expert tips I can give it to always look for quality and post only the best pics.

8) Wendy, Founder of @lovinglybold,

3152 followers:

“My Instagram is not about me, it is about my audience. That is how I came up with my hashtag #lovinglyboldconvos. My engagement rate right now is averaging at 14% and I credit this to being able to make meaningful connections with my followers. ”

Lovingly Bold is a type of uplifting fearlessness that is to be shared. I started my Instagram account for Lovingly Bold in the middle of January of this year! It is crazy to see how much I have grown since then. For people beginning I would suggest taking a course and really applying everything you learn straight to your account. That is exactly what I did. This will take time and dedication! What I get told often is that my Instagram is a place where people come to have conversations. Building a following that is willing to engage is very important. To do that means being open and creating stories that people can relate to. My Instagram is not about me, it is about my audience. That is how I came up with my hashtag #lovinglyboldconvos . I use it every time I post because I am inviting everyone to join the conversation. If there is one Instagram tip I would give then that is to stay engaged in conversation on Instagram.

9) Andrea Comia, Founder of Born to Roam @Andicomia,

40k followers:

Before posting a photo I made sure it was for me at least 100% satisfying. I made sure I was consistent in the frequency of my posts. I also started engaging with other Instagram users and worked with them. Used hashtags that are related to my niche #travelerwoman #seemycity #wtnadventures and the like. From 300 followers I grew to 2000 and now I have almost 40,000 followers. I have 0.3-0.5 engagement rate. It’s challenging now with the algorithm but I made sure I still connected with my followers. This is one of the best Instagram expert tip I can give.

10) Niki Freer, Founder of @nikitravels_ :

I gained my followers organically through interacting with similar accounts; I would like, comment, and follow these accounts in order to let them know that I was interested in building a relationship with them. I also use the app UNUM which allows for me to plan my posts, and it also gives me analytics of my account including the change in likes and comments between my posts, the times that are best to post based on my follower activity, and the best hashtags to use. I do use between 10 and 30 hashtags on each post, depending what it is, but I put them in the comments instead of the caption. Also, I found that my followers enjoy longer captions that include stories instead of short, trendy captions. This is one of the best Instagram expert tip I can give.