Instagram is one of the best social media sites for hair professionals to promote their business. The format of showcasing a gallery of pictures and short videos makes it the ideal platform for marketing your business. From gaining new clients to retaining current ones and building status among industry professionals, progressive stylists and barbers are utilizing Instagram.

But building your Instagram following and building a name for yourself on the platform takes work, commitment and strategy in order to succeed. You must understand how it works and put yourself in the shoes of a follower. You need to determine what your purpose is on Instagram and why you are using it. Is it primarily to gain new clients? Are you trying to become a respected educator in the industry? How do you want to be perceived in the space? All of these questions help determine the actions you will need to take to establish your presence on Instagram.

Whatever your purpose is, you will need to build a following. Here are 8 tips for how to grow your Instagram following for hair professionals.

Show your Best Work

When you post your work on social media, you are showing the world what you can do. You want to position yourself in the best light possible. This includes not only the image of the haircut but positioning of the client, the background noise and lighting. These are all important to show your work in the most positive way possible. If you have a client who doesn’t look happy in the picture this sends a message to the viewer that you have unhappy clients.

Remove clutter from the background to remove distractions. If this means setting up a plain backdrop in the corner of the room with a ring light so be it. This will do wonders for your photos. Lighting should also be nicely lit so that the viewer can see the details of the cut. Instruct the client how to angle their face or turn their face away from the camera. By paying attention to the details of the images you post you can dramatically increase the vibe and quality feel of your profile. This can lead to more follows, likes and engagement.

Learn how to Create Reels

Reels are a more recent feature of Instagram. Reels are Instagram’s alternative to TikTok which has taken center stage for social media. Reels have been shown to create the most engagement on Instagram, beating out stories and posts. Since they are more engaging and fun to watch, Reels are a great way to gain the attention of new and current followers. Add music, add filters and make it fun. Get creative. People love watching Reels so you should get good at it.

Create Stories

While Reels have center attention, Stories are still very popular among IG users. Some users primarily just watch Stories and don’t look at the feed very often. While other users do the opposite. In any case, Stories are a great way to show what you don’t want permanently on your profile. They are much more informal and they are a good place to showcase your personality in a different light. Stories are great for advertising different specials or deals you might offer and showing non-haircut imagery linking to an outside website. Stories keep you in the mind of the viewer in case they don’t see your latest post. Post at least 3 stories within a 24hr period but avoid posting an excessive number of stories. People don’t generally want to see 15 stories from you all at once.

Use a Branded Hashtag

Hashtags are a great way to gain new followers and brand yourself. People search by hashtags and if your posts are found by someone searching a hashtag you could gain a new follower. Hashtags should revolve around the theme of the post. Create a branded hashtag for people to stand behind so that when people search the hashtag they can see everything related to that hashtag. Unique hashtags are often created for events and then promoted at the event. But they can also be more long-lasting and the hashtag can represent your brand for the long term. For example, the @JataiFeather‘s profile we have a long term  hashtag #JataiFeather which is placed everywhere. For short campaigns or events a new hashtag is created.

Analyze the Insights

You can post all you want but if you don’t know what’s getting the most attention and creating the most engagement you are posting in the dark. Instagram gives insights to the activity your posts are creating. Be sure to review and analyze how your posts are doing so you can do more of what’s working and do less of what’s not. Focus your time and energy on creating content that your followers are responding to. Experiment with different types of posts and see what kind of responses you get.

Engage with Followers

Instagram is a social media site. This means it’s a place to be social. It’s not meant to be one sided. Show your followers you care about them by liking or replying to their comments, following people, commenting on other people’s posts and acknowledging them. People appreciate reciprocation and when you engage with your audience they are more likely to like and trust your more.

Post Regularly and Consistently

Lastly, this goes without saying. Post regularly and consistently. Instagram’s algorithm likes regular content. They also like original content. Decide for yourself how often you want to post and then stick to it. Posting once a month is probably not going to get you anywhere but posting a few times a week can keep followers engaged and tell Instagram you are active on the platform.

Promote your IG Handle Everywhere

If you teach classes in person, promote your handle. If you are speaking at an event, promote your handle. On your website, promote your handle. Just promote your handle. People will find you in many ways and outside of IG is a great way to gain new followers. Send people to your IG profile to get a feel for who you are. If you promote your handle everywhere you maximize where you can be found.

As a hair professional you have a responsibility to build your own clientele, business and brand. Instagram has clearly become one of the best places to market for free so take advantage of it and do it your way. Be unique, be clean, be clear about how you want to represent yourself and do it often. There are many other ways to increase your following but these are a good start. So follow the steps above and you’ll be on the path to a greater IG following.