Influencer” is a legit and lucrative career, thanks to the phenomenal rise of digital and social media. However, while it may seem all fun and games from the other side, it’s not an easy career, and you have to wear many hats to succeed in your niche. 

Some common challenges include a saturated market, working long hours, doing multiple things at once, and maintaining your engagement. But don’t let these changes stop you from following your passion because it’s a liberating career with many perks. You get to be your own boss, visit exquisite travel destinations for work, find new friends in the community, and much more.

If you’re thinking of starting a food blog on Instagram, here are some tips to help you stand out from the crowd and grow.

Decide on a Catchy Name (and Pray It’s Available!)

The first step in becoming a food influencer on Instagram is to choose a name. It should be catchy to grab the attention of the users and descriptive enough to let them know what the blog is about. You can also use your name or use other keywords with it. Finding relevant keywords from your niche and incorporating them skillfully in your blog’s name is a great way to come up with something unique.

Think of foods, meals, and recipes, mix and match characters, use humor, and play with words—make sure you’re putting a lot of thought into choosing a name because it will represent you and your blog on Instagram. It can also help you gain more followers.

Another thing to consider when choosing a name is whether it’s already taken because that’s one of the biggest challenges new users face these days. Instagram has millions of followers, so it’s highly likely that someone already has an account with the name you decide. You can use alternative spellings or add characters to avoid that.

Fill the Bio Carefully

Instagram bio is a great tool to attract new followers and potential brand deals. Writing it may seem straightforward, but it requires creativity and strategy. People form an opinion of you within the first seven seconds of meeting you, and the same goes for Instagram. If you’re using Instagram for a blog and want to make a career out of it, you’ll want to make a great first impression with your bio.

Besides your username, you also have to add a name to your Instagram profile which is the most prominent part of a bio. It doesn’t necessarily have to be the same as your username; you can put your name along with a keyword that your potential followers search for. For example, “Your Name – Vegan Recipes” or “Your Name – Healthy Recipes,” etc. whenever someone searches “vegan food” or “healthy recipes” on Instagram, your account will be among the first few search results.

For your profile description, you need to think about what describes your blog best while setting you apart in the industry. Showcase your skills or any detail that’s valuable to your potential audience. Use targeted keywords to help people understand your profile at a glance because you have to work with limited characters as well as the little attention span of the users.

If you have a food blogging website, don’t forget to mention it in the URL section of your bio.

Understand Your Brand

The Instagram influencer industry is more saturated than ever so you must create your own brand and stick to it. Your account needs to serve a specific purpose to get the desired results.

At first, it will be tricky to find a specific niche. Play around with different kinds of content, be spontaneous, and see what your audience likes, what you enjoy creating, etc. these initial experiments will help you understand your brand. Once you have this sorted, it’ll be easier for you to navigate.

Style Your Food

Before taking pictures and videos of your food, make sure you style the subject. You need to put out aesthetically pleasing content that not only looks great on the feed but also grabs attention. Here are a few ways to style your food for better content.

· Choose background wisely

The background can make or break your food pictures and videos. Choose a textured background like wood, marble, or slate to make the food look good. You can also go with a natural backdrop, pastel colors, or a simple white background. The more pictures you take, the better you’ll understand what background works best for every food.

· Use Props

You must’ve seen many food accounts on Instagram. Ever noticed how smartly they place small props around the food? These props can make any subject more attractive. You can use kitchenware, flowers, books, candles, etc.

Photograph Your Food

After styling your food, it’s time to take photographs and record videos. If you’re a newbie, you can take a photography or videography class to understand better angles, equipment, etc. Here are some tips to amp up your photography:

· Use Natural Light

The food looks great in natural light. You need to take your pictures in daylight and use a diffuser to get soft, diffused light. This helps bring out the vibrant colors and crisp textures of your food.

 

· Experiment with Angles

The top angle works best for food pictures, but when making videos you can capture the details from the sides. It’s better to experiment with different angles according to the food type and post the ones that turn out the best.

· Editing

Make sure you use good editing software to make your pictures crisper and clearer. Don’t go overboard or put weird filters that change the actual color of the food items. This will make your food look unappetizing, so make sure to stick to edits that enhance the natural color and texture of the food.

Get Smart with Captions and Hashtags

Creative captions can help you engage with your audience and generate more comments. Think of something that describes the image as well as reflects your style and personality. You can use humor, emojis, or any creative element to make them unique and catchy.

Hashtags are also important for your posts because they optimize them for better engagement. Think of the keywords people search on Instagram and add them to your post. For example, if you’re posting a picture of your breakfast, use hashtags like #food, #breakfast, #instafood, #foodlover, #instayum, etc. Many bloggers add irrelevant hashtags to gain more visibility, but it leaves a negative impression on the users. So it’s best to stick to simple and relevant hashtags.

Utilize Instagram Features

Instagram offers many features that help bloggers and influencers gain more engagement. Utilize features like stories, and polls, ask questions and highlight your most-loved of favorite content on your profile by pinning the posts or adding to highlights.

Reels are also a great way to get more attention. Make interesting videos and see what works with your audience. You can also share them on Facebook to reach a wider audience. To be a good creator, you need to be a great consumer. Make sure you’re following other food bloggers too. Doing this will help you understand what works best with users, how to style your posts, etc. You can also make friends in the community and help each other.

Interact with Your Audience

Besides posting content, you need to interact with everyone. It should be two-way communication. Many bloggers don’t interact with their audience or reply to the comments, this only works for celebrities, but as a new influencer, you have to interact with everyone. Give them something to engage with, read their comments, offer thoughtful replies, check your DMs and give timely and descriptive responses. This will help others remember you and also grow your following.

You can also share funny stories about your life, behind the scene videos, or arrange giveaways. There are many ways to interact and engage with your audience and make the most of them.

Know Your Audience

One of the most crucial tips to grow as an influencer on Instagram is to know your audience. Focus your content on those who follow you. For example, if most of your audience is 18-25 year-olds, create content accordingly and share a meme here and there because young people love that.

Also, you need to check the time when most of your audience uses their Instagram and create a posting schedule accordingly. You can also build some anticipation for your posts. Post a few stories to get the audience’s attention and let them wonder what it’s going to be about. Add a countdown sticker. This way, your audience will be curious to check your post.

Use Instagram Ads

You can also use the Ads feature to boost your posts. It requires some amount and displays your account on other people’s feeds. Instagram also offers analytics to help you track your growth and reach. Use analytics to create a better strategy to grow your reach.

Follow Irina Bukatik for more Food Blogging Content

Hi there! I’m Irina Bukatik, a travel and food blogger who wants to take you on an exquisite journey with me. I love celebrating food and sharing my love for different cuisines and cultures here. If you’re thinking of starting your food blog or already have one, my website has many tips and tricks to offer that I’ve learned over these years.

I share my incredible travel experiences, discuss top culinary and foodie destinations around the world and help fellow local food bloggers. Reach out to me now for more details.

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