Make a Successful Instagram Fanpage

Instagram isn't just a quick, fun way to share your life with friends and family — it's also a great way to create pages dedicated to your interests! If you've got a smart phone with an internet connection, you can easily create and run your own fanpage to honor your favorite celebrity, hobby, book, movie, and more. Learn how to set up a dedicated fan account, start using your account, and get noticed by other fans. Also find tips on building the best possible fan account.

Steps

Signing Up for an Account

  1. Download Instagram. Making your own Instagram is easy and fun — if you've ever made a profile on social media (like Facebook, etc.), the process should be a cinch! To begin, visit the Instagram home page on your mobile device. At the bottom of the screen, you should see links for the various versions of Instagram. To begin, download and install the appropriate version to your device.
    • It's also possible to get Instagram directly from the Google Play Store, Apple App Store, or Windows Phone Store.
  2. Sign up for a new account. Once you've downloaded and installed the Instagram app, open it. On the first screen, you should see three options: Register with Facebook, Register with Email, and Log In. Unless you already have an Instagram account, you'll want to choose one of the first two. The decision is yours, though, if you already have the Facebook app installed on your phone, registering with Facebook is probably the quickest and simplest option.
    • Another thing to think about is the possibility of cross-promotion. If you want your fanpage to take off, linking your Instagram to your Facebook account can allow you to make sure that your Facebook friends stay up-to-speed on your Instagram activity.
  3. Supply your account information. On the next screen, you'll be asked to choose a username and password. If you chose to register with your email, you'll also be asked to supply a valid email address. In addition, you can list your name and phone number, though you aren't required to. Compared to many social networking sites, the amount of information you need to provide to make an Instagram is minimal.
    • Since you're making a fanpage, you may want to opt for a username that reflects the celebrity, hobby, or interest your page is devoted to. This can be simple and direct, like "Belieber2020" for a Justin Bieber fanpage, or a little more subtle, like "SurfBoard247" (referencing the lyrics to "Drunk in Love") for a Beyonce fanpage.
  4. Add your contacts. On the next screen, you'll be asked whether you'd like to add Facebook friends who are also members of Instagram to your new network. After this, you'll be asked whether you'd like to add members of your phone's internal contact list. If you're interested in having the most successful fanpage possible, you will probably want to consent to both of these so that you can follow as many people as possible and boost your profile. After accepting (or declining) Instagram's friend-search service, you'll see a list of "Suggest Users" you may want to check out. After browsing through these users and following which ever you please, you'll be brought to the main screen of your new Instagram profile.
    • Congratulations! You're ready to start building your fanpage. In the next section, we'll learn how to use our Instagram so that we can make a truly awesome page.

Getting Started

  1. Explore your new account. You're now ready to start building your fanpage. First, however, it's wise to familiarize yourself with the app. Use the five buttons at the bottom of the screen to navigate the various parts of Instagram. From left to right, these buttons are:
    • House: Takes you to your home screen. Here, you can see activity associated with your account — both the things you have recently posted and the things the people you're following have recently posted.
    • Compass: Takes you to the "Explore" page. Here, you can see quality content from a selection of random Instagrammers.
    • Circle in square: Takes you to the camera screen. You'll use this to take and upload photos and videos.
    • Heart in speech bubble: Takes you to your "News" page. Here, you can see the activity on your posts. Whenever someone comments on or likes your post, you'll see it here.
    • Silhouette: Takes you to your profile page. Allows you to view and edit your posts and personal settings. Additionally, from here, it's possible to search for and view other users' profiles.
  2. Take your first photo. If this is your very first account and you'd like to get started right away, use the steps below to walk yourself through the process. It's simple and easy — you'll be a natural in no time.
    • To begin, click the button at the bottom of the screen that looks like a circle inside a square. This will bring up a camera app that allows you to take pictures with your cell phone and apply dazzling filters to make them look gorgeous. You can also take short videos — simply bring up the video recorder with the movie camera icon in the bottom right of the camera screen.
    • Once you've taken a photo, pick a filter from the list that appears at the bottom of the screen. There's no right or wrong filter to pick for any given photo, so choose one that you like! From this screen, you can also adjust the brightness of the photo and tamper with a variety of advanced options by clicking the buttons at the bottom of the image. When you're done, click the arrow in the top right to proceed.
    • Finally, on the next screen, you may add a short caption or description to your photo if you want to. You can also tag people in the photo, specify where the photo was taken, and, if desired, share the photo on other social networks. When you're done, click the check mark in the top right to finalize your post.
  3. Add a photo from your gallery. It's important to know that, with Instagram, you don't have to take all of the pictures you post right before you post them. On the camera screen, if you click the button in the bottom left that looks like a square made out of smaller squares, you can access your phone's gallery. This allows you to post pictures or videos that you've taken in the past and even ones that you've downloaded from the internet.
    • You may find this option useful, especially if you're making a celebrity fanpage. Unless you plan on stalking your favorite celebrity, you may find that it's easiest to get good photos of him/her from the internet. A good first photo for your fanpage might, for instance, be a glamour shot you've downloaded from the internet into your phone's gallery. Or, it might be a candid, charming snapshot taken backstage. It's up to you!
  4. Follow someone. When you're following someone, any posts s/he makes will appear on your main Instagram "feed". If you follow enough people, you'll have something new to see almost every time you log in. To follow someone, go to your profile page by clicking the silhouette icon in the bottom right. Click the magnifying glass icon at the top of the screen and type in a name or term you want to search for. For instance, if you're looking for accounts related to Jennifer Lawrence, you'd simply type in "Jennifer Lawrence". Click the magnifying glass icon again to bring up a list of profiles that match your search terms. Click on a profile, then, on the next screen, if you like what you see, click "+ Follow".
    • If you're running a celebrity fanpage, following your favorite celebrity's official Instagram account is a must. However, you may also want to want to follow other fan pages, especially ones that are already popular. Since the people who view these fan pages can see you in the list of the page's followers, doing this is a way to promote your own page in addition to getting a steady stream of content to view for yourself.

Getting Noticed

  1. Use popular hashtags. Like Twitter and other social networks, Instagram uses a system of keywords marked with hashtags to make certain types of content easier to find. If a user searches for a certain keyword, posts containing this keyword as a hashtag will come up in the search results. When you want to help a post get noticed, label it with a very popular hashtag to ensure it's included in as many users' search results as possible. However, make sure the hashtag is a relevant one — using a hashtag that makes no sense just because it's popular can seem shamelessly attention-seeking.
    • For more information on how to use hashtags, see How to Hashtag on Instagram
    • As of June 2014, the 10 most popular hashtags on Instagram were: #love, #instagood, #me, #tbt, #follow, #cute, #photooftheday, #followme, #like, and #tagsforlikes.[1]
  2. Have a relevant username. Having a username that is somehow connected to the subject of your fanpage can help others find your profile when using search terms related to the subject. If you didn't choose a fanpage-appropriate username when you created your profile, you may want to change your username to something more fitting. This is easy — simply go to your profile page by clicking the silhouette icon in the bottom right of the Instagram app. Click "Edit Your Profile" in the top right. From here, you can change your username, as well as all of the other information associated with your profile.
  3. Have an appealing profile pic. The very first part of your profile people will see is your profile picture, which displays next to your username in search results. If this picture is left blank, people may assume that your profile isn't frequently updated, leading them to investigate others. Turn more random Instagrammers into followers by inviting them to your page with a memorable profile picture.
    • Since you're running a fanpage, you'll probably want your profile pic to be related in some way to the subject of your page so it's extra-obvious to users viewing search results what your page is about. For instance, if your fanpage is dedicated to the Harry Potter films, you might want a picture of the iconic lightning-bolt logo or a close-up of your favorite actor in costume.
  4. Encourage participation. Instagramming is a give-and-take experience. By posting content, you give your followers something to view and and enjoy, fulfilling one side of the bargain. However, the most successful Instagrams also get their followers to contribute by liking, commenting, and sharing your posts. Use your ability to give your pictures captions to encourage your followers to participate in a dialog or share their thoughts on relevant topics. The bigger the conversation, the more you'll get noticed.
    • One popular way Instagram users get their followers to participate and interact with each other is to invite their leaders to comment or respond to questions in their posts. For instance, try posting an image and giving the caption "QOTD (Question of the Day)", followed by a relevant question, like "What's your all-time favorite scene from this show?"
  5. Promote your Instagram on other social networks. If you're already a member of popular social media communities like Facebook, one great way to boost your Instagram followers is to share your Instagram posts on these other sites. When you're about to make a post, use the "Share" options at the bottom of the screen to allow Instagram to post your new content on both Instagram and the social media site you chose. Doing this lets you maximize your audience with a minimum of work.
    • You may have to provide login details for your social media profile and give Instagram permission to post on your behalf if you haven't already done so.
  6. Interact with others. If you want to win the love of other Instagram users, you'll need to give some love as well. Don't be a "ghost follower" — someone who follows another user, but never comments or likes any of his or her posts. Be an active member of the fan community by regularly interacting with the people you follow. Commenting on their posts, responding to their conversation prompts, and mentioning them specifically in your own posts can help you become a full-fledged member of the fan community and gain more followers of your own.

Being a Great Fan

  1. Pick a theme for your site. While the details of your fanpage are up to you, you may find that you're more successful if you give your fanpage a theme that's a little more focused than "posting general pictures and videos of your favorite celebrity, hobby, or interest". These types of general fanpages can become quite successful, but they're less likely to be memorable — to really stick out from the pack — than if they have a great specific concept.
    • For example, let's say we're making a Jennifer Lawrence fanpage. We could update the page with pictures of Jennifer Lawrence as we come across them, but we might also want to give it a more narrow focus. Posting, for instance, only photos in which Jennifer Lawrence is in-character as one of her movie roles is one way to narrow our Instagram's focus. We could even take it one step further and limit it to photos from the Hunger Games series of movies, though having a focus that is too tight can eventually make it hard to find things to post.
  2. Upload lots of photos and videos. Successful fan pages are ones that are updated frequently. The more often you post pictures and videos to your Instagram, the more often your followers will see your posts, the more often your posts will receive likes and comments, and the more visible you'll be. Keeping active is one of your best tickets to success, so don't be a slouch!
    • When posting photos and videos, don't forget to use a variety of flattering filters. Instagram's built-in filters allow you to lend an artistic flair to even fairly plain images.
  3. Give your photos attention-grabbing captions. Instagram is all about the visuals — beautiful, stunning images are the app's bread and butter. Still, it's important to remember that you always have the option to include a line or two of text with your visuals. Giving your images and videos snappy captions and taglines is a great way to catch your audience's attention. If the text is particularly witty or enjoyable, you'll see your likes and comments for the post soar!
    • For example, if we're making a Game of Thrones fanpage, we might post our images and photos accompanied with little winks and references to the books and show in the accompanying text. For a picture of Daenerys (Emilia Clark) handling her pet dragons, we could go with the relatively straightforward caption "Mother of Dragons", though it'd probably be a little better to go with an amusing pun like "Smokin'".
  4. Keep up-to-date on your fanpage's subject. Making a fanpage isn't super hard, but keeping it relevant can be. The world of social media moves quickly, so keep informed about the latest developments related to your fanpage's subject for the best chance at remaining popular.
    • You'll probably want to subscribe to fan resources to receive the most recent news about the subject of your fanpage. Being a member of an official fan club or email list is a great place to start. You'll also probably want to follow lots of other similar fanpages.
  5. Be picky about what you upload. While any good fanpage should be actively updated, it's not smart to constantly pump out content if it's not any good. If you don't have anything new to post, don't rush out a hasty snapshot simply to have something new posted. It's OK to take days off from Instagram to rest, get inspiration, and wait for new developments in the subject of your fanpage.
    • Try especially to avoid repeating yourself. Re-posting the same images or videos can quickly bore your followers, leading them to unfollow you.
  6. Search other fanpages for inspiration. When all else fails, learn from the best!! Browsing Instagram's wide range of fanpages by searching for your preferred interest, celebrity, etc. in the profile screen's search bar can help you find pages that can guide the development of your own. You should also be following many of these sites to get a steady stream of content to view and to stay abreast of the latest trends having to do with your fanpage's subject.

Related Articles

  • Be a Successful Twitter Fan Account

Sources and Citations

  1. Jump up ↑ http://web.stagram.com/hot/
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