Have you taken part in any social media challenges? They are a great way to build your community. I think they work the best on Instagram - joining in with one is a really good way to grow your audience and connect with like-minded people.
Here are my top 5 tips on Instagram challenges:
How to find them Look out for challenges from your favourite influencers, businesses, designers or membership groups. Also I recommend following my fellow Social Mums Pro Anna, as she posts about upcoming challenges each month
What to do Once you've found a challenge you like the look of, save the post. Most challenges run over a set period of time (often a month or a week). Begin brainstorming what you will post for each of the prompts. Challenges have their own hashtags. Make sure you use this hashtag in every post (or reel, IGTV caption, Story) that you post throughout the challenge. It's a good idea to mention the challenge host in the caption too. They will likely share some (if not all) of the posts from the challenge, helping your post get more views. Scheduling in the posts can help take the pressure off, just remember to engage daily, don't just schedule and then not check in.
Engage with others Follow the challenge hashtag. Regularly look at recent posts using it and engage with them. Take a look at the other accounts taking part in the challenge. Follow those that are relevant and interact with them.
Cross-promote your challenge posts on other platforms Help get your posts seen by as many people as possible. Share your posts and that you're taking part in the challenge on your other social media platforms. Encourage people to come and follow you on Instagram if they're not already. Re-use any graphics you create - don't let your efforts go to waste, repurpose the content for other platforms, blog posts and newsletters.
View your insights Did you gain followers? Did using the hashtag gain additional reach on your posts? Did you enjoy it? Perhaps it meant you tried out a different format for posts, or a different style of content. Did this receive good engagement from your audience? Use the data to decide whether or not it was a good challenge for you to take part in.
And finally, you don't have to post every day or for every prompt in the challenge. They are meant to be fun not arduous! If you're looking for a challenge to start in July, follow Louise @beyondtheschoolrun I've worked with her to create a fun 5 day challenge for her audience. Anyone can join in, and it's a short challenge which is perfect for anyone wanting to give an Instagram challenge a go.
