Choosing Your Username
Once you’ve done your research and have a niche in mind, (something you’re interested in), it’s time to choose a username. Usernames need to be simple, memorable, and straight to the point. The better your username, the more of an advantage you will have on Instagram.
Here are some basic guidelines:
Do not use numbers in your username.
Using numbers in your username will only confuse people and will hurt your ranking on Instagram's search. If you start a page called "puppyphotos31" that posts puppy memes, what's to stop someone else from making a page called: "puppyphotos32." It will simply leave everyone very confused. The only exception is if the numbers are directly related to your niche, such as "420humor."
Use your niche’s keyword first.
Trucks daily will always be a more effective username than daily truck posts.
When looking for a username, you want to make sure that your main keyword is first, as that is what people will be searching for.
Underscores are ok if you are separating words.
I actually own an Instagram page with an underscore that gained followers extremely quickly. At first, I was skeptical about using an underscore, but it actually proved to be more effective because I could isolate my keyword.
Something like trucks_daily is a really good username. Another tip is to try to only use two words when using underscores. Truck_posts daily isn't a username that you would want.
Don’t make your username too long.
This one isn't a huge deal, but if you can, try to pick a username that is short and to the point.
There’s no need to stress out about finding the perfect username. You can always change it later on down the road by simply going into your account settings. Also, if you’re getting stuck trying to find an available username, try looking at the account names of some larger accounts in different niches.
This will help you generate some ideas for your specific niche. Here are some examples to get you started:
Truck_daily truck_domination truck lover food fitness_mentor yoga posts daily cooking_clips You get the idea. Just try and make sure that the word people will be searching for, is first.
Setup
After you’ve secured a username that you feel is worthy of your niche, it's time to begin setting up your page to look as professional as possible. Take your time when choosing a profile picture, a description, and the title of your Instagram page.
It’s a good idea to have a custom designed profile picture to match the name of your Instagram page. If you are familiar with Photoshop, you can do this quite easily using their tools. If you don’t have Photoshop, you can use Pixar, which is a free and more basic version of Photoshop.
Lastly, if you have no Photoshop skills whatsoever, you can head on over to fiverr.com and pay somebody five bucks to design a custom logo and profile picture for your new Instagram page. If you have a really long username, it might be a good idea not to include your username in the profile photo. Look around at what your competitors are doing, take note of what profile pictures they are using and ask yourself how you can do it better. You want a profile picture that will entice people to click on your Instagram page, something bold that stands out.
If you are starting a truck page, you’ll probably want to have the most badass truck picture you can find as your profile picture.
When writing the title of your Instagram page, it’s important to include your keyword as the first word, just like your username. So if you are running a funny meme’s page, the title of the page should be something like: “Humor Daily.”
Finally, in the description of your Instagram page, you’ll want to write something short and simple about what your Instagram page is all about.
Another good idea for your description, is to add some sort of contact information, such as an email address or a username. By adding your contact information, you are leaving yourself open to network with other Instagram accounts.
It is also a good idea to get a hashtag started for your Instagram account. You can do this by writing in the description a little snippet that looks something like this:
“Tag #truckpostsdaily to be featured on our page!”
This lets new followers know that if they post a picture of their truck, and use that hashtag, they can be featured and promoted on your page. By doing this, you will increase exposure to your Instagram page, and will also find free content that you can use to post on your Instagram page.
Before getting followers…
Before you go out and hunt for followers, it's important to add some content to your Instagram page, so that your page doesn’t look plain or abandoned. I’d recommend posting at least 10 photos on your page, before you go out and start following people. You’ll want these 10 photos to be unique and eye-catching, so take your time when looking. A great place to look for photos to post on Instagram, is Pinterest and Tumblr. Post something popular that a lot of people already like and have responded to on these other social media websites.
Think of some clever Captions to use with these first photos, and make sure that you use your hashtag with each post.
People are not going to want to follow and Instagram page that has no captions, because it looks like you are just a robot automatically throwing pictures out on your Instagram page.
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