Marianna Hewitt: This is How You Get More Followers on Instagram and Twitter

In the business of blogging, it's a numbers game. Growing your social media followers should be a top priority, as it often translates directly to more opportunities as a blogger. There are a few ways to grow on each channel and network, so the tips are a little different for each separate platform.

INSTAGRAM

First and foremost is quality content. Having an overall visually-appealing feed will help you gain followers the instant they come across your profile. At any moment someone can stumble across your profile. Without even clicking on a photo, this person should be able to tell what they will be getting from you in the first nine photos they see on your feed.
1) Develop Your Signature Aesthetic: This goes along with having a clear point of view and a cohesive feed. All bloggers have very specific ways in which they post photos and colors or filters that they avoid. Give yourself a set of style rules and stick to those constraints. This will give your overall feed consistency.

2) Get larger social media accounts to repost your photos: This is the easiest way to gain followers fast. For fashion bloggers, post a strong image of you wearing a brand and tag it in the photo—especially if you know this is a brand that frequently regrams its followers. 

3) Comment and engage: Comment on other Instagrams with photo feeds that are similar to your own. When you comment on another blogger's photos, you're increasing the visbility of your own Instagram handle. When another blogger in turn comments on your Instagram, your photo will show up on the popular feeds of their followers, creating a great opportunity for you to gain new followers.
4) Connect your images to Twitter, Facebook and Tumblr: For Twitter, shorten your caption and include brands if tagging outfits. Likely they will RT you and you can gain followers across multiple platforms at once.
5) Utilize analytic sites like Iconosquare: See what your most-liked and most-commented photos are and post more like them. That's what your followers want to see.

TWITTER

1) Engage, engage, engage: Since I can't always reply to every Instagram comment, I engage a lot more on Twitter and answer all questions on there. Start conversations with bloggers or influencers who are also in fashion—this is a great way to get retweeted, which is the fastest way to gain more followers.
2) Tag brands and influencers. If you are wearing a brand in a blog post, tag them in it and tweet the link. This is not only a quick way to increase followers, but also drives people to your site.
3) Live-tweet events or awards shows: Something that everyone is watching, such as Sunday's VMAs, is the perfect opportunity to live-tweet your commentary throughout. With a live hashtag, you can engage with other tweeters, gain new followers and let your personality shine. Live events are an easy way to connect with strangers on Twitter without feeling awkward—this can help you build up your following and influence on the platform.
4) Cross-market all of your social channels here: This is a good opportunity to add more commentary to Instagrams, Snapchats and blog posts. It can help you gain followers across all your accounts if you're tweeting the links to other social profiles.

From: Harper's Bazaar