How to Build Your Teacher Instagram Account

Using social media to grow your brand can be a wonderful way to meet new people and improve your own practice. The teacher instagram community is an amazing place. I am constantly discovering new ideas and But, it can also feel a little overwhelming when you're starting out. Another, I blogged about four easy steps to help you start your own Teacher Instagram account.

Now that you've started, you might be wondering, what do I do next?  Of course, you'll need to continue to post consistently and intentionally, and engage with other accounts. But what else? Here's what to do next.

 USE HASHTAGS AND OTHER TOOLS.

Instagram has a few different tools available. Let me explain how these work:

• HASHTAGS: Think of this like adding key words or categories to your post. Yes, this can be a way to communicate your message, but this is also a way to get your posts, and account, discovered. Many people make the mistake of only tagging big hashtags in their posts, like #teachersfollowteachers or #iteach. It's totally fine to use these tags, but they won't attract more people to your posts, and here's why: if there are millions of posts with one tag, it would take someone a long time to scroll through and find yours. You want to use hashtags that are specific and don't have very many posts, like #teacherswhoplan or #elementarymathgames. Instagram will allow you to use up to 30 tags in one post. It can be a little obnoxious to read that many hashtags in a caption, so consider adding more tags in a comment. I like to put three hashtags in my caption and then add more in a comment, but you can do whatever works best for you. I would recommend using as many hashtags as you can, especially when you're first starting out, because that will increase the number of categories people could search in and find your post. You can learn more about using hashtags in the Hashtag Strategy Mini Course.
• STORIES: If you don't know what an instastory is, go google it real fast and then come back. Once you've established a following, regular instastories are a great way to stay relevant. You can even share your posts to your story. It can feel a little awkward to talk in a story, but after a few tries, you'll get used to it. People want to see your face and hear your voice! They like to know that you are a real person. 

FOLLOW THE LAW

Your posts on Instagram are your property. Other people's posts are their property. Reposting something without giving credit to the original creator is stealing. It's that simple. If someone sees that you have reposted their original image and not given them credit, they can press charges. Here are a few articles that discuss the legality of reposting:

• This post from Later talks about reposting any content, and some of the unspoken, but accepted "rule" on Instagram about this
• This article from a legal journal discussing Instagram's TOU and a few lawsuits about reposting photos

​Let me say it again, for the people in the back. RESPOSTING WITHOUT CREDIT IS STEALING. And if you repost something with credit, but appear to claim it as your own work, it's basically stealing. Just don't do it. If you see something you want to share, search out the original creator and give them credit. Bonus points if you ask them for permission. 

BE A REAL PERSON

Think of your favorite teacher accounts that you follow. Chances are, you follow them because you feel a connection with them. Watching their stories and reading their posts makes you feel like you know them. You can have this kind of connection with your followers, too! 

• Talk about your life! It can be easy to hyper focus on your teaching, your business, your brand, your products, etc. when you are creating content for your Teacher Instagram account. But...people actually want to know about your non-teaching life, too. Make sure your posts have a good mix of content about your life AND your teaching. 
• Put yourself in your account. You need to have a picture of yourself at least in every scroll of your page. (Every 9-12 photos). This ensures that whenever someone visits your profile, they can easily see who you are and put a face to your account. These photos don't have to all be selfies, or professional glamour shots, but your followers want to know who you are! Remember, you want to find friends, not followers, and part of that is getting to know you. 
• Don't obsess about being perfect. One of my favorite people I've discovered on the internet, Alison Faulkner of The Alison Show, said that when you're presenting yourself online, you should try to be your best version of a real person. Wear what you want, say what you want, talk about what you want, etc. There isn't a certain standard you need to meet in order to be a real person.
• Ask questions! The best way to get engagement on a post is to ask a question at the end, but asking questions also makes you look like a real person. If you only offer advice, but never seek it, you appear untouchable. Asking for help allows you to connect with other people more authentically.
• Be yourself. This seems self explanatory, but sometimes this is the hardest part for me. If I see that someone I follow posted a picture of their math station rotations, I think I need to post about my math rotations. If I see a lot of instastories about self care, I think I need to talk about self care. Now it's good to talk about math rotations and self care, but if that's not what you're passionate about, it's more important to talk about your passions.

BE CONSISTENT

I seriously cannot say this enough times. An essential part of starting and building your Teacher Instagram is showing up, and showing up consistently. Think of it like developing relationships with the people who follow you. 

Sometimes it can feel like everyone else on Instagram knows all these secrets that you don't know. I want to debunk some of the myths and help YOU create a successful instagram account for your teacher business. You can find more Teacher Instagram Tips here.