As I mentioned in my previous post I have had my beer Instagram for about two years now and I’ve really enjoyed everything that has come with. I’ve tried countless different beers, I’ve visited more breweries than I ever thought I would, I’ve got to do some pretty awesome collaborations with various breweries and companies, and best of all I got to meet some awesome people! 

I often have people asking me how to start a beer Instagram account or how to grow your followers. Once again, I am not an expert and am not on here to make money or make this my full-time job, but I will share what has worked for me. 

1. Instagram is all about engagement! You want people to follow you? You need to engage with them. Don’t just post a picture and close the app. Respond to comments, answer questions, share others’ photos, respond to your messages, etc. etc. Sure you might get more followers doing this, but this is also how I met some of my closest friends. 
2. Take quality pictures. You do not need to have a fancy camera but take your time staging your pictures and maybe get a basic editing app. I am a fan of Lightroom personally, but there are many options out there. People don’t want to follow accounts that have mediocre pictures that all look the same. Change it up! 

3. Hashtags are your friends! Do a little bit of research on how to utilize hashtags. Pro-tip, save your hashtags to your notepad and just copy and paste them before you post. 
4. Become friends or at least friendly with your local breweries. I am all about supporting local (especially breweries) so I want to share pictures from their brewery, beers I enjoy from them, and any special events they’re having. Breweries will notice this and appreciate it! They often then share your posts to their story, which means more people will see your posts and possibly follow you. 

5. Take a selfie every now and then. I know, I know, many people (*cough* females) get a lot of crap when we take a selfie with a beer. Some think we know nothing about beer and are just trying to gain followers by showing skin. However, this is not true for the females I know who have craft beer Instagram accounts. We have all realized that people enjoy seeing the face (male or female) behind the beers. 

6. Lastly, HAVE FUN! Unless you are trying to make this a full-time job, don’t overthink all your posts, don’t constantly compare your numbers to others, and just enjoy drinking good beer and meeting good people.

Do you have any questions about creating a Beer Instagram and/or blog? Feel free to send me a message or email.