Your Teacher Instagram Account Needs Followers!

If you are a teacher, you know how to make teacher friends.

But how do you get social media followers on platforms like Instagram?

If you need followers for your teacher Instagram account I have some strategies for you.

Remember that the ratio of followers to those you follow does not count for more than an ego boost. Other influencers are the only ones judging other Instagram users for how many they are following back. Brands care about your number of followers only. And so do you, only those following you can potentially buy one of your products!

Facebook Groups

Facebook groups are meant to connect teachers. One of my favorite groups is Instagram Connection for Educators. Periodically this group hosts follow-for-follow threads and you can connect with a large audience of fellow educators.

Some follow-for-follow threads contain people who do not follow back, unfollow after a period of time, or remove their link after collecting for followers. Every crowd has them. My advice is to mitigate where you can (see video below) and then let it go. The time you spend chasing those who should have followed you to “make them” follow back is time you could have been creating content and finding your future organic followers.

Hashtags

Instagram is the home of the hashtag!

Scheduling apps for Instagram (& Pinterest) like Tailwind provide value by suggesting an evaluation of the hashtags you add to a post. Tailwind stores the most recent hashtags you have used and offers them back to you for your next post.

You can use of to 30 hashtags. Hashtags metadata added to your post that other Instagram users can search by to see the posts of those they do not (yet) follow.

The hashtag #TeachersFollowTeachers is a great one to use to connect with a broad base of other teachers. The key is to follow back others when they follow you!

Hashtags are how you can include yourself in the popular groups AND how you can stand out. Many quippy or funny hashtags result in follows too!

Follow Loops

Participating in a “Follow Loop” on Instagram with an educational theme will also help you connected with your tribe.

Follow Loops typically consist of following those who post the same image/hashtag. The agreement is that everyone follows everyone. Realize that if less savvy Insta users do not understand reposts or hashtags some people many not follow everyone.

I like the Follow Loops which include a comment (this one I did recently with the pencil ✏️ was perfect) that is easily recognizable. That way when I see a comment and follow from an account, I can just follow back immediately, I don’t have to look through hashtags.

Best of luck with your teacher Instagram account!
Follow the HotLunchTray on Instagram and comment that you read this post. I’ll follow back!You