How To Support Creatives and Business Owners on Instagram

So you have a friend who owns a business and you'd like to support them. LOVE IT. You're already winning just by reading this.

But then - eeks. You get stuck in HOW to support them without just giving them all your money. Understandable.

P.S. THANK YOU for not asking them for a discount because you know their worth and that this is how they make a living - yay you!

With the Instagram algorithm changing basically daily, and making posts harder to stand out, it's been really tough as a business owner to keep up.

Essentially, most of us have to pay to "boost" a post in order to be seen by our following. But you know what? There are other ways we can be noticed organically - and you can help!

If you're curious about how you can support creatives and business owners on Instagram with the ever-changing algorithm, this post has a few real quick ways you can do just that!

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Really, there are 4 main ways you can support those creatives you're inspired by:

1. INTERACT

Interact with those you're inspired by!

Liking a photo is helpful, but with likes going away and the recent changes in the algorithm, commenting is where it's at. Photo's that receive comments with more than 4 words get bumped up on the algorithm. This organically helps the post be viewed by more people, directly on their feeds.

Also, interact with their stories! Use the emoji interactions or respond with a message. Vote in their polls and ask questions in the widget. This will help the stories get pushed to the front so more of their following can see it, too.

BONUS BIZ TIP: Do your best to make it easy to leave a personalized comment by ending your captions with a question.

Take note, business owners: Instagram rewards businesses who connect authentically with their following.

2. SAVE THEIR POSTS

This one is new and it's huge for the algorithm.

On the far right corner under a photo, there's a little flag. That's a save button. When you long press, you can throw this photo into any category you choose.

These categories are private and are a great way for you to come back to later. (I have ones for photos I'm inspired by, recipes, quotes, and home decor envy.)

It's so simple and yet it's crazy effective.

3. SHARE THEIR POSTS

I get so excited when my couples share their photos! I'm sure your friend will get excited, too!

Ultimately, though, when you share their posts/photos (and please don't throw a filter on it) you are sharing their passion and their brand.

Sharing a post of theirs on your story helps the algorithm. Sharing a photo in your feed and tagging their profile is also super helpful!

4. REVIEW & RECOMMEND

Who do you trust more: A person obviously self-promoting themselves, or your BFF who just had a phenomenal experience with their wedding photographer?

OBVI the BFF.

Reviews on sites where the business owner is listed helps tremendously. I also share testimonials on my website (check them out here) to help share the experience others have had with me.

Sharing YOUR words instead of mine is WAY more authentic.

Personally recommending them is a whole other level. There is no lead like a personal referral lead. Trust has already been slightly built, now we can just show them how we follow through.

Also - I'm always stoked when my married couples are at the current weddings I'm working. We're one big family!

Sharing is the BEST WAY to show others what all the hype is about!

Final thoughts:

Thank you for taking the time to read this post. I really hope you found it helpful and a little more attainable. Business owners, take these tips as a way to navigate how we should be interacting with our following. We should be posting things worth sharing and worth talking about. It's our job to start the conversation! What does that look like for you?

Friends of creatives: In a way, these tips can help you too! If you're inspired by your friend, and you take a moment to do any of these 4 things, it notifies Instagram that you want to see more from them.

Yes, you can "turn on notifications" for their posts, but if you don't want your phone to fill up with a million notifications everyday, this is a great way to make sure your faves actually show up in your feed.

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