How I grow my Instagram account with consistent Instagram posts

Jacky Tan — Sat, 20 Mar 2021 12:36:27 +0000

Introduction

Ever wonder how some of the Instagramers able to keep a consistent content calendar? Essentially, they are using Canvas for designs, Later, Buffer, or HootSuite to schedule the posts - manually crafting the content.

Good thing there are APIs to generate Instagram posts for this.

I'm the founder of APITemplate.io - Saas services that auto-generate images and PDFs with a simple API or with Zapier or Integromat. You can find the APITemplate.io API Reference

This is an experimental project to try out the idea that whether I can grow a new Instagram account with consistent Instagram posts.

The idea is to eat my own dog food - it forces me to design my product in the eye of designers and also improve the quality and usability of the product at the same time.

Eventually, I grow the Instagram account to 1.2k subscribers within 3 months with minimal effort and just an Airtable for text content also a reusable image template.

The lessons learned

(i) Content generation takes time

You may become across the phrase "Content is king". However, the majority of people think that it should happen by magic. Unfortunately, creating content takes time and commitment to create visual or written content.

(ii) Consistency is the Key to Success

Consistency is key to success in social media marketing. You must be consistent in order for your audience to recognize your brand. Staying consistent in your brand helps you to grow in audience engagement and reach.

Posting Instagram posts at random and haphazard times is not going to help you to grow your brand. You are lucky to attract users in the beginning, but the initial traction is not going to last if there ain't any good content.

The Implementation

In the first version, I was using Python and Puppeteer to build the workflow to generate Instagram posts. It ran smooth for a month or two, then I encountered various issues. Eventually, I made a switch over from Python to the NoCode way, which offers better stability.

(1) The Python way to create images

The prerequisites

The Python Code to Generate Instagram Content

import requests, json

def main():
    api_key = "6fa6g2pdXGIyxHRhVlGh7U5Vhdckt"
    template_id = "79667b2b1876e347"

    data = {
        "message": "The greatest glory in living lies not in never falling",
        "author": "Nelson Mandela",
    }

    response = requests.post(
        F"https://api.apitemplate.io/v1/create?template_id={template_id}",
        headers = {"X-API-KEY": F"{api_key}"},
        json= data
    )

if __name__ == "__main__":
    main()

The JSON response

{
   "download_url":"https://bucket.s3.amazonaws.com/91f62769-69e4-48bf.jpeg",
   "template_id":"cd890b2b199c5c42",
   "transaction_ref":"28f37353-69e4-48bf-b890-7a01c3a57e48",
   "status":"success"
}

The next step is to post the image to Instagram. If you own a non-business account, the only way now is to use Puppeteer to post the image https://github.com/transitive-bullshit/puppeteer-instagram. You might encounter various issues with using Puppeteer.

There are some posts on stackoverflow using different libraries for Instagram posting. I tried some of it and ran into different issues.

In order to cut the hassle, it is better to use NoCode platforms such as Zapier or Integromat to post the images on behalf of you.

(2) NoCode Way

The tutorials of using Zapier or Integromat as follows:

Automate Image Generation with Zapier

Automate Image Generation with Integromat

Conclusion

In the tutorial, I walked you through the process of image generation with Python and also offer the NoCode solution.

Automating the tedious workflow can free up your time and you can focus on other crucial and creative work, APITemplate.io can be the solution in your digital marketing toolbox.

DEV Community: Jacky Tan