Instagram is a great way to grow your following and become well-known among your niche. It’s also a place where you can build relationships with potential customers, influencers, and even brands that could end up collaborating with you in the future. The first thing that you should know about Instagram is that it’s all about the visual. Most of the posts are images, and only some people will post videos on their feed. What does this signify for your marketing plan? It means that you need to focus on how good your photos look! If they’re not high quality or don’t have a compelling caption, then no one will want to follow you. Luckily there are some easy hacks for getting more followers on Instagram so take these 10 tips with you as we go through them below.
1. Post at least once a day.
If you want to gain more followers then posting every single day is the best way to do it! You can post images or videos, but make sure that they are of good quality and your caption is on point with relevant hashtags.
2. Use popular hashtags in your posts.
Hashtags allow other people who search for those tags to find you so try using them as much as possible! Your photo will be placed under whatever hashtag you use (you don’t even need lots of letters) if anyone else uses that same tag on their posts too. Try searching #InstagramTips or #GrowthHacking for some examples of how it works.
3. Be active on Instagram outside of posting.
Interact with other people’s posts, like them and comment! This will make you seem more likable to your followers so they’ll want to check out what you have to say too. You can even search hashtags that are relevant for your business (like #marketing or #business) and see who is using those tags in their photos. Then like some of their pictures and leave a nice compliment for them – this goes a long way when building relationships online!
4. Use popular apps within the community.
There are lots of third party applications that allow users to grow faster than usual without doing much work themselves such as: Follow-liker, Mass Plan, Instagress, and many more. Make sure to do your research on these apps before downloading them as some of the Instagram rules don’t allow for those types of applications and you could get banned from using their site altogether!
5. Ask for likes/comments
Don’t be afraid to ask someone else to like or comment on one of your photos or videos. There’s no shame in asking a friend (that follows you) if they can also give some feedback; this will make it seem more real and authentic, plus every single new interaction counts towards growing that number higher!
6. Use the bio section effectively
The first few sections in your Instagram bio are visible online, which means you should use this space wisely! Make sure that it has links within so people can click on them and learn more about who you are or where they can go if interested in buying something from your store. You could even include some coupons & discounts as well as other noteworthy information such as: contact info, hours open, etc. If you’re a blogger or vlogger, be sure to add links within your bio so people can click on them and visit your website/blog.
7. Don’t be afraid to DM (direct message)
Don’t be afraid to DM those with large followings that will likely respond back! These influences want their name out there too – ask them questions directly related to their business and see if they’ll give an answer in a post or in their own feed.
8. Be consistent with your branding
Your followers should be able to recognize you from the moment they scroll past it in their timeline, so make sure that all of your posts are similar and have the same feel/look! It’s ok if this takes time as practice makes perfect when it comes to getting good at photography & editing photos on Instagram too – don’t give up easily!
9. Don’t post too much
You want to keep people’s attention with every single social media post you do, so refrain from posting more than once a day unless your followers are avid Instagram users who will not get tired of seeing your posts all the time!
10. Be creative with captions and descriptions
A lot of people don’t realize that you can edit any caption or description to make it more appealing, so be sure to utilize this feature within Instagram as much as possible when sharing photos & videos! There are some accounts out there who have a great sense of humor and use their writing skills rather than just posting pretty pictures for followers – do what works best for YOU though!
11. Create a “story” within Instagram
You can create your own video story and share it with the world. Just like any other post on Instagram, you’ll need to make an exciting movie then upload it using the ‘Your Story’ button for 24 hours before sending it into the archive where they will remain available forever! To get back at them later just go through their saved highlights or add some extra details that are sure to make people want more.
12. Use polls on Instagram Stories every once in a while
It’s another great way for influencers to connect with their followers, plus people love being able to contribute and have a say about things when appropriate! People will share these widely which is yet another opportunity that may lead some of those who see your post straight onto your profile page as well; win win!!
13. Try out IGTV (Instagram TV)
This feature was created by Instagram & gives users another opportunity to show off what they’ve got via scrolling videos which are up to an hour long rather than just 15 seconds like on stories. It’s an easy way to grow your following if you have a lot of content on the daily which is good enough for TV, so give it a go and see how long before you start getting some followers!
14. Submit your profile page to “People Are Browsing Here”
Instagram has a search function that allows people from all over the world who are looking specifically for accounts related to what they’re searching for – but sometimes those profiles don’t show up easily unless someone mentions them or tags them in their post/photo etc… For example: If I were trying to find my favorite fashion blogger’s account (which would be mine of course), there probably wouldn’t be any specific hashtags included anywhere within his posts because he’s well known enough that his account shows up whenever I search for “fashion blogger” which is great… but if you’re trying to find an unknown influencer, they may already have accounts set to private so it’s important for them to be tagged in posts or profiles somewhere along the way!
15. Share other people’s posts too
This one sounds like common sense but there will come a time on Instagram where all posts by certain hashtags or accounts (that you follow) will appear at the top of your feed and some may get missed along the way… make sure that when this happens, wherever possible, try and repost their content onto YOUR account which not only promotes them but also gives their post more exposure to fans you may not have reached yet!
16. Collaborate
The possibilities are endless when it comes down to this one… if there’s an account that is similar in nature and has a much bigger following than yours, then why not try and reach out? There could be the chance of cross promotion which would definitely benefit both parties involved!! Just remember never ever feel obliged into working with someone because they’re offering “exposure” – stay strong and keep your morals intact at all times as this will allow for organic growth over time rather than fast growth which isn’t always sustainable.
17. Don’t Buy Followers
I’m sure this is something everyone has heard at least once in their social marketing journey… if you see an account that has thousands upon thousands of followers then chances are they aren’t real! Now don’t get me wrong, having 100k may sound great on paper BUT when potential fans attempt to find out more information about you by visiting your profile page the likelihood is they won’t be able to find anything outside of maybe a few photos – so rather than gaining new followers for each upload these will soon become lost in the mix! Not only that but if you have bought followers then brands are likely to be suspicious of this too which will eventually lead them down a slippery slope where even REAL fans may find it hard to trust what they see… so keep your account clean and free from fake accounts, please!!
18. Utilize other social media platform
There are so many options out there today when it comes to promoting yourself via social media, one of which is creating an official FB page that has nothing to do with your actual profile as far as the content shared goes… this way you’re able to post photos and updates just like normal without having any issues regarding what’s appropriate/what isn’t on each platform! Just be sure that if you want people who find themselves on Instagram more frequently than not (like myself) then make sure you link this account up to all of your posts in some way shape or form!! – Don’t forget about Pinterest too!!! This can also be used to increase traffic flow towards blog posts similar to the one you’re currently reading right now – just imagine what would happen if other influencers pinned your blog post/images to their accounts or boards? You’ve got yourself a win-win situation here because not only are you increasing the amount of people who find themselves on Instagram, but also creating an opportunity for sales and more brand awareness in general!
Keeping it real. It sure takes a lot of effort to grow your followers but always remember these tips:
There are so many options out there today when it comes to promoting yourself via social media, one of which is creating an official FB page that has nothing to do with your actual profile as far as the content shared goes… this way you’re able to post photos and updates just like normal without having any issues regarding what’s appropriate/what isn’t on each platform! Just be sure that if you want people who find themselves on Instagram more frequently than not (like myself) then make sure you link this account up to all of your posts in some way shape or form!! – Don’t forget about Pinterest too!!! This can also be used to increase traffic flow towards blog posts similar to the one you’re currently reading right now – just imagine what would happen if other influencers pinned your blog post/images to their accounts or boards? You’ve got yourself a win-win situation here because not only are you increasing the amount of people who find themselves on Instagram, but also creating an opportunity for sales and more brand awareness in general!
– Be patient.
It takes time for people to get used to your profile and what you’re all about, so don’t be disheartened if it’s not an overnight success story! There are some influencers out there who have been doing this for years who STILL struggle with getting their message across – just keep at it & do the best that YOU can possibly do each day!
– Be authentic.
There’s nothing worse than following an influencer who seems to have the perfect life because chances are that they don’t – I’m not saying this from experience or anything… but you’ll see what I mean when your favorite blogger starts posting less and less over time until eventually there is a gap in their posts for days, weeks etc… then suddenly out of nowhere comes up with a fancy new car/house/wardrobe full of designer labels etc.. yes it’s very nice to imagine that things like these can happen BUT also remember that Instagram isn’t about materialistic items!! It’s much more important to be relatable rather than rich & famous so make sure YOU’RE portraying yourself as such!
– Be creative!
Instagram is a place to be artistic, so use all of your favorite filters, edit photos in different ways with the tools given to you by Instagram itself or through third party apps/software if needed… have fun!! There are so many opportunities for creativity when it comes down to growing your following via this platform – just try not to get too carried away and forget about practicality along the way.
– Don’t give up!
This one sounds like a bit of an obvious statement but I have seen people struggle with their accounts for weeks on end before they finally decide that it’s just not worth it anymore… don’t let yourself fall into this category because there IS definitely light at the end of the tunnel when it pertains to growth on Instagram.
– Stay active.
The reason why I mentioned being REAL in the point above is because what you post should be representative of your own personal life – so don’t let it become a chore! Make sure that if something exciting has happened to YOU recently then share it with your audience who are just as likely to have been through similar experiences themselves… this makes for great conversation between followers!!
– Have fun!!
Instagram was created as a place where people can express themselves through sharing photos/videos so enjoy every second of it and make sure that your audience can see how much you love doing what you do!! If they sense even the slightest bit of unhappiness within your posts then this is where people will turn off… so stay happy & be confident in yourself at all times and let nothing bring you down.
Conclusion
It takes time for people to get used to your profile and what you’re all about, so don’t be disheartened if it’s not an overnight success story! There are some influencers out there who have been doing this for years who STILL struggle with getting their message across – just keep at it & do the best that YOU can possibly do each day! Make sure that if something exciting has happened to YOU recently then share it with your audience who are just as likely to have been through similar experiences themselves. This makes for great conversation between followers!! Have fun!!