How do you get more followers on instagram without following back


How to Get Followers on Instagram Without Following

Are you wondering how to get followers on Instagram without following other users?

Following other users to get followed back is a classic strategy to get more Instagram followers. However, it shouldn’t be your ONLY strategy for growing your Instagram account. 

Spam-following Instagram accounts could lead to an unhealthy and unattractive follower-to-following ratio.

Not only will this affect how users perceive your popularity, it can also affect your earnings if you’re an influencer. 

In this post, we’ll uncover the best marketing tips and IG tools to grow your Instagram followers without following other users first. 

Table of Contents

  • 7 ways to get followers on Instagram without following
    • Schedule Instagram posts at the right time
    • Promote your Instagram profile on other channels
    • Engage comments from other Instagram users
    • Try new content pillars and track results
    • Leverage influencer marketing
    • Run a hashtag contest
    • Get smart with hashtags
    • Use video content
  • Get truckloads of organic followers with Vista Social

7 ways to get followers on Instagram without following

Here are 7 ways to boost your follower count organically and successfully: 

1.

Schedule Instagram posts and post frequently

High-quality and relevant posts win Instagram followers. And if you post frequently, you’ll consistently get more followers. 

It’s that simple. 

However, you can’t just blast a chockful of posts in a row.

You need a posting strategy that aligns your posting frequency and timing to the activity patterns of your ideal Instagram followers. 

Vista Social can help you build an automated posting schedule around optimal times.

To do this, head to “Publishing Settings” and scroll down to “Publishing Queues.” From there, select the Vista Social account entity you want to work with.

Not sure when to publish posts on Instagram? 

For starters, consider posting once or twice during the following times: 

  • 11 AM to 1 PM
  • 7 PM to 9 PM 
  • Monday, Wednesday, Thursday

You can also use Instagram’s built-in Insights tool to monitor the most active times of your existing followers. Just tap ‘Total followers’ in the “Insights Overview” section and scroll to the bottom. 

Suggested Article: 431+ Best One-Word Instagram Captions to COPY & PASTE! [2022]

Image Source: Instagram.com

After building the posting schedule for your Instagram account, the next order of business is to queue up some content. 

This can be done from the “Publish” menu, which can be found right on your dashboard.

In the “Publish” window, build your Instagram post as usual by writing a caption, injecting hashtags, and so on. Just be sure to select ‘Add to queue’ when finalizing your post before you click ‘Next.’

As the final step, you need to decide if your post goes at the top or to the bottom of your queue. 

Vista Social should present you with a visual calendar for an overview of your posting schedule. That will help you decide whether your new post should be published in the soonest available time slot or once everything else in your queue has been posted.  

(Also read: Loomly vs Hootsuite vs Vista Social: Which SMM Platform is Right for You)

2. Promote your Instagram profile on other channels

In most cases, using a “Follow me on Instagram” CTA can help anyone get free Instagram followers. In doing so, you utilize the content and presence you already have in other social channels to bring more attention to your Instagram account. 

For example, on Twitter, you can tweet a follow request with a clickable link attached to your Instagram handle.

Image Source: Twitter.com, @hazardeden10

A long-term strategy is to include a link to your Instagram account in your social media bios and post descriptions on video-sharing platforms. Big-name influencers like Marques Brownlee constantly include a link to their social media accounts, including Instagram, in their content descriptions.

Image Source: YouTube.com/C/MKBHD

If you run a website, embed an Instagram follow button to places that make sense, like your page header, footer, and sidebars. AddThis is the best app to do this if you’re looking to drive new visitors for free. 

Just use the straightforward interface to build your follow button and add the code to your website.

Image Source: AddThis.com

3. Engage comments from other Instagram users

To get more Instagram followers, you need to take on a more active role in engaging your target audience. 

Responding to their comments—be it on your post or that of other popular Instagram accounts—will help you turn some heads. Just be sure to load up on funny things to comment on Instagram to make your brand more likable and approachable.

Suggested Article: 142+ Instagram Poll Questions to Ask Your Followers

Don’t ignore your direct message inbox, either. That’s probably where your most interested leads will attempt to reach you. 

For that, use Vista Social’s Inbox tool to manage all your social media conversations in one place. 

4.

Try new content pillars and track results

When was the last time you reviewed your Instagram content strategy?

If you’re not satisfied with your content’s performance, experiment with other content pillars for Instagram. 

To help you come up with a great idea, here are some examples of Instagram-level content pillars: 

  • Inspirational content — Before and after photos, image quotes, results, etc. 
  • Behind-the-scenes content — Company meetings, lunch outs, team-building, etc.
  • Informative content — Video tutorials, infographics, screenshots, etc.

How do you know which content pillars will work on Instagram?

That’s the fun part—you don’t.

Sure, you can take a look at what your top competitors are doing on Instagram. But there’s no guarantee that they will generate the same results for you.

What you can do is implement a performance tracking strategy using Instagram’s built-in analytics. Or, if you want something more in-depth, you can run a “Post Performance” report on Vista Social.

Within seconds, Vista Social will present you with a detailed report of your social media content’s performance. 

If you scroll down to the “Posts performance” section of the report, you’ll see an overview of each post’s user engagement metrics.

Monitoring these metrics will help you determine which content pillars stick and which should hit the dirt. 

5. Leverage influencer marketing

If you want to gain Instagram followers fast, it’s time to take a more serious approach. 

Influencers can help promote your Instagram account to a wider audience. This, of course, comes with numerous benefits, like gaining followers, ramping up user engagement, and generating leads.

Instagram features Branded Content Tools to make it easy to work with influencers. This lets you whitelist influencers for automatic tag approvals and enable manual approvals for more control.  

Don’t know how influencer marketing works on Instagram? 

You should see brands working with influencers all the time on Instagram. Just look for the “Paid partnership” tag and you’ll know you’ve found one.

For your reference, here’s a paid partnership post between Addicted to Tools and the company Optus: 

Image Source: Instagram.com, @addictedtotools

Below are some ways to work with influencers to gain followers: 

  • Plan a collaborative project: Think of collaboration opportunities like interviews, Q&As, and live virtual events to give the influencer something meaningful to share.
  • Give influencers early access: Ship them free products they can review and encourage them to upload their findings. 
  • Share an influencer’s existing Instagram post: Instagram lets you share your influencer’s existing content as branded ads. 

6. Run a hashtag contest

Promising your target audience a chance to win something valuable is a great way to incentivize following your account. In exchange, you can ask your potential followers on Instagram to simply follow your page, tag their friends, write something creative, or all of the above. 

You don’t need to purchase any tool or hire any service to run contests. Simply come up with a prize, contest mechanics, and content for your contest post. 

There are loads of hashtag contests on Instagram you can use for inspiration.

Image Source: Instagram.com, @ilife_global

In addition to getting more followers on Instagram, hashtag contests will also stir up user engagement. 

Comments, likes, shares—all this will be picked up by the Instagram algorithm. Cumulatively, they will help make your brand more visible on the platform.

There are other Instagram contests you can try:

  • Caption contest: Ask your followers to write the most creative caption they can think of for your image.
  • Trivia question: Ask a question and pick from a winner among users who gave the correct answer.  
  • Voting contest: Pick the top submissions from your audience and run a poll on who should win.

A crucial component of any Instagram contest—not just hashtag contests—is a unique branded hashtag. 

Suggested Article: 487+ Best, Most Popular, Viral Hashtags for Instagram this 2022

This takes us to the next strategy.

7. Get smart with hashtags

It takes a little brainstorming with your team to come up with the perfect hashtags for Instagram marketing. This is especially true if you want to create unique hashtags that you want people to associate with your brand.

If you can’t come up with anything, you can draw ideas using tools like the All-Hashtag. 

To use it, simply enter any word that describes your brand, product, or contest.

Image Source: All-Hashtag.com

Keep in mind that you can choose between top, random, and live hashtags as your search filter. 

  • Top: Find the most-used hashtags related to your keyword.
  • Random: Find hashtags randomly.
  • Live: Find the most recently-used hashtags.

All-Hashtag will provide you with multiple lists of 30 hashtags. To generate more, simply click ‘More hashtags’ under the right list.

Image Source: All-Hashtag.com

These hashtag ideas can be used to increase the searchability of your posts on Instagram. However, using too many of them can make your post descriptions look cluttered. 

Here’s a tip: use Vista Social to automate a first comment that contains these hashtags. 

All you have to do is paste your hashtags in the “Leave the first comment” field when scheduling a post.

8. Use video content 

With the success of TikTok, Instagram rolled out features that focus on short-form videos. 

Instagram Reels, for example, allows brands to reach an engaged audience using videos up to 60 seconds long. You can also publish regular Instagram video posts to catch the attention of your ideal followers.  

For ideas, start with the most viewed Instagram video in your niche. Chances are, you’ll find the following types of videos: 

  • Video posts from influencers and famous people
  • Funny videos
  • Product unboxing and review videos
  • Product demos
  • Videos using trending effects and sounds

There’s also Instagram Stories, which comes with a list of audience engagement features. A good example would be the Questions sticker, which can pique the Instagram crowd’s interest and win over followers—given you know the best questions to ask on Instagram story. 

How to get followers on Instagram without following: FAQs

1. Is it hard to get followers on Instagram?

It’s not hard to get real followers on Instagram if you know the right strategies. Blend a user-oriented content strategy with various promotion tactics, like Instagram Stories and influencer marketing, to get the best results.

2. Does posting daily on Instagram help?

Posting frequently will help your page become more discoverable on Instagram. However, make sure each post is created and published with the same level of commitment to quality, relevance, and timeliness.

3. What is the best time to post on Instagram?

To generate the most interactions, the best time to post is Wednesday evenings between 7 PM and 9 PM. Just be sure to check Instagram Insights to optimize your posting schedule over time. 

4. Can buying followers on Instagram get you banned?

No, you can’t get banned for buying followers or hiring services that aim to get you more followers on Instagram. Just be sure you’re getting real, active followers and not inactive accounts that can’t engage your content. 

5. Can you get verified on Instagram if you bought followers?

Yes and no—there’s no required number of followers to get verified on Instagram. While you need a substantial amount of followers, verification happens to accounts tied to a registered business entity or a real famous person.

(Also read: Sendible vs Hootsuite vs Vista Social: 2022 Review)

Get truckloads of organic followers with Vista Social

You can’t get new followers on Instagram if you just read about the best strategies.  

What you need to do is turn information into action—and find the best tool for the job. 

Vista Social fits the bill perfectly with a combination of post scheduling, user engagement, and analytics reporting features. Get started today by creating a free account.

How to Get Followers on Instagram without Following

Instagram is an image-based social network that can either make or break your brand.  It allows users to tweak photos with interesting image filters and share them. At least, that’s how it started. With over 1 billion monthly active users, people are now motivated to share with a wider audience.

But how can you increase the following on your Instagram account? First, you need to understand what makes Instagram special. In a lot of ways, it is like Twitter. Yet, the focus is solely on pictures and they make it very difficult to use the platform without a mobile device. This means that >90% of users will interact with your profile via the mobile app.

What is Instagram for?

Before you even start your Instagram account, you need to consider what Instagram is generally used for: to inspire or entertain. The most popular Instagram accounts are either really funny, highly engaging, or inspirational — or all three!

This mobile focus changes your content choices. On Twitter, you can post content that invites further reading. Offering more information by linking to a news article or a research paper. Instagram lends itself to content that must be consumed instantly. This is why links do not work in photo descriptions. All the information is to be found within the image and caption, not a doorway to deeper information.

With this in mind, here are five useful tips on how to get followers on Instagram without following:

1. Post frequently.

This may sound obvious. But, most Instagrammers are not posting enough. This is a key reason why many of them have problems building their follower count. They need to post more frequently to the people following them. Many Instagram users check their account many times per day. If you want them to notice your content then you need to have a busy profile.

Once content becomes old, it is less likely to be found. People generally do not search for images via hashtags. That kind of behavior is more common on Pinterest. This means that recent posts consistently garner more attention than older content. This is why regular posting is so important for the growth of your account.

Tuesday and Thursday evenings seem to be the optimal times to post. But, if you have the content, you should be posting every evening and morning. This way you will catch people starting their day and coming home from work. Inspirational content works best in the morning and entertaining content in the evening.

2. Use your website as a gateway.

Your website can become a powerful tool for increasing the number of people following you on Instagram. A simple way to do this is to add a “Follow me on Instagram” button to your site header, footer, and about me page.

In fact, you don’t need to limit yourself to your website. You can also place follow buttons and links wherever you have an online presence:

  • Email signature
  • Facebook page
  • Forum profile
  • Guest post author bio
  • Twitter bio

It can take some time for this to pay off. But, over time you will accumulate paths all over the internet. These paths will lead back to your Instagram account increasing your follower count.

3. Target your efforts. Use the FLC (follow, like, comment) loop.

This is the most effective and most misunderstood way to build your Instagram following. Gaining followers with this strategy is not going to work overnight. It requires some effort on your part. You will need to spend time engaging with other people on Instagram. Here’s how you do it:

  1. Make a list of Instagram users that have similar interests to you. You can use hashtags to ensure relevance. Or, you could check out the followers of a major influencer in your space.
  2. Scan the list of relevant followers. Follow eight targeted accounts that match the demographics of the people you would like to follow you. Don’t follow everyone that follows you! Make sure each of these people has at least 500 followers and a complete bio. This is a good sign that they are active on the platform. Remember, you are not following reciprocally. You need to follow accounts that are going to give you great material to curate. Never play the follow-back game.
  3. Take a look at four of the eight profiles, check their posts and find three photos of each user that you like. Then double tap to show your appreciation.
  4. Take the other four profiles you’ve followed. Look at their content and find at least one post that is comment-worthy. When you find it, post an original comment. Don’t post something generic such as “cool post!” This only works when your comment actually adds value, otherwise you will look like a bot.
  5. Repeat steps 2-4 up to three times per day, preferably in the evening. Make sure you use hashtags to ensure you target relevant accounts. This is the FLC loop. Each loop should take you no more than five minutes, so this tip will only take 15 minutes of your time each evening.

The hidden benefit of this targeted FLC loop is that you generate tons of goodwill with other Instagram users. People will naturally reciprocate. And they will reciprocate with likes and comments instead of simply following. This means you will gain free exposure to their audiences.

Get Instagram Analytics

4. Mention high-profile influencers.

This is like the FLC loop, but instead, you interact with big influencers. You should have a list of prominent influencers that are relevant to your audience. You should judge relevancy on how often they use hashtags related to your niche. Sometimes you will have a post that is somehow relevant to this person’s brand. When this happens, mention them in your photo caption using their @username.

This is another approach that is often misused. If you do this in a way that doesn’t make logical sense, then it will look spammy and you will turn people off. The same goes for leaving comments on high profile accounts. Make sure you have something genuine to say. Quality is far more important than frequency here.

5. Run a contest.

This is a more involved method of growing a following. First, ensure you have the foundation necessary to be successful. Wait until you have at least 1,000 Instagram followers. Once you hit this threshold, you may start running social contests. But, do not overdo it. I would recommend a contest every 3-4 months. You want it to remain an exciting event.

Here are the steps you need to take to host a successful contest:

  1. The prize: Select an enticing prize that is relevant to your brand. If you are really stuck for something creative, start with gift cards. But as you get to know your audience better, you should think of prizes that will be exciting to them.
  2. Easy rules: State the rules of the contest in a post. The contest should involve people taking a certain action. The most effective is asking people to upload certain photos. Be sure to specify a unique hashtag to represent the contest.
  3. Contest hashtag: Monitor your contest hashtag. Choosing a truly unique hashtag is very important. Some people use generic hashtags like #SummerCompetition. If you do this, you may find it difficult to work out which posts are related to your competition.
  4. Winner: Announce a winner. Send the winner a direct message. Also, make a public post announcing the winner.

Repeat this process 3-4 times a year and each time you will notice a significant boost to your following.

This basic process is very simple. As you become proficient with basic competitions, you can try different variations:

  • Ask people to like, share, or comment to enter the contest
  • Ask people to vote for their preferred prize
  • Ask people to tag a friend

These are just some examples. As you spend more time on Instagram you will find unique ways to increase your following by engaging your current audience.

Example of a contest hashtag.

A Recap: How do I get more IG followers?

  • The more you post, the more people will follow you. Recent content is favored over older content.
  • Attract real followers by asking people to follow you on your website. And everywhere else you have an online presence.
  • The FLC loop is the most effective way to build a fanatical following. This builds goodwill with users similar to your ideal follower.
  • You can also increase your following by occasionally highlighting influential people within your niche in the captions of your photos.
  • Run exciting free competitions with meaningful prizes. This makes your Instagram account a source of positive feelings, helping you to gain followers.

Get Instagram Analytics

14 methods to get 1000 subscribers in IG (free + paid)

The first thousand subscribers is a significant number for any blogger, and not only on Instagram. This is an indicator that the content has passed quality control and the process has moved off the ground. For commercial accounts, rising exposure helps increase sales, which is why many brands maintain their Instagram pages.

Before you start gaining subscribers, make sure your profile is complete and you have a content plan. It is important that you post regularly and explore your niche creatively - there will be no chance to make a first impression a second time. With this in mind, let's analyze from simple to complex what tools will help to collect the first thousand followers on Instagram and increase their number further.

Related:
Account design: 25 beautiful profilesHow to manage Instagram (50 chips) from a marketerHow to come up with a nickname on Instagram: 35 ideas for a business account and a personal blog on the internal functionality of the social network. Some tools work on the principle of "tagging": you set a description, hashtags, geotags, etc. , and the social network independently generates recommendations for users.

Other methods work for content diversity. Instagram allows you to create posts in various formats so that every blogger can reach their audience. This is what you will use to increase your reach and increase the likelihood that you will be noticed on Instagram.

1. Hashtags and keywords

They will help you get good coverage, get recommended and attract new followers to your Instagram account. But this will only work if the hashtags are relevant to the topic of your post. And do not abuse high-frequency tags: firstly, your post will be lost in the general stream, and secondly, there is a risk of being shadowbanned.

Use low-frequency tags - under which less than 10 thousand publications are placed, and medium-frequency - from 10 to 500 thousand. They belong to niche search and are more likely to attract the target audience.

For convenience, type a few dozen target hashtags and combine them under posts, but it's better to repeat them less often. The optimal number of tags under the post is up to ten.

And one more tip, which is not related to promotion, but will be useful for setting up an Instagram account. When you write all the hashtags, create a system of your own unique tags that no one uses. They will be needed for easy navigation through different sections of your posts.

Hashtags for publication

An important point that you should pay attention to when promoting on Instagram is the profile header. It is the profile header that is your "face", the first impression of the account. The role of the header is to give a concise answer about what is happening in the profile, to inspire confidence.

Strong text and use of keywords in the header convey positioning and brand benefits, influence the growth of subscriptions and sales. Do not get carried away with writing in a hat, be brief, but understandable. In addition, Instagram only skips 150 characters.

On the left is an example of how not to fill out a profile header, on the right - an ideal profile header

2. Geotags

Geotag your publications. On the map, this will look like a place of interest that can be visited for several reasons. For example, you sell your services there. Geotags can also be placed by your clients (not necessarily bloggers) who maintain their Instagram pages for friends and acquaintances. The person will see the mark on the map, read the post, look at your profile and, if he likes it, subscribe.

Even if you don't have a business, geotagging still makes sense. They help users who are interested in the life and blogosphere of their city. But the main factors determining whether a person subscribes or not remain the thematic niche of the profile and the quality of the content. Subject to all these conditions, it is a great way to get targeted followers on Instagram for free.

Geotags

Life hack. Do you want to save time when working in social networks? To do this, you need SMMplanner, which will automatically publish a post or story with tagged users, geometers and hashtags. You can also set up automatic deletion of posts and comments. Click and test for free -> SMMplanner

3. Participation in challenges

Today you won't surprise anyone with Instagram marathons and challenges, but, nevertheless, in order to attract new subscribers, this method will come in handy. A challenge is a challenge that the account owner throws to his friends, the audience after performing certain actions. The main thing in challenges is not only to do something and show your coolness, but to encourage the audience to repeat after you, accept a challenge or throw a similar one to your friends, close circle, etc.

If the content responds to a large number of people, then they will repost it to their stories, comment, tag you. At first, you can resort to a little trick and arrange a discussion and reposting on a certain topic between you and your friends in order to attract the attention of the audience.

Challenge "10 year challenge"

4. Mutual PR

On Instagram, VP (mutual PR) is another of the coolest ways to gain an audience. It can be used by both novice bloggers and business accounts.

You need to carefully choose partners for mutual PR. They should have a target audience as close as possible to yours, approximately the same number of subscribers - and, of course, the conditions for cooperation should be suitable.

For example, a photographer and a make-up artist can promote each other's pages, since they have approximately the same target audience. In addition, this is an ideal tandem for further cooperation.

Mutual PR on Instagram - stories

5. Joint content (co-authorship)

Not so long ago, Instagram introduced a new user collaboration feature - joint publications and Reels. In addition, today brands, influencers and celebrities are more willing to cooperate than to compete. Now users can invite other people as authors of publications. Co-authorship in the IG will help increase the reach and engagement due to the fact that the post will be seen by a combined audience of all authors.

For collaboration, you can choose a partner not only from your niche. For example, a company selling building materials can cooperate with a furniture factory, and a beauty brand with beauty can cooperate with a blogger.

Co-authorship in IG

To find a suitable author or brand for a joint post, just check the match on the following parameters:

  • Your products/services do not compete with each other;
  • You have a similar target audience;
  • Goods/services complement each other;
  • Human factor: it is better to work with nice people, so your companion should inspire confidence and inspire sympathy.
Influencer and brand co-authorship

6. Blogger commenting

Comment on posts by bloggers with a similar target audience. Write not only an assessment, good or bad, but also ask questions, suggest an idea for the next post. Try to stand out, but delicately, without unnecessary criticism, so as not to end up in a bathhouse. In a word, show keen interest and competence in topics, and new potential subscribers will notice you.

7. Traffic flow

Attracting Instagram followers from other social networks is a great way to increase the number of followers for free at the first stage of promotion. Use all the social networks that you lead. Put a link to your Instagram in all your profiles. Write in the status that you are mastering a new format, publishing a photo of your life in IG.

Next, periodically remind your followers that you now have Instagram and invite them to visit your profile. Share news in posts: for example, you announced on VK that you would not release posts on weekends, you went to the sea, and photos from your vacation will be regularly uploaded to IG. This way you can organically increase the number of followers on Instagram without taking almost any action.

For example, if you have your own business, insert a link to your Instagram on your website, on e-mail newsletters and even Yandex.Maps and Gogle Maps. Thus, you will collect additional traffic from different sites.

Link to Instagram

8. Interactive stories

What is it about? Obviously, by posting regular stories to your profile, you won’t gain new subscribers in any way. This is where interactive stories come to the rescue - "add yours" or "add yours" stickers. Their essence is as follows: this sticker allows everyone to take part in discussions on the site. Users can respond to other people's stories with their photos and videos that match the topic of discussion. I think this is a cool opportunity to promote your profile

Participation in discussions in "Add yours"
  • Instagram games: 32 examples (posts + stories)
  • Instagram Story Ideas: 150+ with Example Stories

9.

Reels

Facebook on Instagram has its Tik Tok analogue — Reels. In this section, you can post videos lasting from 15 to 60 seconds. Track trends, participate in challenges. Here you will also find an audience, draw attention to the blog.

Instagram seeks to promote a new content format. The algorithms of the social network are more favorable to videos made in Reels and display them more often in recommendations. Use this hack to get followers on Instagram before your competitors do.

Reels on Instagram

Important. If you have a TikTok account, you can upload your videos to Reels, but it's better to make them here - Instagram has a negative attitude towards TikTok icons on videos.

10. Tagging posts

Posting a link to your page with other users will draw attention to your Instagram profile and help you gain followers. Ask acquaintances, friends or clients to tag you in a photo or story. So you will collect targeted followers who are interested in the life of not a particular blogger, but also his circle of friends.

Link in the story to the profile

11. IGTV

Instagram allows you to upload long videos up to 1 hour. During this time, you will show your product or the entire new collection in detail, answer frequently asked questions, tell you about the business from the inside, etc. And here you can save recordings of live broadcasts.

This method, like the previous one, works to increase the coverage and recognition of the account. If you regularly post unique, useful and unusual "catchy" content, it will become easier to gain new followers on Instagram.

Long Instagram videos

Related:
IGTV (Instagram TV): complete guide + video chips

12. QR code

Create your own QR code and add it to business cards, ads, any other printed matter. In general, if you use offline advertising, feel free to place a code on it to quickly go to your Instagram account. This will help you gain traffic and expand your audience.

Qr-code on Instagram

13. Manual mass following

The essence of mass following is that you subscribe to users and like their publications. These should not be just random profiles, but your target audience. Seeing such notifications as in the screenshot, users will go to the page, look at posts and stories, and probably subscribe.

Massliking and massfollowing

Lifehack. The easiest way to promote an Instagram account is with the help of automatic mass following. He will independently do all the actions (likes, views of stories, subscription to users) that will promote the account and increase sales. Click and test -> Zengram (Promo code "INSCALEPROMO" -20% for everything)

Paid ways to attract subscribers

It is not easy to promote a page on Instagram with completely free methods, especially in the early stages - to get the first 1000 subscribers, you will have to try. Paid promotion methods will help speed up the process.

This includes external tools that expand the basic possibilities of page administration: show additional statistics, automate actions, wind up followers.

There will also be classic marketing techniques that involve having and planning a budget: targeting, buying ads from other bloggers, holding contests.

1. Targeted advertising

Advertising targeting is not an easy task: to search and segment the audience, design ads, calculate the budget. Each stage involves detailed study. If you are a beginner, then you run the risk of losing money. But the effect of achieving the goal is simply colossal, so targetologists are well paid.

Even if you are just approaching the milestone of 1000 followers and are not confident in your experience, it makes sense to study the principle of action and conduct the first "sighting" targeting with a small budget, and then see how much your number of followers on Instagram has increased.

Targeted advertising on Instagram

Life hack. Do you want to learn how to create vivid photo and video content that your audience will love? Then we recommend taking the course “promotion on Instagram”. After training, you will be able to independently launch targeted advertising, create unique and attractive content to attract new subscribers. Click and sign up for the course -> Promotion on Instagram

2. Advertising with bloggers

People trust other people more. Bloggers are trusted, as they recommend the product as if through their experience, give a balanced assessment with all the pros and cons (if they value their reputation). Therefore, advertising with them is a great way to get subscribers.

There are several criteria for finding the right blogger. First, it must have your target audience. Secondly, evaluate the reputation and credibility. Look in the comments under the posts and see what and how they write to him. And, thirdly, its subscribers must be alive, i.e. not twisted.

Publication from a blogger

Plus, advertising for an Instagram profile does not have to be purchased only in IG. For example, if you have your own women's clothing showroom, you can buy ads from a Tik Tok influencer. Moreover, this platform is gaining popularity with space progression.

Advertising in public

Another equally effective way to promote your profile is advertising in public (and not necessarily in the IG). A strong "exhaust" is given by advertising in VKontakte groups. The peculiarity of VK is that this social network brings together mainly Russian-speaking users, so it is perfect for promoting companies of almost any format.

So, an additional plus of VK can be called a significant number of thematic communities, applications and integration into third-party services, for example, on Instagram.

Related:
Instagram advertising exchange: TOP-5 services + 8 life hacks

How to get people to subscribe?

At the beginning of their journey to promotion in the IG, many users make a gross mistake - they gain subscribers for the sake of a beautiful number, while the quality of their content is the last thing they think about. Trite, but it's true - only if you regularly publish high-quality content, subscribers will be drawn to you.

Let's consider the option when you already have some kind of base of followers that are actively showing up on your account.

1. Subscription gift

It is a very common practice to motivate users to subscribe to you. So, some bloggers and entrepreneurs go to small tricks to get an influx of followers. For example, for a subscription, some bloggers thank their followers with their promotion guides or checklists ala "TOP useful photo editing apps from ...".

So, as a gift for a subscription, entrepreneurs give a discount on the first purchase in the store, or on the first visit to a beauty salon, as in the example below. And as practice shows, this method of attracting an audience has proven its effectiveness.

Gift for subscription

In order to make your life easier, below is a list of services with which you can set up an account check for a subscription to your page.

Service Cost per check
Instateleport 1 ₽
Instasub 2 ₽
Smmbot -

2. Direct mail

Use direct mail to draw attention to important information. This should not be a request to like or subscribe - users will consider such messages as spam. Direct is good when there is some news. For example, announce the same contest or tell that something really unusual has appeared on your page.

But don't get carried away: there is a limit on messages in Direct. An account that has been in existence for less than three months can send 30 messages per day. From three to six months, the limit is already wider: 40 messages. After six months from the moment of registration - up to 50 messages per day. If these conditions are not met, you can easily get a block.

Messages in direct

In the table below, I have collected for you some useful services for mass mailing in direct. They are arranged in the order in which we recommend them, the first three are the top ones, and then out of order.

Name Cost (per month) Promo code + trial period
Zengram From 1 490 ₽ (“INSCALEPROMO” 20% discount on everything) 3 days
Bridgit From 490 ₽ 1 day
Boss Direct From 990 ₽ “inscale” +5 days free
Zeus From 110 ₽ “INSCALE” +3 days free
Instaplus From 399 ₽ 5 days
SocialKit From 1100 ₽ 7 days

Related:
Newsletter in Direct: 30 services + 4 steps how to do it

By the way. Have you heard about the new method of promotion on Instagram? SocTool has a unique algorithm that allows you to intercept the target audience from competitors online. The service will instantly establish a contact (subscription, like, message in Direct) while the user is online. Click and test - SocTool

3. Contest

If you already have your "backbone" of active subscribers, then announce the contest on your page. Play a gift, and as one of the conditions for participation, indicate a subscription. The main thing is that there are other conditions that will help to fairly select the winners. Otherwise, the contest will turn into a simple giveaway, after which you will lose all subscribed participants.

The timing of the competition should be such that everyone who wants to complete the task has time, but not too long, so that people do not get tired of waiting for the prize. Optimal - 5-7 days.

Holding a contest on Instagram

Related:
Uploading comments to IG: TOP 5 services + how to do Instagram challenge: 13 ideas of 2021

Cheat followers on Instagram

The fastest method for recruiting followers - cheat programs. We do not support this method of promotion, as it is not reliable. It has a number of shortcomings, but at the initial stage it will give impetus to the development of the account in order to attract advertisers as quickly as possible.

- Sites for bulk purchases of subscribers

Subscribers are cheated by bulk purchases or through job exchanges. The meaning of the subscription package is that you order a lot and immediately in a couple of clicks. The table below contains the most popular resources operating in this mode:

Service Cost (per subscriber)
TmSmm From 0.14 ₽
Likemania From 0.35 ₽ ​​
Mrpopular From 0.08 RUB
Prostospec From 0.28 RUB
Prskill From 0.07 RUB
- Job exchanges

The second option - smm job exchanges. Here you independently compose the task, prescribe the conditions, set your own price for subscribing to you. The order will appear on the site, and only those users who have passed the selection criteria (suitable for gender, age, geolocation, etc.) will execute it.

As an advertisement

In addition to detailed task settings, such exchanges have one more advantage. They can also be used as a performer. By completing tasks, you earn internal currency (points) that you can spend on promoting your profile.

Service Cost (per subscriber)
Likeinsta Fully customizable
Vkserfing Minimum from 0.5 ₽
Unu Minimum from 1 ₽
Socpublic Minimum from 0.2 ₽

The main disadvantage of cheating live followers on Instagram is that it will not bring activity, will not show interest in the content, and, moreover, will not give any conversion and upward movement. Of course, this method will help to increase the number of followers on Instagram, but it will not be of great use.

Also, it's not worth getting a large number of subscribers at once because of the profile blocking. When there is not yet the first thousand subscribers, let's be specific: wind up from 50 to 100 custom, but no more. And as you reach the designated goal, be sure to delete inactive accounts and bots. A list of profile cleaning assistants is attached:

Service Cost
InstaHero 199 ₽ / 1 cleaning
SpamGuard Choose a personal tariff

- Mass actions

Programs select potential subscribers and carry out mass actions on their pages on your behalf: put likes, view stories, subscribe. It is possible to show which accounts to pay attention to: the search will be conducted by the audience of competitors, interests by hashtags and geotags under which you publish.

- Mass following and mass looking

Massollowing and masslooking automation. Set up the simultaneous execution of all actions or select any one desired option. The whole process is carried out through the cloud. Confirmed the task and calmly go about your business further. We give a list of programs that will subscribe you to a potential audience:

Service Cost (per month) Free period
Zengram 1 490 ₽ ("INSCALEPROMO" 20% discount on everything) 3 days
Bridgit 490 ₽ 1 day
Instaplus.pro 299 ₽ 5 days

- Massliking

Software for mass liking posts of other social network users. The principle of operation is similar: a person will see that you like him, go to the page and subscribe if he likes posts and stories. A working option to increase the number of subscribers.

Service Cost (per month) Free period
Instaplus.pro 299 ₽ 5 days
Bridgit 490 ₽ 1 day

briefly about the main thing

There is no universal formula for how to get a thousand followers and promote your Instagram account from scratch. Now you know what promotion methods are relevant for her.

I remind you that you need not only to gain subscribers, but also to be able to keep them. To do this, make a rule for yourself - post content every day. At least a few stories, if suddenly there is no time to write "long posts". The main thing is not to let your subscribers forget you.

What you do best (for example, photos of cityscapes) - will be the main theme for Instagram. Further, without detriment to the main direction, add new forms of content. Shoot streams from events in your city, post stories with other bloggers, share your impressions on IGTV. And so on, step by step, you will increase your reach and find your audience.

Always work with the profile. You can’t put a hashtag once, hold a contest, send out ads and wait for a steady influx of subscribers by inertia. Here, perhaps, is the main formula and the key to success.

Related:
Mutual PR on Instagram 2021: what it is + how to doInstagram analytics: TOP 6 services + 12 main metrics

0008

Don't miss new useful articles and keep the old ones handy.

As practice shows, the most difficult thing is to gain the first 10,000 subscribers. The reason is simple: people are reluctant to subscribe to little-known pages. But nothing is impossible. We have compiled 14 tips for you to help you grow your profile from scratch within a year.

#1 Join mutual PR groups / Liketme

How can a little-known page quickly gain followers? Join mutual PR groups, this tactic is best for promoting new accounts.

It works like this. A group of participants is recruited, after which everyone sends a link to their post. All members of the group like and comment on each other's posts, thereby increasing the reach. When there are a lot of likes and comments under your post, it arouses the interest of other people: they want to see what is there.

Sounds nice. But. There are many groups for mutual PR and on various topics, for example, about travel, fashion, etc. To attract your target audience, join such groups on the topic of your page. And to keep the attention of new subscribers, you should also subscribe to them.

This is a short-term strategy for developing a page from scratch that will not increase sales, but will increase brand trust and awareness.

#2 Repost someone else's content

Nicole Martins Ferreira, an SMM specialist, started using the Repost for Instagram app to promote his store to repost someone else's content.

One of these reposts got 52,862 views, 1,264 comments and 9,147 likes. It was a big hit, Nicole didn't even have 10,000 subscribers at the time. But remember, according to Instagram policy, you need to request permission to repost from the author of publications. Otherwise, there is a risk of getting banned.

Why reposts of other people's content, and not publications of your own? Newbies don't have such good content, and reposting - what could be easier?

What content to repost? Use hashtags to find the most popular posts, share the ones that got you the most engagement. This is the simplest and most effective strategy for beginners.

#3 Ask followers to share photos

It's much easier to promote your Instagram page if you have a product or service that your customers share on their profile. If you post content with your customers, it will increase your social security and credibility.

If you haven't had any clients yet, you can contact an influencer (blogger) that suits your niche and request a review of your product. It is better to choose bloggers who have about 5,000 subscribers. Such accounts have a much lower cost of advertising and a more engaged audience.

You can also offer cooperation. For each completed sale through a referral link, you pay a commission to the blogger.

If you already have clients, you can ask them to tag you in their story or feed in exchange for a gift or a discount. Once you have enough clients, you don't have to ask anymore, they will tag you for free.

#4 Create a consistent style and stick to it

Yes, sounds like " blah blah blah " . Let's figure it out.

Often people subscribe not because of the published content, but because of the anticipation and the ability to predict what your next post will be.

Let's say you run a corgi page and post cute pictures and videos of him every day. Users who come across your content may notice that you always have cute corgi photos. They will subscribe and start following your page, waiting for new cute corgi posts.

Sticking to a single style or theme is more than a branding game. We are talking about the psychophysiological component of emotions: the expectations that your existing and potential subscribers create. They want and expect to see more content of the same type or style every day.

Sticking to a consistent style builds confidence and credibility in your brand, which in turn helps you grow your following.

#5 Use hashtags

Many social media experts recommend using 5 to 11 hashtags. Don't be afraid to ignore such advice!

Start experimenting with hashtags and eventually you'll figure out which ones are right for your brand.

Why not use 30 hashtags? You can add all these hashtags to the first comment under the post, which few people will see.

Is your goal to increase coverage? Then this is the easiest way. With hashtags, your posts will rank higher for keywords, which increases your reach.

If you want to reach your target audience, then you should avoid generic hashtags like #love or #life, use niche hashtags.

#6 Use location tags

Increase your reach with « Location tags » , it indicates the city or place where the video or image was taken.

If your business is in a specific city, you can use these geotags to make it easier for people to find and follow your Instagram account.

Locations have their own separate feed, stories and hashtags - use this sticker and your content will be automatically added there.

#7 Start blogging

Do you have a blog? Start running it on Hashtap or Yandex.Zen.

You can add links to your YouTube, Instagram, Twitter, Facebook accounts to your blog post. The more people who read your blog, the more likely they are to go to your social media pages and follow.

This is more of a long term strategy and you may not have a blog. But the faster you start it and add links to your social networks, the more likely you are to gain subscribers.

#8 Follow competitors' followers

To promote your account, you need to find people who follow your competitors' pages.

Do you know your competitors? Find them! Then study their profile, content and who comments on their posts, highlight your target audience. Start chatting with them.

It's better to choose smaller competitors to start with, as larger ones may have good loyalty programs that you may not be able to afford at the moment.

#9 Work with bloggers

Why bloggers? Every blogger has his loyal followers. By running ads with a blogger, you are guaranteed to get new subscribers and, most likely, sales.

But when choosing a blogger, carefully study his profile, exclude cheating subscribers. Sign an agreement so that the blogger cannot use bots. Due to the rapid influx of fake followers, you can get your account banned. You do not want this?

#10 Giveaways

Giveaways are another effective way to promote your account.

If the draw is published on the site, you can make a subscription to your social networks a mandatory condition for participation. This is how you unlock your account.

If you don't have many subscribers, you can post about the draw in free groups and blogs. You can also negotiate with bloggers - you send them a product, they review it for free and talk about the draw. Many agree to such conditions. Result? Hundreds of new subscribers in all social networks.

If you don't have your own audience yet, this is a great way to attract new subscribers. And to attract the target audience, you need to choose a blog from your niche.

Is your goal to promote your account? Then this strategy is for you if increasing sales is not.

#11 Collaborations with other brands

While you're at the start of promoting your page, collaborating with other brands is a quick way to gain a base of targeted followers. You just repost and tag each other's profile.

You don't have to do anything but repost. New subscribers will write to you first.

#12 Instagram Tips/Guide

Instagram Tips is a new way to share educational content in the form of tips and hacks. In the IG guide, you can add: a title, description, video or image, as well as use already published posts in the feed.

There are 3 guide formats available:

  • Places - collections of interesting places, objects, etc. in your city or some other city.
  • Products - collections of products that you sell on your Instagram.
  • Posts - your existing posts on the same topic, collected in one place, to which you can add titles and comments.

If you have interesting and useful tips, they will be shared with them. This will increase your engagement and reach, and with them the number of subscribers.

#13 Use Instagram analytics

« Embedded » Instagram analytics gives incomplete information about your followers.

Connect third-party analytics services to get more data. Many of these services are free.

Best Free Analytics Services for Instagram:

  1. Sprout Social
  2. DataFan
  3. Popsters
  4. LiveDune

All these services collect highly informative statistics on subscribers and your content.


Learn more