How long to get 10000 followers on instagram
How to Get Followers on Instagram: 14 Tips for 2022
When you’re just starting an online business, it can be exciting to imagine how you can successfully sell your product through Instagram … once you’ve built a following. But how to get followers on Instagram is the million dollar question.
Your first 10,000 Instagram followers are the hardest to get. Why? No one knows who you are yet.
You’ve still got to prove yourself as a successful brand and influencer. But that doesn’t mean it’s not possible.
If you follow this guide on how to get followers on Instagram, you could hit 10,000 Instagram followers in as little as six months. No jokes or tricks!
Read on to learn how to increase Instagram followers in 2022. And if you want to build a killer Instagram strategy, don't forget to check out for our newest Instagram course.
How to Get More Followers on Instagram#1. Get Instagram Followers by Joining Instagram Engagement GroupsEver wondered what people who get Instagram followers fast do differently?
They join engagement groups (aka. Instagram pods).
While it can be tempting to join the biggest Instagram engagement groups, the truth is you’ll get a more targeted list of Instagram followers by sticking to your niche.
This tactic is best for entrepreneurs just starting to learn how to get followers on Instagram.
You can find engagement groups for travel, beauty, fashion and more.
In these groups, you can get followers and likes from people who have shared interests.
But if you’re serious about getting their attention, you should also return the favor by following fan pages for people who join the group.
I’ve had friends get 2,000 new followers in only a couple weeks using this strategy.
While it might not help with immediate sales, it helps you gain credibility early on so your Instagram page doesn’t show that you only have a handful of followers.
Remember, this is more of a short-term strategy for your first few weeks on Instagram, not a long-term one for getting loyal Instagram followers.
You can learn other awesome Instagram tricks like this one in our free Instagram course.
#2. Repost Others’ Content to Get Free Instagram FollowersWhen I was starting out with social media marketing and building my store’s Instagram following, my entire posting strategy revolved around reposting other people’s content.
While doing this, I made sure to credit the original poster in my descriptions, every time. It’s the only way to gain free followers without getting flagged.
When I first started, I’d take screenshots and add the pictures to my Instagram. What really helped my page take off was the Repost app. It allowed me to start reposting video content on Instagram.
One of the biggest home runs I had was when I re-posted a video that amassed 52,862 views, got 1264 comments and 9,147 likes. At the time, I didn’t even have 10,000 followers so this was a big freaking deal. The best part? I didn’t run ads or anything. I got Instagram followers free.
Why’d I repost other people’s content instead of posting my own?
Because I knew that it was easier to repost content. Plus, my visual and video content would never be as good as someone else’s. Hey, at least I’m honest about it!
How did I know what to repost? I’d peek at the numbers.
Hashtags are a great way to get new followers. I was pretty active on Instagram so I’d browse the list of hashtags I came up with and used daily to find the top performing posts that weren’t posted by other fan pages (so not my competitors) but by individual people.
I’d then watch the videos and look at the pictures to see which ones I had the biggest reactions to. If I felt the urge to share someone else’s post, I knew I had to repost it onto my page.
So if you’re just learning how to get followers on Instagram, this high-impact strategy is simple enough for a beginner.
Important: Instagram has now updated their policy and you’re required to ask for permission before reposting.
To get that Instagram followers boost, you need to find a way to tap into a massive audience. And no one embeds Instagram posts into their content as much as Buzzfeed.
A Buzzfeed staff member wrote an article about how she grew her personal brand as an Instagram influencer. She currently has almost 10,400 followers, but the article she wrote on the platform might’ve helped.
So if you want to experiment with Buzzfeed, head over to its Community section where anyone can post their own content onto their platform.
Of course, you’ll need to follow their guidelines to get visibility and build trust.
Is Buzzfeed not right for your niche? That’s cool. You can also use a tool called HARO where you get emails three times a day filled with requests from reporters who’re looking to get content and expert quotes for their stories.
Most HARO reporters allow a website link and social links.
So you can hit two birds with one stone by including a link to your store and Instagram account.
When you’re just starting out, getting followers on Instagram will be a lot easier with customer photos in your feed. Why? It helps increase social proof.
If you’ve never had a customer before, reach out to influencers in your niche with under 5,000 followers. I know the number seems low but influencers with few followers on Instagram want to monetize their accounts and will be willing to take pictures with your products at a much lower rate.
You can also offer them an affiliate deal where they’ll get a commission for every sale they score with their customer referral link.
If you’ve already had a couple of sales, reach out to customers and offer a free gift or cash incentive for taking quality images with the product they purchased.
Offering incentives isn’t going to be your long-term strategy but for the short-term, while you try to build your brand, this can help you grow.
As more customers start seeing customer photos on your Instagram, they’ll naturally start tagging you in posts when they receive their products.
In a nutshell, if you comment on customers’ posts, repost their content and follow them, you’ll likely get them to follow you back.
Though some will follow you after tagging you in their post on their own. Get that word-of-mouth going!
#5. Gain Instagram Followers by Having a Consistent StyleI know this sounds like one of those ‘blah, blah, blah’ ways to gain followers on Instagram. But it isn’t.
Here’s why: people don’t follow you because of the content you’ve posted but because of what they think the future content you’ll post will be like.
Say you have a corgi fan page, every day you post cute corgi pictures and videos without fail.
If Instagram users keep seeing your posts,they’ll eventually realize that you always post the cutest corgi content.
So they follow you with the expectation that your account will always be more of the same type of content.
Having a consistent style or theme is more than just a branding play, it’s about creating an expectation for your Instagram account that your followers or potential followers can count on. They want to see more of the same type of content, every day.
If you can maintain that consistency with every post, you’ll gain followers on Instagram fast while fostering confidence and trust in your brand.
#6. Use Hashtags to Get Followers on InstagramMany experts will tell you to only use 5 or 11 hashtags or some other arbitrary numbers. But when I was building my store’s Instagram account, I ignored their advice and ran wild with it.
I’d copy and paste a list of hashtags from my phone onto my app. Then, I’d sometimes switch it up to try different hashtags. And eventually, I figured out which ones were right for my brand.
Usually, I’d go as close to or right to the max number of hashtags possible — 30. That’s the magic number.
Truth is, you add all those hashtags in the first comment.
And as your page engagement grows, no one will ever see the first comment because they’re too busy tagging their friends in your post.
Sure, when you’re starting out people might see it. But if the goal is to increase visibility, the easiest way to do it is to add more hashtags. As you gain followers, your posts will rank higher for those hashtag keywords, giving you even more visibility.
If your hashtags are niche specific, you’ll increase your likelihood of being found by a relevant audience, which will help you grow your followers on Instagram as well.
So avoid generic hashtags like #love or #picoftheday if you’re selling fashion, for example.
#7. Use Location Tags to Get Followers from Your VicinityDid you know that it’s possible to make your Instagram Stories and posts discoverable by tagging your location? The “location tag” reveals the city you’re in or the venue where the video or the image was captured.
Plus, it allows your posts to be categorized with all content tagged for that specific vicinity.
So if you’re a local business, you can use these geotags to make it easier for people to find and follow your Instagram account. Locations also have their own distinct feed, Story, and hashtags – you can contribute to these by using a location sticker in your own Stories.
#8. Embed Your IG Feed On Your Blog to Grow Instagram Followers
If you have your own personal or business blog, you can embed your Instagram pictures on your website.
Say you have a fashion accessories blog. You might write a blog post about the best accessories men should include in their fashion list . You can choose posts from Instagram featuring standalone images of your products or a curated visual of items that pair well together.
You’d then go onto the Instagram website on your desktop, go to your page, click the post, click the ‘…’ icon and click Embed.
Then you copy that link into your blog post’s code section.
Over time, more people will be visiting your blog and will be more likely to check out your Instagram account too.
I know that this is more of a long-term game. Especially if you’re not getting traffic today. But adding your Instagram posts right from the beginning gives you a higher chance of visibility.
Start doing this, and six months from now, you should really start seeing massive returns.
#9. Follow People Who Like Competing Instagram PagesTo get that Instagram followers increase, you need to find people who follow brands.
Who are your biggest competitors on Instagram? Note them down. Then, browse their posts to see who’s commenting on their posts. Follow them and engage with them.
Keep in mind that when choosing competitors on Instagram, it’s better to go for the smaller brands.
Why? Because if you were selling makeup brushes and trying to engage people who comment on Sephora, there’s a good chance that they’re not the right audience despite being in a similar niche.
Bigger brands tend to have more customer loyalty.
However, if you have a competitor who has 100,000 followers on their account, they may not be as loyal to that brand.
When commenting on posts of those you follow, try to not sound salesy
And never use the same comment for every person you message.
If they ask a question on their post, give them an answer.
You can also look at the types of comments others are posting for ideas and inspo..
As you keep following and engaging with people, you’ll start to build Instagram followers organically.
#10. Work With Influencers to Get More Insta FollowersAnother way to increase Instagram followers is by getting an Instagram shoutout for having an influencer do an account takeover.
If an influencer has a loyal following, they can give you a shoutout that’ll result in new followers for your account and possibly a few sales.
Be sure to write up a contract that prohibits the influencer from sending fake traffic.
We once worked with an influencer who gave us a shoutout and the result was 2,000 non active Instagram followers on our account. It was obvious she used a bot.
When you get a sudden rush of fake followers on Instagram, you risk getting your account banned. No one wants that.
If you’re looking for a way to get real Instagram followers, ask the influencer you work with to do an account takeover on your Instagram Stories. This way, people will have to follow your page to view the story. Make sure to ask them to inform their audience a few days in advance.
#11. Host Giveaways to Build Your Instagram FollowersHosting giveaways is another effective way to get followers on Instagram .
If you host giveaways on your website and provide visitors with an option to follow you on Instagram and other social networks, you’ll have a much bigger reach.
If your audience size is small, you can post your giveaway in certainFacebook groups. Getting featured on giveaway blogs might also help spread the word about your promotion
When I first started working in marketing, I’d reach out to giveaway blogs.
I’d send them some free products in exchange for a review post.
Most agreed to it for the free product though some did ask for payment as well. They’d do a product review post filled with pictures and their experiences with the product.
In the end, their audience would enter to win the product under the condition that we send that customer the product. The result? Hundreds of new followers on all our social accounts.
This is a great way to get new IG followers if you don’t have an audience. But it might not be as targeted than if you were to host a giveaway on a relevant niche blog.
If you’re just starting out, giveaways can help you get more followers on Instagram. However, if you do them too often, you might not get the type of audience you want.
If your goal is to get sales, giveaways won’t necessarily help you get more of them. But if you’re only looking to get Instagram followers fast, this strategy can work quite well.
#12. Organically Grow Your Instagram Following Via PartnershipsIf you’re just learning how to get followers on Instagram, it might be best to partner with another brand. This can be a quick way to grow your follower base organically.
A trick I learned while working on my case study was to take my own product photos. Instead of reposting other people’s content, other brands reposted one of my photos crediting me. One of them had nearly 300k followers, so I ended up getting a few new Instagram followers from their audience.
I didn’t have to do any upfront work aside from taking my own photos. I didn’t even have to reach out to get new followers on Instagram. They reached out to me. And they weren’t the only brand to do so.
#13. Create Instagram Guides That Attract New Followers to Your AccountInstagram Guides are a new way to share educational and fun content with your followers.
The content format gives users a simpler way to consume useful tips and recommendations. In an IG Guide, you can add an introduction, title, text, headers, and even curate videos and images (that you’ve published on your feed).
You can create a Guide about:
- A place – review a city, sports venue, exotic location, etc.
- A product – offer guidance on the products available in your Instagram Shop
- A post – curate a thread of your existing posts with headlines and commentary
To get started, click the plus symbol in the upper right corner of your Instagram profile, choose Guide, and tap the appropriate option.
Instagram allows users to share Guides in DMs and across Stories, so if you manage to publish a few high-quality Guides, those who see them will be naturally inclined to share them with their social circle.
And because the Instagram algorithm favors posts with high engagement, if many people end up sharing your guide, it may even appear in more people’s feeds.
As a result, you can potentially gain a lot of new followers by creating an Instagram Guide.
Instagram analytics can give information to you about your following, but there are many free tools in the marketplace that can give you more interesting information.
Things like engagement rate, new followers, Instagram unfollowers, and inactive accounts can give you insight that will shape how you get more followers on Instagram.
The best Instagram analytics tools in the market right now include:
- Sprout Social
- Iconosquare
- Keyhole
- Curalate
- Socialbakers
All these Instagram analytics tools provide valid and highly informative information that can help you better understand your audience.
And they can also highlight the right content that you can use to get your Instagram followers to increase.
Instagram Followers AppsWhen I first started building my store’s Instagram account, I used an app called Instagress to increase my Instagram followers.
It worked really well at first, which allowed me to easily build up the first few thousand Instagram followers.
Eventually, I stopped because I didn’t need it anymore. Unfortunately, Instagress and other tools to increase Instagram followers usually get shut down. That’s because they are designed to artificially engage people through likes and comments. People who use them can get their entire Instagram account shut down. While they might work, they just aren’t worth the risk.
The risk-free way to increase Instagram followers is to use marketing automation tools like Buffer, HubSpot, or Hootsuite.
Additionally, you can use these free Instagram apps to improve your follower count:
1. Followers Plus (iOS)
Discover Instagram accounts that have unfollowed you, those who haven’t followed you back, and similar accounts you should be following through Followers for Instagram. This Instagram follower app is perfect to understand how to make your followers happy and what content to post in order to get more followers on Instagram.
Reach out to those who unfollowed you to find out why and start to improve your Instagram follower metrics today.
2. Unfollowers and Ghost Followers (Android)
Inactive followers are a much talked about topic within any social media platform, and Instagram is no different. Inactive Instagram followers could be spam accounts or accounts from people who no longer engage on the platform.So if you are looking to grow your following and engagement level, it would be a good idea to trim your list of inactive followers. Crowdfire identifies your inactive followers, recognizes when people unfollow you, and helps you find new followers.
3. Followers Track for Instagram (iOS)
There aren’t any effective tools for Instagram unfollowing or following accounts in bulk. Tracker for Instagram gives you this option in their app. The app also provides analytics so you can analyze how followers engage with your account. You can also use it to identify ghost followers: those who followed you but never interacted with your posts.
You can then block them to reflect the real number of Instagram followers your brand currently boasts.
Want to become an Instagram master? Sign up for the free Instagram course taught by Instagram guru Gretta Van Riel.
How to Get Followers on Instagram According to Three Influencers
Juanika Dildy is the founder of the popular website The Ladypreneur. Her Instagram account has gained over 26k followers. Here’s her advice on how to gain followers on Instagram:
What’s been your secret to getting over 26k followers on Instagram?
Engagement makes a difference. It’s important that your followers know that you appreciate them just as much as they do you.
For increased engagement, you should search the hashtags used to attract followers, find users that stand out, like a few pics and comment.
You’ll gain the curiosity of those you’ve engaged with, they’ll follow your page, and tag their friends on your posts.
Did you use any apps to increase Instagram followers?
Initially, tools like Instagress were useful for engagement, but with the ability to target followers and sponsor content, they’re no longer needed.
What advice would you give someone who asks you how to get followers on Instagram?
Post, post, post! The more users [you have seeing] your content, the more familiar they’ll become with your brand, causing them to like, follow, and share.
The more you post, the more users feel like they know you.
Imagine if you woke up at midnight to a noise in the kitchen. You run downstairs to find Oprah drinking a cup of coffee.
Most people wouldn’t call the cops, why? Because they’ve seen so much of her content, they feel like they know her. Some would even feel privileged to have her in their kitchen.
That’s the effect that constant content provides for influencers.
If you had to name one thing you do differently than anyone else on Instagram, what would that be?
My account encourages, inspires AND informs.
It influences my followers with a brand voice that relates and educates. It attracts the “SHE-E-O” and the girl next door.
Talia Koren is the mastermind behind the ever so popular Work Week Lunch which has an astounding 484k followers and counting. We asked her what the best way to get Instagram followers is and this is what she told us:
What’s helped you grow your Instagram followers to a six figure number?
I listen to my audience and give them what they ask for. It shows that I’m invested in them and in return they give me their time and attention.
Also, consistency. I show up every single day with valuable content in posts and in stories that helps them instead of just talking about myself.
Lastly, I pay close attention to the changes to the platform. Using new features like story highlights and understanding the changes to the algorithm helped me grow too.
Have you used any tools to help you grow the number of followers on Instagram you have?
I don’t use any tools outside of the analytics within Instagram.
They’re great! Analytics are important because they help you figure out what’s working and what’s not.
We often get asked how to get followers on Instagram, what should someone starting out focus on?
When you’re starting from 0 or less than 1,000 followers, don’t pay attention to the number so much. It’s going to go up and down and it’s going to be slow. Instead focus on ways you can connect with and help others and get them talking about you.
What do you think separates your Instagram account from others out there?
Well, my account isn’t that different from many out there, but I don’t post any pictures of myself. It’s not about me it’s about my audience! I also use stories as a vlogging channel which my followers love.
Gracie Parish is an Instagram influencer who grew her Instagram following to an impressive 37.9k. We asked her to share her advice on how to get followers on Instagram, here’s what she said:
What steps did you take to get over 37,000 followers on Instagram?
I take a lot of time to engage with my followers through Instagram, emails, Facebook, and Pinterest.
I take time each week to respond to as many followers as I can as well as I make sure to engage with my followers on their posts as well.
Through collaborations, I have been able to cross-promote with many bloggers or brands that I feel fit my brand and this has really helped grow my following.
What’s had the biggest impact on increasing your Instagram followers?
I work really hard on building authenticity on my blog to create a more authentic relationship with my followers.
To do this, I only promote brands and products I truly believe in.
Through five years of blogging, I really realized how to pick the brands that fit my blog and style best as well as the brands that my followers enjoy seeing, which has contributed to my success.
If someone asked you how to get followers on Instagram what advice would you share?
Be yourself and don’t lose confidence in yourself. Building a blog took years of hard work, and if you are able to maintain a brand and stay true to yourself, your followers will take notice of that.
I would also advise someone to not get discouraged in the beginning, because it takes a lot of time and practice. No [influencer] was an overnight success.
What’s the one thing your Instagram does differently than other Instagram accounts?
One thing my instagram does differently than other accounts is I really try and give followers insight into my real life.
While a lot of my content is sponsored, I really try to post real, authentic content as well to help my followers get to know me better and give them the content they are asking to see.
A lot of bloggers get caught up in the business aspect and while a blog is a business, it is important to not lose your authenticity and to stay real with your followers.
How to Get Followers on Instagram FAQsHow to get more followers on Instagram?
You can join engagement groups based on your niche, repost others’ content (but don’t forget to ask the content creator permission and give them credit), ask customers to share their photos, use hashtags and location tags.
Who should I follow on Instagram to get more followers?
Another strategy to get more followers on Instagram is to follow people who like competing pages. Check your competitors' posts and engage with people commenting on them. People that already like this niche may be interested in your profile and may follow you back!
How to make your bio on Instagram?
Be creative and explain to your audience what your profile is about. Don’t forget to use your niche-specific keywords and add a link to your website.
How to Get Followers on Instagram SummaryFiguring out how to get followers on Instagram is the hardest in the beginning.
Once you’ve passed your first 10,000 followers, you’ll need to continue using some or all of the strategies in this article to keep growing your account to 100k or even beyond one million.
Don’t forget to update your profile regularly, especially your Instagram bio to include a “link in bio" where you can curate CTAs or interesting news.
At the end of the day, you’ll need to put yourself out there more than you ever have before.
Maybe posting on Instagram three times a day every day of the week is hard to fit into your schedule But eventually, all that effort will pay off. And you’ll have gained an Instagram following you can be proud of.
Summary: How to Get Followers on Instagram in 2022#1. Join Instagram Engagement Groups
#2. Repost Others’ Content
#3. Get your Instagram Account Promoted on Buzzfeed
#4. Ask Customers to Share their Photos
#5. Have a consistent style that hooks people in
#6. Hashtags to Get Followers on Instagram
#7. Use your Instagram Posts in Blog Posts
#8 Insert Location Tags in Posts and Stories
#9. Follow People who Like Competing Pages
#10. Work with Influencers – How to Get Followers on Instagram
#11. Host Giveaways
#12. Partner with Another Brand
#13. Create an Instagram Guide
#14.
Use Instagram Analytics Tools
How many followers on Instagram do you have right now? Comment below!
Want to Learn More?- 23 Top Social Media Sites to Consider for Your Business
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- The Ultimate Guide to Setting Up an Instagram Shop
- Instagram Marketing Guide for Businesses
From zero to 10k in 6 months: How to get followers on Instagram organically.
When it comes to reaching 10,000 followers on Instagram, this isn’t my first rodeo. I’ve been active on Instagram since Valencia was the most used photo filter and I am incredibly grateful that this social media app has led me to build many friendships and opportunities through my page @kelseyinlondon.
It took me many, many years to organically grow this account to over 100,000 followers and many mistakes were made along the way – in fact, I’m internally cringing at the thought at some of the selfies I used to upload, but I digress.
However, when I created a new account for my interiors addiction – @homewithkelsey – I was beginning at ground zero again, though this time with a great wealth of knowledge and a few notches on my belt. Through the following tactics, I was able to quickly grow 10,000 followers on Instagram in just 6 months time. Update: I have now reached over 130,000 followers after 2 years of starting this account.
While having lots of followers isn’t the defining point of how successful you are in life, (I mean, so long as I can eat my overpriced avo on toast then I’m happy), reaching 10k is extremely sought-after for most influencers and businesses as it means you can get the swipe-up functionality for Instagram Stories. This is an invaluable tool that will help you easily direct your customers to your website, e-book or even just so you can easily link to a funny cat video.
Read on to learn how exactly I was able to reach 10,000 followers on Instagram organically, no smokes and mirrors here.
I picked a niche and stuck to it.
Growing a community on Instagram is a lot easier if you stick to a niche. This is something I massively failed to do with @kelseyinlondon — an account which started as a private personal page (think drunk selfies and blurry photos of my brunch), which then evolved into a space where I shared a bit of my graphic design work, my outfits and my travels around Europe. In hindsight, it was a bit all over the place let’s be honest.
It’s incredibly daunting starting a new account on Instagram, especially when the app is so oversaturated. Fortunately, no matter what you’re interested in, there are always going to be thousands of people who are as equally as into something as you are.
I’ve always loved interiors, stemming from the fact my parents owned an antique store when I was younger. I have a deep-seated love for Mid-century teak furniture and turns out, so do a lot of other people. I love to take photos of my home, so when I started @homewithkelsey, I was clear that I was only going to share interior content and I haven’t deviated from this.
When you stray from your niche, it’s harder to grow. Let me explain: if you’ve always shared book reviews on Instagram and one day you suddenly began to post makeup selfies, your followers would become confused and unfollow you because beauty tips are not what they signed up for. Pick a niche and stick to it. Or start a new account entirely to showcase your latest obsession.
I had a clear aesthetic from day dot.
With my interiors account, I shared high quality and beautiful imagery from the get-go. Unlike @kelseyinlondon where my followers had to witness my “awkward teen stage” of Instagram, the one where I was experimenting with different filters and horrendous outfit choices.
Having a strong aesthetic for your feed is my go-to tip when someone asks me how I grow so quickly on Instagram. When a potential new follower is viewing your profile for the first time, you have less than a second to grab their attention so you better believe that your feed has got to look banging.
I’ve written a guest post on the Adobe blog with a lot more detail on how to create the perfect Instagram feed aesthetic. I’m able to easily achieve an aesthetically pleasing feed by using my Presets to edit my photos, you can learn more about my editing filters here.
I also find that having a beautiful feed makes your account more “shareable” – especially by other influencers & bloggers. Which leads me onto my next point.
My photos are reposted, a lot.
I wouldn’t have grown so quickly if it wasn’t for being reposted by accounts that were a lot bigger than mine. By having a beautiful feed, I am regularly included in other bloggers & influencers ‘Follow Friday’ round-ups. By always tagging the brands that feature in my photos, I’ve often reposted by big homeware brands like Dunelm, MADE.COM and Primark (who have a whopping 8 million followers).
I often get shared by community and inspiration pages like @apartmenttherapy (2.
7 million followers) and @liketoknow.it (3.5 million followers). Each time I’m featured on someone else’s Instagram I have gained a few hundred or even over a thousand new followers.
I made hashtags my best friend.
Did you ever use to use hashtags ironically? Because me too. That is until I did some research, developed a winning hashtag strategy and made hashtags my best friend. Since implementing my new strategy, I’ll receive anywhere between 10,000 and up to 100,000 reach per post from hashtags alone.
Hashtag reach is essential for getting new followers on Instagram as it’s the only way you’ll be able to organically reach people who don’t already follow without having to spend any money on boosting your posts.
Click here to learn more about my hashtag strategy and everything you need to know about hashtags.
I post Reels.
I’ll be honest – I was really really reluctant to get into Instagram Reels.
I thought they were a bit cringe and I hadn’t previously made much video content before. I’ve made peace with the fact I simply do not have time to commit to a seperate video platform like TikTok or Youtube – however I eventually gave in and gave Reels a crack and let me tell you, I wish I had got on it a lot sooner!
I’ve had half a dozen Reels go viral (over 1 million views each) and as a result, in June 2021 I gained 30,000 new followers – that’s 1000 new followers every day! In 10 years of being on Instagram, I have never seen growth like this before nor have I ever had a photo post reach over 1 million, it’s just not possible.
Reels aren’t just dancing videos or self-acclaimed gurus pointing at floating text. There’s DIY tutorials, recipe creations, travel inspiration – many different types of video content that you can make work for your niche.
My advice? Make your Reels short, snappy & sweet. It’s really important that the first 2 seconds of your video is exciting/eye-catching so people stop scrolling and watch your video in full.
The internet has ruined everyone’s attention spans so make sure to get your point across quickly. I edit all my Reels in Adobe Rush (on my computer when possible or on my mobile if I’m out and about). There are plenty of other video-editing apps you can use like InShot.
I post consistently.
I’m a firm advocator of quality over quantity, however what’s equally as important is to make sure you are posting consistently. I’ve always posted 5 times a week on weekdays, with weekends off because that’s my me time and nobody can fuck with that. Before Instagram became my full-time job, I would post on my lunch breaks at my agency job, replying to comments in between mouthfuls of my Pret salad.
Posting consistently is key to gaining followers on Instagram, especially if your hashtag strategy is on point. Every new feed post upload is a chance to reach a new audience outside of your existing followers.
When I looked at my insights and saw that individual feed posts would often bring me 2000 or 500 followers each time I posted, you bet I wasn’t missing out on any of my 5 weekly uploads.
Pick a time of day and a schedule that suits your lifestyle and remember to not burn yourself out. If you ain’t in the mood to post, give yourself permission to log off and pour yourself a glass of wine.
Here’s a handy hint I find a lot of people don’t know about. On Instagram, go to Insights > Content > Posts. On this page, sort by “Follows” and you can see which posts have gained you the most followers (see example below). This is an incredibly insightful nugget to have up your sleeve.
I listen to my followers.
Give the people what they want dammit! Pay attention to your insights and serve the content your followers are clearly hungry for. The best way to figure out what photos your audience loves the most is to go on Instagram and navigate to Insights > Content > Posts. On this page, sort by “Engagement“.
Here you can compare your highest performing posts to your lowest-performing posts and spot trends which dictate the type of content your followers are vibing the most with.
Looking at my insights below, it’s clear that my followers love wide-angle photos of my bedroom, my ladder bookcase, selfies with my boyfriend and my office. Looking at my lowest performing content I can clearly see that bathroom shots and close up details aren’t up to scratch. That doesn’t mean I’ll never post a photo of my vanity sink again, it just means I make sure to regularly focus on creating and sharing new photos that are similar to my top-performing posts.
Meanwhile, on @kelseyinlondon my epic travel shots get the most engagement, however, my flatlay photos don’t get nearly as many likes so I generally try to avoid posting them if I can.
From implementing all the previously mentioned points in this blog post, I am now growing at a steady average rate of 10,000 new followers every month on @homewithkelsey with only organic, authentic tactics.
If you want help determining which type of content you should be focusing on in order to gain followers, check out my Instagram coaching services HERE.
I would love to help you achieve your Instagram goals!
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How to get followers in 2022 on Instagram: from 0 to 10,000
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As practice shows, the first 10,000 subscribers are the hardest to get. 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
To promote his store, Nicole Martins Ferreira, an SMM specialist, started using the Repost for Instagram app to repost other people'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? nine0005
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. nine0005
If you haven't had any clients yet, you can contact an influencer (blogger) that suits your niche and order 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. nine0005
#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. nine0005
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.
By sticking to a consistent style, you build confidence and trust in your brand, which in turn helps increase 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. nine0005
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. nine0005
Locations have their own 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. nine0005
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. nine0005
It's best 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? nine0005
#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. nine0005
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 Collaboration with other brands
While you are at the start of your page promotion, collaboration with other brands is a quick way to build a target subscriber base. You just repost and tag each other's profile. nine0005
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. nine0152
- 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:
- Sprout Social
- DataFan
- Popsters
- Live Dune
All these services collect highly informative statistics on subscribers and your content.
To figure out your target audience, analyze metrics such as engagement rate, number of new followers, unsubscribers, and inactive accounts. Use this data to better understand your audience. nine0005
A very loose translation and adaptation of an article from the Oberlo blog.
Christina
Kerbs
Yandex.Direct and Google Ads certified specialist. Knows everything about medical marketing and coffee varieties.
How to get your first 10,000 Instagram followers
One of the most common questions I get asked is how to get your first 1,000/5,000/10,000 followers.
For example, you started your Instagram today, invited friends, acquaintances and colleagues, you now have 18 subscribers. How to go from 18 to 1,000 or 5,000 subscribers? nine0005
How to get the first subscribers
I want to note right away that this is a very difficult task, much more difficult than reaching 100,000 from 10,000 subscribers.
If you have a larger audience, then more opportunities for free promotion work better content and recommendation services. You can already go to the top by hashtags and so on.
Therefore, at the start, I recommend using active tools.
1. Mutual following
I often say that this tool is dying, but mutual following is still a good starting tool. When you follow people, some of them follow you back.
These should be very targeted subscriptions. You don't just follow everyone indiscriminately, you have to follow the people who posted the most targeted hashtag for you.
For example, you are in medical technology. You have an annual event where professionals come together. They post photos with the hashtag of the event. Subscribe to these people, this is your target audience. At the start, such an audience is best. One person who most closely matches your target audience portrait is worth five who either do not fit perfectly or do not fit enough.
nine0005
But don't get carried away with this tool. There may be sanctions for it, so subscribe little by little, 100-200 people at the start.
| We advise you not to use programs for mass following and mass liking, Instagram can block your account or send it to a shadowban. |
2. Targeted advertising
The second tool that gives a very quick effect is targeted advertising. It is possible to gain even 10,000 subscribers in five to six days. nine0005
The obvious drawback is that advertising is paid, and on Instagram it is not cheap. But if you set up targeted advertising correctly and show ads to users whom you consider your target audience, then subscribers will come quickly.
But this will require serious financial investments at the start, so the tool is not always suitable.
3. Promotion through popular bloggers
You can buy a post from a popular blogger. These can be joint live events, an announcement post, an announcement story or a series of announcement stories, and so on.
nine0005
This tool, when properly suited, gives an increase in the target audience, that is, the audience that comes to you on the recommendation.
What not to use in the beginning
What not to spend time and count on to gain the first few thousand subscribers.
1. Content promotion
Don't expect to get recommended and get a new audience through content. It starts working from 1,000 subscribers. Prior to this, recommender systems are practically non-existent. nine0005
2. Contests
Don't rely on giveaway contests. If you have almost no subscribers, I do not recommend adding contestants to the channel from scratch. This can lead to the fact that you will have a very small reach and further promotion will be very difficult to conduct.
3. Buying bots
The most common mistake is buying bots. Bots are an absolutely dead end option, you can get your account banned, there may be problems with engagement and many other problems in the future.
