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How to get business followers on instagram


17 Ways to Get More Followers on Instagram (2023)

Instagram can be a highly targetable, visual marketing channel for your brand and an opportunity to build a loyal audience that grows with your business.

In fact, over 500 million Instagram users browse the app every day, making it home to some of the most engaged audiences around.

In this guide, we’ll show you how to grow your Instagram follower profile and increase engagement, while growing a massive following over time—one that’s full of real fans, not bots or fake followers.

17 ways to get more Instagram followers 

  1. Incorporate Reels into your content mix
  2. Cross promote content
  3. Curate your profile grid
  4. Work with brand ambassadors
  5. Get follows from your loyalty program
  6. Market through your personal Instagram account
  7. Get on feature accounts
  8. Use the right hashtags
  9. Post at the right times
  10. Steal your competitors' followers
  11. Pay for sponsored posts and product reviews
  12. Use geotags to boost local discovery
  13. Organize your Stories in highlights
  14. Ask for more followers
  15. Run a giveaway
  16. Share user-generated content
  17. Use Instagram live

Let’s dive deeper into how to implement each tactic to get more Instagram followers.  

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1. Incorporate Reels into your content mix

Reels are fun videos you can share with followers on your Instagram account. They have audio, effects, and creative tools. You can share them on your feed and publicly in Explore to reach new audiences. 

Reels are new territory for brands. Instagram’s beauty partnerships manager, Kristie Dash, stated in a Glossy forum that Reels are still a relatively new way to publish content, and there isn’t one formula for success. But, she does suggest the following tips to gain traction:

  • Keep content unique and trend drive. Identify trends on Instagram and TikTok and put your own spin on it. This increases the chance your Reels will go viral and get in front of new people.
  • Make content relatable and simple. Not every Reel needs to be a production. Lower quality videos can perform the same, if not better, than highly produced Reels.
  • Educate your audience. Find the balance between education and entertainment in your Reels.

Reels should be a huge priority for you right now. It’s prime real estate for your brand to be discovered by new followers.

Kristen Dash, Beauty Partnerships Manager, Instagram

Social media marketing agency owner Trilce Jirón Garro, of TBS Marketing, agrees. “Don’t sell your products through Reels content. Share facts. Provide tips about the industry you’re in. Entertain viewers,” she says. 

Trilce suggests that both new and existing brands incorporate entertaining Reels into their Instagram strategy. “Reels give anyone the opportunity to reach new target audiences. There’s no learning curve because Reels content is lo-fi. And creators can produce community-driven content that builds trust, gains followers, and makes sales over time.” 

Trilce also loves the Instagram Insights Tool introduced for Reels. “Reels have become an integrated part of any Instagram marketing strategy. Analytics tools for Reels has made it easy to track metrics and analyze data to see if your Reels are working. Now, you can understand exactly what your audience likes and dislikes, when to post Reels, and what calls to action resonate with viewers.” 

Using Reels Insights, you can see patterns and understand different spikes in engagement that affect your visibility on the platform. That way, you can create higher-quality content that gets even more engagement and followers. 

Need help creating a Reels strategy? Read Why and How to Use Instagram Reels to Market Your Shopify Store to learn more.

2. Cross promote content

Cross-promoting involves posting similar content across various social media channels. It’s a tactic used to save time and resources. It’s also effective at increasing brand awareness and growing an audience on Instagram. 

Mobile users are spending an increasing amount of time with video and entertainment apps, with video content on social media platforms accounting for the biggest increase. Whether it’s a short-form video or lengthy tutorial, you want to improve the reach of your Instagram content. 

Justin Bieber’s holiday dance challenge is a great example of successful cross-posting. During the 2020 holiday season, the Canadian singer posted the same dance challenge on both TikTok and Instagram. On TikTok, his video short received 9.8 million likes. The same content on Instagram received 4.8 million likes. He was able to get in front of more people just by posting the same video on two different platforms. 

Nadya Okamoto, founder of lifestyle period brand August, has found that TikTok naturally cross-pollinates to Instagram and YouTube. She says in an interview with Modern Retail, “As we’ve grown on TikTok from August, we’ve also grown to 175,000 followers on Instagram. ” Actively posting on multiple platforms has “affected our overall cost of acquisitions to be super effective,” allowing the brand to steer away from paid media as a main acquisition channel. 

TikTok isn’t the only channel you can cross-post on. The Instagram Reels format translates well to YouTube Shorts and Pinterest Stories. It’s important to note that Instagram’s algorithm won’t promote Reels that have a TikTok watermark. So if you’re going to cross-post content from Instagram to other channels, ensure the content is high quality and doesn’t promote a competing platform through watermarks. 

3. Curate your profile grid

Most of your followers won’t follow you for what you posted in the past but for the promise of what you’ll post in the future. Your audience wants to know what they’re going to get if they hit that Follow button.

Having a feed with a consistent theme and a consistent posting schedule can have just as much of an impact in growing a following as many of the other growth strategies we’ve covered above. Even a simple pattern can entice new followers, as long as it’s communicated at first glance to anyone who lands on your profile.

Consider your Instagram bio and your last nine posts as your first impression on Instagram. Do they effectively communicate some degree of consistency through personality, filters, colors, or layout? Does the clickable link send people to the same homepage every week? Or are you linking out to fun and exciting content too?

The layout of your grid is an often underestimated way to get creative with the aesthetic of your feed while adding a rhythm to your publishing strategy and consistency that’s worth following.

In fact, many accounts that adopt this approach are often able to spend less effort on creating content by focusing on converting visitors into followers, producing text graphics or other content with a faster turnaround, and streamlining the overall production of their Instagram content.

You can use a tool like Later to easily plan out and schedule the look and layout of your feed. Letterfolk is just one example of how far some brands go with the aesthetic of their Instagram layout. 

Your feed serves as the billboard for your brand. It’s a customer’s first touchpoint with you and captures the essence of your brand.

Trilce Jiron, TBS Marketing

4. Work with brand ambassadors 

Don’t want to pay the celebrity influencer big bucks to market your brand? Works with brand ambassadors who have anywhere from a couple hundred to a few thousand followers. Ambassadors are people who genuinely support and believe in your brand and will tell their friends about it. 

Luxury shoe retailer Sarah Flint reports seeing success with its brand ambassador program, which has over 500 women. Each ambassador has their own unique discount code, which gives them a free pair of Sarah Flint shoes after five new customers use it. 

Ambassadors like Holly Hollon attest to the quality and comfort of the brand’s shoes. Her posts are authentic and relatable to regular Sarah Flint shoppers. This helps the brand grow its Instagram following and earn sales. 

5. Get follows from your loyalty program

Retailers are increasingly launching loyalty programs, repeatedly encouraging consumers to shop with their brand over another. It’s worked for brands like Sephora and Blume. One way brands are capitalizing on loyalty programs is by rewarding those who follow them on Instagram. 

When luxury retailer Rebecca Minkoff launched its rewards program, RM Rewards, it gave shoppers the option to earn points by following the brand’s Instagram account. Brands like Blume are also finding the value in rewarding Instagram followers. Program members can earn Blume Bucks for becoming a friend on Instagram versus Facebook or Twitter. 

6. Market through your personal Instagram account

Another popular way to increase your Instagram following is growing your personal account—basically, make yourself the influencer. Harnessing both the company account and your personal account can increase brand recognition, follower counts, and sales. Pro tip: You can also run this playbook on TikTok to improve your numbers. 

It’s a tactic that works well for fashion label ANINE BING. In addition to the brand’s Instagram profile, the company’s founder also drives engagement and awareness through her personal Instagram page, which has over one million followers. 

Anine invites followers into her design studio, takes them through the design process, and even gets feedback from followers throughout the creative process. Anine also shares a bit about her personal life and milestones, giving followers a peak behind the curtains of their favorite designer’s life. 

7. Get on feature accounts

Instagram feature accounts are pages that curate the best content in a specific niche. They are like the “best of” photo journals for an industry. Some feature accounts have a massive following. If you get placement on the account, it can send new Instagram followers to your profile. 

There are feature accounts for every niche: travel, fashion, photography, and more. For example, @discoverearth curates adventurous travel content from around the world for over 6.1 million followers.

8. Use the right hashtags

Your goal on Instagram is to engage your current audience on a regular basis while also growing your number of real followers. Posting new, interesting, and engaging photos will satisfy the first requirement, but to begin growing you’ll find hashtagging your photos extremely important. Hashtagging makes it easy for people searching for specific terms to find your photos.

So which hashtags should you use? Just like with Twitter and other social sites, users on Instagram choose certain hashtags over others. If you use popular Instagram hashtags within your photos, you’re much more likely to reach new users and be discovered.

At the time of this writing, these were the top 20 hashtags on Instagram:

  1. #love
  2. #instagood
  3. #photooftheday 
  4. #fashion 
  5. #beautiful 
  6. #happy 
  7. #cute 
  8. #like4like 
  9. #tbt
  10. #followme 
  11. #picoftheday
  12. #follow 
  13. #me
  14. #art
  15. #selfie 
  16. #summer 
  17. #instadaily 
  18. #repost
  19. #friends 
  20. #nature

If you looked at this list and said, “But none of those apply to my products or brand,” you’re likely correct.

Using hashtags is one thing; using the right tags is completely different.

Popular tags like the ones listed above will likely net you additional engagement and likes. However, they won’t lead to increased long-term engagement, new interested followers, or, most importantly, sales.

If you want to tag your photos properly, you’ll need to find and use the most relevant hashtags. This means doing the appropriate research to make sure you’re using hashtags that not only describe your brand but that are also being searched for on Instagram.

To find relevant hashtags, you’ll want to use a free online tool like IconoSquare or Webstagram to start.

Below, I used Webstagram to find relevant, related, and popular hashtags for my men’s accessory business by searching for key hashtags closely related to my brand.

As an example, searching the hashtag #MensFashion, I was able to pull the following list of additional keyword hashtags along with the number of times they have been used (i. e., their popularity).

You can also find more related hashtags and their popularity if you search for any of your target keywords directly in the Instagram app.

You’ll want to go through this exercise trying different keywords that describe your brand and products, building out your hashtag keyword list as you go.

Keep in mind that Instagram allows for a maximum of 30 hashtags per post. Additionally, the popular words will change over time, so make sure you revisit your hashtag keywords every few months so you're using the best possible terms.

You can also steal hashtag ideas from competitors or similar accounts that have the kind of following you aspire to, but ultimately, you want to create your own groups of hashtags that relate to your specific account.

Pro tip #1: Here’s a trick I use for my ecommerce businesses. For every product and product category in my stores, I’ve researched the most popular related Instagram hashtags. I came up with 15 to 20 popular hashtags for each category of products I sell, as well as a base of five to 10 popular tags that describe my brand and product offering. Finally, I also created a list of popular local specific hashtags that relate to my brand.

For example:

Brand keyword hashtags

#mybrandname #mensfashion #mensaccessories #mensgoods #fashion #mensstyle #instafashion #menswear

Product category keyword hashtags

#bugatchisocks #happysocks #corgisocks #socks #sockswag #socksoftheday #sockgame #sockswagg #socksofinstagram #happysockday #sockwars #funsocks #happysockday

Location-specific keyword hashtags

#Toronto #TorontoFashion #TorontoFashionBloggers

All of these groups of keyword hashtags are stored in a page on Evernote. This makes it easy and efficient when I’m on the go to post a new Instagram image optimized for the most relevant keywords.

You can easily open my Evernote and copy my standard brand-, product-, and location-specific hashtags to post with each photo. Some Instagram scheduling tools also let you save caption templates for storing your hashtag groups.

Doing the work of researching, organizing, and saving the most applicable and popular hashtags upfront will save you a ton of time down the road, increase your engagement, and help garner new followers.

Pro tip #2: If you’ve been posting to Instagram for a while and feel you’ve missed out on all these opportunities to build your audience using keyword hashtags, fret not. You can still go back and post a comment with your new hashtag keyword lists and watch the likes and followers roll in.

Using hashtags in Instagram stories

Hashtagging on Instagram posts is a given, but you should also be using hashtags in your Stories for the chance to be seen by users who follow that specific hashtag.

You can use hashtag stickers (which can be found in the Instagram Stickers menu when creating a Story) or just hashtag directly in your captions for a chance to be featured in a hashtag story.

Now that users can follow hashtags, your Stories on Instagram have a chance to be seen by both people who are following that hashtag and anyone who’s just checking it out.

9. Post at the right times

Beyond adding the appropriate hashtags and using the best filters to get more Instagram followers, you should also consider the timing of your posts.

A targeted approach involves analyzing what has and has not worked for you in the past. By visiting IconoSquare’s optimization section, you can get a detailed analysis of your posting history versus engagement. This report will also highlight the best times of the day and days of the week to post.

The dark circles indicate when you usually post media. The light gray circles show when your community has been interacting. The biggest light gray circles represent the best times for you to post.

You can also get a lot of great insight for free from Instagram analytics for business accounts, found under the Followers section.

You may want to consider using a social media scheduling tool to automatically publish your posts when your audience is the most engaged.

10. Steal your competitors’ followers

One of the best ways to find and attract a new following is by seeking out your closest competitors’ Instagram accounts and engaging with their audiences. These people have already shown some level of interest in the products you carry simply by following your competitors.

So how do you effectively steal your competitors’ followers? By engaging with them. There are several ways to engage with Instagram users, and the more work you put in, the more followers and repeat engagement you’ll get out of it.

The three types of engagement on Instagram are:

  • Follow a user
  • Like a photo
  • Comment on a photo

Don’t be afraid to use an emoji or two to add some personality to your text.

11. Pay for sponsored posts and product reviews

All this optimized posting to your account is great, but if you really want to increase Instagram followers, you need to take advantage of influencer marketing and expose your brand to a wider audience.

So, how do you do that? First, unlike the tactics to grow Instagram followers mentioned above, this one usually isn’t free. However, if done correctly, it’s of good value.

To get started, you’ll need to make a list of large accounts in your niche. For example, if you sell beauty products, you’ll want to find large accounts from beauty bloggers.

You may already be following these accounts, but if not, you’ll need to find them. One of the best ways is to use Webstagram (mentioned earlier) and search for some of the closest hashtag keywords you uncovered in the beginning of this post. When you do a search for your keywords, not only will it show you the related keywords, it will also show you the top Instagram accounts that feature those keywords.

There are a couple of things to look for in the profiles results:

  • A large following—usually 20,000 to 200,000
  • An email address in the profile

If there is an email address in the profile, it usually means the account is open to sponsored posts or a shoutout in a sponsored Story.

You’ll want to email and ask their sponsored post pricing. In general, I have found the average rate to be around $20 to $50 per post, depending on the size of the following.

However, if you’re selling a unique and original product, you may also want to consider sending your product for the influencer to review and post. Usually, the more natural and less advertisement-like the image, the greater the engagement and response.

You don’t necessarily need influencers with a massive following to get more followers on Instagram, but rather ones with a high engagement rate (likes and comments relative to follower count), which many influencer marketplaces can provide.

12. Use geotags to boost local discovery

Besides hashtags, you can also make your Instagram posts and Stories discoverable by tagging your location—either the city you’re in or the venue where the photo or video was taken.

Locations not only have their own Instagram feed but also their own Story, and hashtags that you can contribute to when you use the location sticker in your own Stories.

Local businesses can get the most value out of location tags by posting regularly to these feeds and also engaging with posts from prospective customers who are physically in the vicinity.

13. Organize your Stories into Highlights

Whenever a potential follower lands on your business profile, you have a short span of time to convince them to follow you.

One way to do this is by using the Highlights feature on your profile to organize your Instagram Stories in a way that communicates what your account is about.

Since Stories have a 24-hour lifespan, Highlights can be used to give them a second life and entice others to follow you so they don’t miss out on more Stories in the future.

Use Story Highlights to grow Instagram followers by:

  • Creating trailers that tease what your account is about
  • Organizing your Stories into themes (like countries you’ve visited, for travel accounts)
  • Explaining your products through pictures and videos

14. Ask for more followers

It sounds obvious, but it deserves to be said: Don’t be afraid to occasionally ask your audience to follow you.

The same way YouTubers ask their viewers to follow them at the end of their videos, you can also ask viewers to follow you for more content.

Sometimes people might really enjoy what you put out on Instagram but need a nudge before they actually follow you. 

You can also do this in your Instagram captions, work it into your content by pitching what your audience will get if they follow you or by hinting at content that’s coming up that they won’t want to miss.

15. Run a giveaway

One of the best kinds of comments you can get on any social media post, not just Instagram, is when one user tags a friend. Not only do these comments contribute to your post’s engagement, which in turn makes it favorable to the Instagram algorithm, but each tag brings you a new audience member who arrived through a recommendation and who you could potentially win over as a follower.

One way to encourage this behavior is by posting relatable content that begs for 1:1 sharing (e.g., a gym meme that asks you to tag a friend who skips leg day). But a more reliable way is by running a giveaway that encourages your audience to tag a friend and follow your account.

Follow Instagram’s promotion guidelines and any legal requirements for running an Instagram contest that applies in your country of operation.

For inspiration, here’s an example of a successful product giveaway from Philip Kingsley that incentivizes people to follow its account and tag a friend for the chance to win a collection.

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16. Share user-generated content

User-generated content (UGC) is any type of content—such as videos, photos, reviews, audio, and more—that you curate from fans or followers. It’s an essential tool in your marketing arsenal for gaining followers on Instagram. UGC helps humanize your brand by featuring real people, with real stories, that show your product in real life and builds a more trusting relationship with potential customers.

Not only does your audience love their 15 minutes of fame on your Instagram feed, featuring them also helps drive more sales in your online store. According to research from Olapic, consumers today are 56% more likely to buy something after seeing a photo of the product shared by customers. 

Take Fashion Nova, for example. The online retailer’s Instagram account relies heavily on user-generated content.

Fashion Nova’s user-generated content gives it access to thousands of pictures from people all over the world to share with its audience—pictures that both showcase the brand’s values and inspire followers to engage with its posts and buy the clothes real people are wearing.  

When it comes to creating user-generated content for your online store, start by asking customers to share their favorite experiences and images with your products by:

  • Creating a branded hashtag feed where customers can post images
  • Adding a call to action in your Instagram bio
  • Running a contest 
  • Reaching out to influencers
  • Adding an “ask” for user-generated content in your packaging

Remember, the goal of UGC is to show an authentic view of your products. If some customers send you lower-quality photos that still highlight your products’ best features, don’t be afraid to use them. 

17. Use Instagram Live

Live video is the key to running a successful marketing strategy on any social media platform. With Instagram, you can use Instagram Live to stream videos to your followers and engage with them in real-time. 

When your brand starts a live video stream, a ring encases your profile picture in Instagram Stories to tell followers they can check it out. Followers also receive a notification when you start a live video. Once you finish your livestream, you can upload it to your Story for 24 hours. 

Remember that Instagram Live is interactive. Your followers will probably comment while you’re live, so try to acknowledge their comments and find ways to get them to participate. 

Some ways to gain more followers when using Instagram Live include:

  • Influencer takeovers
  • Hosting an AMA (ask me anything) or Q&A
  • Teasing a product launch or update
  • Hosting a talk show
  • Going behind the scenes on your operations
  • Sharing a current event 
  • Running product tutorials

Building an Instagram growth strategy to drive followers 

In this post we talked about the most effective ways to use Instagram to grow your instagram following, but it's not always a numbers game. As with any social network, the most successful content strategy is to be authentic and social.

If you focus on engagement, not just number of followers, Instagram can be a great home for your products and brand and can lead to a healthy stream of revenue for your ecommerce business. For more tips on turning this social media platform into a profitable channel, check out our post on how to make money on Instagram.

Illustration by Eugenia Mello

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How to get more followers on Instagram FAQ

How do you get more followers on Instagram for free?

  1. Find and post in popular hashtags related to your photo, product, or brand.
  2. Create your own branded hashtag.
  3. Use hashtags in Stories.
  4. Create Instagram Reels.

How can I increase my followers on Instagram?

  1. Use the right Instagram hashtags.
  2. Steal your competitors' followers.
  3. Use geotags on Instagram posts.
  4. Organize Stories into Highlights.
  5. Post user-generated content.
  6. Collaborate with other brands.
  7. Post at the best times.
  8. Use Instagram analytics tools.
  9. Publish Instagram Reels.
  10. Livestream on Instagram Stories.

10 of the Best Ways to Get Instagram Followers for Your Business

How to Get Instagram Followers for Your Business

  1. 1. Promote Your IG on Your Other Networks
  2. 2. Use Popular Hashtags
  3. 3. Monitor Hashtags
  4. 4. Add Video Content
  5. 5. Optimize Your Brand Page
  6. 6. Post Consistently
  7. 7. Follow + Like + Comment
  8. 8. Explore Influencer Marketing
  9. 9. Use Geotagging
  10. 10.  Run Giveaway Contests

Instagram is more than just the leading repository of latte art.

It has more than one billion monthly active users – yes, billion with a “b.” And while the majority of users are in the U.S., it has a massive presence globally, with big user bases in India, Brazil, Indonesia, and Russia. 

Instagram also skews young and hip, with the under-30 crowd making up about 60 percent of the platform, and teenagers are drawn to it in growing numbers.

B2C brands can make a big splash on Instagram. Whether you’re showing off a delicious meal, a beautiful car, or an amazing office gadget, Instagram is the way to connect with consumers who want to consume straightforward, energetic, visually engaging stories.

What Is Instagram Marketing?

Instagram marketing is the way businesses connect with and engage with their target audiences using pictures and videos. In recent years, Instagram has become a great tool for brands that want to show users their corporate cultures to market products and services in a new and exciting way.

This often attracts new customers and potential talent while building brand loyalty and establishing brand identity. 

via GIPHY

Instagram has free insights into user analytics for business profiles that allow you to track impressions and engagements on your stories and posts with the option to take a look at demographic information such as gender, age, location, and active hours. 

With Instagram, you can apply key marketing strategies in several creative ways that reflect your brand including influencer marketing, advertisements, giveaways, and others. 

Marketing on Instagram is great for businesses who want to convert more leads, increase sales, create brand loyalty, and position themselves as influential thought leaders in the market.  

How to Create an Instagram Business Account

Creating a business Instagram account may be one of the easiest things about learning how to market with the social media app.  

Here is how you can set up a business account to provide people with more information about your products and services.

1. Download the Instagram App.

If you don’t already have an account, go to the app store on your device and download the Instagram app. Once the app is downloaded on your device, tap the app to open it. 

2. Create an Account and Username.

Hit "sign up" to create an account and enter your business email address. If you already have a business or personal Facebook account that you would like to connect, you can tap sign up with a Facebook account. 

You'll need to create a username for Instagram that has something to do with your business name, location, or brand. In most cases, companies tend to use their official company name as their username (ex. @bluleadz, @hubspot, @airbnb.)

If your company has multiple locations, collections, or sub-brands, you can create a unique account for each and expand on your company name to create a specific Instagram handle. For example, the popular clothing brand Zara has their main account @zara, as well as accounts @zarakids and @zaraman.

3. Switch to a Business Account.

Now that you have your account set up, you need to go to settings to change your Instagram into a business account. Once you are in settings, scroll down until you find the Switch to Professional Account selection.

You're then prompted with options to self-select as a creator (for public figures, artists, producers, etc.) or a business (for brands, retailers, etc.). Once you choose your type of professional account, follow the prompts, which leads to the next step. 

4. Add Your Business Contact Information.

After you switch to a business account, you can add in business information such as your email, phone number, location, business category, and store hours. 

You can also add in a creative bio with a tagline or other pertinent information. 

Next, you will begin posting great content for your followers. If you don’t have many followers starting out, don’t worry. This takes time. And we can help you with useful tips and tricks.

10 Ways to Get More Instagram Followers

Although Instagram is beloved by people all over the world, many marketers aren’t as familiar with it as Facebook, Twitter, or even LinkedIn. That can lead to a bit of culture shock as you figure out an Instagram marketing strategy that works for you.

Of course, followers – active, attentive, real followers – are the cornerstone of success.

Here’s how you can get more Instagram followers for your business:

Promote Your Instagram on Your Other Networks.

Most users are on several different social platforms, so you can always start by letting followers know about your new Instagram account. If they like your content, they’ll probably add you – and that gives you two (or more) ways for your message to reach them.

An Instagram business account also must be linked to Facebook, so you can always share your Instagram posts on your Facebook page, giving your Facebook users a sneak peek of what they can expect on your new Insta feed.

Use Popular Hashtags.

Instagram is hashtag-driven, just like Twitter, and using the right hashtags at the right time can make your posts much more discoverable. Naturally, you should always double-check a tag’s meaning before you use it, and be sure you only use tags that suit your brand identity.

via GIPHY

To increase your traffic, likes, and followers, try these top Instagram hashtags:

  • #love (1,271,692,015)
  • #instagood (742,795,562)
  • #photooftheday (507,358,504)
  • #fashion (487,010,088)
  • #beautiful (463,668,566)
  • #happy (427,528,663)
  • #cute (418,686,470)
  • #like4like (417,887,839)
  • #tbt (413,049,020)
  • #followme (392,011,012)
  • #picoftheday (380,504,677)
  • #follow (371,102,705)
  • #me (348,193,980)
  • #art (343,874,151)
  • #selfie (337,204,715)

The most popular hashtags do change from time to time, so keep an eye on the latest stats.

Monitor Hashtags (Even If They’re Not So Popular).

Instagram is even more centered around commenting than other platforms. If you want followers to engage with you, it’s a good idea to take the first step.

Keep an eye on hashtags in your niche, even if they don’t lead to a lot of daily traffic, and respond to matching images to build a rapport. If you have a local business, be sure the hashtags you choose are geo-targeted to your area.

Spice Things Up With Video Content.

Video content is tremendously important on Facebook and Twitter. You shouldn’t overlook it on Instagram, either!

Over on Instagram, engagement is growing faster for videos than for images. The truth is, people just can’t get enough of quirky, compelling, short-form videos. Just check out how Bluleadz incorporated video into our feed.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In addition to posting pre-recorded video at least once a week, don’t forget about Instagram Live. Nothing says “authenticity” like live video: Grainy smartphone footage can be much more popular than a polished, professional video, especially on a site full of 20-somethings.

Plus, when you go live on Instagram, you’ll get a prominent place on your followers’ feeds until you wrap things up. Afterwards, you still have the chance to share the replay to those who missed it.

Optimize Your Brand Page.

Your Instagram brand page is your company’s public face – and there’s a lot to do here.

Your brand page is your opportunity to introduce yourself to the Insta-world and get some traffic to your site. This is one of the rare cases where linking right to your homepage is the way to go, but a landing page especially for Instagram users can be even more effective.

To round out your brand page, you’ll need a branded username, complete bio, profile image, and captions for your images. You should also add important contact options like "call," "email," and "directions. " These will show up as clickable buttons on your profile.

Too many Instagram pages are half-complete or abandoned by their companies after setup, littering the web with junk. Don’t be that person.

Post Consistently and Stick With It.

If you’re adding Instagram to your social strategy, remember it’s a big commitment: Brands should aim to post at least once a day. Once you have a workflow and pipeline for your visual content, ramp things up to two or three posts a day to be more competitive.

Instagram requires sizzling images to get eyes on your message, so unless you’re a photography firm, you’ll probably never hit the eight to 10 posts a day you might make on a platform like Twitter.

That makes the timing of your posts all the more crucial, so do some research on the best times to post on Instagram. It doesn't hurt to check out the optimal times to post on other social platforms, either.

No matter how many daily posts you settle on, keep plugging away at the same level.

Follow + Like + Comment (FLC).

This simple formula can get you a lot of followers fast – but there’s a bit more to it.

The absolute quickest way to turbocharge your follower count is to start with the followers of your closest competitors. In general, the more local your business, the more effective this is.

Engage directly with those followers by following them, liking a photo of theirs, and leaving a comment. You can even repeat the process on different days until you see a response.

via GIPHY

Preliminary research on this shows that, when done with a deft, personal touch, it’s amazingly effective. Out of 100 contacts, you might find nearly a third will follow you back.

For social media, that’s an earth-shaking response rate. Go after it.

Go Hog Wild on Influencer Marketing.

There’s nothing new about influencer marketing, but Instagram is its current home on the web.

Instagram influencers are the rockstars of the social media world. Because their following is so engaged, they have the power to send active, purchase-ready users direct to your door.

To get started with Instagram influencer marketing, all you need to do is find large accounts in your niche. Typically, it takes at least 20,000 users to make a real splash.

Of course, many influencers have 200,000 or more.

From there, contact the account owner directly – most experienced influencers will list a contact email address in their profile – and inquire about their Sponsored Post rates.

Sponsored Posts tend to be on the affordable side. Many up-and-coming young influencers will also be interested in trading a product sample for a Sponsored Post. If you’re looking for a detailed review that will inform users about your offerings, this could be the way to go.

Use Geotags to Help Local Users Find You.

In addition to using hashtags, you can also tag your location on your posts and stories to make them discoverable. You may tag the city you are in or the venue where you took the video or photo. 

Locations have their own Instagram feed and story like hashtags that you can contribute to so more users will see your content. 

Geotags are especially helpful for local businesses who want to gain attention from and engage with local users. Businesses that have unique artwork or flower walls with neon signs tend to attract many millennial consumers. Post the unique aspects of your business to share with a geotag, and you are sure to attract new followers and customers.

Run a Giveaway.

Everyone likes free stuff. Gain attention from other Instagram users by running a giveaway for your products, services, or other merchandise related to your business.

Many businesses on Instagram have users enter a giveaway by following multiple pages, tagging three to five friends and reposting content.  This helps increase your visibility and allows you to gain many followers quickly. 

4 Examples of Awesome Instagram Marketing Strategies

Here are four great examples of Instagram marketing strategies being put to use by real brands:

Dove 

Dove often uses hashtags for meaningful social media campaigns that get their customers involved. Users that would like to participate just post a picture using Dove's hashtag to help a specific cause Dove is trying to bring attention to. They may be featured on their social media pages or website. 

Dove's target audience is generally women, so they center their Instagram hashtags and messaging around this target audience. This helps them gain attention from Instagram users who haven't interacted with the brand, and it provides them with a library of user-generated content.

Suja

Suja, the organic juice brand, often posts giveaways on Instagram to help them gain more followers and customers. They also partner with other brands on Instagram to help increase their brand visibility.

They used their own hashtag for the giveaway and required users to repost the image and tag three friends to enter the giveaway.

Sephora

Sephora leverages their Instagram stories by advertising promotions for their followers to see.

For example, they recently posted a promotion on their story regarding a sale on eyeshadow. Users are likely to share information about promotions with friends and family, which helps Sephora gain more followers and customers. 

Nekter Juice Bar

Nekter makes use of influencer marketing to increase their brand awareness on Instagram. For instance, they recently had a former Miss USA contestant with thousands of followers post herself in one of their locations enjoying their products.

All of her followers get to see how much she likes it, and they will likely view Nekter's profile and follow them if they like the content. 

Leverage Instagram for Marketing Success

If you spend most of your time on social media mainstays like Facebook, Instagram may not be quite what you’re used to. Still, most inbound marketers are ready to take the plunge. You know the value of visual content and of understanding your audience... just combine the two.

Instagram isn’t right for every brand, but if you’re out to connect with the young, trendy, and ambitious, it should be a big part of your social media strategy. A billion people all around the world are waiting for your next breathtaking photo or fascinating video to capture their attention.

How to promote a business on Instagram and where to start

Our article will help you learn how to promote a business account on Instagram* from scratch: about different methods of promotion, how to use them for business and measure effectiveness.

How to promote a business on Instagram* using gray methods

I will say right away: Instagram* algorithms are struggling with gray methods of promotion - there is always a risk of account blocking. In addition, they are essentially useless: fake subscribers and activity will not bring real benefits to the business, but even harm. nine0003

If you have a lot of followers, but they do not respond to your posts, the social network algorithms will stop suggesting your content in the feed of real followers - Instagram* will consider that your posts are not interesting. And with bursts of inflated activity, it is difficult to see true statistics. It is important in order to make timely changes to the promotion strategy and increase business efficiency.

But you need to talk about gray methods at least in order to know what it is when they are offered to you. nine0003

Mass following and mass liking . Mass following is an automatic mass subscription to Instagram users * and the issuance of likes. This is done by special services according to the settings specified by the user. The calculation is that the user will be interested in your account and subscribe in response. Such promotion is not safe for the account - Instagram* prohibits the use of third-party services, so you can easily get banned. They can be banned, for example, for exceeding the limits on likes and comments. You should not expect fantastic results from mass liking and mass following - it is better to use them in combination with other methods, if you still decide that you need it. nine0003

Examples of services: Instaplus.pro, SocialKit, SMM Code.

Ruble offers . A quick alternative to mass following is buying offers. You place an ad on the exchange about the purchase of real users, set the cost and wait for the result. The price per subscriber is on average 1-2 rubles, but the minus of the method is that new subscribers are not the target audience. Yes, the figure of 10,000 subscribers will flaunt in the profile header, but these people do not need your products and services. They will not be interested in brand news, like posts, and even more so buy, which means they will promote the brand page. This will not increase activity in the account, and real users will doubt whether it is worth trusting a brand with inflated followers. nine0003

Examples of exchanges : LikeMe, Bosslike, VkTarget.

Comment spam . Spam - automatic distribution of comments according to the specified settings: hashtags, geotags or a collected list of target users. Users are skeptical about spam, but in this way you can send news about discounts in your account or praise readers' photos on your own and for free. The task is to draw the attention of the user so that he looks at your profile and stays with you. nine0003 How to start promoting a business on Instagram* Examples of spam that does not bother the user

How to promote a business on Instagram* using white hat methods

Targeted advertising on Instagram* . Targeted ads can only be run by business account holders. You can connect a business profile via Facebook*, and if you haven't done it yet, we recommend that you fix this shortcoming - then you will be able to view account statistics and run ads via Instagram* or Facebook*. Statistics show the number of impressions, reach, and other indicators of publications on the page. There is also useful information about subscribers: gender, age, geography. nine0003

Targeted advertising allows you to show advertising posts in the Instagram feed* and in Stories. You can choose the parameters of the audience to which the advertisement will be shown: gender, age, interests, location. For step-by-step instructions for self-targeting from scratch, read our article "How to run official advertising on Instagram *". Targeted advertising is not free, but it is much safer to promote a brand page on a social network.

Benefits of targeted advertising:

  • Quick setup if you're good at it, of course. Click the button under the publication, specify the target parameters and launch. You can set up targeting yourself, but it will take longer than if you entrust the matter to specialists.
  • You control the coverage of advertising and its cost. The higher the percentage of the audience to which the ad is shown, the higher the cost.
  • Detailed statistics . Analyzing the received data will help you understand the results of the campaign and launch the next one with more precise settings. nine0048
  • Choose your audience . You can segment your audience by gender, age, location, interests, even behavior.
Advertising account on Facebook*

Seeding advertising from bloggers . Together with other promotion methods, you can use opinion leaders and buy ads from them. Many people trust the opinions of those they follow on Instagram*, and these ads often look like honest reviews. Bloggers can be searched for through recommendations, manually through Instagram search*, and on special exchanges like Epicstars and Getblogger. A convenient tool for finding influencers is the Livedune service. It searches for bloggers according to given characteristics and analyzes their social networks. nine0003

Step-by-step action plan when choosing a blogger:

  • Select accounts with similar topics.
  • Check his account statistics (via Livedune or Epicdetect) or request screenshots with reach and impressions from the blogger. Caution, beware of screenshots where the numbers are drawn in Photoshop.
  • Examine the ratio of actions and subscribers. The optimal ratio is 10-15% of likes from the number of subscribers.
  • Look at the relevance of comments. A bunch of emoticons and the same type of comments? Most likely, the comments are bought or cheated through activity chats, where a company of novice bloggers exchange activities in each other's accounts. nine0048

Gamification . The gamification method helps to bring new subscribers - draws, contests, marathons and other activities.

  • Give away a valuable prize among subscribers for their subscription or repost mentioning your account.
  • Think of an educational or gaming marathon - a community of subscribers united by the goal of learning something or coping with a problem. You can teach users to write stories, take care of their health, apply makeup, or grant their wishes. Become a marathon organizer yourself or join other organizers as a sponsor. They will tell the participants of the marathon about you, and you will present valuable prizes. nine0048
Sample marathons

Subscribers only promotions . Subscriber-only promotion for a limited time, attracting new users and increasing the engagement of existing ones. An exclusive sale using urgency and FOMO marketing tactics. FOMO (Fear Of Mussing Out) - the fear of missing out. It's a psychological trigger, a missed opportunity syndrome that many consumers can't quite resist.

Launch a countdown sticker in your stories - it will hurry up those who are a little hesitant about signing up to participate. More:

  • Show that the product is popular . A growing number of people who have already bought a product will show a potential client that the product is actively sold, which means that it will be useful to him.
  • Show how much product is left in stock . Or places in a marathon, or prizes for a subscription. Scarcity is another incentive to subscribe to a closed profile or purchase a product that may soon disappear.
  • Emphasize opportunities that may be missed . Focus on the possibility of missing out on a great offer.

If the target audience for the promotion is chosen correctly and the campaign runs smoothly, such a sale can significantly increase the number of your subscribers.

Mutual PR. How to promote a business on Instagram* for free? For example.

Selling cool coffee makers? Find a brand that offers coffee. Agree on mutual posts, promotions or live broadcasts. This can bring a new audience to both you and your partner. nine0003

Of course, you shouldn't interact with direct competitors in this way - attract businesses from an adjacent niche to cooperation.

Hashtags . Don't forget about them - this is a good way to show your content on Instagram * for user requests in search.

A few tips:

Create your own hashtag. Share your branded unique hashtag with your community. When people use your product or enter a contest, they tag their posts with your hashtag. Such posts are seen by friends of the participants and, perhaps, the content can encourage them to join. nine0003

Follow the current hashtags . Hashtags don't have to be brand related. There are holidays, high-profile events, popular TV shows. Don't spam with irrelevant hashtags, but if you have a suitable image, use relevant hashtags.

Think of things people like to make or buy . Whenever possible, use popular hashtags on Instagram*, such as #food, #shoes, #cats. But keep in mind that content with popular hashtags does not remain in the top for long. nine0003

Make your account public if you rely on hashtags. Private accounts have their advantages, but privacy limits the effectiveness of hashtags. If you have a closed account with 50 followers, only those 50 people will see your posts. If the account is public, hundreds and thousands of people will be able to find the post.

How to measure the effectiveness of promotion

The effectiveness of any activity must be measured. Think in advance how you will track the effectiveness of advertising channels and provide conditions for this:

  • If an ad takes a user to a website or lead collection form, test the form on all possible devices and browsers.
  • Are you collecting applications in direct? Be prepared to process incoming requests promptly.
  • Bought an ad from a blogger? Track comments after the post is published and answer questions from the audience.

Performance indicators . They are thought out in advance, depending on the initial goals and objectives of the advertising campaign. If you want to increase audience reach, the number of subscribers and improve audience engagement, then consider the following indicators:

  • Audience coverage.
  • The number of subscribers, the number of unsubscribes.
  • Audience growth rate: number of subscriptions / number of unsubscribes * 100%.
  • The level of attractiveness of the post or account as a whole: likes / followers * 100%.
  • Engagement rate: number of actions of followers / number of followers * 100%.

If it is important to evaluate traffic and conversions, arm yourself with the following metrics:

  • Website traffic from social networks, if you have web analytics systems set up.
  • CTR (click through rate): Divide the number of clicks on the link by the number of impressions of the post and multiply by 100. site transitions.
  • Number of leads and CPL (price per lead): Divide the amount of advertising costs by the number of leads from the channel.

How to draw the right conclusions from the received figures, read the article "How to evaluate the effectiveness of advertising on Instagram*: metrics and tools". nine0003

To summarize

It is impossible to say unequivocally which method of promotion is better. It all depends on the business area, goals and promotion, and the current situation: the quality of the product, the relevance and quality of the content, the budget for promotion.

Do not forget about the content plan and regular posting. People who subscribe to a brand page expect regular, interesting content. Use tools that make your job easier, like SMMplanner, an automatic posting service. In one application, you can set up a calendar of posts, edit photos, videos and stories, view post analytics, work with a team, and much more. The service helps to use your time much more efficiently. Register here - you will have 14 days of access to the professional plan instead of the standard week. This time is enough to evaluate all the possibilities of the tool, and then make a choice. nine0003

It is important to remember that promotion on Instagram* is not the only marketing tool in social networks, but it can introduce a huge audience to your product - you should definitely not ignore it. Good luck in your endeavors!

The article has been updated. First post: October 19, 2018

Register in SMMplanner and schedule posts on Instagram* and Instagram* Stories.

How to gain followers in 2022 on Instagram: from 0 to 10,000

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

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. nine0003

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. nine0003

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 other people'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. nine0003

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. nine0003

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. nine0003

#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. nine0003

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. nine0003

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 picture 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. nine0003

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. nine0003

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. nine0003

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? nine0003

#10 Giveaways

Giveaways are another effective way to promote your account.

If the draw is published on the site, then 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. nine0003

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. nine0003

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. nine0048
  • 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