How to get people follow you on instagram
Get More Real Instagram Followers with These 10 Tips
Instagram has become a cornerstone of many brands’ social presence, driving profitable traffic to landing pages, growing conversions, and building an engaged audience.
If your Instagram presence isn’t quite as robust as you’re hoping, it might be time to learn how to sharpen up your strategies for getting real, organic followers on Instagram. The larger your audience grows, the more opportunities you have to engage with users and create unique experiences for them.
The organic distinction is important: sometimes brands take the easy way out when trying to get more Instagram followers. Pay for likes and follower sites are everywhere, but these shortcuts are never worth it, as the Instagram algorithm regularly gets updated to weed out paid, low quality accounts and interactions.
Not to mention, the number on your Instagram following ultimately means nothing if it doesn’t represent an engaged fan following that makes purchases, visits your landing pages, and advocates for your brands with friends and followers. Start building your presence up the right way with these tips on getting more Instagram followers.
Before you set out figuring out how to gain followers on Instagram, one of the most important steps is to have your account fully optimized. Think of your brand’s Instagram bio as the “homepage” to your account.
Without a bio, image captions, a proper username or profile image, how will people know the account belongs to your brand? It might seem obvious, but on Instagram your bio and image help form the foundations of your brand identity. The link in your bio is your one spot to drive Instagram traffic to your site, so optimizing your account is essential.
If you’re uncertain where to link, try marketing or product pages that relate to specific keywords, hashtags or campaigns on your Instagram account. Linking to your homepage is OK–but why not give users a cohesive experience when moving from your bio to a site? This has led to the popularity of IG link landing pages that host relevant links to the last few pieces of content mentioned on a brand’s feed, and “link in bio” posts that help direct audiences to those links.
Additionally, keep your username as search-friendly as possible, which usually means sticking close to your actual brand name. If your business name is longer, shorten it to something your audience would recognize. Don’t add numbers or special characters to your username, and if possible keep it in-line with other social media handles you already have.
The best way to optimize your account is to create and follow an Instagram marketing strategy. Download our free guide to get started.
2. Keep a consistent content calendarThe worst thing you can do when trying to get followers on Instagram is to post content at random, haphazard times. If you’re lucky enough to get users following you in the beginning, you don’t want to make them forget they followed you in the first place.
To combat this, keep to a regular posting schedule. Typically, brands shouldn’t post more than a few times a day to avoid spam, but whatever your cadence, keep it consistent.
Approximately 200 million Instagram users log on daily, so to cast your net even wider, try publishing a few times throughout the entire day.
In fact, our very own research on the best times to post to Instagram pinpoints the top times to post for multiple industries, or you can follow our research of the best times across all topic areas below:
Sticking to a schedule will help you build a consistent experience for your followers and keep them in the know of your brand. But if you’re wondering how you’re going to remember to publish at these different times in the day, we’ve got you covered with Sprout’s scheduling and optimal times features–read on for more details.
3. Schedule Instagram posts in advanceWhile the Instagram algorithm has changed to show users more content they like, posting at the right times can still give your posts more visibility by increasing the overall engagement they receive.
There’s a lot your brand can do to raise visibility, and now with Sprout Social, scheduling Instagram content is one of them.
With our newest tools, we can help your brand schedule Stories, Carousels and Feed posts through an easy process.
By scheduling content in advance, your entire team can see campaigns and schedules more efficiently. It’s always smart to build out content in advance and with our Instagram scheduling tools, you can reach your audience and maintain a consistent flow of content at the same time.
You can also use Sprout’s patented ViralPost feature and let us do the work for you. ViralPost analyzes your own account’s engagement history and identifies the optimal times for you to post algorithmically.
4. Get partners and brand advocates to post your contentPerfect your Instagram content plan with Sprout Social
In addition to scheduling a complete picture of your Instagram content calendar, Sprout offers even more features to perfect your brand’s feed.
Share IG-approved visuals with your team using our Asset Library, or test out our grid preview feature to make sure every aspect of your presence is true to your brand style.
Get a hands-on look at these features and more with a 30-day free trial of Sprout.
When you’re learning how to get more Instagram followers, it’s important to know the value of your audience. The larger your follower count grows (organically), the more buyers and interested customers you will have.
The best way to get customers to follow you is to get in front of them and be present. It’s critical to be present on your own Instagram as well as others. Try sponsoring user-generated content to get your brand in customers’ feeds. You can also hold Instagram contests to get your brand
out to a larger audience. These types of campaigns build social proof by showing your fans are invested enough to repost your content or create their own UGC.
View this post on Instagram
A post shared by Urban Outfitters (@urbanoutfitters)
Another way is to get your handle in front of a much larger audience.
Try to work with larger Instagram accounts in your industry, like notable influencers in your space, to share your content to their audience.
Just make sure you’re providing something of value. The last thing you want to do is seem too salesy. Find marketing collaborations and co-marketing plans with other businesses to build your Instagram audience.
5. Avoid fake Instagram followersThere’s a huge difference between an Instagram account having fake and legitimate followers. It might seem tempting to simply purchase Instagram followers, but the backlash outweighs the perks of organic follower growth.
Fake Instagram followers tend to:
- Deceive new followers: If users come to an inactive Instagram feed with tens of thousands of followers, it will lower the account’s credibility. Don’t trick people into following you. Build trust and long-lasting relationships for better engagement.
- Have no ROI: It might seem easier to buy followers, but your acquired bot or unmanned new followers won’t be purchasing anything.
People follow brands on Instagram for a reason–they like what you’re posting or your company in general. These are actual spenders and bring monetary value to your business. - Create little-to-no buzz: If you have 10,000 fake followers, how many are going to comment, like and share your content? More than likely, these bot or fake accounts will be cleaned up by Instagram, deleted and make your posts seem like engagement graveyards.
Real people have the ability to share, like, comment and engage with your Instagram posts. Additionally, these users enjoy when there’s someone on the other side responding.
For example, Lush Cosmetics takes the time to answer various product questions, which results in users coming back, following or possibly sharing with others. These interactions will always have more value than a set of inactive followers.
6. Showcase your Instagram everywhereHow are people going to find an account unless you promote your Instagram? Make sure your Instagram account is listed with your website and other social networks.
Creating visibility and awareness is one of the best ways to get discovered. If you truly want to get more Instagram followers, let people know where to find you. You could add social media buttons to your website and blog to help promote social shares across all your networks as well as show people where to find you on Instagram.
Follow #MoMAPrimeTime on Instagram today as we celebrate the last day of Summer Camp for 200 New Yorkers, ages 65+! https://t.co/RNyV7Ibr9y pic.twitter.com/64SvbUaWLL
— MoMA The Museum of Modern Art (@MuseumModernArt) June 23, 2017
Another great idea is to cross promote across your social media accounts. The Museum of Modern Art regularly spreads awareness about its Instagram through Twitter. You can easily leverage your other social networks to direct users to your Instagram.
However, make sure that you’re not just asking for a follow. Instead you should try to promote unique content on your Instagram so users have a reason to follow you there.
Fortunately, with Instagram adding a ton of new content and video features like Stories, IGTV and Reels, you have a great opportunity to build followers through creative content.
While this is easier said than done, it’s smart to learn what content your followers want to see. You’ll quickly find on Instagram that some content performs better than others. This is why testing is so important.
Whether it’s filters, captions, content types or post times, the smallest detail can make all the difference. Keep your ear to the ground with new Instagram trends so you know you’re posting popular content.
To take your analysis a step further, your brand should invest in Instagram analytics tools. This will make it easier to track, benchmark and analyze Instagram content across accounts.
Be confident in your content strategy by analyzing different filters, captions and more to see what works best with your audience. If you’re unsure where to start, try analyzing your competitors.
You shouldn’t directly copy your competitors, but it’s smart to take notes on what they’re doing or posting that drives engagement. A little competitive research can go a long way. You can use our Instagram Competitors report to get a look at what’s working for other brands in your industry.
8. Get the conversation startedOne of the best ways to make users aware of your Instagram is through conversation. According to the 2020 Sprout Social Index, consumers want to engage with visual-first content like photos (68%) and video (50%), followed by 30% who want to engage with text posts. Instagram is the perfect fit for this audience profile, pairing eye-catching visuals with captions that can be just as engaging when you perfect your Instagram caption copywriting skills.
People are continuing to use social media as their contact reference for brands, whether its for off-the-cuff questions and chat, serious customer care queries, or praise for their favorite brands and products.
And for your business, you need to be supportive and communicative on Instagram.
Try to respond to as many questions or comments as possible, because it could mean the difference between getting a new customer, follower or improving your relationship with your audience. Our Index research also showed 89% of consumers will buy from a brand after following on social, so it’s important to secure the attention and loyalty needed to convert a visitor to your profile into a follower.
9. Find hashtags that convertOne of the most tried-and-true ways to get followers on Instagram is through hashtags. For years hashtags have served as an essential tool for discovery and allowed us to extend our social reach. As a marketer, you want to build your community by gaining followers and hashtags provide just that.
For starters, find hashtags that are not too populated. Social Media Examiner points this theory out by explaining how the hashtag #love has more than 184 million photos connected to it.
Trying to highlight your Instagram content in a sea of millions of pictures and videos is not an easy thing to do.
You have to find hashtags that people in your target audience are more likely to check. If a relevant connection is made, these users will be more likely to follow your account. Unique, branded hashtags are one way to group posts around hyper-relevant content to your brand and campaigns.
View this post on Instagram
A post shared by M&M'S (@mmschocolate)
For example, M&Ms does a great job at focusing hashtags to an event where they are participating. By using hashtags like #mmspotlight, the brand targets its audience more directly where the spotlight concert event happens and creates awareness.
Understanding how your hashtags perform on Instagram is also just as critical to using them.
And with Sprout Social’s hashtag analytics tools, you have direct access to hashtag performance and usage data to see what’s working best.
Don’t go blindly into the hashtag universe, know what you’re tagging so you can build your following.
10. Make your Instagram followers happyLast but not least, when you make your Instagram followers happy, you see the payoff in audience growth. We’ve given you plenty of tips for brainstorming and scheduling content, so put them into practice in a way that feels real to your brand voice. In other words, avoid seeming needy, sales-driven or robotic.
For many accounts, this means sprinkling in posts that are legitimately designed to bring a smile to followers’ faces and build customer relationships. Don’t forget to provide content to your followers as if they were friends on your personal feed: this might include posting memes, inspirational content, or just re-sharing interesting photos or artwork (all properly credited, of course) that can give your followers a little mental pick-up during the day.
More tips for your Instagram presence
Developing an Instagram following is a multifaceted process. Knowing the ins and outs of best practices on the network will help your strategies be more effective. Learn more with these guides to some of the most important IG essentials:
- How to promote your Instagram: 13 ways that actually work
- 9 Instagram post ideas to spice up your account
- How to regram on Instagram
- How to get more Instagram Likes
- How to craft an impactful Instagram bio for business
Instagram continues to grow in popularity with audiences, so taking advantage of these tips to get followers will help you increase your reach. If you’re ready to put Sprout’s powerful tools behind your Instagram management, start a free trial today.
How To Get More Followers on Instagram [5 Simple Steps]
Starting fresh on social or just trying to build your online brand? You’re probably wondering how to get more followers on Instagram.
And no, we don’t mean buying followers or using bots. Those tricks might boost your follower count for a short time, but they won’t do you any favors long-term.
That’s because the only truly valuable Instagram followers are real people who care about and engage with your brand.
Check out our in-depth guide to learn how to grow Instagram followers organically.
Step 1. Lay the groundwork
Step 2. Create great content
Step 3. Make yourself findable
Step 4. Engage with your community
Step 5. Keep learning
Bonus: Download a free checklist that reveals the exact steps a fitness influencer used to grow from 0 to 600,000+ followers on Instagram with no budget and no expensive gear.
How to get more Instagram followers for free
No time to read the whole guide? Check out the video below for what you need to grow on Instagram this year:
Otherwise, it’s time to roll up your sleeves and get to work.
Step 1. Lay the groundworkHave a thoughtful Instagram marketing strategyIf you want to be effective on social, you need a clear plan.
Getting more Instagram followers is a great starter goal. But followers alone won’t create a successful Instagram account. Your goal needs to be part of a larger plan that connects to your business strategy and social marketing objectives.
Think about the reasons why you want more Instagram followers. What do you really hope to accomplish? Maybe you want to:
- increase brand awareness
- boost product sales
- drive traffic to your website.
Staying focused on these business-oriented goals will help keep your Instagram account consistent.
It will help you tell a compelling brand story that appeals to new profile visitors and helps build (and keep) a loyal following.
Ask yourself some questions about who you’re trying to reach:
- Where do they live?
- What do they do for work?
- When and how do they use Instagram?
- What are their pain points and challenges?
The answers to these questions will help you craft content to connect with the people on Instagram who are most likely to give you a follow.
They will also help you consistently deliver content that will keep your audience engaged for the long run.
Create a consistent brand story and aesthetic
Maybe you want to show off how your product is made. Or humanize your brand by sharing an employee’s perspective. An aspirational brand might showcase the lifestyle or achievements of your customers.
No matter what you’re going for, it’s important to maintain a consistent brand voice, personality and look.
Your posts should be easily recognizable at a glance. Think of your Instagram grid as one cohesive unit. You can always use Instagram Stories to share content that doesn’t quite fit with the look and feel of your main feed.
Your products don’t have to look the same, either. You can use styling to give your grid a consistent look and feel, like @themillerswifecustomcookies does:
Source: @themillerswifecustomcookies on Instagram
Use keywords to appear in searches
Before people can follow you on Instagram, they have to find you. But not all text on Instagram is searchable. Only two fields on Instagram contribute to search results: name and username.
Your username is your Instagram handle. It should be consistent with the handle you use on other social networks since this also makes it easier for people to find you. Use your brand name or a variation of your name that people are likely to use when searching for your brand.
Your name can be anything you like, up to 30 characters. You don’t want to keyword-stuff, but including your most relevant keyword in the name field can make you easier to find.
For example, travel writer Claudia Laroye (@itsclaudiatravels) includes the keyphrase “travel writer” in her Instagram name. Now, she’s more likely to be found by people looking for travel content or writers.
Source: @itsclaudiatravels on Instagram
Optimize your Instagram bio and profileTwo-thirds of Instagram business profile visits are from non-followers. If your bio and profile convince them to click the follow button, those visitors may become followers.
Your profile includes your name and username fields (mentioned above), your website and your bio.
Your bio can be up to 150 characters, so make the most of it. Convey your brand identity and show new visitors why they should follow you. What kind of content can they expect?
This bio from @abstractaerialart sums up the account’s purpose and promise in a quick, easy-to-digest way:
Source: @abstractaerialart on Instagram
If you have a professional account (business or Creator), you can include extra info in your profile, like your contact information, type of business, and location.
Sure, this might seem obvious, but it’s critical when thinking about getting followers on Instagram. Every post on your Instagram grid must be high-quality and visually engaging.
When new users visit your profile, the content should make them want to see more (and click Follow).
Give commercial photographer @nelsonmouellic a round of applause for this visual feat.
Write compelling, long captionsInstagram is a visual social media platform, but great Instagram captions help you get more reach and engagement.
Here are some key strategies to keep in mind:
- Put the most important words up front. If the caption is more than 125 characters long, users must tap “more” to see the whole thing. Make the most of those first words to inspire that extra tap.
- Ask a question. This makes it easy for your audience to leave a comment.
That increased engagement will help make your account visible to more people. - Use emoji. Emoji add a bit of variety and can make your caption more enticing. Just make sure you use those emoji correctly!
- Try different caption lengths. Our data shows that long captions are more likely to improve engagement, but ultra-short captions can also be very effective when the visuals speak for themselves.
Will Tang of Going Awesome Places posts great photos with detailed captions that tell the story behind the shot. His Insta bio calls him a “creator of ridiculously detailed itineraries and guides.” That means this caption approach is very on-brand.
Post content that’s meant to be re-sharedView this post on Instagram
A post shared by Will | Going Awesome Places (@goingawesomeplaces)
Your audience wants to engage with content that’s useful and inspiring.
So when planning your posts, think about types of content that other people might like to share.
People love sharing infographics. Feed that desire by supplying your followers with your expert insights. If someone embeds your Instagram posts in their blog, you’re exposed to a whole new audience of potential followers.
People can also re-share your posts in their Instagram Stories. These posts are clickable, so anyone who wants to know more can click through to your original post. It’s another easy way to expand your reach to new audiences and potential new followers.
For example, here’s how a Hootsuite post about LinkedIn demographics looks when shared to my Instagram Story.
Embrace Instagram StoriesIf you want more Instagram followers, you need to use Instagram Stories. Half a billion Instagram accounts use Stories every day, and 45% of the most-viewed Stories are from businesses.
People who use Stories are highly engaged. Plus, you can use the hashtag and location features in your stories to expose them to people who do not already follow you.
Put a lot of effort into an Instagram Story and not quite ready to say goodbye after 24 hours? Pinned Stories highlights are a great way to introduce your brand to people who visit your profile. So pack those highlights with great info and content to show new visitors why they should follow you.
Don’t forget to customize the cover photos on your highlights, too. Supplement company Vega keeps things on-brand and plant-friendly with their custom green highlights.
Source: Vega on Instagram
Post consistentlyYour existing followers want to see content from you. That’s why they followed you in the first place. So give them what they want!
When users interact with your posts, those engagements tell Instagram’s algorithm that your content is valuable. Those interactions will then boost your reach. So giving your existing followers something great to interact with can help bring in new Instagram followers.
How often should you post? According to our analysis, between 3-7 times per week.
Post at the right timeInstagram uses an algorithm, not a chronological feed. But timing is still important to the algorithm.
Hootsuite’s social team found that the best time to post on Instagram is between 8 AM -12 PM PST or 4-5 PM PST on weekdays.
But your audience might have different habits than ours. A tool like Hootsuite Analytics can show you the best time to post for your audience based on past engagement, impressions or traffic.
Source: Hootsuite Analytics
Try Hootsuite for free. You can cancel anytime.
Start testing various times and measuring results. For example, if you’re a retail brand, you might want to test posting during lunch
Schedule your posts and storiesWhat if the best time to post to your account is 3 AM? (Hey, it happens.) Use a desktop-based Instagram tool like Hootsuite to schedule and publish directly to Instagram.
Scheduling your Instagram posts in advance allows you to plan a cohesive grid that tells an overarching story. It also allows you to dedicate time to creating excellent captions rather than trying to come up with something witty on the fly.
You can also use Hootsuite to schedule Instagram Stories and Reels.
Step 3. Make yourself findableUse relevant hashtags to reach new usersSadly, the text of your Instagram posts isn’t searchable. But your hashtags are. Using hashtags thoughtfully can be a good way to get followers on Instagram for free. You can even create your own branded hashtags.
Relevant hashtags can help people find your content. Instagram users can even follow hashtags. That means your hashtagged content may appear in the feeds of people who do not yet follow your account.
You can include up to 30 hashtags in an Instagram post, but don’t go overboard. Instead, do some experimenting to learn how many hashtags work best for your particular account.
Avoid hashtag gimmicks such as #likeforlike, #tagsforlikes, or #followme. These may give you a temporary boost in followers. But those people aren’t interested in what makes you and your content special. They’re not going to help you build a meaningful, engaged audience on Instagram.
Instead, focus on using highly targeted hashtags specific to your photo, product, or business, like stylist Dee Campling does in this #wfh shot.
Tag your locationView this post on Instagram
A post shared by Dee Campling (@deecampling)
If the location of your post or Story is clear, it’s worth adding a location tag. It’s another easy way for people to find your content on Instagram.
View this post on Instagram
A post shared by Instagram’s @Creators (@creators)
If your business has a physical location, tag it and encourage customers to do the same.
Users can then click on that location and see all photos and Stories posted from your store, restaurant, or office.
For example, here’s what you get when you search for the location of Van Wonderen Stroopwafels in Amsterdam:
Source: Instagram
If you’re posting from a conference or event, adding your location can help you connect with other attendees. This will expose your account to a highly relevant group of new potential Instagram followers.
Tag relevant usersIt’s easy to tag Instagram users featured in your photos. Just use an @-mention in your caption or Instagram’s tagging functionality within the post.
Users are notified when they’re tagged, so tags encourage them to engage with and share the post. Your post will also appear on the Tagged tab of their Instagram profile.
You can also tag users in your Instagram Stories. Then, they can post shared content to their own Story with just a couple of taps.
If they do so, their viewers can click through to your account.
Be careful, though. Tagging someone just to get their attention isn’t a great idea. Instead, only tag users featured in your photo or relevant to your post’s content.
Some potentially relevant users to tag might include:
- Customers
- Suppliers
- Other relevant businesses
- Colleagues or employees
- Someone who taught you a skill or told you about something you share in the post
- Anyone who appears in the photo
Another way to introduce your Instagram account to a new audience is to ask other Instagram users to tag you. When they tag you in a post, their audience sees your handle and can click on it if they want to learn more.
Your bio is a great place to ask people to tag you on Instagram.
For example, Visit the USA asks Instagrammers to tag them for a chance to be featured on their account.
Source: @visittheusa on Instagram
Cross-promote your Instagram account on other networksIf you want to get followers on Instagram for free, you need to make it easy for people to find you.
Your Instagram profile should be easily discoverable. If you’ve already built a following on another social network, let those fans know about your Instagram account.
Share a link to your Instagram profile and give your existing social followers a reason to check it out. (Like an Instagram-exclusive coupon code, event, or contest.)
When BlogHer hosted Jameela Jamil for an Instagram Live, they made sure to promote it on their Facebook Page as well.
If you’re just starting your Instagram account, make sure to post some content before you promote the account elsewhere. Aim for a minimum of 12 posts.
You could also highlight some of your best Instagram posts on your other social channels. Consider boosting these posts with paid advertising so your other social followers can find and follow you on Instagram.
You’ve already seen some embedded Instagram posts in this blog. These clickable posts allow users to head directly to the relevant post or Instagram profile.
Embedding your own Instagram posts in your blog is an easy way to share your content and drive traffic to your profile. Every new visitor to your Instagram profile is a potential new follower.
For example, say Hootsuite wanted to announce our mascot’s makeover. Sure, we could share a few pictures of Owly’s new look.
But we could also embed an Instagram post, like this:
View this post on Instagram
A post shared by Hootsuite 🦉 (@hootsuite)
Any time you’re sharing visual content like photos, charts, or infographics in your blog, there’s an opportunity to embed an Instagram post with that content instead.
Think beyond your social channels when sharing your Instagram account.
You can link to your Instagram account on your website, in your email signature, and in your online newsletters. The link doesn’t have to be big, either. You can use a small Instagram icon.
If you’re promoting a new Instagram account, a quick email blast is a great way to get free Instagram followers fast.
And don’t forget about your offline materials. You can include your Instagram handle on coasters, posters, packing slips, business cards, or packaging. It’s a simple way to drive more free Instagram followers to your account.
Use Instagram QR codesYour Instagram QR code is a scannable code that allows other Instagram users to follow you instantly. It’s another easy way to promote your account on physical materials like packing slips, signage, and product packaging.
Your QR code is also a great way to get new followers in real time at networking events and conferences.
People you connect with in person can scan your code to follow you without having to type out your handle. Try printing it out and tucking it into your namebadge holder for easy access.
Find your Instagram QR code by tapping on the three lines icon at the top right of your Instagram profile and selecting QR Code .
Try to get featuredFeature accounts are Instagram accounts that curate and re-share content based on a hashtag or tagging. Some of these accounts have a huge following. If they share one of your posts (along with your handle), they can send a new stream of Instagram followers your way.
There’s a feature account for just about every niche and interest on Instagram, so start exploring.
For example, @damngoodstitch features embroidery posts. The account has more than 180,000 followers.
View this post on Instagram
A post shared by DamnGoodStitch (@damngoodstitch)
Aim for the Explore page
The Explore page is what you see when you click on the magnifying glass icon at the bottom of the Instagram app.
According to Instagram itself, this is where “you can find photos and videos that you might like from accounts you don’t yet follow.”
Half of Instagram accounts visit Explore every month. That’s a huge opportunity for brands looking to grow their audience.
Ending up on the Explore tab isn’t easy. Luckily, we’ve got an entire article dedicated to helping you get there.
You can also pay to get into the Explore feed by selecting Explore as an ad placement.
Bonus: Download a free checklist that reveals the exact steps a fitness influencer used to grow from 0 to 600,000+ followers on Instagram with no budget and no expensive gear.
Get the free guide right now!
Source: Instagram
Step 4. Engage with your communityFollow relevant accountsYou should only tag people in an Instagram post when the content is directly relevant to them. But you can follow anyone you like.
And when you follow a user on Instagram, there’s a good chance they will check out your feed and consider following you back.
Social listening is great for finding conversations and influential users (a.k.a. influencers) to follow.
Instagram’s “Suggestions For You” section is also a handy resource for finding relevant accounts to follow. These suggestions show up in your Instagram feed between posts, in between Stories, or on the right side of the screen on a computer.
Just remember not to follow too many other accounts too fast. Your follower ratio, or the number of people who follow you compared to how many you follow, is important for credibility.
And don’t follow people just to get their attention, only to unfollow after they follow you back.
This is kind of a jerk move and will hurt your Instagram reputation.
Like all social media networks, Instagram is about the communities built within it. So make sure you’re participating in those spaces.
Get involved by liking, commenting on, and sharing content from other credible users in your community. Avoid generic comments (like “Awesome post!”) that look like they come from bots.
Engaging with other posts helps draw attention (and potential new followers) in two ways:
- People get notifications when you like and comment on their posts. They may check out your profile to return the favor.
- If others find your comments thoughtful or intriguing, they may check out your profile.
Here’s an important stat for anyone thinking about how to get more followers on Instagram: 60% of consumers say they’d follow a brand on Instagram after seeing it promoted by an influencer they trust.
If you’re not working with influencers now, then you should definitely consider it. Luckily, we’ve got a whole guide on Influencer marketing to help you out.
Collaborate with other brandsDon’t be afraid to reach out to other brands to see if there’s a way that you can work together on Instagram. The right kind of collaboration could help everyone involved get more Instagram followers.
Think about businesses you already collaborate with in other ways. Maybe you’re connected in a local business improvement association or shopping area. How could you work together on Instagram?
One common option is to host a contest featuring products from multiple companies, like Rocky Mountain Soap Company did with Annika Mang of @borntobeadventurous.
Try an Instagram Live collaborationView this post on Instagram
A post shared by Rocky Mountain Soap Company (@rockymountainsoapco)
Live video keeps getting more popular, and Instagram is a great place to take advantage of the trend.
Users are notified when an account they follow starts broadcasting live, so a live video really grabs attention.
To get your Live video in front of a new audience, use the “Go live with a friend” option to co-host a live video with someone else in your industry. Ask the other person to host a Live video, then invite you as a guest. The two of you will appear in a split screen, introducing you to all of their followers.
For example, Design Emergency hosts a weekly Instagram Live to interview key figures in the design world.
View this post on Instagram
A post shared by Design Emergency (@design.emergency)
Likewise, Wine Spectator‘s Straight Talk series features interviews with industry insiders.
Use interactivity features in StoriesView this post on Instagram
A post shared by Wine Spectator Magazine (@wine_spectator)
Instagram Stories offer plenty of interactive features to engage users, like poll, question, and chat stickers. These stickers are a simple, low-stakes way for your audience to engage with your content.
Polling stickers increased three-second video views in 90% of Instagram’s beta campaigns for this feature.
Source: Instagram
If users come across your Story from a hashtag or location page, they can engage right away. It’s a great way to make them want to learn more about your brand by giving you a follow.
Pin your best commentsOne of Instagram’s little-known features is the ability to pin up to three comments for each post.
Today we’re rolling out pinned comments everywhere.
📌
That means you can a pin a few comments to the top of your feed post and better manage the conversation. pic.twitter.com/iPCMJVLxMh
— Instagram (@instagram) July 7, 2020
There are a couple of ways you can use this feature as part of your plan to get more followers on Instagram.
- Use pinned comments to extend your caption beyond 2,200 characters by continuing the story in the comments. This lets you take on more detailed and in-depth storytelling, which may be a fit for some accounts.
- Pin your favorite comments from other users, especially if they are creating a lot of engagement.
This feature can help you manage the conversation on your posts and create more opportunities for engagement.
Step 5. Keep learningCreate an AR filterAR filters for Instagram Stories are photo effects Instagrammers can use to modify photos taken through their mobile phone’s front and back cameras.
Those posts with puppy ears? Those are done with an AR (Augmented Reality) filter. Those “which [vegetable/pizza/emoji/etc.] are you?” posts? Yup, those use AR filters too.
Any Instagram user can now create an AR filter. The filters you create live in their own section of your Instagram profile.
Source: @paigepiskin on Instagram
If your filter is not promotional or branded, it will also appear in the Instagram Stories effects gallery, where any Instagrammer can find it.
How does creating an AR filter help you get more Instagram followers? Your account name appears in the top left corner whenever anyone uses your AR filter. It’s clickable and can drive more new visitors to your profile.
Source: @gucci on Instagram
Run contests Contests on Instagram are a great way to help you get more followers. Just make sure your entry process involves asking people to follow you and comment on one of your photos by tagging a friend.
View this post on Instagram
A post shared by Hotel Casa Amsterdam (@hotelcasa_amsterdam)
Tagged friends will also see your post and may choose to follow your account as well.
Encouraging user-generated content as part of your contest can also help you reach more people. People will learn about your profile from posts their friends create. This is an effective way to build trust with new followers and get more eyeballs to your page.
Consider advertising on InstagramOkay, this isn’t exactly a way to get free Instagram followers. But Instagram ads can be a powerful way to reach new followers fast by getting your content in front of people who would otherwise not see it.
And unlike buying followers, using Instagram ads is a totally legitimate and effective way to get more Instagram followers quickly with a small investment.
Target your audience by location, demographics, and even key behaviors and interests. You can also create a lookalike audience based on the people who already interact with your business.
Besides the feed, you can advertise in Instagram Stories and the Explore feed. For all the details on creating and posting an Instagram ad campaign, check out our detailed Instagram ads guide.
Learn from Instagram Insights
Instagram analytics tools will give you data on impressions for each post, along with reach, engagement, top posts, and more. You can also find demographic information about your followers, including gender, age, and location.
Regularly reviewing this data can help you identify areas where you can adjust your strategy to hel p you get more followers on Instagram.< >
Keep an eye on what time of day your followers use Instagram, so you can post when people are most likely to see and engage with your content. Data nerds who want to go deeper may want to consider a social media management tool like Hootsuite.
These tools can show you the best times to post based on impressions, engagement, and traffic. They’ll also give you a bunch of other helpful performance metrics, like your follower growth rate.
Get more Instagram followers using Hootsuite. Schedule content for the most optimal times, streamline engagement, track your performance, and more—all from a single, easy-to-use dashboard. Try it for free.
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19 Ways to Get More Followers on Instagram*
Regardless of whether you are on Instagram The product belongs to an organization recognized as extremist in the Russian Federation. personal blog or brand page, subscribers is one of the main metrics that determine the effectiveness of your account. We talk about 19 ways to get more followers on InstagramThe product belongs to an organization recognized as extremist in the Russian Federation.
.
Of course, you can quickly increase subscribers by purchasing bots, but this will not work, because without a live audience you will not see an increase in reach and engagement, and it will not be difficult to “open” such a trick. In addition, it threatens to block InstagramThe product belongs to an organization recognized as extremist in the Russian Federation, which we talked about in an article about cheating on this social network. So keep up the more workable ways to grow your audience.
20% discount for the first two months in Amplifer with the promo code AMPLI20
Yes, yes, the phrase “Know your audience” that has set the teeth on edge, but has not become less relevant. This will increase the chances of getting a relevant audience, and if you have a business account, it will help turn subscribers into customers.
All methods are effective only if you work with the target audience. Accordingly, it is better to subscribe to the audience of your competitors, to do mutual PR with blogs of your subject.
Julia Petrova
ilovetasty food blogger on Instagram
2. Tailor the content to your target audience
Once you have defined your audience, you need to start creating content that is related to their interests and needs. Your posts in InstagramThe product belongs to an organization recognized as extremist in the territory of the Russian Federation. should inspire subscribers, motivate them, evoke emotions. Look at successful profiles in your niche and learn from their posts.
We also talked about how to get your first thousand followers on the main social networks
Once you get your first thousand followers, you can ask them what posts they would be interested in. So existing and potential subscribers will understand that you are listening to them, and the desire to click the coveted "Subscribe" button will increase.
3. Create high-quality and interesting publications
InstagramProduct belongs to an organization recognized as extremist in the Russian Federation.
- about visual content, and therefore, your photos and videos should look the same. But it’s not enough to make a good visual, in Instagram, the product belongs to an organization recognized as extremist on the territory of the Russian Federation. The text of publications also plays an important role. We talked about some tips that will help you make cool posts for InstagramThe product belongs to an organization recognized as extremist in the Russian Federation..
There are many apps that will help you make beautiful and interesting posts. Check out the video and story app collections to help diversify your content.
4. Use hashtags wisely
When done well, hashtags attract new followers. But it's not enough to use the most popular tags. For example, if you post a photo of a forest and want to use the #forest, #nature and #trees hashtags, you will see that there are millions of such publications and the probability that your post will be noticed is extremely small.
This does not mean that you do not need to use them at all, but it is worth supplementing with other tags that your target audience and competitors follow. It is also recommended to use more sophisticated and personal hashtags. Roughly speaking, instead of #sunset, you can use #luxurioussunset. We talked about how to use hashtags in various social networks, there is also about InstagramThe product belongs to an organization recognized as extremist in the Russian Federation..
5. Communicate with subscribers
Promotion success in InstagramThe product belongs to an organization recognized as extremist in the territory of the Russian Federation. largely depends on the interaction with the audience. They want to know that there is a real person behind the account, so motivate them to discuss posts and like them, and then react to their comments and responses. The more actively you communicate with current followers, the more new ones you will get.
In addition, it will help to hear the audience better, and social listening is very useful.
6. Use cross-promotion
Reach out to bloggers who run similar blogs and organize cross-promotion. Start with small profiles, and as your audience grows, contact more and more popular bloggers. The so-called "mutual PR" can be a good tactic to promote InstagramThe product belongs to an organization recognized as extremist in the Russian Federation..
Mutual PR will be effective if you arrange some kind of interactive for subscribers. For example, challenges or a joint draw. A simple recommendation post is unlikely to work.
Julia Petrova
ilovetasty food blogger on Instagram
7. Follow competitors' followers
Another way to increase your audience is to follow users who follow bloggers similar to you. When they see that you have subscribed, they will know that there is another profile from the topic of interest.
But please note that there is a limit on the maximum number of subscriptions, from about 20 to 160 per hour. Learn this by experience, but carefully so that InstagramProduct belongs to an organization recognized as extremist on the territory of the Russian Federation. didn't suspect you were a spammer.
I started with manual mass following without special services. The difference between manual and service is visible in the conversion. Manual is more effective - apparently, the algorithms
Instagram The product belongs to an organization recognized as extremist in the Russian Federation.understand how the subscription works, but you need to follow the restrictions (no more than 200 subscriptions per day). me a couple of timesInstagramProduct belongs to an organization recognized as extremist on the territory of the Russian Federation.limited the ability to publish posts for a week, suspecting that I used the service to buy subscribers.But for me, this method is still one of the most effective.
Julia Petrova
ilovetasty food blogger on Instagram
8. Track relevant hashtags
Did you know that in InstagramThe product belongs to an organization recognized as extremist in the territory of the Russian Federation. Can I subscribe not only to profiles, but also to hashtags? This is a good strategy, especially when you reach your first thousand subscribers. Track hashtags that are relevant in your niche and use them in your posts. Feel free to comment on the latest posts with such hashtags so that your InstagramProduct belongs to an organization recognized as extremist in the Russian Federation. became more noticeable. It is laborious, but it can give good results.
9. Follow similar blogs
Hashtags make it easy to find relevant accounts in your niche that are similar in content and target audience to yours.
An even greater effect can be achieved by turning on notifications and being the first to comment on their publications.
10. Post regularly
We talked about how algorithms work on major social networks, including Instagram*
It's hard to say exactly how much regularity affects subscriber growth. In any case, it makes sense to follow this advice: the better you keep the regularity, the more professional and reliable you look in the eyes of your subscribers - they will know when to expect new posts from you. What’s more, Instagram* algorithms love it if you post regularly so your posts get the best reach and engagement. It is better to publish 1-3 posts per day. Try to start with one post a day, then gradually increase and see what happens, find your middle ground. You can also refer to the experience of Ekaterina Kalashnikova, who monetized her InstagramProduct belongs to an organization recognized as extremist on the territory of the Russian Federation.
largely due to regular publications.
11. Plan your posts ahead of time
You can save time on posting to focus on more important things: communicating with followers, tracking relevant profiles and hashtags. We are not hinting at anything, but Amplifer will be a good helper in this.
Thanks to a visual calendar and a convenient editor, it is easy to create several publications at once and spread them on different days. Moreover, Amplifer will tell you which posts your audience likes the most.
Connect Instagram* in Amplifer to regularly release scheduled publications and improve reach and engagement. The first 7 days are free, without a bank card
12. Post at the right time
Now on InstagramThe product belongs to an organization recognized as extremist in the Russian Federation. algorithmic feed, but what time you post is still important. Agree, there is no point in publishing posts late at night in the hope that a large number of people will see it.
In addition, COVID-19 has greatly affected the best posting times. According to our data, now the peak in InstagramProduct belongs to an organization recognized as extremist in the Russian Federation. shifted by 16-18 hours on weekdays and at 12 and 18 hours on weekends.
However, you cannot rely solely on the average temperature in the hospital. And here Amplifer will come to the rescue: thanks to a special algorithm, it analyzes your publications and advises the best time based on the activity of your audience. For a 7-day free trial period, you will just be able to evaluate.[instagram*]Try Amplifer to find out the best time to post on Instagram*, adapt your promotion strategy and content plan[/instagram*]
13. Use activity chats
Activity chats are great for attracting new followers to InstagramThe product belongs to an organization recognized as extremist in the Russian Federation. They gather several users who like and comment on each other's posts.
A good way to cheat the Instagram algorithmThe product belongs to an organization recognized as extremist in the territory of the Russian Federation. and increase the organic reach of posts.
The fact is that when you post a post, the algorithms InstagramProduct belongs to an organization recognized as extremist in the Russian Federation. show it to a small number of your followers. If the post gets a lot of responses, then InstagramProduct belongs to an organization recognized as extremist in the Russian Federation. will show the post to an even larger group of subscribers, and if there is no initial activity, then most of your subscribers will not see the publication at all.
Try to find the activity chat in a search engine or in the Facebook community directory The product belongs to an organization recognized as extremist in the Russian Federation, VKontakte or Telegram.
But keep in mind that the best chats are rarely in the public domain, so you will have to work hard to find really worthwhile groups. And yes, it takes a long time. But trust me, your efforts will pay off handsomely.
14. Use hashtags in Stories
We have already talked about the importance of hashtags, but they should not be neglected in Stories either. Try adding a few relevant tags to your posts and you'll see your Stories get more impressions than before. Some of those who watched will be able to become your subscribers.
Interactive mechanics will help make Stories more interesting: quests, quizzes, polls, they increase engagement and motivation to subscribe to your profile. In addition, Stories is an excellent channel for communicating with subscribers. There you can clarify what content they would like to see, arrange Q&A sessions.
15. Post videos and stream live
Making videos on social media is almost a must in 2020, as there is more and more content like this and users are spending more and more time watching it.
Live broadcasts are an even more engaging content format because every time you start broadcasting, all subscribers receive a notification. We talked about this in this year's trend selection.
How to get subscribers using ethers? Make joint live broadcasts with other bloggers. They can also ask their followers to subscribe to you during the live broadcast, which can be a good channel to attract a new audience.
16. Post for thematic accounts
In InstagramThe product belongs to an organization recognized as extremist in the Russian Federation. there are many thematic profiles where not their own content is published, but interesting posts of other users. The only thing to do is to use their unique hashtags in the hope of getting noticed.
How to find them? Use a search engine. Type, for example, “The best travel profiles in InstagramThe product belongs to an organization recognized as extremist on the territory of the Russian Federation.
”, or about the topic of your blog. Surely you will find many such accounts.
17. Decide and Use a Consistent Visual Style
Whether you have a new profile or have been in the business for a long time, you need a consistent visual style for your posts to attract followers. You can choose a specific filter or set of effects for all photos so that they echo each other.
The importance of creating a visual style for Instagram The product belongs to an organization recognized as extremist in the Russian Federation. Varya Vedeneeva told using the example of the Periodicals profile.
18. Create posts to tag friends
If you want your posts to be seen by friends of your followers, the "Tag a Friend" feature will help you. Create a relevant entertaining post and encourage followers to tag their friends. The funnier and more entertaining the post, the easier it is.
19. Try advertising
Do you want more people to see your posts? Think about advertising.
In fact, you don't need a big budget to test it. Advertising can be an effective strategy, and InstagramProduct belongs to an organization recognized as extremist in the Russian Federation. can get you new subscribers in a short time.
To promote my account, I buy ads from bloggers, participate in mutual PR and use targeted advertising. I like the first method the most - you can get a subscriber for 6-10 ₽.
Anastasia Chernykh
content director at Amplifer
⌘⌘⌘
We hope our tips will help you build a meaningful audience on InstagramThe product belongs to an organization recognized as extremist in the Russian Federation. in other social networks where you are present. And remember that people love to follow realistic and authentic profiles. Good luck hunting for an audience at InstagramThe product belongs to an organization recognized as extremist on the territory of the Russian Federation.
!
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Instagram[/su_tooltip] and other social networks" action="Try Amplifer" caption="7 days for free, no card needed"]Convenient and intuitive calendar, advanced editor, tips for the best time and built-in Canva editor to create impressive designs
First published on SocialToolkits.com
How to attract followers on Instagram in 2021 (18 steps)
Instagram is a must in SMM promotion of any company. Brands quickly realized that a profile on this social network can become not only a business card and image component, but also a large source of customers. But not everything is so simple. Instagram has complex algorithms for promotion, huge competition and a high bar for content quality. In order to attract followers on Instagram, you definitely need to prepare a knowledge base and learn the basic subtleties and secrets of success.
Preparing an Instagram profile to get followers
Instagram doesn't tolerate a little detail.
All the little things in practice play an important role in attracting new followers. Therefore, no method describing how to attract followers on Instagram will be effective if the page is simply not prepared.
It may be possible to attract the attention of users to your page, but they will not become new subscribers if the profile does not look attractive. Even at the initial stages, it is necessary to carefully consider the concept of the page, the promotion strategy and everything, everything, everything, down to the smallest detail. You need to have a clear idea of what the account should be like, who it is aimed at and what its main functions are.
Visual is the first and most important contact with subscribers. Before moving further towards increasing the number of followers, let's take a look at what an insta profile should look like.
Username
A beautiful and understandable name is the key to success. It should reflect the field of activity and give visitors an initial idea of what information they can get.
On Instagram, users can enter:
- Nickname is the name of your page, which should reflect its theme and look attractive. When composing a nickname, try not to use numbers, unless of course they are part of the branded name. It is also recommended to avoid long nicknames and not to overload them with special characters, such as underscores, unless it is necessary to do so.
- Username - This string appears below the main profile information and is in bold black. The developers have taken it so that users can indicate their real name, but this is not mandatory and you can enter information in the line that will give an idea about the subject of the account.
Both of these fields are indexed by search engines. Therefore, if it is unlikely that someone will search for you by your name, show your imagination and try to harmoniously enter keywords into the user's nickname and login.
Keep in mind that if you use a short username that is easy to remember, it will be easier for people to find you in the future.
Profile photo
It is the main profile photo that makes the first impression of the account. It should be bright, high-quality, you should want to click on it. If it's a personal profile, then a high-quality selfie or portrait is more than adequate. If the page is a brand, the optimal solution is to use a logo.
Forget lettering, photos with small details, distant landscapes. Users will still not understand what is shown in the photo, because it is very miniature. Choose simple and clear pictures so that the user can easily understand what is shown on them when they find your page in the search.
Description
The profile header gives visitors basic information about the account. This field should be used as productively as possible if you want to interest the user and convince him to stay.
You can add just 150 characters to the BIO, in which you need to tell about who you are, what you do, and why it is useful to follow you.
For example:
- creatively describe yourself;
- give the main theses used in the work;
- list the services provided;
- talk about important events.
Any information that is intriguing and useful to the reader will do. And so that the text does not look boring, dilute it with humor, emoji and special characters, if appropriate.
Links
Make your Instagram profile as useful as possible for the visitor. Use the Contacts section to add clickable links to your brand's official website, Landing Page, YouTube channel, or other social networks that already have your brand's pages.
This will not only drive additional traffic to other resources dedicated to the brand, but will also give Instagram users a better idea of you.
Connecting to a Facebook business page
Combining your Facebook and Instagram accounts makes it much easier to post content that has already been posted to Facebook. But the main value of such a collaboration is that you will instantly get the audience coverage that is already on Facebook, and you will also be able to expand the functionality of your Instagram profile.
In particular, after connecting a business profile, the following additional functions appear:
- Contact button. By clicking on this button, users can immediately call, find out how to get there or send an email. In the future, this will make it much faster to turn page subscribers into real customers, and at first it will add solidity to the account and give those who wish to clarify the information they are interested in.
- Hyperlink with address. By clicking on it, visitors to the page get to a Google map, which will tell you how to get to the office.
- Category. Under the profile name, you can specify its category. It will help users immediately understand what you are doing.
- Statistics. Business profiles get access to statistics. Audience engagement, impressions, reach, number of clicks on links and contact buttons - all this will give a clearer picture of what content visitors like and in which direction to move on.
Free ways to attract subscribers
Now that the account looks attractive, you need to attract visitors to it. Many resort to cheating users with “gray” methods, but they can play against you. Firstly, you can get a ban for this, and secondly, the manipulation of subscribers does not give results in the long run.
Therefore, we propose to use legal ways to attract real followers on Instagram without risking the reputation of the brand and the safety of the account.
Ask to be told about you
Let's imagine that you recently created an Instagram account. The very first thing to do is to talk about it in every possible way and ask others to do the same.
What can you do:
- place a button with a link to your profile on your official website;
- add an account to additional contacts in profiles of other social networks;
- add a search login to business cards or create an Instagram business card;
- if you are an offline business owner, offer your customers a profile subscription and mention discount;
- create a newsletter by mail or messenger so that customers know that you now have Instagram.
Ask others to talk about you. Friends are the good old way of free PR. Look at the list of your acquaintances and their friends on social networks and find among them those users who have about 1000 followers. Ask them to recommend your page, but not just to share a link, but to talk about your benefits and why you should subscribe.
If there are no altruists you know, then look for similar pages on Instagram, with which you will have approximately the same target audience. Direct competitors are best avoided. Offer the page owner mutual PR. This will help to exchange audiences and, as a result, everyone will remain in the black.
A personal brand is a little easier to promote. People are more responsive to other people than companies, but you should not think that any personal account is suitable for mutual PR. For this to bear fruit, you need to choose the accounts that your target audience is subscribed to.
Please note that mutual PR can be fraught with consequences if done incorrectly.
Be careful what you publish in your profile so that you don’t scare off readers with ridiculous recommendations and an abundance of advertising even at the start. Before publishing an advertising post, make sure that it can be interesting and useful for your followers.
Following
Perhaps the easiest and fastest way to get followers on Instagram for free is to be active on other users' pages. You probably like it when you subscribe, like your posts or leave nice comments. Here are others too. The appearance of a new subscriber will not go unnoticed. This, in turn, generates interest to go to the profile in order to find out exactly who signed up, and there it’s not far from mutual subscription.
Subscriptions work best in combination with other activity on the page.
True, not everything is so simple and you need to take into account several nuances. Firstly, you should be active only in the accounts of your target audience.
After all, a person will most likely go to the profile to satisfy his curiosity, but will subscribe in response only if the subject and content of the account are of interest to him.
The second important rule is the observance of limits. The Instagram administration has set certain limits on the number of subscriptions that can be made per day. There is no official information on them, but taking into account the experience of users, it is recommended to subscribe to no more than 300 accounts . The excess can be regarded by the network administration as spam or the actions of automated programs.
Unfortunately, the above methods have long been used by many bloggers and commercial pages. Accordingly, users have long become fed up with subscriptions from all sorts of stores and novice bloggers. Such mechanical subscriptions are more annoying than interesting.
If you do not want to be numbered among them, try to make your actions as natural as possible.
Instead of just following, view the user's account. Put 2-3 likes under the publications you like, write a comment and only then subscribe. Only the comment should be meaningful, and not just “cool”, “cool” and other general words.
Use of geolocation
Actively use geolocation in your profile. Users often search for information and pages of interest to them by geodata. Choose the places where your target audience most often visits and add geotags to posts at every opportunity.
Catchy content
Instagram is primarily a visual social network. Nothing attracts in it like high-quality and bright content. Now, just a beautiful photo no longer surprises anyone, and in order to stand out from the crowd, you have to improvise.
Creating content for Instagram is a painstaking job in which you need to take into account many nuances, from calculating the preferences of the target audience to choosing a color palette.
Main recommendations
Let's consider the main techniques that allow you to attract traffic to the page faster than others:
- People very quickly unsubscribe from accounts where boredom balances on the verge of tediousness.
Long posts about nothing, too many ads, too few posts – all of these make you want to unsubscribe and definitely won’t be a reason to back off. Create a clear content plan for yourself and mix different types of content in a measured way – entertaining, motivating, selling posts. - Post personal content. Regulars of social networks come to them to look at others, to find out what and how they live. Personal content is the most interesting. Do not forget to embed selfies and photos with you on the blog, sharing life stories. Only without pathos and tediousness. If the page is maintained for a company, you can share behind the scenes of working days, pictures from corporate parties and various events.
- Unique content strategy. Instagram has over 1 billion users. To stand out, you need to develop your own style and features, both in photos and in page design. At the same time, it is not forbidden to use what is guaranteed to work - bright landscapes, beautiful photos of food, cats.
It is popular at all times.
- Be sure to use Stories. This type of content shows high performance in attracting subscribers. This is the first thing users see when they open the app. In addition, the content in Stories is the most diverse. Everything that is not suitable for publication in the profile is posted here, so the category is simply enormously popular.
- Post a video. Recently, Instagram has improved the functionality and increased the length of the video from 15 seconds to one minute. This is a good way to get subscribers interested and convince them to stay.
- You can also go live on Instagram. This will help to interest and win over users. In addition, personal communication is always perceived better than template content.
Contests
Contests for Instagram are also relevant. Motivate users to subscribe through various events. For example, a random follower who likes a post at the end of the contest can be rewarded with a free copy of a product, PR, or any other gift.
Current updates
If you want to become popular and attract subscribers, you must be interesting to them. Use the experience of opinion leaders who have already achieved popularity. Always stay up to date and do not forget to share any useful information with users. Whether it's the launch of a promotion in your store, important world news or a viral video related to the subject of the profile.
Text under the photo
Instagram has long ceased to be a social network that publishes exceptionally beautiful pictures. Increasingly, users open the application to read interesting and motivating texts, learn from the experience of others, learn about news and global trends. The text under the photo has become an integral part of the page promotion.
Try to make your profile as informative and useful as possible for users. Share with them life hacks, useful information, tell funny and instructive stories from life, motivate, inspire. For commercial brands, the text under the photo is a good opportunity to demonstrate the benefits of their products, tell about the history of the company, its values and priorities.
Bulky informative posts should be only one of the components of the content plan, but the text box under the rest of the photos should not be left empty. Calls to action, questions, polls, polls just look a little ridiculous at first glance. But once you try and evaluate the response, you will understand their strength. Make users think a little and they will certainly become your subscribers.
Hashtags
When it comes to compiling a post that attracts followers, you can't get away with just a good picture and an intriguing description. It is very important to choose the right hashtags for your post. They will help you target users of your target audience, as well as allow them to easily find your publications through search.
For each post, you need to use your own selection of relevant hashtags. It is recommended to use high-frequency tags (more than 100 thousand publications), medium-frequency tags (from 1000 to 100 thousand publications), low-frequency tags (less than 1000 uses) in the selection.
Popular tags are less useful for reaching your target audience, but allow you to reach a wider audience. With the help of low-frequency hashtags, you can easily break into the TOP results.
It is recommended to make your own list of hashtags that are relevant to the topic of the page and use them in various variations under the posts. Dilute general blog topic tags with hashtags related to a specific post.
In total, 30 hashtags can be added to one publication, but no more than 15 is recommended so as not to annoy the public with their abundance. There is also an interesting strategy, according to which, an hour after publication, old tags should be removed and new ones inserted in order to capture as many audiences as possible.
Branded hashtag
Another effective page promotion trick is creating a branded hashtag. In the future, users will be able to use it to share information and mention the brand, but first you need to promote the hashtag itself.
This, in turn, can have a positive impact on attracting subscribers.
Just create and place your branded hashtag in the profile description, and then share it with the world — print it on business cards, stickers, branded and promotional products, post it on other social networks. When people start using it among the first matches, they will find your profile on Instagram.
Comments
If you are looking for an easy way to get real followers on Instagram, then feel free to comment. Comments help you find common ground with your audience and can drive generous traffic to your page.
What can be commented on:
- competitors' posts;
- publications of their target audience;
- photos of stars, famous bloggers and more.
Competitor's subscribers can easily "migrate" and random users can easily become new subscribers if you can get them interested.
Avoid formulaic phrases. Write briefly but to the point.
Comments with an alternative point of view are especially effective in attracting attention, igniting discussion. In combination with a bright profile picture and interesting content, this practically guarantees that all random viewers from the target audience will become your subscribers.
Photo tags
Up to 20 accounts can be tagged on each Instagram photo. This will help to get their attention completely free of charge, as well as the attention of all those who will search for the marked profiles through the search.
Anyone can be tagged. The main thing is that the mark is relevant to the post. Bought a new handbag, created a cute look, ordered specialty coffee from your favorite coffee shop - don't forget to tag these brands.
User-generated content
User-generated content helps both creators and brands get more followers on Instagram. For example, on Instagram there are many fashionable publics that repost flatlay photos or fashionable images of users for free with a mention of the page.
Thus, public owners can easily get interesting content, and for users this is a good opportunity to get promoted.
Look on Instagram for posts like @flatlays or @ootdgals and be sure to tag them in relevant photos. If you are reposted, then one such mark can bring about 500 subscribers.
Paid ways to attract followers
Free Instagram profile promotion is a huge complex of different actions that need to be repeated regularly and constantly monitored. Having tried to carry out at least part of the actions willy-nilly, a completely logical question arises: “How to attract followers on Instagram as quickly and with minimal effort?”. Only high-quality advertising will help.
But even here it is not so simple. Quality ads can really drive user traffic to your page, but the keyword here is “quality” .
Advertising with Instagram ads
Often, targeted social media ads can be set up with just a few clicks, but not on Instagram.
Everything is much more complicated in it, because the official Instagram advertising works through the Facebook Ads Manager, and in order to run an advertising campaign, it is necessary to link profiles in both social networks.
One of the advantages of official advertising on Instagram is the variety of formats. And since Instagram is primarily a visual social network, all formats allow you to add a lot of graphic content. This helps inspire users and motivate them to subscribe.
Types of official advertising
- Advertising in Stories. Using this format, you can reach the largest audience, because this is the most popular section of Instagram, which is visited daily by more than 500 million people.
- Advertising with photo. This is a relatively simple format that allows you to show the product in all its glory.
- Video format. Dynamic motion captures attention by increasing the maximum video length to 60 seconds.
Now you can talk in more detail about the product and show it in action. - Ring gallery. For those who don't like just one photo, Instagram offers ads with a photo carousel.
- Selection. This format will be of particular interest to brands with a wide range of products. With it, you can demonstrate the best instances.
- Advertising in “Interesting”. This is ideal if you want to reach users who are not following you.
Setting features
Among the advantages of official advertising, it is worth emphasizing quite flexible target setting. By setting your ad settings correctly, you can show ads only to the users who are most important to you. Audience selection for impressions is configurable:
- By location. Ads can only be shown to residents of certain countries, cities, and regions.
- Based on demographic data. The customer can specify the gender, age, language of the target audience.
- Interested. Instagram allows you to customize ads based on which applications are used most often, which advertising links are clicked on and which accounts are subscribed to.
- By behavior. Facebook and Instagram algorithms allow targeting based on user behavior.
It is also possible to set up ads for individual user audiences. This method will be especially effective if you already have a database of potential customers with phone numbers and E-mail addresses. You can also easily set up advertising by selecting the automatic targeting function or searching for an audience similar to current customers.
If you know exactly who your target audience is and know how to create content that can impress at first sight, then official Ads Manager advertising can be the best way to promote your page.
The disadvantage of this method of attracting subscribers is only one - you have to pay.
The cost of advertising is calculated individually based on the established parameters. As a rule, the more concentrated the target, the more expensive the price per impression. The content of the niche also plays a role, because the cost of advertising is determined as part of a kind of auction - the more people claim to be shown to a specific target audience, the higher the rates.
Advertising with bloggers
Today, traditional advertising is less effective than before. Most modern Internet users have learned to easily hide it, or view it in the background as spam. Marketing of the 21st century dictates its own rules, and this is native advertising with the help of opinion leaders. A recommendation from a blogger is perceived as a recommendation from a good friend, not spam. With the right approach, the effectiveness of such cooperation will be higher.
True, there are differences between bloggers and bloggers. There are real opinion leaders who are able to set new trends and lead the crowd, and there are only those who pretend to be such.
If targeted advertising always works, then with bloggers it's not so simple. By choosing an influencer with a “dead” audience and low engagement, but big appetites, you simply run the risk of “draining” the advertising budget and not getting anything in return.
Types of bloggers
All bloggers can be conditionally divided into several categories:
- Nano. This category includes bloggers with up to 1000 subscribers. Of course, this is not a large enough audience, but it is often very “warm”. The advantage of such cooperation is also that bloggers of this magnitude are ready to cooperate on barter, for mutual PR or very modest amounts.
- Micro. They don't have hundreds of thousands of followers, but they have close contact with their audience. It is to their opinion that they listen and their advice is asked.
- Macro. Such influencers are followed by hundreds of thousands of subscribers.
They are quite famous and popular in their circles. Collaboration with them will help to capture the attention of a huge audience. But for all this to turn into real subscriptions, you need a macro blogger to have good authority and not cheated subscribers, and they most often sin the opposite. - Celebrity. These are not typical bloggers, but those who have gained popularity on social networks due to being famous in various fields of culture or sports. Advertising in such accounts will cost a pretty penny, but it is it that can make the brand famous and memorable.
Subtleties of cooperation
Don't expect that it's enough just to write to the blogger you like and the automatic subscriber recruitment machine will be put into action. Real subscriptions, as in all other cases, depend, among other things, on how the profile looks. Whoever recommends to follow you, users will not do this if your account looks artisanal, boring, banal, or it is simply not interesting for a particular user.
Therefore, before you start advertising, be sure to “comb” your profile and make it attractive. By the way, self-respecting bloggers will not cooperate with just anyone and risk their reputation for the sake of money.
Another key point is to find common ground with your target audience through cooperation with a blogger. For example, you are promoting a beauty blog or selling cosmetics. For advertising, you have chosen a popular fitness blogger with good statistics, but with a predominantly male audience. It is unlikely that you will be able to interest someone even just to go to the profile. Subscriptions are out of the question.
You need to understand that the theme of the blog page is not as important as the demographics and interests of subscribers. There are many related niches that at first glance seem like good options for advertising, but in fact have an audience consisting of users completely opposite to the portrait of your target audience.
Conclusion
Everything is connected on Instagram.
