How to increase real followers on instagram

Get More Real Instagram Followers in 10 Steps

Instagram is the foundation of so many brands’ social presence. The platform is proven to drive traffic, support sales and engage customers.

And that’s why 59% of marketers plan to up their investment in Instagram this year.

But if you’re not thrilled with your Instagram growth and engagement, you’re not alone.

Competition on the platform is fierce as more and more brands get on board. Thing is, taking steps to grow your audience is absolutely worth it. That’s because the bigger your audience, the more opportunities to delight your customers.

Ready to tweak your presence to attract authentic and organic Instagram followers? This post breaks down how to make it happen.

10 ways to increase Instagram followers

Before we get into the nitty-gritty, this post is about building an organic following.

And yes, the distinction matters!

Some brands want to take shortcuts when it comes to trying to get more Instagram followers. We don’t pretend that pay-for-play sites exist.

That said, these services aren’t worth it for brands long-term. The Instagram algorithm weeds out low-quality accounts and phony engagement from paid bots.

But we’ll bite: there’s definitely some legwork involved in growing your audience authentically.

Doing so it worth totally worth it, though. Below are our ten best tips for getting more Instagram followers the right way.

1. Optimize your Instagram account

Before you worry about how to get followers, consider how your Instagram account is set up first.

Ask yourself: does your profile “look the part?” For starters, consider your:

Your Instagram bio (including your slogan, tagline and/or a branded hashtag)
Your profile picture
Your bio link (and where it points to)

These details define your brand identity on Instagram. More importantly, they impact your account’s discoverability. Building a follower-friendly account means:

Having a search-friendly username. Stick to either your brand name or whatever’s closest to your existing social handles. If your name is too long, shorten it to a variation your audience would recognize (ex: Cold Stone Creamery’s account is @coldstone).
Making your profile picture professional. An appropriately-sized logo is ideal. Any text in your profile picture should be legible on a smartphone screen.
Minding where you point your bio link. This is crucial for turning Instagram followers into meaningful traffic or customers. It’s your only way to funnel social traffic to your site and promotions.

Linking to your homepage is fine but not always ideal. To encourage more meaningful interactions, a social landing page that points to multiple links can help.

This gives your audience total control of how they engage your business next. That means a better experience for your followers.

The best way to optimize your account is to follow a proven Instagram marketing strategy. Download our free guide to get started.

2. Keep a consistent content calendar

Momentum matters on Instagram. In other words, you likely won’t get followers on Instagram if you post at random.

Creating content and providing value is what builds your audience. Doing so consistently is what helps you keep them. Don’t let your Instagram account gather cobwebs.

That’s why sticking to a regular posting schedule is crucial. In terms of when and how much to post, you don’t have to stick to a set-in-stone number. Most brands post daily or near daily. This tracks our own research on how often to post as well.

For reference, below is a breakdown of the best times to post to Instagram. “Optimal” engagement is during the mid-to-late morning and early afternoons during the week.

If you’re worried about your posts not getting seen enough, we get it. Consider how features like Stories can get more eyes on your content if it wasn’t seen the first time.

3. Schedule Instagram posts in advance

There’s no denying that brands are at the mercy of the Instagram algorithm for reach. Still, posting at the right times can still give your posts more visibility. Anything you can do to maximize engagement is a plus.

This speaks to the value of scheduling Instagram content. With Sprout’s newest tools, brands can schedule Stories, Carousels, Reels and Posts.

Scheduling content in advance ensures control and organization. Instagram scheduling tools ultimately help you hit that cadence we mentioned earlier. The ability to crosspost content from other networks helps here, too.

You can also use Sprout’s ViralPost feature to nail down your timing, too. Our platform analyzes your engagement history and identifies the best times to post.

Perfect 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.

4. Engage with customers, brand advocates and influencers

Figuring out how to get more Instagram followers means engaging your audience.

And one of the best ways to do that is through responding to and republishing their posts.

Enter the power of user-generated content. UGC campaigns build social proof by showing followers you’re invested in them. For example, Drunk Elephant regularly regrams their followers’ posts. They gather content with their #BareWithUs and #DrunkBreak hashtags.

Partnering with influencers with an established following is another way to grow your own audience. Content creators can get your brand in front of your target audience and build ongoing awareness for your products.

5. Avoid fake Instagram followers

There’s a big difference between fake and legitimate followers on Instagram.

We get it, too. For the sake of quick growth, it might be tempting to purchase followers.

But the drawbacks outweigh the benefits 100%. Why? Because fake Instagram followers…

Confuse your potential organic followers. An inactive, low-engagement account with a big following is suspicious. This can be a turn-off for fans that’d otherwise follow you and engage.
Provide no monetary value to your business. Think about it. Your bot followers can’t buy your stuff, can they?
Generate no buzz: If you have 10,000 fake followers, how many are going to engage with your posts? Does it really even matter if your posts are brimming with spam comments?

Real people have the ability to share, like, comment and engage with your Instagram posts. Additionally, real followers actually appreciate the time you spend interacting with them.

For example, Lush Cosmetics takes the time to answer questions and engage followers all the time. This results in customers regularly returning to share shout-outs and positive comments.

6. Showcase your Instagram everywhere you can

Don’t be shy about promoting your Instagram if more followers are your goal.

There is no one-size-fits-all approach to promoting your ‘gram, either. Here are a few ideas:

Add social media icons to your website and marketing emails. Social media icons make it easier for people to find your business and help you connect with customers.
Feature an Instagram feed on your homepage or product pages. Many ecommerce brands have dedicated UGC feeds on-site (see below).
Reshare Instagram-specific content or announcements on other social channels. For example, you could talk about an upcoming IG Live via TikTok or Facebook.

7. Post content that followers actually want to see

Easier said than done, we know.

Filters. Captions. Content types. Post times. That doesn’t even scratch the surface.

There are so many variables to consider, right? It doesn’t help that Instagram’s algorithm is fickle. What works for one brand might not work for the next in terms of format and timing.

For example, some brands swear by Carousels. Others are all-in on Reels. Both approaches can work. You’ll quickly find on Instagram that some content performs better than others. This is why testing is so important.

Instagram’s native analytics are surprisingly powerful. That said, investing in Instagram analytics tools will take things to the next level.

For example, Sprout makes it easy to benchmark and analyze Instagram content across accounts. Rather than second-guess what’s working and what’s not, our reporting spells it out for you.

Be confident in your content strategy by analyzing those variables we mentioned earlier.

And if you’re unsure where to start, try analyzing your competitors. A staggering 90% of brands say that social media data helps them keep up with competing social accounts.

You obviously shouldn’t copycat your competitors. That said, you can take notes on what they’re doing or posting that drives engagement. Sprout’s Instagram Competitors report can provide a breakdown of what’s working in your industry. A little competitive research can go a long way.

Oh, and keep your ear to the ground with new Instagram trends. That way you won’t miss out on platform-wide opportunities to hop on trending content formats.

For example, Reels are popping off right now. Our data shows that 66% of consumers want to see more short-form videos from brands. In terms of trends, Reels should be on your radar.

8. Make meaningful conversation with your audience

Food for thought: 60% of marketers use Instagram as a service channel.

The platform is perfect for going back and forth with followers. Likewise, many popular post ideas center around asking questions and engaging in a dialogue for a reason.

Off-the-cuff questions, shipping concerns or praise for products are all fair game from followers. Check out how Cometeer responds to all of the above on their Instagram posts:

Being supportive and responding promptly shows people that you care.

You’d be surprised at how your Instagram followers increase once you start acting more personable. Our Index research shows that 89% of consumers will buy from a brand after following them on social. Every interaction counts.

Again, try to respond to as many questions or comments as possible. Doing so could make or break someone becoming a long-term follower or a customer.

9. Find hashtags where your followers hang out

Instagram hashtags have been a staple of the platform, like, forever.

That said, they don’t hold as much weight as they used to.

Dumping hashtags into your posts isn’t going to net you any new followers. Especially when there’s so much noise on the platform.

Be proactive by focusing on industry-specific hashtags relevant to your customers. For example, Lashify regularly posts content to the #LashEducation hashtag. Tags are less general and competitive than #beauty. Becoming more visible within these types of tags is meaningful for brands in the right niche.

Understanding how your hashtags perform on Instagram is critical. With Sprout Social’s hashtag analytics tools, you have direct access to in-depth performance and usage data. Figuring out which hashtags to use is just a few taps away.

10. Take steps to delight your Instagram followers

When you make your Instagram followers happy, you’ll see the payoff in audience growth. The best Instagram accounts have fans and communities (hint: not just followers).

The tips below are the building blocks for a follower-friendly account. Put them into practice in a way that aligns with your brand voice and values. Avoid coming across as needy, solesy sales-driven or robotic at all costs.

So much of how to get Instagram followers for free is about creating an authentic community. For many accounts, this means building customer relationships. Content that highlights your personality and the humans behind your brand is a plus. This includes:

Inspirational content
Humorous content
Re-sharing UGC with unique captions
Storytelling posts
Behind-the-scenes photos and videos
Posts that raise awareness for social causes

How to get more Instagram followers (the wrong way!)

Disclaimer: Sprout Social does not endorse purchasing Instagram followers. We don’t recommend services that sell followings or “Likes.”

As the social space becomes more crowded and competitive, brands are willing to take risks for the sake of instant results.

We’ll say it again: brands shouldn’t buy Instagram followers. Nobody should!

Why you shouldn’t buy followers on Instagram

Here are some reasons why buying followers to grow your account is a serious mistake.

Your real followers know what fake followers look like

Social consumers are getting savvier. Privacy concerns and social scammers have made people hyper-aware of weird activity. In short, people today are spam-detectors.

A sudden follower spike is a red flag. Not to mention having bots stink up your account with endless spam followers. This all damages your reputation and keeps you from growing an authentic Instagram following.

Fake followers bring nothing to the table

You’re probably worried about your Instagram metrics and understandably so.

That said, your follower count doesn’t mean much if your “followers” don’t drive engagement. You might look “bigger” at a glance but who cares? Consider how your engagement rate on the platform will suffer if your follower count is inflated.

If nothing else, buying Instagram followers violates TOS

No surprises here.

Consider how Meta has taken direct action against buying engagement in the past. They’ve gone as far as to shut down companies that sell likes. That’s because this practice violates the platform’s terms of service:

Help us stay spam-free by not artificially collecting likes, followers, or shares, posting repetitive comments or content, or repeatedly contacting people for commercial purposes without their consent.

Platforms for buying Instagram followers

You shouldn’t risk your account or organic followers for the sake of boosting your numbers. But if you’re dead-set on trying an Instagram followers app, we can’t stop you.

Here are some options:

Path Social (Web)

Path Social’s platform is intended for influencers looking to grow their following. Touting “no bots, no fake users” and an AI-powered platform, the tool markets itself as being legit.

Followers & Unfollowers (Android)

This Android app identifies mutual followers and non-followers. This makes it easier to go on following and unfollowing sprees. Of course, doing so can be a red flag to Instagram.

Reports + Followers Tracker IG (Apple)

This Apple app has a similar function as the one above. In short, you can track mutuals and non-followers in one place.

How are you growing your Instagram following?

Listen: getting more followers on Instagram isn’t going to happen by accident.

And despite what you might have heard, there’s no silver bullet solution for making it happen.

The tips above can help you build the foundation for an organic following that actually engages with you. Putting these tips into action is so much easier with a powerful publishing and analytics tool like Sprout.

Want to see our suite of tools in action? Start a free trial today and see for yourself!

10 ways to get real followers and engagement on Instagram

Instagram is an incredibly dynamic and fast-growing social media platform. The number of brands joining and growing customer engagement on the platform is boosting up as we speak.

But Instagram business accounts see just 1.46% growth in monthly followers on average, which means growing your Instagram follower count can feel like a slow, tedious game. While you can buy fake followers, they won’t serve any real purpose besides a quick ego boost.

Keep reading to learn ten different strategies you can use to grow your real follower count on Instagram and drive real engagement.

Table of Contents:

What is Instagram engagement and why do you need it?
Strategies to grow your Instagram followers today
Time to Grow Your ‘Gram

What is Instagram engagement and why do you need it?

When your audience interacts with your Instagram content in some way — such as a like, comment, share, video view, or DM — instead of simply scrolling past, it counts as engagement.

While there is no universal way to measure Instagram engagement, an accepted way is to add up the average likes and comments that you receive per post and divide it by your total number of followers. You can also consider views, DMs, etc., based on what’s important for your brand.

Engagement is a clear sign that your Instagram content is resonating well with your audience. And that’s great, but what about people who haven’t yet followed you? How do you reach them effectively and compel them to follow and engage with your brand?

Strategies to grow your Instagram followers today

Here are ten powerful ways to drive real followers and engagement on Instagram.

1. Optimize your bio

Located under your username, your bio is prime real estate on your Instagram profile. Most potential followers who visit your profile check out your bio description first. So you better make these 150 characters count.

Here’s how to craft a bio that drives more followers:

Your Instagram bio is equivalent to your website’s homepage — it should straight away convey that this is your brand’s genuine account where you actively post fresh content.

Back up your bio with a high-resolution logo. Sprinkle a few emojis as an alternative to bullet points if it fits your brand’s style, but don’t overboard with emoji usage.

Your in-bio link is the only way to drive people to see your website or a particular landing page, so use it wisely. Instead of always pointing to your homepage, it’s a good idea to change the link anytime you wish to increase sign-ups for an event, showcase a new product launch, or even attract visitors when you start a blog for content promotion.

You can also include a branded hashtag that tells people which hashtag to include in their posts to catch your attention. And when anyone clicks on the hashtag, they’ll see user-generated content from your fans.

2. Find the best time for you to post on Instagram

Read that subheading again, with an emphasis on for you — you’ll often find people saying that a specific time and day is ideal to get the best possible engagement and reach for your content.

In truth, however, there is no all-embracing answer to the question “what’s the best time to post on Instagram?”. You’ll have to experiment with different posting times and track engagement to figure out the best times for your audience and niche.

Instagram makes this easy. Use Instagram Insights (available on the Instagram mobile app) to learn more about your followers (age group, gender, most active times, etc.) and performance.

On your business profile, tap “Insights”, scroll to “Your Audience”, and then click “See All.” At the bottom, you’ll find your audience’s most active times.

Next, think about when your content will be most relevant. For instance, a quick follow-along workout video may garner more engagement outside of work hours when people are likely trying to squeeze in a workout session.

Besides using this feature, it’s a good idea to do your own research on audience behavior (for example, check out your competitors’ post timings vs. engagement) and survey your customers about their social media preferences.

Once you find the ideal times to post for your particular audience, use social media scheduling tools to plan, schedule, and automate your Instagram posting and get detailed analytics reports on your content performance.

3. Post regularly and dynamically

A recent study across 14 industries suggests that on average, businesses share four Instagram posts per week. Aiming for this number is a good starting point.

But ideally, to gain more followers and engagement, the more you post, the merrier. If you’re able to share one post daily, you’ll likely see far better results. That’s because the more content you put out, the more opportunities you have to be noticed and shared.

That being said, quality is always a priority over quantity. Never cut corners in terms of quality just to get something out daily. And it’s safe to say that Instagram success is all about posting visually enchanting content, so consider using high-quality photo editing software to create stunning images rather than posting plain, unexciting photos.

Put simply, establish a posting schedule that keeps you on track to post at least four to five days a week without compromising quality. As you gain traction, try to take it up to one post daily.

Moreover, be dynamic with your content types. Over the years, the platform has evolved greatly, with new ways to share content such as Stories, IGTV, and Reels. Take Instagram Reels for example — announced in August 2020, Reels is one of the newest content types and Instagram always pushes its new features.

Since its launch, Reels has taken over a good chunk of the Explore page and appears larger than standard photo posts. With over 200 million people visiting the Explore page each day, that extra visual real estate can substantially boost the number of people you reach.

Source: Instagram

Similarly, Stories is now one of the most popular Instagram features that lets you publish quick daily visuals that disappear after 24 hours. Stories are easy to post without needing much prep, show up on the top of your followers’ homepage, and prove that you’re an active brand.

Source: Whole Foods on Instagram

Experimenting with a mix of content formats not only enables you to reach different audience segments with different preferences (and thus gain more followers) but also helps you solve the common puzzle “what to post on Instagram” and ultimately, stay consistent in posting.

4. Become familiar with the Instagram algorithm

While you can find full-fledged guides on beating the Instagram algorithm, at its core, the Instagram algorithm essentially favors content that satisfies the following six signals:

Interest: How much a user prefers the post based on past engagement
Timeliness: How recent the post is
Relationship: The accounts a user frequently engages with
Usage Frequency: How often a person checks Instagram
Following: The number of accounts a user follows on the type of content they post
Session Time: How long does the user spend on Instagram

The algorithm strives to showcase content that’s more engaging for each individual user. So the more engagement (likes, comments, and shares) you’re able to garner, the more likely your latest content will be discovered by potential followers. Be sure to initiate conversations (see Knix’s example below) with your posts and respond to comments.

5. Showcase your brand voice

Besides staying in the know about the latest deals and discounts, one of the biggest reasons people follow brands on social media is to know more about their personality.

Instagram is not the place to constantly post sales pitches, and potential followers would likely never hit the follow button if that’s all you have to offer. Instead, think about your brand voice and showcase that in your Instagram content.

If you haven’t already, think of your brand as an individual and ask yourself — what’s your brand’s personality? Is it playful and cheeky? Or is it inspiring and straightforward? Keep that voice consistent across all your content marketing, be it on Instagram or your website’s blog.

And regardless of what kind of brand voice you adopt, your content should reflect your brand’s passion for its mission.
For instance, Kate Spade and Privacy Please are direct competitors with opposite brand voices. The former has a more inspiring personality, whereas the latter has a rather edgy one.

Though they’re niche rivals, both of these brand’s voices work well to attract and retain their individual audience. So, be original with your voice and incorporate it in all your content.

6. Write amazing captions

Gorgeous visuals work to capture your audience’s attention — amazing captions work to keep it. Use these 2,200 characters available to give more context to the photo or video you post.

Here are a few tips to write great Instagram captions:

Keep important information first
Incorporate keywords to improve the odds of appearing on the in-app search results
Use emojis and light humor to showcase your brand’s personality
Encourage people to share their thoughts
Structure longer captions with bullets or emojis to improve readability
Mention other accounts (whenever possible) to increase reach
End with a descriptive call-to-action (see Airbnb’s example below), such as “Check out the link in bio to browse the summer catalog. ”

Also, make sure to diversify your captions so they don’t feel robotic and automated. Try different formats such as question-answers, recommendation requests, personal stories, tag-a-friend, share-your-content, etc.

Source: GoPro on InstagramSource: Airbnb on Instagram

And while it’s a good idea to keep the caption crisp and to the point, try different lengths based on the content you’re sharing. For example, long captions may work well for descriptive stories, while a short and snappy one may work better to showcase a product. The sweet spot of engaging caption length is in the 500-1,000 and 1,000-2,000 characters range.

If you’re looking for an easy way to generate great Instagram captions, our free Instagram Caption Generator can help.

Oh, and don’t forget to…

7. Use smart hashtags

Hashtags are similar to keywords in the sense that they help users find content on a particular topic. They are typically used in the captions or comments of a post and when included sensibly, they can help your content reach a larger audience, thus improving your brand’s visibility and odds of gaining new followers.

With the right hashtags, your content is more discoverable via search or filtering when users tap on the hashtag from another post. Users can also follow hashtags on their favorite topics and the top content with that hashtag will show up in their Instagram feed.

For instance, if you wish for your post to reach people who are into running but are also mothers, you could use the hashtag #runningmom. And as mentioned earlier, creating and promoting a branded hashtag (such as Lululemon’s #thesweatlife) in your bio and posts is a smart way to encourage your community to produce free, user-generated content.

Mention’s latest report suggests that the average Instagram post has 6.93 hashtags, but the optimal number of hashtags to get the highest engagement rate is just one. So just because you can include up to 30 hashtags in an Instagram caption, doesn’t mean you should.

Looking for a quick way to find relevant Instagram hashtags? Check out our free Instagram Hashtag Generator.

See below how LEGO uses hashtags that are relevant to both the post and the brand (#LEGO). They also use a neat blend of popular and specialized hashtags. #Holidays, for example, has over 60 million posts associated with it. #RebuildTheWorld has just under ten thousand posts, and many of them are LEGO-related. Also, #ChristmasDecor is a more niche, targeted hashtag.

So, create relevant, targeted hashtags with smaller, yet still sizeable followings rather than only using all the popular generic hashtags on a broad topic. Also, it’s a good idea to group your go-to hashtags by category so you can readily add a few relevant ones to each post.

8. Collaborate with influencers and brand advocates

An effective way to reach new audiences and gain new followers is to join forces with influencers in your niche who already have a notable following. But standard influencers with a near-celebrity status and hundreds of thousands of followers often have exorbitant price tags per promotional post and often, low engagement rate.

So your better bet is to collaborate with micro-influencers — who have a smaller but stronger social following of between 1,000 to 100,000 followers and are regarded as trustworthy experts in their niche. Some examples include travel vloggers, food bloggers, fitness enthusiasts, etc.

They are considered more authentic and have more intimate relations with their followers. They connect on a much deeper level with their audience and thus, have far better engagement rates. Plus, you can easily figure out if their follower base and engagement are real or fake.

So with a micro-influencer, you can have a low-budget (such as by offering your best product or subscription for free) yet a highly impactful partnership that may also turn that luminary into your brand advocate for years to come. The collaboration exposes your brand to a bigger audience in the right light and boosts engagement for your content.

Source: Macy’s collaboration with Brooklynn Prince on Instagram

Besides, such partnerships give you a chance to showcase your brand’s values and personality through association, as the people you associate with say a lot about your own brand.

Find out how Mention can help you find the best influencers to work with!

9. Promote your Instagram everywhere

Don’t limit your efforts to promoting your business on Instagram only. If you have a respectable following on other social platforms, a decent-sized email list, or steady website traffic, try to funnel those people to your Instagram profile.

Make it easy for people to find your Instagram, by adding your account’s link to:

Email footers
Website footer and/or sidebar
Bios on other social platforms like Twitter, Facebook, or YouTube
Social media posts from team members

Many businesses feature their Instagram accounts through live feeds as well, as Casper does below. This also helps boost their social proof and may encourage the visitor to give the brand a follow.

10. Don’t be afraid to get local

Last but not least, location tagging on Instagram is a useful feature you can use to gain more followers for your local business. Instagram is a platform for discovering new products, travel destinations, retail brands, cafes, etc. — and many users geotag their posts.

If you tag your post with a location, it has the potential to surface when a user searches the location or keyword under the Places tab. Not only does this bring you more local exposure but posts with a tagged location result in 79% higher engagement than posts without a tagged location.

Source: Macy’s collaboration with Brooklynn Prince on Instagram

And so, include your whereabouts whenever you can across all content types — carousel posts, videos, Stories, Reels, etc. Also, create a location tag for your business. Once people start to check into it, you can see all posts tagged with it and learn how your local community is talking about your business.

Time to Grow Your ‘Gram

Any strategy is only as good as its execution. It’s time to put all these points into practice. While you’re at it, check out our latest Instagram Engagement Report that features data and insights collected from over 100 million Instagram posts.

It’s time to start growing your Instagram today!

How to increase the number of followers on Instagram

We have already blogged about how to increase your reach on Instagram* or increase engagement. Today we will tell you how to increase the number of followers on Instagram * - by legal methods, on your own or with someone else's help, paid and free ways, without registration and SMS.

If you are already actively maintaining a profile, but there is not enough time to switch to new goals and achieve higher indicators, then try delegating the routine part of the work to the SMMplanner deferred posting service. In it, you can plan the release of posts in advance, and in your free time think about how to increase followers on Instagram * on your own, using the tips from this article. nine0003

Purpose of promotion

Not all promotion methods are equally good for different types of accounts. First of all, you should decide on the goal - why your profile should become popular at all costs: you are an artist and want fame, you sell lawn mowers and want to increase the flow of customers from social networks, you are a massage therapist, makeup artist, tutor or coach, and looking for customers?

The main reasons why Instagram users* gain an audience:

Promote a personal brand . Social networks allow specialists to stand out from competitors due to charisma and get customers from their own loyal audience.
Earnings on advertising . Bloggers with a large audience make good money by integrating advertising publications into their content - talking about products, services and brands.

Advertising of a cosmetic brand on Instagram* of an actress Irina Gorbacheva

Selling products . In social networks, they announce and sell various goods - both material and intellectual: electronics, sports goods, clothes for children, books, courses, consultations.
Business promotion . You can attract customers through Instagram*, so entrepreneurs often think about how to increase the number of followers on Instagram*. Social networks for this today are used not only by cafes and beauty salons, but also by shoe repairmen, cleaning companies, factories for the production of solid wood furniture - companies from a wide variety of niches. nine0018
Distribution of creativity . Through social networks, you can talk about books, poems, music, announce concerts and performances. Instagram* is especially useful for artists and illustrators, as the main unit of content on the social network is a picture.

The creator of viral collages has gained popularity on Instagram* klodmande Photo artist Dmitry Markov , who takes colorful photos of the Russian outback on iPhone, has more than 800 thousand followers on Instagram*

Independent media promotion . For online publications, the size of the audience is a key indicator. An online magazine needs subscribers and is meaningless without them. And sometimes only at their expense can survive.

Sometimes profile and subscribers are so interconnected that they change each other's lives

Bringing attention to the project. Through social networks, you can gather a caring audience and work together to solve some problem or urgent problem, and do so on a regular basis. nine0018

With the help of followers, a charity project in Rostov-on-Don manages to treat and house animals

attracting people. Based on this, develop a strategy and content plan, which includes posts with the information that you are going to convey. You will also need to first prepare the account that you are going to promote. nine0003

Preparing to recruit followers on Instagram*

Your account should have a specific theme, and you should clearly understand what content you are going to make and who might be interested in it.

To assess the potential and characteristics of the audience, you can analyze similar accounts:

see how many subscribers are interested in the topic and who these people are;
what posts cause them more reactions;
how often new posts appear in profiles; nine0018
how a blogger or company interacts with their audience.

This will help you understand what kind of audience you can attract, how to interest them, what kind of response you can expect and what methods of engagement to use. At the same time, you do not need to duplicate the topics and content of competitors, but regularly review their profiles in order to better navigate the general information space and build on your own differences and advantages.

Since the most important contact with subscribers takes place through the profile, make sure that the information in the header is concise and understandable, and the design is beautiful and relevant to the topic. nine0003 Account header investment specialist – a full-fledged business card

What you need to consider when creating a profile and what you need to mention separately:

a keyword in the account name will help your target audience find you faster, as it will be indexed by search;
a completed description, even short and concise, will give new subscribers a clear idea of you, this encourages them to stay and get to know you better; nine0018
if you have a website or accounts in other social networks, connect clickable links, this is especially true if you are recruiting an audience to lead it to a website or product catalog.

Think about ideas for posts in advance and make a content plan. Schedule a content release for at least a month and publish a few posts in the feed. It's very hard to get people interested in an account where nothing happens. If it’s hard to come up with topics for publications right away, use the post idea generator. nine0003

Want to learn more about professional account promotion? Choose the SMM.school course you are interested in and learn how to attract an audience and promote your profile on social networks at a convenient time for you.

If you want to quickly understand the functionality and capabilities of current sites, come to the free workshop "Fundamentals of SMM". The video course will give you the necessary basic promotion skills - you can apply them to develop your account.

Ways to increase your Instagram followers*

We have collected proven and legal promotion methods for you and divided them into two categories for convenience.

How to increase the number of followers on Instagram* for free

To grow your audience and increase your motivation to keep an account, try the following promotion methods that you can use for free:

Use hashtags in your posts . Try to use target tags that are as relevant as possible to attract the attention of interested people. Why this is needed and how it will help, you can read in the article “How it works: Hashtags on Instagram* 2021”. Let's just say that hashtags will make your publications visible to people who do not subscribe to you, and they can also be used to maintain headings, develop a brand, catch a wave of hype, and show content to users from your region. nine0003

Mark geolocation . This is a must if you have a regional business, cafe or home studio. The tag will increase the coverage due to users who are geographically close to you. They are also very likely to become clients of your beauty salon or hairdresser, especially since, taking into account recent events, it has become important to visit salons, massage rooms and other treatment facilities, if possible, within a radius of 1 km from home.

Someone may see that there is a pottery school nearby and take it as a sign to try something new

Attract the first subscribers from your contacts . In the settings, you can add other social networks and follow the people you have as friends. They'll get a notification and be able to decide whether or not to subscribe back, so it's quite subtle compared to, for example, sending subscribe requests in private messages.

Post a link to your account on other social networks . You can promote your brand or your services on multiple social networks at the same time, or at least link to your business page on other accounts. You can also regularly repost or even publish posts automatically on several social networks at once using SMMplanner. nine0003

Leave a comment . You can attract the attention of potential subscribers by commenting on posts in related blogs, profiles of other bloggers, and thematic communities. This way you can show expertise, for example by answering someone's question, or being witty. You can express your point of view, disagree or even argue, the main thing is not to get personal and do not offend anyone. Also be active by following and liking other profiles. nine0003

Shared broadcasts . Conduct broadcasts with specialists from related fields. This is how you can exchange audiences, increase the number of followers on Instagram* without cheating and once again show them that you can be useful.

Bloggers also broadcast: Olga Kravtsova recorded a broadcast with a psychologist on a topic that worries her, in case subscribers have similar anxieties

Friends of friends . If you have a good product or an interesting account, you can ask your friends to recommend you to their contacts in order to increase the number of followers on Instagram*. It's easy for them, and you enjoy it. nine0003

Get involved and be active . If you are an expert, you can act as a speaker; if you are a blogger, you can broadcast to subscribers on topics that are important to you. If you are selling something, show the product from different angles and tell some interesting information about it, for example, show the production process.

Post subscriber content . If possible, motivate them to create it. Such a strategy, for example, is entirely based on the GoPro account, which at the time of writing has 18 million subscribers. nine0003 A unique situation where the product itself motivates people to create content

Create a variety of engaging and useful content . Come up with your own tricks that will make users want to share the publication, or tell something useful in collections so that subscribers can save them.

Run a marathon, challenge or other activity . Set goals and invite followers to join or support you. Perhaps someone just lacked the motivation to start running in the morning or read one book a week. nine0003

Organize polls and polls . Engage subscribers in interactive activities and discussions, ask them for advice in order to make a decision, ask for an opinion, even if you need to choose what color to buy a chair for the country. People like to answer simple questions, and this is another reason to use Stories. Also, with the help of subscribers, you can find new topics for posts or even adjust your content strategy.

Post more stories . Their reach is higher than posts, and so far they remain one of the most effective types of content. It is also worth learning new tricks - for example, learning how to shoot Reels. As long as the format is relatively fresh, there is a chance to attract a large part of the new audience with it. You can get inspired by the article "8 interesting examples of using Reels on Instagram *". nine0003 Sometimes bloggers just share their favorite jokes and funny videos, this also increases the reach and allows you to gather an audience with a close sense of humor

Connect business account . It has a lot more opportunities for launching advertising and promotion. For example, it will be possible to add messenger buttons to the description and study statistics in more detail.

Track the statistics of . Analyze the performance of posts in the statistics and note which ones have gained more coverage and attracted more attention. Adjust the content so that it falls into the interests and field of view of subscribers. Experiment with topics, pitch, and posting times. nine0003

To collect statistics and analyze the effectiveness of promotion, we recommend using the DataFan service. You only need to connect your account once, select the type of report, and the data will be updated automatically.

Read another article on our blog on this topic - "12 Ways to Promote on Instagram for Free*".

Paid methods to increase the number of followers on Instagram* without cheating

This group includes promotion methods that require small or large investments. nine0003

Organize sweepstakes and contests . You can start when your account has several hundred followers. The standard mechanics of the event is a drawing of a prize between users who subscribed, liked or reposted a post or story, tagged friends or wrote something in the comments. A gift can be your own product, a discount, a certificate, a partner's product, a place on the course, etc. The main thing is that the prize deserves attention.

Participate in giveaways. Become a sponsor on Instagram giveaways*. It's a bit like a lottery for both you and your subscribers. How it works was described in detail in the article "How to participate in giveaways on Instagram*". nine0003

Use targeted advertising . You can set up advertising posts to target audience and get new subscribers every month. The effectiveness of the tool and the cost of a subscriber at the same time depend on the ability to use the target.

Order advertising from bloggers . To do this, it is important to be able to choose with whom to cooperate. Whether a blogger is right for you depends on their audience, reach, cost of advertising integration, your goals and budget. You can read more about this method in the article “Cooperation with bloggers: pros, cons, pitfalls”. nine0003 Friends kkkrem promote in the blogger's stories for ice cream :)

Advertise in thematic communities . A public post is usually much cheaper than a blogger's wall post. You can choose a community among thematic ones, or you can find one where they post funny videos with cats - everyone loves cats, one of these people will love you too.

Invest in promotion . You can find an SMM specialist or an agency that will take care of promoting your account - developing a content strategy, creating content, launching ads, posting, analyzing statistics, negotiating other people's ads in your account, etc. These services are used by both companies and the Internet stores, and bloggers, since it’s hard to deal with an account with a large audience on your own. So that Instagram* does not completely absorb the lifestyle of bloggers all the time, they hire assistants. nine0003

These are the main methods used to gain followers on Instagram*. If something is missing in the article or you have your own unique features - write in the comments, we will definitely supplement the information!

We also recommend reading the article “How to promote an account on Instagram * from zero to 3000 subscribers in a month”.

In conclusion

Whether you need followers to sell on social media or just want to share your observations with those who support you, justify investing in an Instagram blog* and get paid for ads from brands whose philosophy matches yours - The main thing is that your content is interesting and relevant. nine0003

And the secret of how to maintain a profile regularly in order to increase the number of real followers on Instagram*, and not spend all your free time on it, we have already revealed above - use the SMMplanner deferred posting service. The service helps to plan the publication schedule, prepare them using built-in tools such as Story Builder and Canva without leaving the application, set UTM tags to track statistics, set up automatic publication on several social networks at once. nine0003

Successful promotion!

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

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Do not 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. nine0003

#1 Join mutual PR groups / Liketme

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

It works like this. A group of participants is recruited, after which everyone sends a link to their post. All members of the group like and comment on each other's posts, thereby increasing the reach. When there are a lot of likes and comments under your post, it arouses the interest of other people: they want to see what is there. nine0003

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

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

#2 Repost someone else's content

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

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

Why reposts of other people's content, and not publications of your own? Newbies don't have such good content, and reposting - what could be easier? nine0003

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 image was taken.

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

While you are at the start of your page promotion, collaboration with other brands is a quick way to gain a targeted subscriber base. 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. nine0018
Products - collections of products that you sell on your Instagram.
Posts - your existing posts on the same topic, collected in one place, to which you can add titles and comments.

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

#13 Use Instagram analytics

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

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

Best Free Analytics Services for Instagram:

Sprout Social
DataFan
Popsters
Live Dune

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