How to make someone follow you back on instagram

How To Get More Followers On Instagram: 22 Tips To Try

Are you looking to get more followers on Instagram, but don’t know where to start?

There are many ways to increase your followers on Instagram – some people buy them or boost posts, but these tactics only work temporarily, and can backfire over time.

Instagram has become the go-to social media network for sharing photos and videos with more than 2 billion active users today.

As a result, Instagram marketing and having a high follower count can boost exposure and visibility for businesses looking to reach their target audience.

Here are 22 strategies to get more followers on Instagram without breaking the bank. From increasing likes to posting high-quality images, all of these tips are tried and tested:

1. Have A Plan & Create A Content Calendar Full Of Great Ideas

We usually focus on ideas, delivery, and optimization when we create great content.

It should be no different when we share photos and videos on a business or brand’s Instagram account.

It’s important to take time to brainstorm engaging content ideas that align with seasons, holidays, your business’ upcoming events, and (most importantly) your overall traffic and sales goals.

Although, you can still be flexible and post spontaneously as ideas come to you.

But having a library of ideas and a (tentative) schedule will keep you ahead of the game instead of scrambling for something to post.

And depending on your business, you could post several times a day or several times a week.

So, make an Instagram content plan and stick to it.

2. Only Post Well-Composed Images & Videos

Businesses should only use high-quality photos and videos when posting to Instagram.

By high-quality (I mean crystal-clear) unpixellated shots. Instagram, above all else, is a visual platform.

Businesses can’t post blurry photos or images that have part of the image cut off.

Of course, it doesn’t need to be to a National Geographic standard. It just needs to be in focus.

Low-quality content won’t get engagement and might even cost you some followers.

3. Experiment With Different Filters & Dimensions

Just because you’re a business doesn’t mean you can’t have fun with filters and use different dimensions.

In fact, you should use filters on your content.

The more creative and original your photos are, the more likely people will share and follow your account.

You could also download photo editing apps to touch up your photos.

When it comes to dimensions, don’t feel relegated to the square – use the landscape and portrait options.

4. Use Instagram Analytics To Feed Your Persona Research

With an Instagram business account (which is free), you’ll have access to analytics that shows when your audience is most active.

Use that data to optimize your posting schedule.

Instagram also gives you insights into your audience’s age, gender, and location breakdown, which can be a starting point for your customer persona research.

5. Tag People In Your Photos Who Interact With Your Brand

Another way to be discovered by people who aren’t following you is to tag relevant accounts so that you show up in their tagged feed.

If you own a fitness studio, you could take a group shot after a Body Pump class and tag every person in the photo. Then it’ll populate all their tagged feeds.

Their followers will see the post and discover your studio.

But this strategy also applies to other brand and business accounts.

If you can share the spotlight and tag others, do so. It’ll circle back to bring you more Instagram followers and leads.

6. Optimize Your Instagram Bio With Branded Hashtags & CTAs

Your Insta bio should be used to feature branded hashtags, a link, and a call-to-action, which is crucial when looking for new Instagram users.

This section lets users discover who you or your brand are and whether they will follow you.

But don’t sound desperate or come across as spammy.

You want to let users know who you are and why they should follow you.

Make sure this section is updated when needed.

7. Ask Questions In Your Posts & Include CTAs

At the end of each post, include a clear call-to-action or a question to boost engagement.

CTAs include things like:

Learn more – link in bio!
Double tap if you want to see more videos like this!
Follow us so you’ll never miss an update.

You can also post questions. This will help keep your audience engaged, show that you care what your audience wants to see, and give your ideas for what to post in the future.

8. Add A Link To Instagram To Your Website & Email

Make sure existing clients and customers find your Instagram by adding an icon to your social links or embedding Instagram content on your site.

You can also link to your brand’s Instagram account from your email signature.

And use a plugin to feed your latest Instagram posts directly to your website.

This can be a great way to promote your new account to people who regularly visit your site, building your following of clients.

9. Cross-Post Your Instagram Content to Facebook & Twitter

Cross-posting Instagram content to Facebook and Twitter can drive users back to your Instagram profile.

Users who didn’t know you’re on Instagram and following you on other platforms will also discover that you’re on Instagram since the post will note it was shared from Instagram.

You can adjust your settings for every post to cross-post automatically, or you can do it manually for select posts.

10. Run Contests & Campaigns To Increase Brand Reach

Once you’ve started growing a follower base, you can hold contests and campaigns that can attract more users to your page.

For example, you can drive traffic to your website or sell your product by running an inspiring Instagram contest.

You can either ask users to like, comment, use a specific hashtag, or ask your followers to tag a friend.

When you ask users to tag a friend, it exposes your brand and page to more Instagram users online.

It is an effective way to increase your brand awareness and reach and a key hack to get more Instagram followers.

11. Look At What Your Competitors Are Doing

Another best practice for how to get followers on Instagram is to look at what your competitors are doing and learn from it.

Researching their accounts might reveal hashtags you didn’t think of, influencers you have yet to reach out to, or other strategies that can inform your own.

Also, note which of their posts are performing the best – that can serve as another clue as to what can work on your account.

12. Interact Across Instagram (Follow, Like & Comment On Other Posts)

Strategically engage with users who will potentially like your profile.

Practically, that means interacting with potential customers and brand allies by liking, following, and thoughtfully commenting on their posts.

Start with your hashtags: Click on your frequently used, relevant hashtags to discover others posting similar content.

Another good practice is interacting with those who are already following you. You should follow them back and like their content.

The more you engage, the more you’ll show up in others’ feeds and get noticed.

Plus, it shows you’re an authentic, real account who believes in reciprocity!

13. Don’t Use Too Much Text In Your Photos

In general, you want to save the words for your captions. People go to Instagram for visual content.

So, posting a lot of text in an image is outside the norm.

A short, positive quote or statement is excellent but only attempts to fit a partial product description or long message in the image.

If you’re looking for ways to add text to photos, Canva is a free tool that comes in handy.

14. Never Include Logos & Watermarks On Your Images

Stamping your logo onto your Instagram post disrupts your content and users’ experience.

People don’t expect to see logos or watermarks on Instagram posts. While it’s not advised to put a logo on your content, you can include branding.

For example, if you’re a B2B company posting a behind-the-scenes shot of your employees, have them wear shirts with your logo.

Or, if you’re a fashion retailer, you could occasionally include a strategically placed bag in a photo with your store’s name.

Keep it subtle, or you’ll risk being unfollowed.

15. Use The Right Hashtags To Capture New Audiences

Using hashtags on Instagram will get you in front of new audiences searching for the type of content you’re posting, whether they’re following you or not.

If you have a local business, make sure to include local hashtags, as well.

Take the time to research hashtags and find the best ones for your particular content.

It’s easy to identify which hashtags get the most traction.

When you start typing # and your word, Instagram shows how many posts have been done around that word.

Hashtagify.me is also an excellent tool for finding hashtags that are getting much traction.

You can type in your primary hashtag, which will show you its reach, related hashtags and their reach, all the hashtags related to those, and so on.

How Many Hashtags Should I Add To An Instagram Post?

It’s common to stick to five to seven to avoid looking spammy. But you can add up to 30 hashtags.

Where Should I Add The Hashtags On An Instagram Post?

You can add them directly to the post or in a separate comment immediately after posting – it’s an aesthetic choice.

Some users prefer to add single periods separated by line breaks after their caption and then add hashtags.

Whatever you choose to do is fine, but keep it consistent across posts, so you have a streamlined, professional look.

16. Use Geotags To Reach Local Audiences

Another way to get found in by users who aren’t already following you is to geotag your content – but not necessarily with your store location.

Try using your city or a nearby (relevant) landmark that gets many searches.

When people are searching for that nearby location, they can now come across your content.

If your content is doing exceptionally well, it can even be featured at the top of the search.

17. Only Add Links To Your Bio

Any link you include in an Instagram post will not turn into a clickable link – instead, it will just serve as an annoying and lousy experience as your audience tries (and fails) to open it.

Rather than including an unclickable link, direct people to click the link in your bio.

They can easily click that and head to your site to check out all you have to offer.

Be sure to put your link in the “link” section when you edit your bio, and mention that in your post.

And, because space is limited, use a link shortener like Bit.ly to save room.

You can optimize the link further by customizing it, so it’s not a random string of characters but a meaningful word or two.

18. Tag Products In Images & Videos To Drive Conversions

Take advantage of Instagram’s tagging feature if you’re selling a product.

Businesses can tag photos or videos with product links.

To use this feature, you must have a business page on Facebook complete with a product catalog.

It’s a great user experience for users, and it’s a huge win for businesses looking to drive conversions seamlessly.

19. Create A Branded Hashtag For Your Events

Create a branded hashtag for your next event.

It will give your brand exposure and curate a unique stream of all the content from your event and allow others to connect and engage with your brand and other people at the event.

Leading up to the event, you can use your branded hashtag to promote the event, and after the fact, you can use it to post follow-up content.

20. Repost When You Get Tagged To Showcase Positive Reviews

Whenever a user tags your business or brand, get extra traction from it by reposting it directly to your feed.

Showcasing positive reviews and mentions is a great use of Instagram for business.

Make sure to reach out to the user and thank them for their post and ask if you can have permission to repost it (Instagram’s terms of use note that you should obtain written permission to repost a user’s content).

Most likely, the user will agree.

You can repost manually or use an app like Repost for Instagram.

Either way, remember to credit the original poster in the caption and tag them in the photo.

21. Use Instagram Ads To Get In Front Of Your Audience

Consider devoting ad spend to promoting your Instagram profile.

You can create effective carousel ads through Facebook’s Power Editor and promote your content.

If you’re running a specific contest or marketing campaign, you can use Facebook advertising to push the content in front of more audiences.

With the ability to target your customers based on their interests and behaviors in Power Editor, you can ensure that your posts will be viewed by Instagram users who will be interested in your business.

While some of these strategies may work better than others, find the ones that work well with your business or yourself.

22. Get Your Account Verified

Getting verified on Instagram (or any other social media platform) never hurts your engagement.

The little blue tick gives your brand credibility, trust, and authenticity.

While only some will qualify for Instagram verification, it’s something to strive for.

Getting verified is one more way to stand out from your competition and deliver a trust signal that your business is real.

To be considered, your account must be:

Authentic (you must prove you are, in fact, the brand or business you claim to be).
Unique (only one account per brand can exist).
Public.
Complete (with a bio, profile photo, and at least one post).
Notable (Instagram must deem your brand “well-known” and “highly searched for”).

Final Takeaways

If you want more followers on Instagram right now, take advantage of these tips.

Make sure you utilize Instagram analytics, research your hashtags, post high-quality images, and create engaging copy and CTA.

If you use these tips as a guide, you’ll set yourself up for success in meeting your Instagram goals.

More Resources:

How To Create Your Instagram Content Plan
The Best Times To Post On Instagram
How To Dominate Social Media Marketing: A Complete Strategy Guide

Featured Image: SPF/Shutterstock

FAQ

How do I get followers on Instagram fast?

To get followers on Instagram fast, you need to:

Optimize your Instagram bio.
Post on Instagram regularly.
Post engaging types of content such as polls, videos, contests, etc.
Use catchy and amazing images.
Don’t use too much text in your images.
Use trending hashtags that are relevant to the topic.
Use geotags to reach local audiences.
Communicate with your audience.

Can you buy Instagram followers?

Yes, you can buy Instagram followers for as little as $0.01 each. However, this is not a recommended way to increase followers because you will only gain either fake or irrelevant accounts that won’t engage with your posts.

Category Instagram Social Strategy

How Many People Can You Follow On Instagram? (Safely Grow Your IG)

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Have you ever wondered how many people you can follow on Instagram? Instagram is a great platform to connect with others and grow a brand. But don’t get too busy following a large number of other profiles on this social media platform — Instagram does have limits in place that dictate the maximum number of accounts you can follow, including how many people you can follow per day.

Since you can only follow a certain number of other accounts, you might be wondering how to grow your own Instagram profile. There are numerous growth methods you can use on Instagram. Some of them are safe. Others will put your account at risk.

Here, we’re breaking down everything you need to know about how many people you can follow on Instagram, methods to grow your account, and which methods are the safest and most effective to help you see growth.

Keep reading to learn about Instagram follow limits and how to get more followers on Instagram.

Quick Links

Instagram Follow Limits

The Instagram follow limit is 7,500. This is the total number of people that you can follow from one account on the platform. The reason Instagram put this rule in place is to help reduce spam. If you exceed this limit and attempt to follow more than 7,500 people, you’ll see an error message, regardless of how many followers you have.

What’s more, Instagram has follow limits for each 24-hour period too – Instagram only lets you follow 200 people per day. This rule is also an effort to stop bots and spam accounts. Many people try to grow their Instagram account by following (and then later unfollowing) a large number of accounts. However, because of the daily Instagram follow limits, this method doesn’t work. It could even cause your Instagram account to be blocked.

Instagram Growth Methods (What You Should Do & Avoid)

There are several methods you can use to grow your Instagram. Here, we’re breaking down exactly how each method works, plus whether or not it’s a good idea to boost your account.

Follow/Unfollow Method Limits

If you use the follow/unfollow method, you follow a large number of other Instagram accounts and then unfollow them once they follow you back. Brands, influencers, and non-business accounts alike all use this method to attempt to grow their accounts.

Sometimes, people use the Instagram search feature to search for individual accounts to follow. More often, they go to a large account in their target audience, scroll through that account’s followers or following tab, and simply follow every account they see. Others work with a service that uses this method — such as Growthoid, Social Boost, or Socialfollow (although you aren’t allowed to unfollow accounts you follow through Socialfollow).

While this method might seem like an easy way to expose your profile to new people, it’s actually a very bad idea. It can put your account at major risk of being banned by Instagram; you’re only allowed to follow 200 other accounts per day and 7,500 total.

Plus, this method just isn’t a good way to do marketing. You could offend people, driving them away instead of drawing them in. Or you could accidentally accumulate a following of bots and fake accounts, who won’t do anything for your own profile.

Other people use the Instagram comment and/or DM method as they try to grow their accounts. With this method, you leave comments on other users’ posts, or you send them direct messages. Some people choose to do this manually and others purchase comments or DM’s from services like Instafollowers or Simplygram.

The comment and DM methods aren’t safe or effective for your account. Comments and DMs from strangers often come across as spammy, especially if you use a service that leaves automatic comments or sends automatic messages. Think about it: Have you ever followed an Instagram account because of an impersonal DM you found in your message requests folder? We’re guessing probably not.

You can also run into more Instagram limits with this method: You’re limited to 200 comments a day, and if you comment on several photos in quick succession, Instagram might block you because this activity looks like a bot. DM limits on Instagram are 50-70 per day. And you might get blocked if you send a lot of DM’s at once or if you’re copying and pasting the same message to multiple people.

Because it can seem spammy and it might get your account flagged, the comment or DM method is a waste of your time.

Liking Method

Another way to get more followers on Instagram is to use the liking method. With this method, you like one or more photos from other accounts. The idea is that when those users see your name pop up in their notifications, they’ll come back to check out your account.

The liking method is much safer than other methods. It’s reliable and effective, making it a great choice to help your IG account see growth. It’s also very subtle and unobtrusive (unlike following or DM-ing, which are too direct).

Because the liking method is so effective, this is what we use here at Kicksta for our clients. When you sign up with Kicksta, we target other users in your ideal audience, using your account to like photos from those profiles. We’re careful to never exceed the like limit on Instagram — and our service makes everything look very organic so your account will never be flagged. At the end of the day, the liking method is the safest and most effective option for growing your Instagram followers.

Want to organically grow your Instagram and gain REAL followers?

Try Kicksta Today!

See More Instagram Growth

At the end of the day, there aren’t very many growth methods that actually work on Instagram. Because of Instagram’s follow limits, the follow/unfollow method isn’t a smart or effective idea. Neither is the auto-comment or auto-DM method.

However, when you work with Kicksta, Kicksta uses growth methods that are both safe and effective — the liking method or the Kicksta Pro, which utilizes micro influencer promotions. Working with Kicksta is the best way to help grow your IG account.

How to attract followers on Instagram in 2021 (18 steps)

Instagram is a must-have item in the 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 your Instagram profile to get followers

Instagram doesn't tolerate 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 specify:

The 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 Facebook and Instagram accounts makes it much easier to post content that has already been published on 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 Get Followers

Now that your 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 live 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 mailing list 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 their 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.

Simply create and place your branded hashtag in your profile description, and then share it with the world — print it on business cards, stickers, branded and promotional products, and 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.

Search Instagram for such 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 impresses at first sight, then official Ads Manager advertising can be the best way to promote your page.

There is only one drawback to this method of attracting subscribers - 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.

Blogger advertising

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 boast 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. The rapid recruitment of users forces the algorithm to actively promote the content of your profile on the social network, which in turn increases the rate of recruitment of subscribers. The more attention you have already managed to attract, the more audience your posts will be shown, and the higher your page will be in rotation. Therefore, sometimes it is very important to give the profile a kind of boost and gain the first 1000 subscribers, so that in the future new followers will appear on their own.

How to make Instagram work for you

Be friends with your followers

Evelina Khromtchenko, top-rated fashion expert in the Russian-speaking world, creator of evelinakhromtchenko.com online publication

Choose your social network. If you are a blogger or an author of an online magazine, then you should feel comfortable in a given format. The format is the house. A person can make even a dry format humorous, or philosophical, or feminine, or feminist. Paint the walls of this house, hang canvases of this or that artist on them. There are people who feel good in nasty places, others in the halls of the times of Louis XIV, someone in very simple, minimalist buildings of the Bauhaus. It is difficult for them to stay in the opposite type of interior for a long time. Therefore, you need to write on the topic in which you yourself are happy.

The audience is not just numbers. Even if a social network is monolithic in terms of age or income, everyone has different interests there. You need to attract those who share your values. The blog is your personal medium.

Online video is 15 seconds. To watch it to the end, make it a clip. But the content is stronger than the format - even a long video can be uploaded to YouTube, and people will watch it if it is very interesting.

Comment and answer questions. I love spring.me - for those who write like they breathe, this is a great thing. You make a page there, and all sorts of people ask you questions. I got this resource from my son. In general, on my site in the right corner there is a list of links to all the resources with which I work. Today I will play Tumblr, tomorrow I will go to VKontakte, I will linger on Facebook (an extremist organization banned in Russia) and Instagram (an extremist organization banned in Russia), because they are more similar to me. Thus, my total audience on the Internet is 20 million people.

We must broadcast our point of view. You are a representative and spokesman for the audience that your online publication is aimed at. It's like fashion. I get asked all the time how to find my style. I give a banal answer: look in the mirror. Ingenue, Toska from "Girls", dressed as a fatal temptress - this is ridiculous. An actress can reincarnate, but an ordinary person carries through life the same role, the same character. He is a ready-made universe, and his powerful inner manifests itself in the outer. Therefore, you need to understand very well who you are and come to terms with what you see in the mirror. See your strengths and weaknesses and dress up to play your cards. And at the same time, take into account who you will go to in these clothes: your husband, an elderly boss, your worst friend, your best friend. On the network, everything is the same - you need to very carefully combine your inner world and your image on the social network. First, you have to match up with the social network itself. Secondly, find people who see the world through your eyes. Thirdly, so that you yourself would be interested in the information that fasts on your behalf. Then the people you need will share your enthusiasm for what you show and say to them. They will actively communicate with you, join their friends - after all, friends also like an active life on their main pages.

There are two types of blogs: specialized and broad format. Choose the one that is closer to you.

No need to go through celebrity profile and ask to like your page. I get to know my fans anyway. With those who, without subservience, without exaltation, expressed their reaction to what I published. Rimma Ismagilova from Orenburg sends me information about me that she finds on the Internet (Facebook (an extremist organization banned in Russia) has a section called “Recent posts from others”). Now I will work with her as a manager. Yaroslav Fashchevsky, my acquaintance from spring.me, became my assistant in the office. Valeria Guseva runs a fan club on VKontakte. Recently, Anton from St. Petersburg disappeared somewhere, who took on the functions of my persistent defender on Facebook (an extremist organization banned in Russia), passionately attacking everyone who, in his opinion, offended my honor. He was very annoying to the visitors of my page, but when he suddenly stopped holding meetings there, they missed him. Like, where is Anton, if something happened.

Don't kill trolls - if you want your blog to live. Those who write nasty things about you are of two types: under nicknames and under their own names. Those under their own names are especially valuable. 10% are always negative in relation to the studied object. If suddenly this is not 10%, but more, you should worry. Without this, it is impossible, just as it is impossible to cook soup without a bay leaf. If swearing, rude - block. Just keep in mind that online the concept of "offensive" is of a different scale than in life - so be less offended.

Create an image for yourself

Alexander Anatolyevich (Belonogov), TV and radio host, one of the first MTV VJs Russia

The Internet is a tool. I have been doing self-promotion for a long time. Now I have several projects: DJ group Menzo DJ's, Jetleg group. I also host the show "Hit" on the TV channel "Russia" and my course at the school of electronic music "A. U.D.I.O." DJ Groove. It is called "Course of image and style", or "Course of Alexander Anatolyevich". And I follow everything that happens around me and my projects. I am aware of what they say, what they publish, and I publish some things myself. I post posts and announcements on the Menzo DJ’s Facebook page (an extremist organization banned in Russia), I run a group on VKontakte, Twitter and Instagram accounts (an extremist organization banned in Russia). I don’t have a special person who would deal with this and report to me (“Everything is fine with us: so many retweets, so many posts ...”), I don’t have. If you want to do well, do it yourself.

Proper PR is when everything is in order and worthy. Incorrect - according to the old Soviet principle "it doesn't matter what they say about you, as long as they talk about you, and if they don't talk about you, then they forgot." Straight Chekhov's story: "So-and-so got hit by a horse" - "You see, they wrote about me in the newspaper! I am a star!" No, it's not. Why they wrote about you, what they wrote about you is more important than the very fact that they wrote about you.

There are no people who are not interested in what people say about them. Everyone is interested. It's just that some try to demonstrate deliberate indifference, and some, on the contrary, follow too much. It is impossible to ignore the opinion from the outside. Chase him too. Somewhere in these limits and you need to keep.

Independent compliments are much nicer than likes from friends. Friends will automatically like you, because for them you are great anyway. Even if you're not great. It can be called corporate friendship.

I'm not going to please everyone. It is important for me to understand the quality of the audience, not the quantity.

I have no illusions. Nothing. I suspect that there are far fewer people on the Internet who have a high intellectual level and are also well-mannered than I would like. Fact.

Internet discussion is monkey business. If a person does it skillfully, it can turn out to be funny. But, as a rule, it doesn’t work out skillfully and the correspondence rolls into “yes, look at yourself” - “yes, you went on your own!”. This is not a discussion.

Vocabulary needs to be replenished, so as not to dump your helpless emotions on the Internet.

One has to pay attention to everything on the Internet. For example, under the video of our group, which I posted, someone writes "He's not the same old idiot." I always answer very politely: "Anyway, thanks for watching and taking the time to write a review." And I just feel how that person’s face changes: “What are you doing, do you read everything? No, it's okay. I just don't listen to that kind of music.

Everything on my wall is neat. I do not allow myself to make mistakes, mistakes in spelling and punctuation. Factual - even more so. Such a habit. I have been working with information for many years, and publication on the wall for me is equal to a full-fledged publication in the press. Mat? God forbid! Few people will read it. I understand that there are people around me and whoever it is, I have no right to hurt their feelings. You can write whatever you want in private messages, but do not make it public.

Before I hit the publish button, I become a reader for a second and think I should understand by looking at this picture. If everything is correct, I will publish.

I always know the answer to the question “Why?”. If you don't know the answer, don't post. The usual acting task: went on stage - tell me why. This does not mean that you can not post photos like "me in shorts on the beach." Post whatever you like. The business of the owner. Just know that everything works for your reputation. Let it be curious and interesting. On which beach? What are you doing over there? With whom? So that everyone understands that here, in Cyprus, there is a stunning beach and everyone (such and such, list by name) has an amazing mood. Don't forget to put tags, and in the evening we add a post about the main event - for example, a concert - and you get a wonderful photo almanac about the trip.

Jetleg can perform a charity event or go to another city for a good fee. Perform at a big concert with other bands or at a small club venue. During any events and rehearsals, I try to take photos. In addition, I take pictures with guests, so that later I can post a picture, sign “My beautiful friend N and I’m happy there, there.” This draws attention to the event, to the institution, to the team, and this is another brick in the big wall of well-being of all of the above.

I respect my audience, whether it's drunk punks or whatever.

Promote yourself

Irena Ponaroshku, TV presenter

I have been on Instagram (an extremist organization banned in Russia) for more than seven years . During this time, 2.4 million subscribers came running. Despite the fact that I mercilessly bathe dozens of ill-wishers and spammers every day who advertise flower headbands, eyelash extensions, eyebrows and mustaches.

Instagram (an extremist organization banned in Russia) got very deep into my skin. This is the first social network in which I lingered and became interested in . Before that, I had only a sluggish Twitter account, and Facebook (an extremist organization banned in Russia) still does not exist. But I run a jewelry company blog on VKontakte.

I immediately decided that I would write captions for the photo in both Russian and English as a courtesy to non-Russian-speaking subscribers. Well, it somehow happened right away that the comments began to turn out to be multi-syllabic - I don’t know how to express an idea in one sentence, without participial turns and other speech trinkets. At first I used only Instagram filters (an extremist organization banned in Russia), and now I have a bunch of programs for all occasions: SnapSeed, CameraPlus, InstaSize, iVideo. Although I often hang photos without processing, with the proud #NoFilter hashtag.

What really matters to me is what my subscribers say . Thanks to them, I built a house in a year - they shared advice, contacts, discounts. I am very emotionally involved in my blog: the comment under the photo “No boobs” can really ruin my morning. But such a commentator is immediately sent to an eternal ban, and this act of retribution always greatly cheers me up.

Must make at least three fasts daily . And yes, it takes a lot of time: I'm a perfectionist and a pedant, so I can't hang a photo or text that I'm not particularly happy with.

At the request of the husband of , I do not post photos of my son that show the face of the child . Perhaps this is a superstition. But children are very sensitive to vibrations, the evil eye. We prefer to play it safe. I try not to abuse pictures with my husband - however, this is not difficult, since he, like most men, is cool about photo sessions on the phone.

Putting a bunch of popular hashtags under a photo of borscht is bad manners. It is better to use no more than five hashtags , both popular and copyright, reflecting your personality. Among my favorites are #Don't Be a FoolListen to the Guru, #GirlsWorking, #IrenaZhloba, #HairyWomen.

Actively comment on photos of friends, friends of friends and unknown bloggers . This is how your audience will grow. And, of course, the main thing is the content. It should be non-trivial: cats, selfies, photos of legs, photos of food - all this should be in the right proportions. Look for your angle, your view of the world, your style of processing photos and comments.

You can earn money on Instagram (an extremist organization banned in Russia) . To do this, you first need to promote your account to at least 10-20 thousand people. Real followers, not bots! You can find your own niche, especially if you are a specialist in some issue: in fitness, cooking, needlework. Although, if you just have a gorgeous photogenic ass, this may be enough, and you don’t need cooking with needlework.

I am subscribed to about 200+ accounts . These are my friends, and celebrities, and little-known characters. I am subscribed to Ksenia Anatolyevna Sobchak, Masha Tsigal, Nika Belotserkovskaya, Sergey Shnurov, Vlad Lisovets. Of the bloggers unfamiliar to the general public, I like the queen of hashtags @Katyakadavid, the completely alien wife Decl @LiaKiise, the photographer from Vladivostok @YanaKalina, the most beautiful mother of seven children from Irkutsk @Tati_Ilicheva. And I also subscribe to a bunch of showrooms, shops and beauty blogs.

I have been buying everything here for a year now : clothes, cosmetics, household appliances, kitchen countertops, building bricks, groceries, desserts. It was on Instagram (an extremist organization banned in Russia), for example, that I found the amazing American cosmetics @NazelieSkinCare, with which I cured my problem skin.

I have no competitors . Yes, I have fewer likes than the stars of Doma-2. But I console myself with the thought that my subscribers are people with whom I speak the same language.

How to create an audience from scratch

Katerina Danilkina, 519 thousand followers on Instagram (an extremist organization banned in Russia)

Immediately choose a topic for yourself. My account is called Instagram (an extremist organization banned in Russia) about life of Russian girl from Moscow. I want to show foreigners what a beautiful country we have and how an ordinary girl from Russia lives. It works great. It is also important to communicate with subscribers, to answer them.

Actively follow other users. In two years on Instagram (an extremist organization banned in Russia), I followed 2.6 million users. This gave my page a good initial audience - many reciprocate by subscribing, especially if you have interesting posts.