How to organically grow your instagram followers
Get More Real Instagram Followers with These 10 Tips
Instagram has become a cornerstone of many brands’ social presence, driving profitable traffic to landing pages, growing conversions, and building an engaged audience.
If your Instagram presence isn’t quite as robust as you’re hoping, it might be time to learn how to sharpen up your strategies for getting real, organic followers on Instagram. The larger your audience grows, the more opportunities you have to engage with users and create unique experiences for them.
The organic distinction is important: sometimes brands take the easy way out when trying to get more Instagram followers. Pay for likes and follower sites are everywhere, but these shortcuts are never worth it, as the Instagram algorithm regularly gets updated to weed out paid, low quality accounts and interactions.
Not to mention, the number on your Instagram following ultimately means nothing if it doesn’t represent an engaged fan following that makes purchases, visits your landing pages, and advocates for your brands with friends and followers. Start building your presence up the right way with these tips on getting more Instagram followers.
Before you set out figuring out how to gain followers on Instagram, one of the most important steps is to have your account fully optimized. Think of your brand’s Instagram bio as the “homepage” to your account.
Without a bio, image captions, a proper username or profile image, how will people know the account belongs to your brand? It might seem obvious, but on Instagram your bio and image help form the foundations of your brand identity. The link in your bio is your one spot to drive Instagram traffic to your site, so optimizing your account is essential.
If you’re uncertain where to link, try marketing or product pages that relate to specific keywords, hashtags or campaigns on your Instagram account. Linking to your homepage is OK–but why not give users a cohesive experience when moving from your bio to a site? This has led to the popularity of IG link landing pages that host relevant links to the last few pieces of content mentioned on a brand’s feed, and “link in bio” posts that help direct audiences to those links.
Additionally, keep your username as search-friendly as possible, which usually means sticking close to your actual brand name. If your business name is longer, shorten it to something your audience would recognize. Don’t add numbers or special characters to your username, and if possible keep it in-line with other social media handles you already have.
The best way to optimize your account is to create and follow an Instagram marketing strategy. Download our free guide to get started.
2. Keep a consistent content calendarThe worst thing you can do when trying to get followers on Instagram is to post content at random, haphazard times. If you’re lucky enough to get users following you in the beginning, you don’t want to make them forget they followed you in the first place.
To combat this, keep to a regular posting schedule. Typically, brands shouldn’t post more than a few times a day to avoid spam, but whatever your cadence, keep it consistent.
Approximately 200 million Instagram users log on daily, so to cast your net even wider, try publishing a few times throughout the entire day.
In fact, our very own research on the best times to post to Instagram pinpoints the top times to post for multiple industries, or you can follow our research of the best times across all topic areas below:
Sticking to a schedule will help you build a consistent experience for your followers and keep them in the know of your brand. But if you’re wondering how you’re going to remember to publish at these different times in the day, we’ve got you covered with Sprout’s scheduling and optimal times features–read on for more details.
3. Schedule Instagram posts in advanceWhile the Instagram algorithm has changed to show users more content they like, posting at the right times can still give your posts more visibility by increasing the overall engagement they receive.
There’s a lot your brand can do to raise visibility, and now with Sprout Social, scheduling Instagram content is one of them.
With our newest tools, we can help your brand schedule Stories, Carousels and Feed posts through an easy process.
By scheduling content in advance, your entire team can see campaigns and schedules more efficiently. It’s always smart to build out content in advance and with our Instagram scheduling tools, you can reach your audience and maintain a consistent flow of content at the same time.
You can also use Sprout’s patented ViralPost feature and let us do the work for you. ViralPost analyzes your own account’s engagement history and identifies the optimal times for you to post algorithmically.
4. Get partners and brand advocates to post your contentPerfect your Instagram content plan with Sprout Social
In addition to scheduling a complete picture of your Instagram content calendar, Sprout offers even more features to perfect your brand’s feed.
Share IG-approved visuals with your team using our Asset Library, or test out our grid preview feature to make sure every aspect of your presence is true to your brand style.
Get a hands-on look at these features and more with a 30-day free trial of Sprout.
When you’re learning how to get more Instagram followers, it’s important to know the value of your audience. The larger your follower count grows (organically), the more buyers and interested customers you will have.
The best way to get customers to follow you is to get in front of them and be present. It’s critical to be present on your own Instagram as well as others. Try sponsoring user-generated content to get your brand in customers’ feeds. You can also hold Instagram contests to get your brand
out to a larger audience. These types of campaigns build social proof by showing your fans are invested enough to repost your content or create their own UGC.
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A post shared by Urban Outfitters (@urbanoutfitters)
Another way is to get your handle in front of a much larger audience.
Try to work with larger Instagram accounts in your industry, like notable influencers in your space, to share your content to their audience.
Just make sure you’re providing something of value. The last thing you want to do is seem too salesy. Find marketing collaborations and co-marketing plans with other businesses to build your Instagram audience.
5. Avoid fake Instagram followersThere’s a huge difference between an Instagram account having fake and legitimate followers. It might seem tempting to simply purchase Instagram followers, but the backlash outweighs the perks of organic follower growth.
Fake Instagram followers tend to:
- Deceive new followers: If users come to an inactive Instagram feed with tens of thousands of followers, it will lower the account’s credibility. Don’t trick people into following you. Build trust and long-lasting relationships for better engagement.
- Have no ROI: It might seem easier to buy followers, but your acquired bot or unmanned new followers won’t be purchasing anything.
People follow brands on Instagram for a reason–they like what you’re posting or your company in general. These are actual spenders and bring monetary value to your business. - Create little-to-no buzz: If you have 10,000 fake followers, how many are going to comment, like and share your content? More than likely, these bot or fake accounts will be cleaned up by Instagram, deleted and make your posts seem like engagement graveyards.
Real people have the ability to share, like, comment and engage with your Instagram posts. Additionally, these users enjoy when there’s someone on the other side responding.
For example, Lush Cosmetics takes the time to answer various product questions, which results in users coming back, following or possibly sharing with others. These interactions will always have more value than a set of inactive followers.
6. Showcase your Instagram everywhereHow are people going to find an account unless you promote your Instagram? Make sure your Instagram account is listed with your website and other social networks.
Creating visibility and awareness is one of the best ways to get discovered. If you truly want to get more Instagram followers, let people know where to find you. You could add social media buttons to your website and blog to help promote social shares across all your networks as well as show people where to find you on Instagram.
Follow #MoMAPrimeTime on Instagram today as we celebrate the last day of Summer Camp for 200 New Yorkers, ages 65+! https://t.co/RNyV7Ibr9y pic.twitter.com/64SvbUaWLL
— MoMA The Museum of Modern Art (@MuseumModernArt) June 23, 2017
Another great idea is to cross promote across your social media accounts. The Museum of Modern Art regularly spreads awareness about its Instagram through Twitter. You can easily leverage your other social networks to direct users to your Instagram.
However, make sure that you’re not just asking for a follow. Instead you should try to promote unique content on your Instagram so users have a reason to follow you there.
Fortunately, with Instagram adding a ton of new content and video features like Stories, IGTV and Reels, you have a great opportunity to build followers through creative content.
While this is easier said than done, it’s smart to learn what content your followers want to see. You’ll quickly find on Instagram that some content performs better than others. This is why testing is so important.
Whether it’s filters, captions, content types or post times, the smallest detail can make all the difference. Keep your ear to the ground with new Instagram trends so you know you’re posting popular content.
To take your analysis a step further, your brand should invest in Instagram analytics tools. This will make it easier to track, benchmark and analyze Instagram content across accounts.
Be confident in your content strategy by analyzing different filters, captions and more to see what works best with your audience. If you’re unsure where to start, try analyzing your competitors.
You shouldn’t directly copy your competitors, but it’s smart to take notes on what they’re doing or posting that drives engagement. A little competitive research can go a long way. You can use our Instagram Competitors report to get a look at what’s working for other brands in your industry.
8. Get the conversation startedOne of the best ways to make users aware of your Instagram is through conversation. According to the 2020 Sprout Social Index, consumers want to engage with visual-first content like photos (68%) and video (50%), followed by 30% who want to engage with text posts. Instagram is the perfect fit for this audience profile, pairing eye-catching visuals with captions that can be just as engaging when you perfect your Instagram caption copywriting skills.
People are continuing to use social media as their contact reference for brands, whether its for off-the-cuff questions and chat, serious customer care queries, or praise for their favorite brands and products.
And for your business, you need to be supportive and communicative on Instagram.
Try to respond to as many questions or comments as possible, because it could mean the difference between getting a new customer, follower or improving your relationship with your audience. Our Index research also showed 89% of consumers will buy from a brand after following on social, so it’s important to secure the attention and loyalty needed to convert a visitor to your profile into a follower.
9. Find hashtags that convertOne of the most tried-and-true ways to get followers on Instagram is through hashtags. For years hashtags have served as an essential tool for discovery and allowed us to extend our social reach. As a marketer, you want to build your community by gaining followers and hashtags provide just that.
For starters, find hashtags that are not too populated. Social Media Examiner points this theory out by explaining how the hashtag #love has more than 184 million photos connected to it.
Trying to highlight your Instagram content in a sea of millions of pictures and videos is not an easy thing to do.
You have to find hashtags that people in your target audience are more likely to check. If a relevant connection is made, these users will be more likely to follow your account. Unique, branded hashtags are one way to group posts around hyper-relevant content to your brand and campaigns.
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A post shared by M&M'S (@mmschocolate)
For example, M&Ms does a great job at focusing hashtags to an event where they are participating. By using hashtags like #mmspotlight, the brand targets its audience more directly where the spotlight concert event happens and creates awareness.
Understanding how your hashtags perform on Instagram is also just as critical to using them.
And with Sprout Social’s hashtag analytics tools, you have direct access to hashtag performance and usage data to see what’s working best.
Don’t go blindly into the hashtag universe, know what you’re tagging so you can build your following.
10. Make your Instagram followers happyLast but not least, when you make your Instagram followers happy, you see the payoff in audience growth. We’ve given you plenty of tips for brainstorming and scheduling content, so put them into practice in a way that feels real to your brand voice. In other words, avoid seeming needy, sales-driven or robotic.
For many accounts, this means sprinkling in posts that are legitimately designed to bring a smile to followers’ faces and build customer relationships. Don’t forget to provide content to your followers as if they were friends on your personal feed: this might include posting memes, inspirational content, or just re-sharing interesting photos or artwork (all properly credited, of course) that can give your followers a little mental pick-up during the day.
More tips for your Instagram presence
Developing an Instagram following is a multifaceted process. Knowing the ins and outs of best practices on the network will help your strategies be more effective. Learn more with these guides to some of the most important IG essentials:
- How to promote your Instagram: 13 ways that actually work
- 9 Instagram post ideas to spice up your account
- How to regram on Instagram
- How to get more Instagram Likes
- How to craft an impactful Instagram bio for business
Instagram continues to grow in popularity with audiences, so taking advantage of these tips to get followers will help you increase your reach. If you’re ready to put Sprout’s powerful tools behind your Instagram management, start a free trial today.
7 Steps to Organically Increase Your Instagram Followers
Is it even possible to organically increase your Instagram followers anymore? While this platform is one of the best places to communicate your brand visually and connect with your audience, it’s no longer just a social network.
Since the launch of Instagram Ads, Instagram TV, and Instagram Business Accounts, it has transformed into a playing field for influencers, marketers, and businesses to promote themselves.
Today, people use Instagram not only to connect with their friends but also to connect with their favorite brands and shop online. Studies have found that the majority of consumers use Instagram to search for a brand and 80 percent of them follow at least one brand on Instagram.
If you’re active on the platform, there are two ways to increase your Instagram followers: through paid and organic ways. If you’re just starting out your Instagram marketing journey and still not sure whether to spend your money here or not, you’re in the right place. In this article, we’ll go through the step-by-step process of gaining followers organically.
You don’t have to spend a penny if you follow this guide, but you do need patience and consistency because it does take time. However, with Instagram, slow and steady wins the race, allowing you to build an authentic and engaged audience that’s more likely to connect with your brand and convert.
If you’re ready to organically increase your Instagram following, let’s dive in.
1. Create Engaging Content
Instagram users are engaged and love to share and comment on photos and videos that they think are good. A study found that on average, Instagram images get 23 percent more engagement than Facebook images.
In order to catch your audience’s attention on Instagram, the first rule is to create engaging content. The more engaging your content is, the more likely people will share it. Here are some tips on creating engaging content and boosting your engagement rate on Instagram:
- Upload more video content because video posts are proven to get 38 percent more engagement than posts containing images. If you don’t want to hire a professional video agency, you can create your own video using these video marketing tools and platforms.
- Create content that your audience can relate to. The best content will depend upon your audience, so you need a clear understanding of who they are first and foremost.
- Post about viral topics from other channels like Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube.
- Use the right hashtags to generate engagement and subsequent followers. To get it right, try the hashtag formula from Jen Herman, Instagram advocate and social media trainer, which she explains in a recent Social Media Examiner post.
How to Establish a Consistent Instagram Theme for Your Business
2. Schedule Your Posts
After you’ve gathered fresh and engaging content, the next step is to schedule your posts for one week to one month—depending on how far out you like to plan. The key is posting at the right time. Hootsuite did a study on this using data from Unmetric and after analyzing the top 20 Instagram accounts from 11 different industries they found that the best times to post vary from one industry to the next.
For example, the best time for travel and tourism is on Friday between 9 a.m. and 1 p.m. while the best time for media and entertainment are Tuesdays and Thursdays from 12 to 3 p.
m. Read the full Hootsuite Report to find the best times for your industry.
3. Collect a List of Related Accounts Within Your Niche
Compile a list of all competitors and major accounts on Instagram within your niche. For example, if you’re in the food and beverage industry, you might compile a list of all major food bloggers and restaurants that speak to the same audience as you.
Start by getting to know these accounts to better understand what you should publish. As you compare the brands, ask yourself:
- What topics does their audience engage with?
- Which posts are getting the most likes?
- How often do they post?
Now, use your competitors accounts to build your following too.
If you want to make money on Instagram as an influencer, this is one of the most important aspects of what you’ll do to to grow your audience. With a clear niche, you’re more likely to drive the engagement that companies want to see to choose you as their influencer.
Don’t forget about your blog. Do a content competitor analysis with this free competitor analysis guide and template.
4. Follow Your Competitors’ Followers
After you have your list of the accounts, the next step is to follow their followers one by one. Those people are your target market because they already follow your competitors, which means that they’re interested in your industry and likely what you’re sharing as well.
In the current Instagram algorithm, you can only follow 50 to 100 people every day. If you follow more than 100 people per day, there’s a chance your account can get suspended by Instagram. Again, take it slow and steady.
5. Like and Leave Comments on Competitors’ Followers Posts
Dedicate yourself to connecting with a high volume of followers and engage authentically as you do, leaving comments when posts stand out to you. This shows that you’re paying attention to what they’re posting and also ensures that they notice you. Ideally, many of these followers will like you what you’re sharing and follow you back—making it a simple way to organically increase your Instagram followers.
Branding in the Age of Social Media: How to Get it Right
6. Join an Engagement Group
An Instagram Engagement Group is a community of Instagram users who help each other in gaining more engagement and followers. Most of these groups are found on Telegram; HopperHQ explains how they work:
“Instagram Engagement groups are basically group conversations within Instagram and also on other platforms (e.g. there are several on Telegram app). They are called engagement groups because everybody participating in these groups are willing to like and/or comment on other members’ posts in exchange for their own posts getting liked and/or commented.”
If one member of the group uploads a new post on Instagram, the whole group will help by liking, sharing, and leaving comments on the post. Most groups also have rules that you have to follow to participate to make sure everyone gets the most out of each post.
The bigger the group is, the faster you’ll grow your followers.
What’s even better is a group that can like and comment immediately after the new post is uploaded. This makes it easier to get featured on the Instagram Explore Page, giving making it easier to organically increase your Instagram followers.
You can find free engagement groups at:
- BoostUp Social
- WolfGlobal
You can also get engagement, but more importantly, organic followers, by following accounts that host Instagram Follow threads, like LarsenMedia. The idea is simple: you introduce yourself in the comments and then everyone follows one another for a follow back. All the accounts are real and authentic, making this an easy way to increase followers, even up to 60 to 100 new followers in one day.
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Are you struggling with follow/unfollow games on Instagram? Join our thriving community – a @womeninbusinessclub initiative.
⭐️ Follow @larsenmedia ⭐️ Type ‘This is Me’ with a short intro about yourself and where you’re based. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⭐️ Like each other’s posts and follow each other on this thread to make new friends. ⭐️ Tag 3 of your business besties who are looking to grow their following too. ⭐️ Keep coming back for more! Pop back every few hours as more people join in. ✨This is me, Shosannah.✨ I’m the founder of Larsen Media, a social media and marketing agency. We help small and medium-sized businesses create and distribute valuable, relevant and consistent content to attract and retain their target audience. Happy Monday! #followbackmonday #makewavesmonday #growthmindset #socialmediamarketing #staybossyladies #socialmediavisibility #socialmediatips #smallbiztips #freelancetofreedom #businessgrowthstrategy #savvybusinessowner #bossbabe #creativepreneur #smallbizowner #goalgetter #womenwithambition #laptoplife #dreamersanddoers #shemeansbusiness #mumpreneur #womenempoweringwomen #femaleboss #smallbusinessowner #socialmediaagency #marketingagency #larsenmedia
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7.
If you don’t want to spend money and still grow an engaged following, these methods work and are free to use. In my experience, gaining your first 1,000 followers in two months by doing this is very achievable. This means that in less than two years, you could achieve 10,000 followers without spending a penny. All while building a true and engaged audience.
BONUS: Find Better Hashtags
Don’t just choose any hashtags for your posts. Use these guides to find the ones that allow you to target ideal clients and build an organic community.
- 20 Soulpreneur Hashtags
- 20 Entrepreneur Hashtags
- 20 Travel Hashtags
- 15 Mental Health Hashtags
- 20 Motivational Hashtags
Organically Increase Your Followers on Instagram
By gaining followers organically, you can save your marketing budget while also curating a high-quality audience that will connect with your brand and ideally convert into a customer or client.
Be ready to invest your time and you’ll see it is in fact possible to organically increase your Instagram followers as soon as tomorrow.
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.
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 promotional publications into their content - talking about products, services and brands.
- 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*. Not only cafes and beauty salons use social networks for this today, but also shoe repairmen, cleaning companies, factories for the production of solid wood furniture - companies from a wide variety of niches.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
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.
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;
- 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.
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;
- 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.
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.
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 delicate 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.
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.
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 anxietiesFriends 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.
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.
A unique situation where the product itself motivates people to create contentCreate 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.
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 *".
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.
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.
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*”.
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”.
Place ads 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 shops, 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.
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
Do you need followers to sell on social media or just want to share your observations with your supporters, justify investing in an Instagram blog* and get paid for advertising from brands whose philosophy matches yours - The main thing is that your content is interesting and relevant.
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.
Successful promotion!
14 methods to get 1000 subscribers in IG (free + paid)
The first thousand subscribers is a significant number for any blogger, and not only on Instagram. This is an indicator that the content has passed quality control and the process has moved off the ground. For commercial accounts, rising exposure helps increase sales, which is why many brands maintain their Instagram pages.
Before you start gaining subscribers, make sure your profile is complete and you have a content plan. It is important that you post regularly and explore your niche creatively - there will be no chance to make a first impression a second time. With this in mind, let's analyze from simple to complex what tools will help to collect the first thousand followers on Instagram and increase their number further.
Related:
Account design: 25 beautiful profilesHow to manage Instagram (50 chips) from a marketerHow to come up with a nickname on Instagram: 35 ideas for a business account and a personal blogHow to get followers on Instagram for free
These ideas will help increase the number of followers on Instagram without cheating and they rely on the internal functionality of the social network.
Some tools work on the principle of "tagging": you set a description, hashtags, geotags, etc., and the social network independently generates recommendations for users.
Other methods work for content diversity. Instagram allows you to create posts in various formats so that every blogger can reach their audience. This is what you will use to increase your reach and increase the likelihood that you will be noticed on Instagram.
1. Hashtags and keywords
They will help you get good coverage, get recommended and attract new followers to your Instagram account. But this will only work if the hashtags are relevant to the topic of your post. And do not abuse high-frequency tags: firstly, your post will be lost in the general stream, and secondly, there is a risk of being shadowbanned.
Use low-frequency tags - under which less than 10 thousand publications are placed, and medium-frequency - from 10 to 500 thousand.
They belong to niche search and are more likely to attract the target audience.
For convenience, type a few dozen target hashtags and combine them under posts, but it's better to repeat them less often. The optimal number of tags under the post is up to ten.
And one more tip, which is not related to promotion, but will be useful for setting up an account on Instagram. When you write all the hashtags, create a system of your own unique tags that no one uses. They will be needed for easy navigation through different sections of your posts.
Hashtags for publicationAn important point that you should pay attention to when promoting on Instagram is the profile header. It is the profile header that is your "face", the first impression of the account. The role of the header is to give a concise answer about what is happening in the profile, to inspire confidence.
Strong text and use of keywords in the header communicate positioning and brand benefits, influence the growth of subscriptions and sales.
Do not get carried away with writing in a hat, be brief, but understandable. In addition, Instagram only skips 150 characters.
2. Geotags
Geotag your publications. On the map, this will look like a place of interest that can be visited for several reasons. For example, you sell your services there. Geotags can also be placed by your clients (not necessarily bloggers) who maintain their Instagram pages for friends and acquaintances. The person will see the mark on the map, read the post, look at your profile and, if he likes it, subscribe.
Even if you don't have a business, geotagging still makes sense. They help users who are interested in the life and blogosphere of their city. But the main factors determining whether a person subscribes or not remain the thematic niche of the profile and the quality of the content. Subject to all these conditions, it is a great way to get targeted followers on Instagram for free.
Life hack. Do you want to save time when working in social networks? To do this, you need SMMplanner, which will automatically publish a post or story with tagged users, geometers and hashtags. You can also set up automatic deletion of posts and comments. Click and test for free -> SMMplanner
3. Participation in challenges
Today you won't surprise anyone with Instagram marathons and challenges, but, nevertheless, in order to attract new subscribers, this method will come in handy. A challenge is a challenge that the account owner throws to his friends, the audience after performing certain actions. The main thing in challenges is not only to do something and show your coolness, but to encourage the audience to repeat after you, accept a challenge or throw a similar one to your friends, close circle, etc.
If the content responds to a large number of people, then they will repost it to their stories, comment, tag you.
At first, you can resort to a little trick and arrange a discussion and reposting on a certain topic between you and your friends in order to attract the attention of the audience.
4. Mutual PR
On Instagram, VP (mutual PR) is another of the coolest ways to gain an audience. It can be used by both novice bloggers and business accounts.
You need to carefully choose partners for mutual PR. They should have a target audience as close as possible to yours, approximately the same number of subscribers - and, of course, the conditions for cooperation should be suitable.
For example, a photographer and a make-up artist can promote each other's pages, since they have approximately the same target audience. In addition, this is an ideal tandem for further cooperation.
Mutual PR on Instagram - stories5. Joint content (co-authorship)
Not so long ago, Instagram introduced a new user collaboration feature - joint publications and Reels.
In addition, today brands, influencers and celebrities are more willing to cooperate than to compete. Now users can invite other people as authors of publications. Co-authorship in the IG will help increase the reach and engagement due to the fact that the post will be seen by a combined audience of all authors.
For collaboration, you can choose a partner not only from your niche. For example, a company selling building materials can cooperate with a furniture factory, and a beauty brand with beauty can cooperate with a blogger.
Co-authorship in IGTo find a suitable author or brand for a joint post, it is enough to check the match on the following parameters:
- Your products/services do not compete with each other;
- You have a similar target audience;
- Goods/services complement each other;
- Human factor: it is better to work with nice people, so your companion should inspire confidence and inspire sympathy.
6. Blogger commenting
Comment on posts by bloggers with a similar target audience. Write not only an assessment, good or bad, but also ask questions, suggest an idea for the next post. Try to stand out, but delicately, without unnecessary criticism, so as not to end up in a bathhouse. In a word, show keen interest and competence in topics, and new potential subscribers will notice you.
7. Traffic flow
Attracting followers to Instagram from other social networks is a great way to increase the number of followers for free at the first stage of promotion. Use all the social networks that you lead. Put a link to your Instagram in all your profiles. Write in the status that you are mastering a new format, publishing a photo of your life in IG.
Then periodically remind your followers that you now have Instagram and invite them to visit your profile. Share news in posts: for example, you announced on VK that you would not release posts on weekends, you went to the sea, and photos from your vacation will be regularly uploaded to IG.
This way you can organically increase the number of followers on Instagram without taking almost any action.
For example, if you have your own business, insert a link to your Instagram on your website, on e-mail newsletters and even Yandex.Maps and Gogle Maps. Thus, you will collect additional traffic from different sites.
Link to Instagram8. Interactive stories
What is it about? Obviously, by posting regular stories to your profile, you won’t gain new subscribers in any way. This is where interactive stories come to the rescue - "add yours" or "add yours" stickers. Their essence is as follows: this sticker allows everyone to take part in discussions on the site. Users can respond to other people's stories with their photos and videos that match the topic of discussion. I think this is a cool opportunity to promote your profile
Participation in discussions in "Add yours"- Instagram games: 32 examples (posts + stories)
- Instagram Story Ideas: 150+ with Example Stories
9.
Reels Facebook on Instagram has its own analogue of Tik Tok - Reels. In this section, you can post videos lasting from 15 to 60 seconds. Track trends, participate in challenges. Here you will also find an audience, draw attention to the blog.
Instagram seeks to promote a new content format. The algorithms of the social network are more favorable to videos made in Reels and display them more often in recommendations. Use this hack to get followers on Instagram before your competitors do.
Reels on InstagramImportant. If you have a TikTok account, you can upload your videos to Reels, but it's better to make them here - Instagram has a negative attitude towards TikTok icons on videos.
10. Tagging posts
Posting a link to your page with other users will draw attention to your Instagram profile and help you gain followers. Ask acquaintances, friends or clients to tag you in a photo or story. So you will collect targeted followers who are interested in the life of not a particular blogger, but also his circle of friends.
11. IGTV
Instagram allows you to upload long videos up to 1 hour. During this time, you will show your product or the entire new collection in detail, answer frequently asked questions, tell you about the business from the inside, etc. And here you can save recordings of live broadcasts.
This method, like the previous one, works to increase the coverage and recognition of the account. If you regularly post unique, useful and unusual "catchy" content, it will become easier to gain new followers on Instagram.
Long Instagram videos
Related:
IGTV (Instagram TV): complete guide + video chips12. QR code
Create your own QR code and add it to business cards, ads, any other printed matter. In general, if you use offline advertising, feel free to place a code on it to quickly go to your Instagram account. This will help you gain traffic and expand your audience.
13. Manual mass following
The essence of mass following is that you subscribe to users and like their publications. These should not be just random profiles, but your target audience. Seeing such notifications as on the screen, users will go to the page, look at posts and stories, and probably subscribe.
Massliking and massfollowingLifehack. The easiest way to promote an Instagram account is with the help of automatic mass following. He will independently do all the actions (likes, views of stories, subscription to users) that will promote the account and increase sales. Click and test -> Zengram (Promo code "INSCALEPROMO" -20% for everything)
Paid ways to attract subscribers
It is not easy to promote a page on Instagram with completely free methods, especially in the early stages - you will have to try to get the first 1000 subscribers. Paid promotion methods will help speed up the process.
This includes external tools that expand the basic possibilities of page administration: show additional statistics, automate actions, wind up followers.
There will also be classic marketing techniques that involve having and planning a budget: targeting, buying ads from other bloggers, holding contests.
1. Targeted advertising
Advertising targeting — is not an easy task: to search and segment the audience, design ads, calculate the budget. Each stage involves detailed study. If you are a beginner, then you run the risk of losing money. But the effect of achieving the goal is simply colossal, so targetologists are well paid.
Even if you are just approaching the milestone of 1000 followers and are not confident in your experience, it makes sense to study the principle of action and conduct the first "sighting" targeting with a small budget, and then see how much your number of followers on Instagram has increased.
Life hack. Do you want to learn how to create vivid photo and video content that your audience will love? Then we recommend taking the course “promotion on Instagram”. After training, you will be able to independently launch targeted advertising, create unique and attractive content to attract new subscribers. Click and sign up for the course -> Promotion on Instagram
2. Advertising with bloggers
People trust other people more. Bloggers are trusted, as they recommend the product as if through their experience, give a balanced assessment with all the pros and cons (if they value their reputation). Therefore, advertising with them is a great way to get subscribers.
There are several criteria for finding the right blogger. First, it must have your target audience. Secondly, evaluate the reputation and credibility. Look in the comments under the posts and see what and how they write to him. And, thirdly, its subscribers must be alive, i.
e. not twisted.
Plus, advertising for an Instagram profile does not have to be purchased only in IG. For example, if you have your own women's clothing showroom, you can buy ads from a Tik Tok influencer. Moreover, this platform is gaining popularity with space progression.
Advertising in public
Another no less effective way to promote your profile is advertising in public (and not necessarily in the IG). A strong "exhaust" is given by advertising in VKontakte groups. The peculiarity of VK is that this social network brings together mainly Russian-speaking users, so it is perfect for promoting companies of almost any format.
So, an additional plus of VK can be called a significant number of thematic communities, applications and integration into third-party services, for example, on Instagram.
Related:
Instagram advertising exchange: TOP-5 services + 8 life hacksHow to get people to subscribe?
At the beginning of their journey to promotion in the IG, many users make a gross mistake - they gain subscribers for the sake of a beautiful number, while the quality of their content is the last thing they think about.
Trite, but it's true - only if you regularly publish high-quality content, subscribers will be drawn to you.
Let's consider the option when you already have some kind of base of followers that are actively showing up on your account.
1. Subscription gift
It is a very common practice to motivate users to subscribe to you. So, some bloggers and entrepreneurs go to small tricks to get an influx of followers. For example, for a subscription, some bloggers thank their followers with their promotion guides or checklists ala "TOP useful photo editing apps from ...".
So, as a gift for a subscription, entrepreneurs give a discount on the first purchase in the store, or on the first visit to a beauty salon, as in the example below. And as practice shows, this method of attracting an audience has proven its effectiveness.
Gift for subscription In order to make your life easier, below is a list of services with which you can set up an account check for a subscription to your page.
| Service | Cost per check |
| Instateleport | 1 ₽ |
| Instasub | 2 ₽ |
| Smmbot | - |
2. Direct mail
Use direct mail to draw attention to important information. It should not be a request to like or subscribe - users will consider such messages as spam. Direct is good when there is some news. For example, announce the same contest or tell that something really unusual has appeared on your page.
But don't get carried away: there is a limit on messages in Direct. An account that has been in existence for less than three months can send 30 messages per day. From three to six months, the limit is already wider: 40 messages. After six months from the moment of registration - up to 50 messages per day. If these conditions are not met, you can easily get a block.
In the table below, I have collected for you some useful services for mass mailing in direct. They are arranged in the order in which we recommend them, the first three are the top ones, and then out of order.
| Name | Cost (per month) | Promo code + trial period |
| Zengram | From 1 490 ₽ (“INSCALEPROMO” 20% discount on everything) | 3 days |
| Bridgit | From 490 ₽ | 1 day |
| Boss Direct | From 990 ₽ | “inscale” +5 days free |
| Zeus | From 110 ₽ | “INSCALE” +3 days free |
| Instaplus | From 399 ₽ | 5 days |
| SocialKit | From 1100 ₽ | 7 days |
Related:
Newsletter in Direct: 30 services + 4 steps how to do it By the way.
Have you heard about the new method of promotion on Instagram? SocTool has a unique algorithm that allows you to intercept the target audience from competitors online. The service will instantly establish a contact (subscription, like, message in Direct) while the user is online. Click and test - SocTool
3. Contest
If you already have your "backbone" of active subscribers, then announce the contest on your page. Play a gift, and as one of the conditions for participation, indicate a subscription. The main thing is that there are other conditions that will help to fairly select the winners. Otherwise, the contest will turn into a simple giveaway, after which you will lose all subscribed participants.
The timing of the competition should be such that everyone who wants to complete the task, but not too long, so that people do not get tired of waiting for the prize. Optimal - 5-7 days.
Holding a contest on Instagram
Related:
Uploading comments to IG: TOP 5 services + how to do Instagram challenge: 13 ideas of 2021Cheat followers on Instagram
The fastest method to recruit followers - cheat programs.
We do not support this method of promotion, as it is not reliable. It has a number of shortcomings, but at the initial stage it will give impetus to the development of the account in order to attract advertisers as quickly as possible.
- Websites for bulk purchases of subscribers
Subscribers are cheated by bulk purchases or with the help of job exchanges. The meaning of the subscription package is that you order a lot and immediately in a couple of clicks. The table below contains the most popular resources operating in this mode:
| Service | Cost (per subscriber) |
| TmSmm | From 0.14 ₽ |
| Likemania | From 0.35 ₽ |
| Mrpopular | From 0.08 RUB |
| Prostospec | From 0.28 RUB |
| Prskill | From 0.07 RUB |
- Job exchanges
The second option - smm job exchanges.
Here you independently compose the task, prescribe the conditions, set your own price for subscribing to you. The order will appear on the site, and only those users who have passed the selection criteria (suitable for gender, age, geolocation, etc.) will execute it.
As an advertisement
In addition to detailed task settings, such exchanges have one more advantage. They can also be used as a performer. By completing tasks, you earn internal currency (points) that you can spend on promoting your profile.
| Service | Cost (per subscriber) |
| Likeinsta | Fully customizable |
| Vkserfing | Minimum from 0.5 ₽ |
| Unu | Minimum from 1 ₽ |
| Socpublic | Minimum from 0.2 ₽ |
The main disadvantage of cheating live followers on Instagram is that it will not bring activity, will not show interest in the content, and, moreover, will not give any conversion and upward movement.
Of course, this method will help to increase the number of followers on Instagram, but it will not be of great use.
Also, it's not worth getting a large number of subscribers at once because of the profile blocking. When there is not yet the first thousand subscribers, let's be specific: wind up from 50 to 100 custom, but no more. And as you reach the designated goal, be sure to delete inactive accounts and bots. A list of profile cleaning assistants is attached:
| Service | Cost |
| InstaHero | 199 ₽ / 1 cleaning |
| SpamGuard | Choose a personal tariff |
- Mass actions
Programs select potential subscribers and carry out mass actions on their pages on your behalf: put likes, view stories, subscribe. It is possible to show which accounts to pay attention to: the search will be conducted by the audience of competitors, interests by hashtags and geotags under which you publish.
- Mass following and mass looking
Massollowing and masslooking automation. Set up the simultaneous execution of all actions or select any one desired option. The whole process is carried out through the cloud. Confirmed the task and calmly go about your business further. We give a list of programs that will subscribe you to a potential audience:
| Service | Cost (per month) | Free period |
| Zengram | 1 490 ₽ ("INSCALEPROMO" 20% discount on everything) | 3 days |
| Bridgit | 490 ₽ | 1 day |
| Instaplus.pro | 299 ₽ | 5 days |
- Massliking
Software for mass liking posts of other social network users. The principle of operation is similar: a person will see that you like him, go to the page and subscribe if he likes the posts and stories.
A working option to increase the number of subscribers.
| Service | Cost (per month) | Free period |
| Instaplus.pro | 299 ₽ | 5 days |
| Bridgit | 490 ₽ | 1 day |
briefly about the main thing
There is no universal formula for how to get a thousand followers and promote your Instagram account from scratch. Now you know what promotion methods are relevant for her.
I remind you that you need not only to gain subscribers, but also to be able to keep them. To do this, make a rule for yourself - post content every day. At least a few stories, if suddenly there is no time to write "long posts". The main thing is not to let your subscribers forget you.
What you do best (for example, photos of cityscapes) - will be the main theme for Instagram.
