Whether you run a personal blog or a brand page on Instagram, followers are one of the main metrics that determine the effectiveness of your account.
Of course, you can quickly increase their number by turning to bots, but this will have zero effect. Without a live and active audience, there won’t be any changes in coverage and engagement. Moreover, it’s easy to reveal that a person uses bots.
Yes, growing an Instagram is not an easy task, but we hope that with our advice you will succeed.
Know Your Target Audience
First and foremost, you need to decide which audience you are addressing. If you have a business account, this will help turn followers into customers. All of the methods described below bring results only if you work with the target audience.
Then, you need to start creating content that is related to its interests and needs. Your posts on Instagram should inspire followers, motivate them and provoke a reaction. Why not look through successful profiles in your niche and learn from their posts?
As soon as you have the first thousand followers, ask what publications they would be interested in. This way, you’ll make your relationship stronger and have a chance to really know the audience’s expectations.
Stay In Touch With The Followers
Subscribers want to know that there is a real person behind the account who invests energy and time in running the profile. Therefore, motivate them to discuss posts and like them. Be sure to react to their comments and responses. The more actively you communicate with your current followers, the more new ones you will receive.
Please keep in mind that going through messages and responding to them with full dedication will take a big chunk of your time.
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Cross-Promotion
Reach out to bloggers who write about the same topics as you do, and offer them cross-promotion. Start with small profiles, and as your audience grows, reach out to more popular ones. Such mutual PR will be of great value if you arrange challenges, giveaways, etc.
Post Regularly
According to numerous research, the accounts with the most followers post 2 or 3 photos a day. So, the insight is simple: one should post more to be successful. Regularity matters if you want your posts to appear at the top of users’ feeds. New content that gets more engagement guarantees better coverage and that’s a fact.
Plus, the more regular you are, the more professional and reliable you look in the eyes of your followers. They will know when to expect new content from you.
Try to start with one post and several stories a day, then gradually increase their number and see what happens.
Share UGC
User-Generated content is created by the brand’s audience. This content can be anything – posts, stories, videos. The use of UGC has advantages for both parties. Your profile (especially if you run the company’s account) benefits from getting a fantastic amount of fresh ideas and unique content.
As for the users, many are excited to collaborate with the brands, express themselves in a creative way and even make some small changes in the life of the company.
Ask Users to Tag Friends
A great option is to ask followers to comment on the post and tag a friend. Maybe it’s someone who they want to invite to the event you wrote about, or who can relate to what was written in the post, and so on. As a result, a large number of people will find out about your profile. The more entertaining the post is, the better.
Other Platforms Matter
Instagram makes it easy to share images with Facebook, Twitter, etc. Why not turn to them to increase your audience reach? For instance, images posted on Facebook using Instagram generate more engagement than the ones that you’ve simply uploaded there.
Try Videos
Making videos in 2021 is a necessity, since with the start of the pandemic, users are spending more and more time watching them. Live streaming is even more engaging, Why? Every time you start streaming, all followers are notified.
How to get subscribers with live content? Make joint live broadcasts with other influencers. They can also ask their followers to follow you during the live stream, which can be a good method for attracting a new audience.
Plan Everything
You can save time on posting to devote it to more important things: tracking relevant profiles and trends, answering to comments and messages.
There are many apps for planning these days – they have a visual calendar and a convenient editor. So, it’s easy to create several publications at once and have them posted automatically while you’re busy doing something else.
Find The Right Time
Instagram feeds are formed according to algorithms now, but the time you publish posts still matters a lot. No doubt, there is no point in publishing posts late at night, hoping that a large number of people will see it.
Now the peak on using Instagram is 4 – 6 PM on weekdays and 12 and 6 PM on weekends.
You can also turn to special tools to analyze your publications and choose the best time based on your audience’s activity. Use Adobe tools as an Instagram post maker to make your work doing publications much easier.
Ads
Do you want more people to see your posts? Think about advertising – it doesn’t really take a big budget to test it. To promote your account, you can buy ads from bloggers, participate in mutual promotion and use targeted advertising.
When buying ads from bloggers, be prepared for some pitfalls. First, you need to decide how to look for influencers (on your own or by turning to some agency that works with them). Next, you need to be sure your target audiences match. Then, agree on a brief and price. In the end, don’t forget to analyze the effectiveness of cooperation.
These days, bloggers have a professional approach towards ads, as it looks like a natural part of the content. Thus, users perceive it in a positive way.
Taking Part in a Giveaway
Bloggers often join forces to arrange giveaways. This method is a bit controversial because some followers can unsubscribe from you after a giveaway ends. One thing is clear: people participate in such activities for the sake of gifts, and not for you. They are unlikely to read your posts or like them. But if you manage to get their attention, they will stay with you longer.
Therefore, in case your content is cool, don’t be afraid to use this technique.
To Wrap It Up
“How to get followers on Instagram?” is a question that interests business owners, bloggers and marketers. Social media algorithms are changing. Methods that helped before no longer work and can even be harmful to one’s reputation (especially mass liking and mass following).
When it comes to content you post, many things matter, from its type and time to your attitude – followers feel it.
It is important to communicate with your audience every day. Learn to enjoy it – respond to comments, be grateful for feedback. The main result of the strategy described above is that all the time invested will pay off with new followers.
Rajani Baburajan