With something as simple as an Instagram account, you get the opportunity to drastically increase your online visibility, scale your business at an unprecedented rate, and directly engage with diverse communities. But all these benefits start with one thing – a larger Instagram following.
So, how can you go from few or no followers to a loyal audience filled with thousands or even millions? With several foolproof strategies, some experimentation, and lots of patience, that’s how.
With this guide on how to get more followers on Instagram, we’ll take care of the first part of your journey to Instagram success. The other two are up to you!
Put a Lot of Thought Into Your Content
There are numerous effective tweaks you can make to your Instagram account to help it reach more people. You can optimize it for Instagram search engine optimization (SEO), use trending hashtags, and craft attention-grabbing captions. But if there’s no quality, engaging, and relevant content to be found on your profile, few of the new visitors will stick around, let alone give you a follow.
In other words, content is the essential pillar of your Instagram success. It’s what will prompt Instagram users to follow your account and remain loyal followers in the long run.
So, think carefully about what you want to post to Instagram.
Think of the ideal content as a Venn diagram between three key elements: your (or your brand’s) identity, your target audience’s interests, and current trends.
The first part of this intersection is crucial for preserving your authenticity and motivation. The second ensures the right people find your content (and engage with it). As for the third, if you don’t play the Instagram game, not even your existing followers will see your posts, let alone a new audience.
Of course, no one expects you to hit the jackpot from your very first post. That’s where the second part of your Instagram journey comes into play – testing, testing, and more testing. Do some A/B tests to find out which type of content works best for your account. The specific factors you should keep in mind are the format (photos vs. videos), the length (for videos), the message (e.g., educational, entertaining, or inspirational), and the content itself (e.g., people, objects, or places).
For instance, for the last factor, you’ll quickly realize people tend to respond better to videos and imagery showing people’s faces. This all goes back to the innate human desire to interact with other people. If you run a makeup brand, for example, make sure that product photography is only sprinkled through while the bulk of your content features people wearing (or trying out) your makeup.
Invite People In Unambiguously
If you want to grow your Instagram following substantially, you must invite people in. On the one hand, you can do this by creating an aesthetically pleasing Instagram feed, maintaining a friendly tone, and curating engaging content. On the other hand, you can literally invite people to follow you.
In the industry, these invitations are known as calls to action (CTAs), and they’re significantly more powerful than you might think.
Instagram users are exposed to tons of daily content. That’s why they typically scroll past new content without engaging, even if they like what they see. So, it’s your job to remind them to take action.
A simple “Follow me for more tips!” can go a long way. Of course, you don’t have to go directly for the following. You can also encourage engagement with CTAs like “Tag a friend who needs to see this.” or “Comment if you agree!” After all, where there’s engagement, there are new followers.
Treat Your Followers as Your Friends
Once you invite people in, you want to make them feel welcome. That’s why responding to comments, replying to direct messages (DMs), and liking their posts is crucial.
But even here, you must put a lot of thought into your responses. Responding with a single heart emoji to a long emotional message isn’t as impactful as taking the time to craft a thoughtful comment.
Your Instagram followers are much more than just numbers, and you must treat them that way if you want to keep the existing ones and attract new ones.
Don’t Shy Away From Collaboration
You might be able to make it on Instagram all by yourself. But you don’t have to. There are numerous other creators in the same boat as you, just trying to gain more followers on Instagram.
Instead of viewing them as “enemies,” see them as potential collaborators. Team up with other creators in your niche, and you’ll be able to cross-promote each other’s content and reach a wider audience.
This collaboration can take many forms. You can dabble in guest posting, Instagram takeovers, or joint giveaways and see what works best under your specific circumstances.
Not only can these collaborations help you gain more followers, but they can also lead to valuable connections and even friendships within your niche and the Instagram community. Talk about a win-win scenario!
Invest Some to Earn More
Sometimes, the organic strategies for gaining Instagram followers don’t work right away. Or, they do work, but at a much slower pace than you’d like. If that’s the case, feel free to use paid methods to accelerate your follower growth.
There are several ways to go about this, but the three most effective are hosting giveaways, using Instagram ads, and buying Instagram followers.
Only the last method guarantees an instant (and controlled) increase in your follower count. The other two aim to get your posts to a wider audience, who will, hopefully, like them enough to follow your account.
Of course, you can also use giveaways to attract followers more directly. How? Just write it into your giveaway rules! Rule No. 1 of participating in the giveaway should be: “Follow my account.” But remember, many people use throwaway accounts created for giveaways only. So, once the giveaway ends, you’ll likely lose a portion of the audience that was only interested in the giveaway itself, not your content.
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