Oh, Instagram. Gone are the days when people only use you to post cute photos and #instagrammable content. Now you’ve become one of the biggest social media platforms in history, with a whopping number of 1 billion active users per month, and 4.2 billion likes per day.
Truth be told: Whether we like it or not, the number of followers you have on your account can make or break your Instagram presence. It’s one of the deciding factors that consumers use to decide whether a specific brand is legitimate and has a good reputation.
If you’re a business owner who uses Instagram to market your goods, or you simply just want to be Insta-famous, it’s important to know the strategies on how to build a real, organic Instagram following and not take the easy way out by using shortcuts. To help you out, here is a list of our top 10 tips and tricks on how to grow your Instagram account the right way:
- Don’t buy Instagram followers!
We can’t stress this enough, but buying followers and using bots to grow your Instagram account’s following is a big NO. We know it can be tempting, but doing so can actually harm your account more than it can help it.
Instagram’s algorithm weeds out fake accounts and focuses more on the number of engagements you have on your account rather than the number of followers that you have.
- Build a solid brand image
This is quite obvious, but building a solid brand image and making sure that your account looks presentable can be highly beneficial for your account.
Optimize all the details:
– Make sure your logo or profile picture is readable
– Create an informative but concise bio
– Include a link to your website
– Organize your Instagram highlights
– Create a theme for your feed
These things can make a lasting impression on your target audience that you’re taking your business or your brand seriously.
- Engage with more people
As we’ve mentioned earlier, a high amount of engagement activity can be useful for your account. These include the number of comments, likes, and even shares on Instagram story.
Make sure that you use this strategy to your advantage by joining discussions, replying to comments, and starting conversations.
- Post consistently
Being consistent can be a great thing not just in real-life relationships but in building a social media account as well. By posting consistently, you’re showing your followers and future followers that you’re active and that they can expect more content from you.
- Promote your account on other social media platforms
Let your other social media accounts help you out. If you have other socials such as Facebook, YouTube, and TikTok, don’t forget to ask your followers from these respective social media platforms to check out your Instagram account as well. You can also inform them that you’ll be giving exclusive content that can only be found on your Instagram account to keep them interested.
- Make a content calendar
You’ll make your life a lot easier by doing so. Making a content calendar allows your posts to become more organized, not to mention that you’ll also be saving a huge amount of time. Scheduling your posts for the week, or at best, for the month, means you won’t have to worry about coming up with ideas on what to post for the day and when to post it.
- Use hashtags
In another article, we’ve discussed the different strategies that you can use to get the best results when using hashtags.
When done right, one of these results could be an increase in your Instagram following. Using the proper hashtags via a site like Task Ant to gain the attention of your target audience is a simple but highly effective tool to make them notice your brand.
- Tap influencers to share your content
An influencer sharing your content means more exposure for you, and who doesn’t want that? Connect with influencers related to your niche so that their followers can see your content.
- Learn what content followers want
Figure out what your target audience is into, what content they want to see, and what will keep them engaged. You can also take a peek at your competitor’s Instagram account to see what content your shared market is responding to.
Another thing to consider is to start a conversation with your existing followers, ask them what type of content they want to see more often, and what content made them decide to hit that follow button.
- Get creative
The competition on Instagram can get really tough, so you have to think of multiple ways to be creative and make your account stand out.
Here are some ways to keep your creative juices flowing:
– Post high-quality images
– Come up with witty captions
– Start an Instagram challenge
– Make your post tell a story
– Start an engaging Instagram live video
– Create a theme for your feed
