Although there aren’t any foolproof “growth hacks” for growing your Instagram following, there are still a lot of things you can do to develop your growth plan.
Here are 13 actions you may follow to build your Instagram following naturally, in the order we suggested.
Before we get started, it’s important to make sure that your Instagram presence is solid whether you’re just starting off using it for your business or as a creative. Avoid the urge to purchase phony followers; doing so will only cause you more problems down the road.
Include keywords in both your name and username
Search results with keywords in the username and name are given priority by the Instagram algorithm.
Your Instagram handle, or @name, is your username: To make yourself readily recognizable, keep this the same as the name of your business and/or consistent with the username of your other social media profiles.
Your name can be the name of your business, yourself, or anything else you choose: To increase your visibility, use pertinent keywords that members of your target audience might use in their searches.
Make your Instagram bio more optimized
The Instagram bio may not be the first thing that comes to mind when considering ways to increase your Instagram following. In a few phrases, the bio tells other Instagram users who you are and what you do, making it an essential component of your feed.
To get the ideal Instagram bio, you must master these four components:
- A simple explanation of your business and/or products
- An expression of the brand’s personality
- An unambiguous exhortation to action
- A connection
There are only 150 characters in your Instagram bio. However, it’s what determines whether you make a good first impression on prospective clients and followers. Making Instagram bios concise, imaginative, and comprehensive is the science behind them.
Use other channels to cross-promote your Instagram handle
One simple strategy to rapidly increase your Instagram following is to drive prospective clients from other channels to your account, particularly if you already have a significant following on other social media sites.
Cross-promotion can be done in a number of ways to grow your following. Include a link to your Instagram page in:
- Your product’s packaging
- Your blogs (if applicable)
- Transactional and marketing emails
- The sidebar and/or footer of your website
- Team members’ social media posts
- Your email signature and that of your staff
- bios on more social media sites, such as YouTube and TikTok
- Webinars and networking events (For in-person events, use the Instagram QR code associated with your profile.)
Determine When It’s Best to Publish On Instagram
You have a better chance of reaching new audiences and expanding the reach of your Instagram posts when you share them when your followers are online. Additionally, you acquire more Instagram followers as you expand your reach.
The optimal time to publish on Instagram is typically between 3 and 6 p.m. on weekdays, based on our research of over two million Instagram posts.
Create a Marketing Plan for Instagram
Gaining more followers and coming up with more pertinent content ideas for Instagram are both facilitated by having a clear understanding of how Instagram fits into your larger social media marketing strategy.
However, how can one develop a strategy for Instagram growth?
Step 1: Clearly Define Your Objectives
Rather than learning how to increase your Instagram following, take a step back and consider your future goals.
See your target audience from all angles
It is essential to understand the fundamental demographics. However, go beyond that and have a thorough understanding of your audience’s problems and how your Instagram content strategy may assist them in overcoming them. This will enable you to produce material that genuinely connects with your audience, which will increase your Instagram following.
Also Read:- Top Food Hashtags
Establish The Tone And Style Of Your Brand
It’s crucial to develop a distinctive social media marketing voice for yourself, even if you’re a creator rather than a business, so Instagram followers can recognize your posts without seeing your username.
Although brand voice is difficult to monitor or measure, it is unavoidable in order to be memorable. You may establish your brand voice and aesthetic on Instagram as well. Have a personality, use brand colors, and adhere to a consistent content concept.
Develop and adhere to content pillar topics
Choose a niche for your account on Instagram. Don’t stray too far from the general subjects you plan to write about. There are numerous advantages to this:
To come up with fantastic content ideas, you don’t have to start from scratch every time.
Your Instagram following begins to acknowledge you for the kind of material you provide.
You continue to adjust your Instagram strategy and avoid becoming sidetracked by the flashy new thing.
Create captivating captions
When you’ve worked so hard to make the ideal carousel or video, it’s tempting to cut corners on Instagram captions. Instagram captions, however, have more power than you may realize. They can encourage someone to follow you or cause them to scroll past you without paying attention.
Additionally, the Instagram algorithm receives a strong indication that your material is valuable the longer a user stays on a post, especially a reel. Give people something to read, then.
For instance, the Instagram posts of the wellness company Cosmix don’t just say, “Shop on our website!” It listed the studies that support their claims, described the substances they utilize, and described how their products address particular problems.
Use pertinent keywords and hashtags
To locate the kind of information they’re looking for, people frequently search for pertinent keywords and hashtags. Potential followers will see your Instagram content if you rank for these queries.
Key words:
Use relevant keywords for your message, but don’t overuse them. Consider the terms and phrases that your target audience may use to find the kind of material you are producing. Use the appropriate keywords anywhere you post on Instagram, including in captions, images, and hashtags.
Recognize your analytics
Understanding what’s assisting you in gaining more Instagram followers requires routinely reviewing your stats.
While instructive postings make excellent carousels, you may discover that your audience reacts best to fun reels. You may find that Instagram giveaways are the most effective approach to increase engagement, but they don’t help you get more followers.
Finding trends helps you create content that maximizes Instagram’s return on investment.
Although Instagram’s app offers integrated analytics, they are somewhat restricted. The performance of each article cannot be viewed in a single window for side-by-side analysis, nor can you manually select metrics that are significant to you.
Work along with other small businesses or Instagram creators
Working together with other producers through influencer marketing or joint ventures with small businesses benefits both sides by introducing them to possible Instagram followers.
Making sure you collaborate with a business or creative that shares your beliefs and whose followers’ demographics and interests coincide with those of your target market is crucial.
Try out a variety of Instagram post formats
Instagram has evolved beyond a simple photo app. Short-form video content like as reels, tales, and carousel postings are among the many formats that the site has developed.
What kinds of posts can increase interaction and help you acquire more followers? Instagram reels receive 36% more interaction than other post categories, according to Buffer’s study of over four million posts.
Engage your audience with tales and comments
Social media is reciprocal. Engaging with your fans, whether through interactive Instagram stories or replying to their comments, strengthens the sense of community and enhances the reputation of your brand.
Keep in mind that retaining your current following on Instagram is just as important as gaining new ones. Being unresponsive and disengaged with your followers could cause you to lose your current community.
Do not purchase followers
To increase your Instagram following, it can be tempting to purchase followers. However, it’s important to keep in mind that phony followers won’t engage with your Instagram account.
They won’t be actual Instagram followers—and most surely not relevant ones—but rather bots or phony profiles. As a result, while your following may grow, your engagement rate will decrease.
Additionally, having phony Instagram followers damages your reputation. The discrepancy between your number of followers and engagement rate will eventually raise suspicions among your audience and potential collaborators. This might damage your personal brand over time and cause your audience to lose faith in you.
Obtain Instagram verification
A hallmark of immediate credibility is the coveted blue checkmark that appears next to your Instagram account. It prevents impersonation, makes you stand out in search results, and even increases engagement rates.
Verification will definitely help if your goal is to boost your Instagram growth rate. However, how can one obtain Instagram verification?
It’s easy: Purchase a subscription using your Instagram profile, however you must fulfill specific eligibility restrictions, such as meeting Meta’s minimum activity requirements.
You are undoubtedly better prepared to gain more Instagram followers now that you have mastered these 13 tips.
However, it is not a one-time event. Maintaining Instagram growth necessitates being on top of your social media strategy and consistently posting high-quality material.
Managing the planning, posting, engaging, and tracking by hand takes a lot of time and effort. All of it can be done in one location using an all-in-one solution, such as Buffer. Try it for yourself by getting started for free right now. Don’t just take my word for it.
