With over 1 billion active monthly users, Instagram became great platform to promote your business or personal brand. But the truth is that it is hard to get followers unless you are already famous or known in other social platforms.
However, it is really worth to build loyal audience on Instagram as it can serve as a great referral to get traffic to your website, increase sales and build general brand awareness.
In this article I will present 7 tips that you should apply to get more Instagram followers.
1. Be consistent
The first thing that you need to concentrate on is uploading consistency. If earlier you were uploading 2 pictures a day, then you should continue doing so as that’s what your followers are expecting from you. Keep regular posting schedule.
If, for some reason, you took 10 new pictures that you would like to upload to your feed, don’t do that all at once. Spread those posts out! Don’t just upload 10 new photos and disappear for a week. Because, if there were no posts uploaded for a week, followers may think that you are inactive and unfollow your profile. So, better schedule those pictures to be uploaded 2 per day for 5 days.
Instagram’s algorithm loves consistency, that is why newly created profiles doesn’t get much of engagement. You need to first build up your constant uploading history, then algorithm will catch up on your profile and your posts will reach more audience.
“How many posts I should be uploading?” – you may ask. According to various social media researches, the optimal amount is 2 posts per day. So, to get the best results, try to upload 2 posts per day every single day.
2. Upload only quality content
While trying to keep up with regular posting schedule, don’t forget about the quality of your posts. Quality is king! If you couldn’t keep up uploading 2 high quality posts per day, then I would suggest to upload just 1 post per day but to keep it high quality. As quality matters more than quantity.
You see, people follow Instagram profiles that are high quality, unique and entertaining. If your account is low quality, then it doesn’t matter how much you promote your account, still users wouldn’t follow it.
There is no magic pill. You just need to spend more time picking the most trending highest quality pictures and videos. That’s the key to success.
3. Create perfect Instagram bio description
Every time someone visits your Instagram profile will see your bio section. And many judge Instagram profile not just by its content, but bio section too. So, you need to craft it till it looks perfect! As it can be one of the deciding reasons whether user will follow you or not.
Your bio needs to be so perfect that potential user would instantly understand what you account is about and what type of content they can expect from you.
You only have 150 character text limit, so you need use it wisely. You need to answer one question – what is your story? Your bio text should describe your brand – what it is and what it does.
Don’t forget to add emojis – they catch user attention and are great to express your feelings without using many characters. Also include call-to-action, contact information and location in your bio. That will fulfil it & make it perfect.
4. Post at the right time
Imagine that you took the most beautiful photo of all time and would like to upload it on Instagram. What would happen if you upload it at 3 AM when everyone is sleeping? Even though that’s the best picture ever, it won’t get much of exposure or engagement. Consequently, you won’t reach many users and won’t get new followers.
So, it really matters when do you upload your posts. Statistics show that Instagram post has around 4 hours before it gets lost within other content. You should aim to upload your posts when followers are mostly active on Instagram, this will increase the probability to reach as many users as possible.
My recommendation would be to upload posts before work hours 7 – 9 AM or in the evening after work hours 4 – 6 PM. If you are not available at that time, use post scheduling apps to upload post automatically at the specified time.
5. Use proper hashtags
Instagram hashtags are still an effective way to gain more followers and increase engagement level. Some people like to include up to 20 hashtags in every post and some don’t include any hashtags at all.
But here is the thing, according to recent digital marketing research, posts with at least one hashtag get at least 12.6% more engagement compared to post without hashtags. Statistics don’t lie. If you haven’t used hashtags before, you should start doing so from now on!
Hashtags make your post more discoverable. If you don’t use hashtags, then your post will only reach your current followers. But if you use at least one hashtag, then your post becomes discoverable not only to your followers, but other people too that are interested in particular hashtag.
When including hashtags, the best choice would be to use 5 – 10 hashtags per post. Also, try to find out the most specific hashtags that are related with your brand’s niche or that particular post. Don’t include unrelated hashtags and don’t post same hashtags over and over again, as that won’t bring you any results. Hashtag research will take some time, but you will see increased engagement and faster followers growth on your account.
6. Engage with your audience
You need to get conversation started. While uploading posts, always include call-to-actions such as “Learn more”, “Follow us”, “Like our content”, etc. Sometimes all you need is just to ask. This will increase engagement on your posts and consequently the quantity of new followers gathered.
Another important thing to notice is to always reply to comments under your posts. This will make them more confident on leaving another comment because they know that you will respond. Also, when other people will see that you actively respond to your followers, they will be more willing to engage too.
So, don’t leave them hanging and don’t be afraid to reply or just say thanks for leaving a comment under your post.
7. Promote your Instagram account
There can’t be too much of promotion. Try to promote your Instagram account everywhere you can. The best tactic would be to cross-promote your Instagram account on other social media networks.
For example, if you have already built audience on your Twitter, Facebook or YouTube account, then share link to your Instagram account and ask them to follow you. They will be more than willing to follow you on Instagram too.
That’s it for this article. Try to use these 7 tips and you will get more Instagram followers in no time. Always remember that getting new followers is hardest at the beginning, so don’t give up and keep growing your Instagram account!
