It’s no secret that business opportunities on Instagram are expanding. Approximately 90% of Instagram’s 1 billion active monthly users follow a business account, and there are over 200 million company accounts on the network.
You spend hours designing and generating Instagram posts. Everything is fine for a brief moment after you click “Share.” You’re certain you’ve written something fantastic.
Then there was radio silence. Alternatively, a few likes and comments from your small group of followers. But how do you obtain more Instagram followers if not by posting outstanding content?
Starting out on Instagram as a brand might be difficult. What is the first thing you must do? Increase your Instagram followers quickly.
But how?
The days of buying followers or using bots are over. These tactics may increase your follower count temporarily, but they will not benefit you in the long run.
That’s because the only Instagram followers that are actually useful are those who care about and engage with your brand. A phoney follower count may boost your ego, but it will not benefit your Instagram plan.
Here are 12 ways to get more followers on Instagram.
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Optimize your bio
Make the most of your 150 character limit. Your Instagram bio describes who you are, what you stand for, and what action you hope others will do after visiting your profile.
Your Instagram bio should include:
- A clear description of what you do
- Touches of your personality
- A call to action (shop, read more, contact us, etc.)
- A link
Use your in-bio link judiciously because it is your only clickable link on Instagram. Some companies offer a conventional link to their website, while others update it on a regular basis to reflect new postings. If you want to make things easy on yourself, use link-in-bio solutions like Start Page, which allow you to turn a single link into a collection of links.
Think about including a branded hashtag as well. For example, when discussing our products, we urge our supporters to utilise the hashtag #BufferLove. Including the branded hashtag in our bio instructs individuals on which hashtag to add in order to grab our attention. Furthermore, everyone who taps on the hashtag will see postings from fans who have used it.
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Find your best time to post on Instagram
We didn’t say “discover the perfect moment to post on Instagram.” The truth is that there is no common solution for when to post on Instagram in order to reach the most people. However, there are methods for determining the best times for your followers.
First, use Instagram Insights to determine when your target audience is online. From your Instagram business profile, touch the “Insights” tab, scroll to “Your Audience,” and then tap “See All.” Scroll to the bottom to determine the most active periods for your audience.
You should also think about when your material will be most useful. A step-by-step recipe video, for example, may do better outside of work hours since people are more likely to be cooking. A coffee shop post, on the other hand, would perform well at 2 p.m., when people are in a slump. Experiment with various publishing times and keep track of engagement.
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Post consistently
According to a 2021 research of 14 industries, businesses share four Instagram photos each week on average. However, we recommend updating at least once every day. Brands that have a consistent flow of Instagram postings experience the best benefits. A Tailwind study found that profiles that post daily earn more Instagram followers than those that post less frequently.
Consistency is essential for getting your posts seen on Instagram’s algorithmic timeline. If your posts are shared frequently and receive a lot of engagement, Instagram’s algorithm will most likely place them near the top of your followers’ feeds.
Of course, quality always takes precedence over quantity. Posting more frequently does not always equate into increased engagement rates. Concentrate on developing material that will resonate with your target audience—more on this in section 9: Engage with your audience.
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Learn how the Instagram algorithm works
Many Instagram users were first alarmed by the transition from a chronological feed to a ranked timeline. However, following the change, the average post has received 50% more views than before. So forget about figuring out how to beat Instagram’s algorithm. Instead, concentrate on learning how to take advantage of the system.
Each person’s timeline is determined by six factors: interest, timeliness, relationship, frequency, following, and usage.
Here’s a quick rundown of what each of those factors refers to:
- Interest: How much Instagram thinks a person will like the post based on previous activity
- Timeliness: How recent the post is
- Relationship: Accounts a person engages with on a regular basis
- Frequency: How often a person uses the Instagram app
- Following: Posts from the accounts a person follows
- Usage: How much time a person spends on Instagram
Instagram’s algorithm strives to show the most relevant content to each individual user. So, while six distinct factors may appear to be a lot to be concerned about, the greatest thing you can do is continually produce high-quality content.
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Experiment with different content types
Instagram is much more than just pictures. The app has added numerous options to distribute information on the network over the years. Mixing things up with different content kinds is one of the best strategies to obtain more Instagram followers since it allows you to reach and interact with a bigger audience.
Remember that the algorithm considers interest and seeks to display users the content kinds with which they engage the most frequently. As a result, if one person likes and comments on Instagram Reels more frequently than other types of posts, they are more likely to see Reels in their Instagram feed. However, if another user engages with carousel posts more frequently, they will see more of that content type in their timeline.
Each form of material has benefits. Instagram Reels, for example, have an advantage because they are the newest video category, and Instagram is always pushing new features. Since the launch of Instagram Reels in 2020, the app has moved the Reels button to the centre of the menu bar and made Reels look larger on the Explore page than photo posts. Given that 200 million people visit the Explore page every day, that extra visual real estate can make a significant difference in how many people you reach.
Instagram TV (IGTV) videos are also displayed four times larger than images on the Explore page. Furthermore, because IGTV films may last up to 60 minutes, this type of content is great for long-form video.
Instagram Stories disappear after 24 hours, although they do have some advantages. Fifty-seven percent of brands say that using Stories as part of their social media strategy has been “somewhat effective” or “extremely effective.” Furthermore, if you have a verified account or at least 10,000 followers, you can add Instagram Swipe Up links to your Stories to direct visitors to certain pages.
Carousel postings, which contain up to ten images or videos in a single post, have the best engagement rates of any post category. Carousels can be seen of as a mini-story or a teaser to a longer-form piece of material, such as a blog. You can utilise text images, photos, video, or a combination of all of these in a single topic post.
- Find your brand voice and create unique content
People do not follow your company on social media in order to see sales pitches. They are drawn to your brand because they like your personality and the material you produce.
What works for one company’s branding may not work for yours, even if you’re in the same industry.
Consider how you want your tone to be. Funny? Informative? Playful? Cynical? Your personality should also reflect your areas of interest. What subjects do you cover in your Instagram posts? Everything you post on your business account should reflect the personality and beliefs of your company.
Consider your business account to be a person. Create a personality for the account and branding rules to ensure consistency. Along with your brand’s colours and typefaces, branding guidelines should include notes on tone, style, and values.
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Write great captions
Nice photographs pique people’s interest, and clever Instagram captions keep it going. Captions allow you to contribute additional context or facts about the photo or video you’re sharing. Furthermore, incorporating keywords in captions can help you appear in app search results.
Captions on Instagram can be up to 2,200 characters long. Of course, not every caption has to be written in the style of a blog post. Experiment with different lengths. Some photographs benefit from a brief, snappy remark with a handful of emojis, while others may require something longer and more thoughtful.
Although the average length of Instagram captions is increasing, most brands still do not exceed the 2,200 character limit. The average was anticipated to be 405 characters in 2020, up from 142 in 2016.
So, when should you go long and when should you keep it short? There is no absolute rule. It’s great to mix it up, just like with content genres.
- Research and use hashtags
We’ve covered hashtags extensively on the site, but it appears that they’re most essential on Instagram. The appropriate hashtags can expose your image to a wide and focused audience, and Instagram users don’t appear to experience hashtag weariness in the same way that other networks do.
Begin by looking for hashtags that will appeal to your target demographic.
Hashtags are vital if you want to obtain more Instagram followers. When others tap on the same hashtag from another post, it makes your material discoverable via search or filtering. People can now follow their favourite hashtags, which will display top material with that hashtag in their Instagram feed.
Instagram permits up to 30 hashtags per post, so don’t add extras just to meet the limit. The best is to use nine hashtags to maximise engagement. Just make sure you don’t use the same nine hashtags repeatedly. Instead, categorise your go-to hashtags so you can easily add a few relevant hashtags to each post.
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Engage with your audience
Engagement is essential for Instagram growth. Many brands make the mistake of focusing solely on likes and comments without taking into account the individuals behind those stats. If you want to increase your Instagram followers, you must engage your fans in a conversation.
Remember that just because someone reads your content does not indicate they are actively following you. You should seize any opportunity to communicate with a potential follower. Every remark is an opportunity to earn a new follower (or retain an existing one), so make sure you answer to each one. Don’t panic if the notion of tapping away on your phone has your hands cramping.
But don’t just sit back and wait for your followers to start a dialogue. Create possibilities for participation. In Instagram Stories, use Instagram stickers such as open-ended questions and surveys. In your photo captions, pose questions. Encourage individuals to tag pals in the comments by asking questions like “Tag your BFF who you’d invite on this trip!” or “Tag your wine-loving friend who you’d do this wine tasting with!”
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Collaborate with others
Collaboration with others through partnerships or influencer campaigns is another wonderful strategy to get Instagram followers.
Influencer marketing is another method for increasing your Instagram following. You can pay content artists to promote your brand if you have the funds. However, if you want to keep things simple (and low-budget), micro-influencers (1,000-10,000 followers) might have a big impact. In fact, micro-influencer content has higher engagement rates than content from larger accounts. You might look for micro-influencers to work with or just re-share user-generated material (UGC).
Collaborations also provide an opportunity to demonstrate your ideals and personality through association. The companies and individuals with whom you connect and support say a lot about your personal brand. Partnerships can be extremely beneficial to local businesses. Consider collaborating with your neighbours to reach a highly focused audience.
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Link to your Instagram from elsewhere
Make it simple for users to find your Instagram account. Nobody should have to sift through your website’s pages to reach your Instagram profile.
Add your Instagram account link to:
- Email footers
- Your website’s footer and/or sidebar
- Bios on other social media platforms
- Social media posts from team members
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Analyze your results
Looking at what your present fans respond to is one approach to figure out how to attract more Instagram followers. Several Instagram metrics can be tracked directly in the app using Instagram Insights or via third-party analytics programmes such as Buffer.
Don’t get caught up in vanity metrics like likes and comments. Instead, consider what the metrics tell you. For example, if you’re experimenting with a new hashtag, metrics like new followers and reach will tell you more about its worth than likes from your present followers. However, if you’re testing out different posting times, impressions might help you figure out when your content is most likely to be seen. Which metrics you use will be determined by your end goal.
Look for trends. Is there a type of image that gets more impressions or engagement? Continue to share those photographs and see how your followers react. Do specific hashtags generate more likes from those who don’t follow you? Use those hashtags more frequently and keep a watch out for new followers.
Summing-up
If you want to see consistent Instagram growth, you must provide your target audience with high-quality content on a regular basis. While haphazard social media is acceptable for personal accounts, corporations must be more planned. All of the strategies we discussed will help you obtain more Instagram followers, but they are not checkbox items. It is critical to keep track of your social media content strategy.
Post planning and scheduling takes time. Managing engagement can sometimes be difficult. Shergroup allows you to manage every aspect of your Instagram marketing plan, from scheduling to analytics, all in one place. For more information on how we can help you manage your Instagram call our business solutions advisors.
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