How to Grow Your Instagram Followers
Authenticity is key to growing an engaging audience on Instagram. Avoid spammy tactics such as purchasing followers for a quick boost in numbers. Social consumers are savvier now and will quickly notice anything that feels off.
Posting the right content is also crucial to your growth on Instagram. Experiment with different post types, from Feed posts to Stories to Reels.
1. Post Relevant Content
There’s only so many selfies and #ootd posts you can post before your followers start to lose interest. Incorporate different types of content into your feed — such as Reels, Instagram Stories, slideshows, and IGTV — to keep your audience engaged.
Create engaging captions that encourage your followers to interact with your content. You can also use your Story to host Q&A live sessions that allow you to answer questions from your audience in real-time.
Avoid buying fake followers to boost your follower count. Social media users are getting savvier and can sniff out this type of behavior. Plus, it’s against Instagram’s terms of service! Aside from the ethical concerns, an inflated following doesn’t provide a clear picture of how well your content is performing.
2. Engage With Your Followers
It’s important to interact with your followers, and not just when they comment on a photo. Engaging regularly through stories, hashtags, and Reels helps build a community that values your brand’s content.
A great way to drive engagement on your Instagram is by using stickers to create polls and quizzes. This helps your followers feel heard and engaged, and it’s a good way to increase your follower count.
While it might seem tempting to buy followers for your account, don’t do it! Social consumers are savvier than ever, and purchasing fake followers will only damage your reputation and hurt your bottom line. Besides, having a fake following can affect your organic reach and make it harder to measure the effectiveness of your campaigns. Learn more about the risks of buying followers here.
3. Use Hashtags Effectively
Hashtags are a great way to categorize content on Instagram and attract users with similar interests. For example, if you’re a fashion blogger posting an outfit of the day, hashtags like #OOTD can help your post reach a new audience.
However, it’s important to choose your hashtags carefully. Overusing hashtags can make your posts appear spammy and distract from the message you’re trying to convey, check this site out.
Instead, try using industry-specific hashtags that are relevant to your business. For example, if you’re an influencer that sells makeup, you could use hashtags like #LashEducation or #MakeupBitch. You can also create your own campaign hashtag to promote a specific promotion or product launch. For example, Lay’s #DoUsAFlavor campaign was a fun and creative way to attract new followers.
4. Create a Consistent Schedule
The more consistently you post, the more likely the Instagram algorithm is to show your posts to a wider audience. However, it may take a while to find your posting sweet spot. You might also want to experiment with different types of content, from photos to Stories to the recently introduced Reels.
Creating and sticking to a content schedule requires a great deal of planning and organization. It can be challenging to make time for this when you already have a full workload.
Using an Instagram scheduling tool will help you keep your content consistent without having to think about it each day. You can also use it to clean your account of ghost followers, which are accounts that don’t follow you back and skew your engagement metrics.
5. Use Instagram’s Analytics
Instagram’s analytics (found on the main Insights page) provides a range of metrics that can help you understand your followers and optimize your content. For example, you can compare your total followers against the number of profiles that have visited your profile to see how many of your followers are actually engaging with your content.
Conclusion:
Keep in mind, though, that it’s important to focus on growing an authentic audience. Buying fake followers is unethical and can damage your reputation. Plus, social media users are savvier than ever and are quick to spot spam accounts. The best way to grow your followers is organically, through a consistent strategy and interesting content. This takes time, but the results are worth it. Then you can continue to grow your audience with confidence.