With the continual shifts the world has taken within the last century, we are now finding ourselves standing atop a new technological era.
The age of information and digital advancements has created many opportunities in every conceivable sector. However, it is up to us to take advantage of these newfound opportunities.
As it stands, Instagram has become a champion for brands and businesses. The online platform has shifted from personal use to a means of showcasing the social media presence of various brands and businesses.
This highly targetable social network can play an active role as a visual marketing channel for your brand. With over 500 million Instagram users browsing the app every day, you stand every chance of gaining a robust and engaging audience loyal to your particular niche.
That said, while the opportunities are endless, how one decides to utilize such a multifaceted platform will determine the standing of your Instagram presence.
Fret not, like any business endeavor, there are many ways to boost your brand and garner a large Instagram following. How to get more followers on Instagram depends on your marketing strategy’s effectiveness.
Allow us to show you a proactive way of taking control of your account to increase engagement and get Instagram followers.
How To Get More Followers on Instagram
1. Define Your Target Audience
First thing’s first: you need to ask yourself some questions, such as:
- Who are you trying to attract?
- What is your target age group?
- What are your target’s professions and interests?
- What is your target’s general location?
- When are they likeliest to use Instagram?
- How do they spend time on social media platforms?
Everything is about strategy. Taking the time to analyze and understand your target audience is the first step you’ll need to garner their attention and get Instagram followers.
Don’t be afraid to appeal to their specific interests. Once you understand their wants, you can begin planning the direction of your content and overall business strategy.
For starters, by understanding your target age group, you can filter content that will specifically resonate with audiences of a particular generation.
This then leads you to the next step, which is to focus on attracting their attention by posting content related to what’s relevant in their lives. It can be about their work, their passions, and what makes them keep coming back to your account.
Being relatable in more than one sense of the word is a game-changer.
Another thing you can work on is where your audience is located. Don’t be afraid to use geotags to boost your local discovery.
Locations have their own Instagram feed and Story. Tag your location, and you’re more likely to gain the attention of customers who are physically in the vicinity or those interested in topics related to that particular place.
Not only that, but you would be able to work alongside other local businesses in the chosen area and help boost each other’s social reach.
2. Optimize Your Instagram Account and Branding
Who are you? Your username, profile image, bio, and feed are the hook meant to reel in your Instagram traffic.
When choosing an Instagram handle, make sure your username is search-friendly, to the point, and easy to remember.
Don’t squander those 150 characters in your bio. Your Instagram bio is the first glimpse potential followers will have to understand who you are and your business vision.
Your bio should include a clear description of what you do and an in-bio link. This link is significant because it’s the only clickable link you’ll have on Instagram.
You can choose to link your website or a recent post you want real followers to engage in.
Don’t be afraid to stand out. Pick a niche for yourself and your real followers. Establish what your brand stands for, what it advocates, and how open it is to like-minded individuals.
The human mind is constantly processing new bits of information, and researchers have found that within the first seven seconds of meeting someone new, a solid impression will take root.
New audiences should not squint to understand what your account is all about. Instead, the immediate visual aspect of your profile should do the talking for you.
Spend time curating your profile grid. Your feed should be consistent and cohesive in such a way that reflects your specific branding.
Have a solid aesthetic and brand voice. The tone of what you choose to share and how you share that information will determine the kind of followers you will attract.
3. Content, Content, Content
What content type are you looking to create?
The substance of your content type matters just as much as the visual element of your business. It is the core of what will keep your audience engaged and coming back for more.
Do not be lazy with your post captions. Focus on being eloquent and intriguing.
There’s no limit to how much you should write, but ensure that you create a compelling post caption.
While you may have an established branding, don’t be wary about exploring different content types to appeal to a larger audience. Content strategy is a real thing.
The goal is to be welcoming to anyone who stumbles on your account and appear on Instagram’s Explore Page.
Create content your audience would want to share and re-share. This will lead to more exposure on your end and create opportunities to engage with your real followers.
More importantly, to have a holistic appeal because creative content is meant to be shared and enjoyed by everybody.
Make sure your piece of content is accessible for all audiences. Don’t forget to put closed captions in your video content, stories, and reels.
For that matter, when making a post caption, include a summary of the post. This way, those with slower Internet connections can read what the photo or video was about while still loading.
4. Be Consistent
Complacency is the enemy of success. This is true for any business and even more on an online platform such as Instagram.
Your account is a single fish in the middle of an encompassing ocean, and aside from quality content, you must focus on consistency.
A study done in 2021 showed that businesses typically shared four Instagram posts per week, so to stay relevant, it’s best to post at least once a day.
After all, it won’t matter how great your content is if you’ll just be buried under an avalanche of other people’s posts. So, you have to post on a regular basis to stay atop of the game.
A strategy that most businesses have utilized is to have a consistent posting schedule where you prepare your content in advance. This way you can create high-quality content in peace without worrying about whether or not you’ve engaged with your current followers that day.
Another thing to take into account is when you’re posting. The time of day when one posts plays a key role in how far your post will reach. Plenty of research teams have looked into the best times to post on Instagram, and looking into that should help you immensely.
5. Utilize Instagram’s Built-in Formats
Instagram itself has several tools you can use to have meaningful engagement with your active followers. It is up to businesses to use such tools to garner additional followers. Incorporate these varying tools into your platform to create variety and customer engagement:
- Feed posts
- Instagram Stories
- Story Highlights
- Instagram Live
- Reels
- IGTV
- Hashtags
- AR Filters
- Instagram Geotags
Note that relevant hashtags alone can convert non-followers into potential followers. Your hashtag strategy is an essential tool for discovery and can create a specific niche for your brand.
Like-minded users will flock to a content type they are looking for, so knowing the tool will filter out only relevant posts. Keep in mind that your hashtag can signal content and events your business profile hosts.
Don’t make the mistake of using hashtags that are too broad or simply overused. Instead, be thoughtful in your hashtag choice and pick ones highly specific to what your post is about.
The world of Instagram is dominated by its algorithm, and users ignoring its presence are bound to fail. Following the installment of the Instagram algorithm, the platform no longer utilized a chronological feed.
However, the Instagram algorithm is not a behemoth meant to be feared. Rather it is a system that you can use to your advantage.
By learning how the algorithm works, you will be able to come up with a strategy that turns the algorithm into a friend rather than a foe. That said, you have to keep in mind that the algorithm can weed out fake followers from real users.
Much like other social media platforms, Instagram has its own search engine. As a user, you must learn and understand Instagram’s SEO (search engine optimization).
For instance, knowing how to use keywords in your bio and captions and adding locations to your posts.
Instagram also has an analytics tool called Insights that helps users understand their following. It will give data impressions regarding your posts.
The information includes how many active users you have, your reach, engagement rate, top posts, and crosses over to information regarding user demographics. These sort out your follower information by gender, age, and location.
6. Happy Followers Mean a Happy Business
Real followers are what keep your business afloat. Having thousands of followers won’t mean much when the majority is made up of fake followers.
Aside from keeping them invested in quality content, avoid shying away from audience engagement. Involve your current audience. Ask them questions, pin their best comments, reply to customer reviews, and share user-generated content (UGC).
Sharing UGC is a great way to engage with your Instagram followers, raise brand awareness, and grow your Instagram following. From there, you can even begin electing brand ambassadors to help your platform expand.
Another way to boost your engagement rate with your community is to run contests or create Instagram challenges. Hosting contests with giveaways will surely boost your reach since you can set rules for participants who want to join.
Rules can be beneficial to you, and can include:
- Being a follower of your account
- Tagging your account in their post, Instagram stories, or reel
- Sharing your post
- Having your Instagram followers tag several of their friends
7. Don’t Be Afraid to Collaborate
Accepting help from others is not a cry of weakness. Rather it is your ability to work alongside others to achieve an ultimate goal.
Collaborating with other like-minded brands or business owners within your niche is an excellent way to expand your circle of influence.
You don’t necessarily have to reach out to big-time influencers. Simply working with other local businesses can help both of you have meaningful engagement with new audiences.
Collaborations can come about in multiple methods, such as:
- Doing an Instagram Live collaboration
- Tagging other brands in your Instagram Stories
- Getting partner brands to advocate your content
- Making a branded hashtag
8. Understand Your Community
Just like how you should open yourself to working with others, as a business, you should understand the community you exist in.
Follow relevant accounts with the same or an almost similar vision. Learn where they succeed and pay attention to where they can be doing better. This, in turn, will help you establish your own business strategies.
At the same time, you should also be paying close attention to your competitors. Analyze their products, work ethics, and community engagement. Make sure you don’t fall short.
9. Explore and Expand to Other Platforms
The digital world is constantly expanding, and it is up to businesses to keep up.
Instagram should not be your sole business path. Look to expand your reach to other social media sites by cross-promoting your account on different channels.
By expanding your social media networks, you can promote your Instagram account on websites, newsletters, and blogs. You can delve into your business more thoroughly by writing a blog post though.
You can also include your email address so that other brands or clients can contact you directly.
The point remains that you must take advantage of all the available resources at your disposal because no one else can make your business soar except you.
Get Instagram Followers Now!
Now that you have some of the basics down in terms of how to get more followers on Instagram, it is time to put these tidbits of information to good use.
Understand that there is no sure-fire way of earning a large following, but keeping an open mind is always an irreplaceable asset.
In this day and age, it is important to be creative and to think outside of conventional methods. It is up to you to forge a path that best suits your business needs.
FAQs About Getting Instagram Followers
1. How many Instagram followers do you need to be verified?
Brands officially verified by Instagram are accounts proven to be authentic. Proof of this is a blue checkmark next to your Instagram name. While Instagram has specific requirements for accounts applying for verification, there is no set number of organic followers that one needs to apply.
2. Are free Instagram followers better than organic ones?
While this is something that some business accounts have taken part in, you have to note that Instagram is an app that is constantly searching for and purging fake accounts. In line with that, you won’t earn money by collecting or having bot followers.
3. Is it worth it to buy Instagram followers?
The pros of gaining a boost in followers all at once certainly do not outweigh the cons of buying Instagram followers. For one thing, it will greatly affect your credibility as a brand owner.
Moreover, fake accounts are stale and will not engage with your account. This, in turn, will not add to your visibility or engagement statistics. However, you’ll find legit social media marketing companies selling engagement from real accounts.
4. Why do people want many followers on Instagram?
Influencers earn money on platforms such as Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok. They do so by having a large following and a high number of post views, shares, likes, and more.
5. How much will 5000 Instagram followers earn you?
The number of Instagram followers you have correlates to how much you end up earning from the app. Brands and influencers with 5,000 to 50,000 followers earn between $30 and $200 per post.
