Getting more Instagram followers can take time. Luckily, there are many strategies for increasing your followers organically.
One of the most important is to be consistent with your posting schedule. This will help you capitalize on trends and nurture a community. Other key factors include using relevant hashtags, reposting user-generated content, and creating engaging copy.
Use Hashtags Effectively
Hashtags are a great way to reach a new audience and increase the visibility of your posts. However, it is important to use them effectively. Using hashtags that don’t relate to your content will not be helpful and could even hurt you. Dumping lots of irrelevant hashtags into your caption can alert Instagram’s algorithm that you’re spamming, which can hurt your overall visibility.
It’s a good idea to have a list of relevant hashtags for your content, and you can do this by saving them in your notes app or on your computer. This will help you save time and not forget any crucial ones.
Branded hashtags are a great way to target a specific audience and increase engagement with your content. For example, Papier puts their branded hashtag in their bio and encourages customers to regram photos of their products with it. This not only increases engagement with their posts, but also introduces new customers to the brand.
Post High-Quality Images
Whether you’re an influencer with a brand to market or just a regular Instagram user, the quality of your photos is important. Instagram automatically compresses photos above certain dimensions, and this can make your pictures look blurry, pixelated, or discolored, browse this site.
To avoid this, it’s best to use photos that are no larger than 1080 pixels wide when you upload them to Instagram. You can also edit your photos on a computer or tablet before uploading them to Instagram, which will ensure that they’re the size you want them to be on your followers’ phones.
Another great way to gain organic Instagram followers is to promote your account on other platforms. Nathan recommends embedding your Instagram posts on your website and sharing them in your company’s blog and email newsletter. You can also run Instagram contests to engage existing followers and attract new ones.
Create Engaging Copy
The caption on an Instagram post (also known as copy) can be up to 2,200 characters, which gives you ample room for a captivating message. A compelling message can convert followers and increase your following, resulting in more sales or other business goals.
Instagram captions can also contain emojis, which allows you to express a wide range of emotions including sarcasm, irony, excitement, or sadness. Using a combination of emojis and witty copy in your captions can help you stand out from the competition and engage with your audience.
Whether it’s a link to your website, a special offer in your bio, or a shortened Bitly link to an online shop, using a clickable link in your Instagram post encourages users to visit your small business. Just be careful not to include an unclickable link, as it’ll serve as a frustrating experience for your audience. It’s also important to know your target market, so you can effectively appeal to them and drive the results you want.
Run Contests
Running Instagram contests is a great way to get more followers and exposure for your business. Whether it’s an image caption giveaway, a #followfriday hashtag challenge, or a tag-a-friend contest, the more people engage with your content, the higher chance it has to rank high in Instagram’s algorithm and get seen by new audiences.
You can also encourage more engagement by asking your existing audience to share their submissions with their friends and followers. This increases the potential reach of your contest and gives your audience an incentive to participate.
Summary:
However, avoid buying Instagram followers as this is both unethical and against the platform’s guidelines. Additionally, inflated follower counts can actually reduce your visibility on the platform by making your content seem less authentic. Instead, focus on growing organic followers who are genuinely interested in your brand and content. This is a more effective way to grow your audience and drive real business results.