An audience is the heartbeat of every brand. This means the more audience you have, the higher your chance of having a successful brand. However, getting a large audience or following especially on Instagram can be a herculean task. For starters, the ever-changing Instagram algorithm will be hard to beat.
Fortunately, there are some fixed strategies that just work. You can implement this social media strategy to increase the number of followers you have. In this article, we’ll show you some guaranteed ways to increase your followers on Instagram.
How to Grow Your Followers on Instagram
Whether you’re just launching your new Instagram account or you’re looking to expand your reach, here are some Instagram hacks you should definitely work with;
1. Update your bio
As a creator, your bio is the first thing anyone will see when they click on your profile. Your bio gives a description about you so, whatever you display there determines whether people will be ready to subscribe to your content or not.
To increase your followers, you need to add a short and catchy bio about yourself or whatever service you’re rendering. It should be easy to read, comprehensive and informative.
Your bio should also contain a call to action. Some examples of a call to action might be prompting them to click on a link. Here, they can access your products, make purchases, or follow your other social media pages.
2. Invest in sponsored posts
Investing in sponsored posts is another guaranteed way to increase your Instagram followers. Since regular posts tend to reach a limited audience group, sponsored posts push them out to a wider audience. Your sponsored posts could be images, videos, or carousels with links to a CTA.
Again, if a brand sponsors your posts on IG, it can lend credibility to your account. In this case, we recommend using sponsored posts to cross-promote accounts.
For example, if you’re a skincare influencer, a skincare brand that sells makeup may sponsor a post you worked with them on. This could also go vice versa, where the influencer sponsors the post. Then the influencer’s followers can follow your account to learn more about your products.
3. Create more reels and set them to public
Although Instagram reels are normalizing in results, it still performs way better than any other format. Since reels are short digestible videos that anyone would be willing to watch, it just gets to more people. Thanks to the dedicated reel tab, users can watch as many reels as they’d like to watch.
This is why using reels can help increase your visibility. Because when you create a reel, it has a chance to be featured on Instagram’s “Explore” page. This gives your content a wider reach and can help attract new followers.
Asides from that, reels increase followers and engagement because they are short, dynamic, and engaging, Users tend to interact more with your content there. When they like, comment, share, and save your reels, which can help increase your overall Instagram engagement.
4. Use Geotags
Another way to increase your followers is through Geotags. Geotags on Instagram allow you to mark your posts with a specific location, such as a city, landmark, or venue.
This makes it easier for other users to discover content from a particular location and for businesses to connect with potential customers in their area.
Through this feature, you can get more Instagram followers from people in an area who’d like to get inspiration or simply engage with your content.
When a user clicks on a geotag you’ve used, they can see all the other posts that have been tagged with that location. You can also add Geotags to your Instagram Stories, which allows you to add a location sticker to their story.
5. Highlight important stories in your niche
Similar to a bio, Instagram stories are one of the first things people see when viewing your profile. Usually, IG stories last for just 24 hours before it disappears except if it’s marked as “Story highlights”.
Instagram story highlights allow you to save and categorize your stories so that new and old followers can see your fun content so far. It is usually displayed between the photo feed and your bio.
So you can share your products, customers’ reviews, educational content, and so on your IG story highlights. This way, you leave an impression in the heart of the viewers to follow you and keep themself updated.
6. Sponsor giveaways
One of the easiest ways to increase your IG followers is through giveaways. Giveaways make your audience feel that you are giving them something valuable at little or no cost, especially if the criteria is to follow your account.
If you don’t have much of an audience, we recommend reaching out to top creators that can help you share it on their page. Ensure that the creators you work with have influence in your target market.
Whatever you may decide to give in return- whether a cash prize or a product- make sure there are qualification requirements. You can ask them to;
- Follow your page
- Like the post
- Comment
- Tag five or more of their friends
- Share on their personal profile and so on before they can be eligible.
After this is complete, you can then create a professional flier that publicizes the giveaway, and promote it. Since we are focusing on your Instagram growth, track your follower count and ensure you reach your goal before ending the giveaway contest.
7. Use hashtags to your advantage
Using hashtags gives you a better chance of becoming visible to potential followers. This makes it a great way to attain organic growth. Just like bios, hashtags are clickable links that can be used to track other posts related to the keyword used.
When a user clicks on the hashtag you have used, they get to see the content of other people in your niche. Many times, you get new followers from users who’d like to see this content. You can get hashtag optimization ideas by checking those that are popularly used by top creators in your niche.
Check post performances and follower count to know which hashtag is your best-performing hashtag. We strongly advise you to use no more than three hashtags per post to avoid looking unprofessional and spammy.
8. Collaborate with other creators
Reaching out to influencers or top content creators is also another way to increase your followers because influencer marketing is an efficient growth model. These Creators and influencers are people who have built authority in their industry.
Indirectly, influencers guide their followers on what is best for them. So, by networking with an influencer, they can help to introduce your product and services to their followers. Interestingly, once an influencer works with you, some of their followers will automatically follow you too.
However, this doesn’t mean you should just message anyone because they are influencers. Instead, thoroughly research to know whether the influencer you are choosing has the same target audience you want.
You can also try asking some of your recent customers for recommendations on whom they follow and look out to for inspiration. The responses you get will give you an idea of whom to start with.
After you have made a final choice on your preferred influencer, reach out to them and finalize a partnership. You could show them some free samples, or offer a discount for their followers.
Lastly, make sure you’ve optimized the account they’ll tag you with as we’ve mentioned earlier on in this post. That way, when the influencer tags you, your profile will be attractive enough to follow.
Just like other social media platforms, growing your Instagram following requires time and dedication. By following our guide above, you can be assured of attracting genuine followers that are interested in your content. Over time, you’ll be able to monetize your content and brand.
