Almost 40% of the world’s population is on Instagram. It is one of the most influential social media platforms with over 2 billion active users monthly.
Having a large following on Instagram can be beneficial for personal and business-related goals. It can increase your visibility, credibility, and potential for monetization. Because the bigger the audience, the more opportunity there is to delight your customers.
However, there is no definite growth hack to increase followers. But still, there are plenty of things that will help in building a large following.
So in this read, I will walk you through the 10 tips to grow your Instagram following. As these tips will not only optimize the profile but also help in creating high-quality and engaging content.
Let’s start!
Optimize Your Profile
It’s influential to make a strong first impression by having a well-designed and optimized profile. This includes changing your profile picture and making it attractive, a bio that accurately describes you and the brand, and a link to the website.
An optimized bio should be concise and engaging, giving people an idea of who you are or what the brand represents. Use emojis and line breaks to make the bio more visually appealing. Also, try including keywords that will help people find the account.
Including relevant keywords in the profile is a significant aspect of optimization. This can help an account show up in search results when people are looking for specific topics or hashtags.
For example, if you are a fashion blogger, include keywords like “fashion,” “style,” and “outfit of the day” in the profile. It’s also a good idea to include location-based keywords if the content is specific to a certain area.
Create High-Quality, Engaging Content
Instagram is a visual platform, so it’s noteworthy to have high-quality and visually appealing content. Research has shown that video is becoming more and more popular, it’s been reported that videos can generate up to 40% more engagement than images. So, it’s paramount to create a video for your account.
There are a few key things to keep in mind when creating videos. First, use a video editing tool to create a video and add text, graphics, and music to make videos more engaging. Second, considering the aspect ratio of videos, Instagram supports both landscape and portrait video formats.
Along with creating high-quality, engaging content, it’s significant to use relevant hashtags and captions. Hashtags are a great way to increase the visibility of posts and reach new audiences.
One can use popular hashtags relevant to the niche, or create their own branded hashtags. Captions are also vital as they provide context for their videos and can encourage engagement. Make sure the captions are clear, concise, and engaging.
Utilize Instagram Stories
Instagram Stories is a feature that allows users to share photos and videos that disappear after 24 hours. It’s a great way to connect with the audience in a more personal and authentic way. It also allows you to share behind-the-scenes content, exclusive promotions, and real-time updates with followers.
To create engaging story posts, try to be creative and spontaneous. Use the built-in camera features such as text, stickers, polls, and questions to make stories more interactive. Also, use the “Swipe Up” feature to direct followers to the website or other external links.
Instagram Stories also allows you to use polls and questions to engage with the viewers more interactively. So, use polls to get feedback on posts, or ask audience questions to get to know them better. These features are a great way to increase engagement with followers and create a sense of community around the brand.
Did You Know?
Instagram is the second most downloaded app with almost 340 million monthly search volume.
Engage With Your Audience
Building relationships with followers is an integral part of growing Instagram following. When your followers feel like they have a connection with you, they are more likely to engage with content and recommend this account to others.
Responding to comments and messages in a timely and personalized manner is a great way to show followers that you value their engagement. This means responding to comments on posts, answering direct messages, and addressing any concerns or questions they may have.
Also, showing appreciation by sending them direct messages, creating exclusive content for them, or offering them special promotions.
Instagram’s direct messaging feature (DM) is a great tool for building relationships with followers. So use it to have one-on-one conversations with the followers and get to know them better.
This can also be used to offer them exclusive posts or deals, or to answer any questions they may have. By using the DM feature, you can create a deeper connection with followers and increase engagement with the content.
Collaborate With Other Users
Collaborating with other Instagram users can bring many benefits, such as reaching new audiences, gaining credibility, and creating engaging content. Collaborations can be in the form of shutouts, giveaways, or even creating posts together.
Finding potential collaborators can be done by searching for accounts in a niche, looking at the accounts that frequently engage with posts, and checking out the accounts your competitors are collaborating with.
Once you identify potential collaborators, reach out to them by directly messaging them, commenting on their posts, or even tagging them in posts.
Building relationships with other users in a niche is a vital aspect of collaborating. When you have a good relationship with other users, it becomes easier to collaborate with them, and they are more likely to want to collaborate.
Apart from that, building relationships with other users in the niche can help grow your following, learn from others, and gain credibility.
Utilize Instagram Ads
Instagram’s advertising platform allows businesses and individuals to promote their content to a wider group of viewers, increase brand awareness, and drive sales. Instagram’s branded Ads can be targeted to specific audiences based on demographics, interests, behaviors, and more.
To create effective Instagram ads, you should consider the following tips:
Use aesthetically engaging, high-quality photos and videos.
Keep the ad copy short and to the point.
Use a clear call-to-action (CTA) in the ad that tells people what you want them to do.
Test different ad formats, such as carousel, video, and stories to see which one performs best.
Use Instagram’s ad targeting options to reach the right audience.
Targeting the right audience is integral to the success of the ads. When you target the right user, it increases the chances of ads to seen by the people who are actually interested.
Use Instagram’s targeting options such as location, age, gender, interests, and behaviors to reach the right user. Also, using Custom Audiences allows targeting people who have already interacted with the brand.
Track Your Progress
Tracking performance is vital for understanding how the content is performing and identifying areas for improvement. By keeping an eye on metrics, you can see which posts are resonating with the audience, what times of day are the best to post, and which types of posts are driving the most engagement.
Instagram’s built-in analytics tool, Insights, allows accessing data on account performance, such as engagement rate, reach, and follower growth.
With these insights, you can identify which posts are performing well and which ones are not. You can also see which audience demographics are engaging with posts and which times of day the user is most active.
Regularly reviewing progress and making adjustments as needed is binding for maintaining and growing following. By analyzing Insights data, you can identify the strategies that are working and which ones are not.
You can then make adjustments to the content and posting schedule accordingly. Besides, you can also use third-party tools for more advanced analytics and tracking.
In closing, growing your Instagram following takes time and effort. It’s significant to remember that building a large following doesn’t happen overnight and requires persistence and patience.
Consistently implementing the strategies discussed in this article, and continually experimenting and making adjustments as necessary, will help achieve the goals.
