From a cool photo app to a giant social media platform with over 1 billion active monthly users, Instagram has secured its place among the top three social media networks. Oriented towards stunning visual content, and packed with a ton of useful features for businesses, influencers, and aspiring entrepreneurs, Instagram has it all and more to take any small business venture to the next level.
As the platform’s popularity grew, so did the competition, and many small players are having a difficult time navigating the playing field. If you are among those businesses or individuals trying to develop a substantial Instagram presence to support your marketing strategy, your main goal (and a pain point) is finding efficient means of growing your IG account. As you’ve probably discovered, getting there is becoming more and more difficult, as your posts get buried in the overcrowded Instagram environment.
To help you get to your goal faster, we’ve consulted Instagram growth experts from https://flocksocial.com/. As a completely organic, fast, and reliable solution for Instagram followers and real engagement, Flock knows a thing or two about growing your Instagram audience and boosting organic engagement. So, we took a page from their IG playbook, and we are sharing their top actionable hacks and tricks on Instagram growth.
Prepare Your Profile for Growth
Very often, in a rush to get to a specific Instagram goal, we tend to overlook the import part our actual profile plays in this. Luckily, Flock is here to remind us how to prepare our profile for maximum growth.
- First things first – start with your profile picture. Is it size-appropriate? Is it of the best quality? Does it clearly represent your brand, or you? What about the colours? Are they branded and in line with your overall aesthetic?
- Next up – your user name and your Instagram name. Is your user name short and memorable? Does it include the name of your brand and possibly the industry you’re in? Is your Instagram name slightly different from your user name to improve your chances of getting discovered?
- Moving on to your bio. Does it clearly define what you do? Is it catchy and interesting enough? Does it speak the language of your ideal audience? Does it include the link to your website/latest blog post/landing page? What about your branded hashtags? Do you have a call-to-action reminding your audience to use your hashtag when posting user-generated content?
The Look and Feel of Your Content
Each Flock resource post stresses the importance of the top-notch quality and variety of Instagram content. This comes as a no-brainer; however, we’ve seen so many business IG accounts sticking to one to two types of content. This limits your opportunities for tapping into a new and diverse audience. Try different content formats, measure their performance, and opt for a couple that work best. Go Live, do takeovers, post UGC, customize your Stories, collaborate with influencers…
Another widespread IG growth hack by Flock is the overall aesthetic of your Instagram feed. They suggest going for a cohesive look, with a couple of branded colours and a nicely organised grid. The trick here is to not use just any colours of filters you find cute. Go for recognisability and use your branded colours and filters that are popular among your audience and make sense for your industry.
Never Compromise on Authenticity
Flock have made a serious name for themselves in the IG growth industry because they have figured out one of the most important aspects of modern-day social media – the call for authenticity.
Unlike the previous years, when influencers, celebrities, and public figures could get away with promoting fake lives, curated photos, bought followers, and unauthentic communication, the audience nowadays is fed up with the fake representations and value the real portrayals and genuine communication.
This applies to any aspect of your Instagram and social media presence. From the way you respond to comments, and DMs, to the causes you’re supporting, the messaging you’re putting out there, and the way you are growing your Instagram followers.
But, how do you achieve genuine authenticity when you’re juggling way too many tasks at the same time? It seems like something’s gotta give, right?
Well, not necessarily.
Once you make authenticity a priority, you’ll notice the positive impact of your non-generic DM and comment answers. More people will start to praise and follow you, and ultimately – buy from you.
By showing real people using your products or service, in a non-curated setting, you’ll create trust and appreciation among your audience.
Finally, Flock taught us one of the most critical lessons on Instagram growth – you don’t have to be sneaky to acquire a ton of new followers quickly. Using real interactions with real people, similar profiles, and relevant audiences, they disrupt the automated Instagram growth landscape.