How to Grow Your Followers on Instagram
You've decided that you want to grow your Instagram followers. But before you can learn how, you need to ask yourself: "Why do I want Instagram users to follow my Instagram account in the first place?" Well, there are many reasons why your follower count on social media could be important to you and your brand. For one, with more followers, you can promote your business account and content to a wider audience. However, more eyeballs on your Instagram posts don't necessarily mean more sales. You'll also want to generate more Instagram engagement from followers that show they're interested in your messaging and what you're selling.
Gaining new followers on Instagram can also help you snag brand deals. Whether you're a micro influencer or a major influencer, companies will consider your following and engagement before choosing to work with you. Some influencers even use their following to negotiate a rate. (Ex: For every 1,000 followers, they charge $100 per branded post.) Another reason why more Instagram followers can be beneficial to your brand is that it can show that you have credibility and authority in your industry. You'll also have more Instagram users to redirect to your website, online shop, email list, and other social media platforms.
The bottom line is, more Instagram followers means more opportunities to increase your brand awareness and sales.
So, are you ready to grow your Instagram following and persuade users to hit that follow button? Below you'll discover how I doubled two of my clients' Instagram accounts in a year.
1: Be Consistent
This piece of advice seems obvious, but you'd be surprised how difficult it is to maintain an Instagram account and show up for your audience consistently. To be consistent, I suggest posting at least 3 times a week and playing around with different types of content (Ex: Carousels, static posts, and IG Reels) to see what your audience reposts and engages with most.
You can follow all the Instagram best practices (and even stay up to date with every new feature and update, which is a job in itself), but your brand is unique and so is your audience. This means that your audience might respond better to infographics than they do memes —whether or not the latter type of content is more "popular." Yes, Instagram prioritizes certain content (ahem, IG Reels, which we'll get into later) and gives them more exposure. Still, what may work for one audience, may not work for another.
So, be consistent with the content that your audience enjoys most. Aside from your Instagram feed, consistently show up on your Instagram Stories on a regular basis with behind-the-scenes snapshots, polls, and quizzes throughout the day.
"You mean to tell me that I need at least 3 grid posts, daily IG stories, AND IG Reels?!" Consistency can seem daunting, which is why I suggest these time-saving tools: batch your content, create design templates, schedule your posts, establish your content pillars, and come up with an Instagram strategy or Instagram marketing campaign that frees up your time.
If even that sounds overwhelming, outsourcing your Instagram management and creation to a social media specialist (like me!) can help you grow your social media platforms while you have more time to work on your business. If you feel like you have a good grasp of the management and consistency part, I can set up your account with an IG audit, social media strategy, designed story highlights, and other templates to set you up for success. From there, you can DIY your social media accounts! Instagram followers and any followers on social media should be real — not bots that were paid for!
After working on two different social media accounts for over one year and significantly increasing both of their follower counts, consistency and great quality content have been two key factors that I've experienced for Instagram growth.
This brings me to my next point...
2: Produce Quality Content
Quality content stems from a high-quality Instagram strategy. Once you have your content pillars, content calendar, and strategy down pat, you'll want to stick to a color palette and graphics that aptly reflect your brand. When Instagram users see your Instagram page, you'll want them to know exactly who you are without even seeing your account name!
After establishing brand awareness and a clear Instagram strategy, it's time to master your Instagram grid with the right hashtags, design templates, Instagram captions, and types of content. Let's break that down, shall we?
Creating design templates:
Sign up for Canva, Photoshop, or another design platform to create templates that you can use interchangeably. These will help you create great content!
Using the right hashtags:
Using hashtags in your caption (recommended by Instagram as a new best practice) can help you get discovered by a wider target audience. Use a few relevant hashtags that reflect your post and make sure they're searchable on the explore page, but not too competitive. I like sticking to relevant hashtags in the 10k-50k range. Instagram hashtags can help you reach an audience on the explore page that's specifically looking for the content you produce.
Focusing on Types of Content
From quotes to memes and carousels, play around with your content types to see what your audience engages with most. Give your audience what they're looking for and asking for. This can be done by looking at your metrics or simply putting a question box on your Instagram story.
Instagram Reels, for example, is a type of Instagram content that the Instagram algorithm has been prioritizing and exposing rapidly to new audiences. This new feature (well, new-ish) can put you on the map! You can even check your Instagram analytics to determine what's working and what's not.
UGC (user-generated content), which can be any type of original content created by you, is another way to reach new followers. These posts can rack up a higher engagement rate and more shares because they're inspiring, entertaining, or educational. Plus, since it has your brand name on it, Instagram users might repost and give you a shoutout on their own page.
3: Work with Influencers in Your Niche
Collaborate with influencers by sending them products to feature or do a live video with one of them on Instagram Live (saved an IGTV). Whether it's a free or paid Instagram ad opportunity, like-minded audiences from an influencer, blogger or someone in your field can attract new followers to your account. If you're an influencer or blogger, work with an influencer marketing company to level up your Instagram follower game.
In addition to collaborations on Instagram live, make yourself known by commenting and engaging with people in your field. Instagram is about building trust and a community before anything! Leave thoughtful comments on like-minded pages so that those accounts and their followers get to know you better. They can become potential followers, too.
4: Write an Optimal Instagram bio
Did you know that your Instagram bio functions with SEO keywords? Yup! If you change your name in your Instagram profile, Instagram users can discover you through the explore page. For example, since my bio reads "social media + writing," people who are searching those keywords on the explore page might discover my Instagram profile. You can also include emojis that signify the industry that you're in. If they like what they see, hopefully, they'll go ahead and hit that follow button!
Increasing your follower count across all of your social media platforms and social networks can open the doors to new opportunities. Instagram followers can increase your sales and allow you to connect with new followers. From Instagram stories to Instagram Reels and Instagram static posts, there are many high-quality types of content that you can use to fulfill your goal. Follower growth isn't everything, but it's a big part of the equation. Engagement rate is just as or more important. An engaged audience means people are liking, sharing, and interacting with your content.
Sometimes, it's better to have a more engaged audience than more followers (who can sometimes be bots!) because you can build a unique connection with your target audience. If you gain new followers and increase your follower count but no one buys your products and services, what's the point? Remember: Using hashtags and new features and different types of content only works if you produce high-quality content on Instagram posts and Instagram stories and stay consistent.