When you’re using Instagram for business, one of the biggest goals for a company is typically growing your following. After all, that’s the best way to reach people who might convert into customers at some point. However, knowing how to increase your Instagram followers can sometimes be a bit trickier.
The good news is that there are both basic best practices and advanced strategies that you can use to grow your following with high quality, organic followers who are excited to see your posts and learn from you.
Instagram follower growth best practices
There are three basic best practices that you should be following to optimize your follower growth: post high quality content, be consistent and post at the right times, and use the best hashtags. Let’s talk about how to actually put them to work and attract more followers.
Post high quality content
First, it’s crucial that you’re posting excellent content on your page. Before someone actually hits “follow,” they’re going to land on your profile. While some people might not scroll through your past posts, many will because they want to see the type of content you’re frequently sharing.
Posting high-quality content is also crucial for maintaining your followers. If you aren’t sharing posts that are giving your followers the information they want, they could easily unfollow, which isn’t what you want to have happen.
Ensure post consistency and perfect timing
Along with posting quality content, you also want to post consistently. You don’t have to post every single day if that’s not feasible with the bandwidth and resources you currently have. Whatever it is, though, choose a schedule and stick with it. This shows your followers and potential followers that you post consistently.
You’ll also want to post during the best times of the day. This can vary by industry and whether you’re trying to reach people in multiple time zones, but it’s important to figure out for your specific brand. When you know the times that your ideal followers are most active on Instagram, you can plan your posts to be published during those times. This gives potential followers the best chance of seeing them.
Use the best hashtags
Finally, having a strong hashtag strategy can help you grow your following significantly. Take some time to research and determine which hashtags are best for your industry. Instagram lets you use up to 30 hashtags, so take advantage of that to add industry-specific hashtags, photo-specific hashtags, as well as hashtags of various sizes.
Three advanced growth tips
Now, those best practices can get you started, but there are more ways that you can grow your following even more. Here are three advanced strategies you can use to increase your Instagram followers.
1. Create Instagram giveaway campaigns
Many people want the chance to win something, so Instagram giveaways are a great way to increase your following. You can work with other brands or influencers on the app, or you can run a giveaway yourself. Choose whatever criteria you’d like (like the post, tag a friend, share to your Stories, etc.), but make sure that part of it involves following you.
In order to make sure you find the right people to enter, give away something that’s relevant to your business. For example, if you run a painting studio, don’t give away an iPad, otherwise you might attract people who just want the iPad and aren’t interested in your business or content.
2. Employ Instagram takeovers
Another way to increase your following is by incorporating Instagram takeovers into your content strategy. Partner with another business or influencer and ask them to take over your account for a day – or suggest that you could take over theirs. When you have a clear goal in mind and choose the right partner, an Instagram takeover can work well to generate followers. Not only do takeovers expand your reach, but they also give your existing followers the chance to see some new content.
3. Include user-generated content (UGC) in your strategy
Finally, incorporate user-generated content into your Instagram strategy to help potential followers trust you more and increase your following. UGC is content that other users on Instagram create and post on behalf of your brand. Then, with their permission, you can repost it to your page to share real users’ experience.
This is a great way to find new content and also strengthen your relationship with your followers, since people are more likely to trust other people than brands.
Increase your Instagram followers
There you have it: three basic and three advanced strategies to grow your Instagram followers. No matter how many followers you have, it’s always nice to have a few more – as long as they’re real, organic followers who are ready to engage with your posts and learn from you. Which strategy will you try first?
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