How Brands Can Use Instagram Stories Instagram Stories disappear after 24 hours unless they are marked as a "Story Highlight." Highlighted stories will show up at the top of your profile between the photo feed and your bio. dope scrubs using instagram stories to help gain more instagram followers in story highlights Image Source Here are a few other brands we recommend following to see what they're sharing: Dana Shultz (Minimalistbaker) publishes easy vegan and gluten-free recipes on her blog. Her Stories feature neat how-to videos of her making breakfast and testing out new recipes in her kitchen. The behind-the-scenes aspect of her Stories provides a lot of human context for her blog's brand, and everybody loves a good how-to video.
One of their latest Instagram Stories featured someone watching "The Sopranos" in bed, with the caption: "Who needs plans when you have five more seasons?" This video supports Casper's campaign to stay in bed with a very real look at what millions of people do when they're hanging out at home. Here are our tips for using Instagram Stories for your brand: Whether it's funny, sad, or unique, be authentic. Your photo gallery is where content can be perfect and polished. Instagram Stories are for the raw, unscripted, and unretouched. Use Stories to share the other side of your brand that followers might not be able to see elsewhere. Do you have a dog-friendly office? Is your team trying out the latest challenge? Start filming to showcase the more human side of your brand. Go behind the scenes. These are by far our favorite types of content for ephemeral video sharing. Show followers what goes into the planning of an event or the launching of a product, and make it fun. Your followers want to feel included and in the know. You could also use Stories to cultivate a brand loyalty program that only rewards people who check out your content. 16. Use the Instagram Live feature. Instagram also lets users record and share Live videos, another content format that's proven to be hugely popular on other social networks. What's unique about Live videos on Instagram? They disappear when users stop filming.
This authentic, bi-directional experience lets brands share unscripted, raw moments with their audience to incorporate human elements into a social media platform that's highly edited and polished in its traditional use. Since the Live feature launched, Instagram has added even more features that may enable further engagement or interactions from viewers, such as: Request feature to go live with the live account Pinned comment Q&A box Up to four accounts on Live at a time Filters Live video is a growing trend across a variety of social media platforms, so if something interesting is happening, start rolling. Whether it's an event, a team birthday party, or behind-the-scenes footage, your devoted followers want to see what you're up to. And if you want to make it even more interesting, you could collaborate with an influencer or another brand to host a Live. With people that your audience is interested in, you can promote this Live event, and then host it on your profile. Promoting this type of event will help you tap into someone else's audience while interacting and engaging with your followers by answering their questions and talking to them during the Live.
Share your profile link on your website and social media channels. Have a website? Newsletter? YouTube channel? Make sure you include a link to your Instagram on every single platform. The first place you'll want to make sure to add an Instagram badge is your website, specifically your footer and "About Us" page. Here's what the badge could look like: example of instagram user linking to other business accounts to help gain 1000 instagram followers If your brand has brick-and-mortar locations, put out a good ol' print call-to-action letting people know you have an Instagram account and encouraging them to follow you. You can also place them on your business cards. You might even offer a discount code for doing so. Also, be sure to promote your Instagram account on your other digital platforms. Chances are, the folks who already follow you on Facebook and Twitter will also follow you on Instagram without much prodding. Let those followers know you're on Instagram and encourage them to follow you there.
Post user-generated content. Similar to cross-promotion, brands can publish user-generated content to show appreciation for existing customers and generate social proof at the same time. If I see a regular person endorsing a product on Instagram, I'm more likely to believe they really like the product. The same is true for most consumers. That's why sites like Yelp are so popular. Ultimately, user-generated content can be an excellent strategy when trying to increase brand awareness and trust in your products or services. For instance, Bevel reposted a video from blogger Rickey Scott using and recommending their products to their 600+ followers. Posting Scott using Bevel is a smart move. Firstly, the product is designed with black men in mind. Having Scott, who is part of the brand's target demographic, recommend the product serves as the social proof the brand wants. Furthermore, part of Scott's audience will likely fall within Bevel's target audience. Simply put, the two brands have similar audiences and brands that align well, which is why it's a good opportunity for Bevel to promote Scott's content. 19. Diversify your audience to resonate with different types of users. As your followers grow, it can be tricky to identify what content types will resonate with them. With this in mind, divide your audience into sub-groups and target your content to various demographics.
For instance, if you have 200K followers, those followers probably come from different regions of the world, have different interests and hobbies, and likely have different careers. Rather than post all-encompassing content that will satisfy all your followers at once, conduct some analytics research to separate them into smaller sub-groups. Take Starbucks as a good example of this. Starbucks has close to 18 million followers. There's no way the global coffee brand can post content to satisfy 18 million people at once — and it doesn't try to. Instead, Starbucks regularly posts more exclusive content geared towards particular groups, such as this post they published celebrating #TeacherAppreciationWeek: how to gain more instagram followers tip to diversify your audience like Starbucks appealing to teachers, students, and other groups of people This post won't appeal to the majority of Starbucks followers who aren't teachers, but that's OK. You don't always need to post content to please everyone. Instead, demonstrate your company's ability to connect and engage with sub-groups and post what aligns with your own brand's values. Education is something that matters to Starbucks, so by posting about teachers, they're doing more to demonstrate their values than they are appealing to everyone. Which is kind of the point, isn't it?
Apply for a verification badge. When an account on Instagram is verified, it has a blue dot, called a badge, next to the username. When another user comes across this profile or finds the verified username in search, the blue dot confirms to them that the account is the business, individual, or brand that it's claiming to be. how to gain followers on instagram tip apply for blue check verification badge for authenticity Image Source While Instagram has a list of eligibility requirements for the badge, the platform does allow users to apply for one. You can learn more about that process on Instagram's Help Center. 21. Create your own filters and badges. When it's time to promote a new product or feature, creating your own filters, stickers, or badges can help you reach a new audience. You can learn how to create your own filter or sticker to jazz up your Instagram Stories. The best way to do this is to use these on highly shareable posts that followers will want to add to their own Stories. This way, you'll reach their audiences and your users will promote your page for you. 22. Tag relevant users. Another way to gain more followers on Instagram is to tag relevant users in your posts. Your posts will then show up in that person's tagged posts, and anyone who looks through there will find your page (and hopefully, follow).
However, it's important that you only tag people who are in the photo, or relevant to the photo. For example, many times, influencers tag the clothing or makeup brands they wore in a photo. Post content that's meant to be re-shared. Each post on your Instagram should have a purpose. It could be to generate likes, comments, engagement, shares, etc. However, you can't expect followers to re-share content just for the heck of it. There needs to be a reason. Because of this, reverse engineer your Instagram posts. Think, "What type of content would my audience re-share?" Then, create that content. It could be a quote, a meme, an infographic, statistics, etc. To gain new followers, you should post content that's meant to be re-shared, so that when others do re-share it on their own Instagram Stories and tag you, their audience will find you and follow you. Get on the Instagram Explore page. Getting on the Instagram Explore page is easier said than done. We get that. However, creating posts that are aimed at getting on the Explore page means you'll be creating easily shareable and trendy content. Think about viral trends and create a video that your audience might engage with. Additionally, use hashtags and tag other users and brands in those posts.
Instagram's Explore Page algorithm also seems to grab content that has more engagement, especially if said engagement happens in the first few hours of posting. In Instagram's case, quality is better than quantity, and getting interaction from influential users (i.e. having a higher follower count) is one of the best ways to do it. Share educational content with Instagram slides. Similar to creating content that's meant to be re-shared, you can also create educational content in the form of Instagram slides. Instagram slides have become a popular way to educate audiences on an idea or topic. Think about what you can educate your audience on and then create a simple Instagram slide post with an engaging title that entices users to click on the post. With this type of content, you can share the post on your Stories, and then hopefully other users will be compelled by the content to share on their Stories as well. 26. Host an Instagram account takeover. When you're collaborating with influencers and other brands, think about hosting an Instagram account takeover. You can have an influencer take over your Stories for the day, and promote this on their own Stories. Then, you'll get their followers to follow along with the Stories and hopefully follow your account. Additionally, you can ask an influencer or brand if you can take over their Stories, and interact with their audience as a way to promote your own account.
Quality Over Quantity Still Matters Ultimately, it's important to focus less on the number of followers you have, and more on the quality of content you create. Your audience will grow naturally if you put effort and time into creating engaging, informative, or inspirational content without worrying about "quick fixes" for boosts in followers. You want to play the long game on Instagram, and that starts with focusing on what you can control: the quality of the content you produce, the messages you promote, and the brand you build. Editor's note: This post was originally published in February 2016 and has been updated for comprehensiveness. Instagram is a growing channel that lets individuals and businesses alike expand their brand. For businesses especially, it's a way to humanize your brand, recruit future employees, showcase your product and company culture, delight customers, and generate new business. But here's the deal: Unless you're famous, it's really hard to amass a huge following on Instagram without some hard work. For the average person or business, growing your following takes time and attention on a daily basis. Luckily, there are a few things you can do right away to collect at least 1,000 quality followers for your personal or professional Instagram account. It's all about knowing where to invest your time and effort — by customizing your profile, curating excellent content, writing clever copy, using hashtags, and working with influencers and fans to incentivize engagement.
Let's dive into how to gain those first 1,000 followers — from creating a follow-worthy Instagram profile to using contests to staying true to your brand. New Data: Instagram Engagement Report [2022 Version] How to Buy Instagram Followers and Likes (and Why It’s a Bad Idea) How to Get More Followers on Instagram The Best Instagram Apps to Get Followers How to Buy Instagram Followers and Likes (and Why It’s a Bad Idea) Let’s just get this out of the way: yes, you can buy Instagram followers and likes. Does this mean you should buy Instagram followers and likes? Definitely not. While many social influencers and major brands work hard to build an organic following, there are some who choose to buy followers with the hopes of increasing their social reach and engagement. Buying followers is cheap — some companies charge less than $5 for hundreds of followers. And with the growing pressure to have thousands of Instagram followers and fans, it’s understandable why some resort to buying them.
But, while buying followers and likes may be tempting, it can severely damage your brand image and decrease overall engagement. Don’t believe me? Hootsuite created a fake Instagram account and bought 1,000 followers for just $9.95 to test how purchased followers influence audience engagement. Once their account reached 1,000 followers, they posted an image — it didn’t receive a single like or comment. buying instagram followers Buying Instagram followers may increase your number of followers, but it won’t improve your engagement — it actually damages it. And if you get caught, Instagram may remove your account for violating their community guidelines. Also, fake followers won’t buy your product or support your brand. Instead, focus on gaining authentic followers who will increase your engagement and sales. Engage your followers and grow your following with these powerful strategies, tips, and lesser-known Instagram features.
How to Get More Followers on Instagram Create and optimize your profile Designate a content creator Edit and filter your photos Start posting Curate your Instagram content Write engaging captions Use relevant hashtags Interact with your followers Cross-promote your Instagram content Run Instagram contests Share Instagram Stories and live video Make your Instagram profile easy to follow OK, I know what you’re thinking: “It’s not that easy to gain real followers!” While it’s not exactly easy, it’s definitely possible — it just takes some hard work and dedication. Around 80 million photos are shared on Instagram every day. That’s a lot of content. Fortunately, there are some things you can do to get noticed. Let’s walk through some tactics to get real followers — fast.
Buy FollowersCreate and optimize your profile. First things first: Customize your Instagram profile to make it look good, tell your potential followers who you are, and give them a reason to follow you. Username Start by making sure your username is recognizable and easily searchable — like your business name. If your business name is already taken, try keeping your business name as the first part of your username so that people searching for your business are more likely to come across you. For example, the Australian activewear line Lorna Jane uses the username @lornajaneactive. instagram username optimize profile (Note: Make sure to add your full business name to the “Name” field by clicking “Edit Profile.” This will appear under your profile picture and under your username in search.) Public profile Make sure your profile is public. To make your profile public, open Instagram, click on the gear icon on your profile to open “Options,” and make sure “Private Account” is turned off. Private Account on Instagram Profile photo Choose a profile picture that's on-brand with your other social networks, like your company logo. Check out HubSpot's profile picture for reference.
Instagram profile picture logo hubspot Profile bio Fill your bio with delightful, actionable, and informative information about your brand. Information like this lets people know what you're about and gives them a reason to follow you. Include who you are, what you do and be sure to add a hint of personality. Here are a few examples for inspiration: @WeWork: “Make a life, not just a living.” @Oreo: “See the world through our OREO Wonderfilled lens.” @CalifiaFarms: “Crafting, concocting and cold-brewing up a delicious, plant-based future.” @Staples: “We make it easy to #MakeMoreHappen” Profile link Add a link to your bio to make it easy for people to go straight from Instagram to your website if they want to. The space allotted for URLs is precious real estate because it's the only place on Instagram where you can place a clickable link, so use it wisely. We recommend using a shortened, customized Bitly link to make it more clickable or a Linktree link to maximize the space. profile link linktree bitly instagram Notifications Enable notifications so you can see when people share or comment on your photos. This'll let you engage with them more quickly — just like a lot of companies do on Twitter. To enable notifications, go to “Settings” > “Notifications” > "Posts, Stories, and Comments". Select “From Everyone” for every category.
Instagram notifications on from everyone settings A word to the wise: We don't recommend you link your Instagram account to Twitter and Facebook so your Instagram posts are automatically published on those other accounts. The post types are different. 2. Designate a content creator. Just like there should be one (or two) people managing your other social media accounts, there should only be one or two people managing your Instagram account. If possible, choose someone who has experience using a personal Instagram account, and therefore “gets” the platform — and be sure they know all the handy features Instagram has to offer. If you work for a large organization, you might find a lot of people want to have a say in your content. That's when an organized request or guidelines document comes in hand. This document should inform people how to request a post on your Instagram account, when, the value of the post, and why. 3. Edit and filter your photos. On Instagram, post quality matters. A lot. Your Twitter followers might forgive a few bad tweets, but a bad photo on Instagram is a big no-no. By no means do you have to take a photography course to be a good Instagram poster — nor do you have to practice for weeks before you start. But you should get familiar with basic photography tips and photo editing apps. Since Instagram is a mobile app, chances are, you will take most of the photos you post on Instagram on your mobile device — and that's expected. Here are some tips for taking great photos:
Focus on one subject at a time. Embrace negative space. Find interesting perspectives. Look for symmetry. Capture small details. Make your followers laugh. After you take a great photo, it’s time to add a finishing touch — an Instagram filter. Instagram filters are easy to use and can help give your account a unique aesthetic. Here are a few of our favorite filters: Clarendon: Canva revealed that Clarendon is the most-used Instagram filter in the U.S. and it highlights lighter areas of an image and darkens darker areas. Valencia: This popular filter adds a yellow tint to your image — making it warmer and brighter. Valencia is a great pick for nature photography. Juno: Juno brightens the reds, yellows, and oranges in your image. Try using this filter with street and urban photography. Slumber: This filter desaturates the colors in your image and adds a haze. It makes photos feel dreamy or retro. Ludwig: Ludwig intensifies your picture’s colors and lighting, so if your image is bright, this filter will make it even brighter. It’s great to use on pictures of architecture. 4. Start posting. Once you've created and optimized your profile, have someone manning it, and know a thing or two about phone photography and photo editing, it's time to start posting. It's a good idea to have a solid number of great posts up — maybe 15 or so — before you start really engaging people and working down this list. That way, when people visit your profile, they'll see a full screen of photos instead of just a handful, so they know you'll be posting great content regularly.
To start posting on Instagram, download this social media content calendar template and start planning out your Instagram posts. Over time, you'll want to build up a backlog of photos for times of need, like the weekends or when you go on vacation. Keep your target persona in mind when you first start planning out your posting schedule, as that can drastically change your posting timing and frequency — especially if you're targeting an audience in a different time zone. (Download this free template for creating buyer personas, if you don't have a few already.) Optimizing your schedule for your specific audience might take time and experimentation. Our sources found that the very best times to post on Instagram were Mondays and Thursdays at any time except between 3:00–4:00 p.m. for the time zone of your target persona. (For a United States audience, your best bet is to combine Eastern and Central time zones, as they represent almost 80% of the U.S. population. For audiences located outside the U.S., use whichever time zones your target audience uses.) However, because Instagram is primarily an app for use on mobile devices, users tend to use the network all the time, any time — although many users engage with content more during off-work hours than during the workday. Some businesses have also seen success with posting at 2:00 a.m., 5:00 p.m., and Wednesdays at 7:00 p.m. Experiment with these to see if they work with your audience.
Create stunning Instagram content in minutes using these customizable Photoshop templates for posts and Stories. Download now 5. Curate your Instagram content. Although it's best to have only one or two people manning your account, one or two people can't be everywhere at once taking photos. What about that fun sushi night the engineers had last night? Or the event your Head of Sales spoke at earlier this week? There's a whole breadth of content you'll want to post to Instagram, and more often than not, one person won't be able to keep track of it all. One solution is to create a system where you can curate photos and content from members of your team. There are a few ways to do this. One is to create a specific email address for employees to send their photos, short videos, memes, hyper lapses, and so on. Just encourage people to put a subject line on these emails so you can more easily sort through the photos they're sending. While this doesn't seem like the smoothest way to curate photos, it's actually the easiest for the people sending you photos — and the easier you can make it for them to send content, the more content you'll get. If your team shares a Box or Dropbox account, you could also create a shared folder where people can automatically drop their photos and videos. This just makes a few more steps for the people sending you the content, and not everyone might have that app downloaded on their phones. Another way to curate content is to encourage both your employees and customers to post images and tag your Instagram account. This will alert you to a new tagged post, and you can repost the content on your own Instagram account or to your Instagram Story.
Instagram Guides are the perfect tool for sharing curated, scrollable content with your community. They give users a simple way to consume a collection of Instagram posts, products, or places in an easy-to-digest format. Despite all this though, Guides are still relatively underused — which makes them a great opportunity to set your brand apart on Instagram. What is a Guide on Instagram? Instagram Guides are like a miniature blog right on Instagram. They allow users to scroll through a curated flow of content with commentary — similar to a blog post. a collection of instagram guides They can be used to curate gift guides, product highlights, content roundups, FAQ guides, travel recommendations, restaurant reviews, and so much more. They’re unlike any other Instagram feature because you can curate feed posts, products, or locations from across Instagram, bringing it all together with your commentary.
Your QR code is also a great way to get new followers in real time at networking events and conferences. People you connect with in person can scan your code to follow you without having to type out your handle. Try printing it out and tucking it into your namebadge holder for easy access. Find your Instagram QR code by tapping on the three lines icon at the top right of your Instagram profile and selecting QR Code . Try to get featured Feature accounts are Instagram accounts that curate and re-share content based on a hashtag or tagging. Some of these accounts have a huge following. If they share one of your posts (along with your handle), they can send a new stream of Instagram followers your way. There’s a feature account for just about every niche and interest on Instagram, so start exploring. For example, @damngoodstitch features embroidery posts. The account has more than 180,000 followers. Aim for the Explore page The Explore page is what you see when you click on the magnifying glass icon at the bottom of the Instagram app. According to Instagram itself, this is where “you can find photos and videos that you might like from accounts you don’t yet follow.”
Half of Instagram accounts visit Explore every month. That’s a huge opportunity for brands looking to grow their audience. Ending up on the Explore tab isn’t easy. Luckily, we’ve got an entire article dedicated to helping you get there. You can also pay to get into the Explore feed by selecting Explore as an ad placement. Bonus: Download a free checklist that reveals the exact steps a fitness influencer used to grow from 0 to 600,000+ followers on Instagram with no budget and no expensive gear. Get the free guide right now! different examples of the Instagram Explore page and Ads in the Explore feed Source: Instagram Step 4. Engage with your community Follow relevant accounts You should only tag people in an Instagram post when the content is directly relevant to them. But you can follow anyone you like. And when you follow a user on Instagram, there’s a good chance they will check out your feed and consider following you back.
Social listening is great for finding conversations and influential users (a.k.a. influencers) to follow. Instagram’s “Suggestions For You” section is also a handy resource for finding relevant accounts to follow. These suggestions show up in your Instagram feed between posts, in between Stories, or on the right side of the screen on a computer. Just remember not to follow too many other accounts too fast. Your follower ratio, or the number of people who follow you compared to how many you follow, is important for credibility. And don’t follow people just to get their attention, only to unfollow after they follow you back. This is kind of a jerk move and will hurt your Instagram reputation.
Engage with existing communities Like all social media networks, Instagram is about the communities built within it. So make sure you’re participating in those spaces. Get involved by liking, commenting on, and sharing content from other credible users in your community. Avoid generic comments (like “Awesome post!”) that look like they come from bots. Engaging with other posts helps draw attention (and potential new followers) in two ways: People get notifications when you like and comment on their posts. They may check out your profile to return the favor. If others find your comments thoughtful or intriguing, they may check out your profile. Work with influencers in your niche Here’s an important stat for anyone thinking about how to get more followers on Instagram: 60% of consumers say they’d follow a brand on Instagram after seeing it promoted by an influencer they trust. If you’re not working with influencers now, then you should definitely consider it. Luckily, we’ve got a whole guide on Influencer marketing to help you out.
Collaborate with other brands Don’t be afraid to reach out to other brands to see if there’s a way that you can work together on Instagram. The right kind of collaboration could help everyone involved get more Instagram followers. Think about businesses you already collaborate with in other ways. Maybe you’re connected in a local business improvement association or shopping area. How could you work together on Instagram? One common option is to host a contest featuring products from multiple companies, like Rocky Mountain Soap Company did with Annika Mang of @borntobeadventurous. Try an Instagram Live collaboration Live video keeps getting more popular, and Instagram is a great place to take advantage of the trend. Users are notified when an account they follow starts broadcasting live, so a live video really grabs attention.
To get your Live video in front of a new audience, use the “Go live with a friend” option to co-host a live video with someone else in your industry. Ask the other person to host a Live video, then invite you as a guest. The two of you will appear in a split screen, introducing you to all of their followers.
Looking to get followers on Instagram? You’ve come to the right place… Instagram is a naturally a great place for brands of all shapes and sizes to gain exposure. However, growing an engaged and loyal audience on the app is no easy task. One of Hopper HQ‘s guest writers Johannes explains just how to get followers on Instagram in this detailed guide… Sadly, the majority of articles published on the topic are either too vague or too case-specific, and mostly present a couple of low-impact and/or exhaustively time-consuming ideas. In addition to that, these Instagram follower growth strategies need to be updated almost as often as Instagram updates its ranking algorithm – there’s a good chance that the tips shared in 2017 are long outdated, because well, Instagram has changed a lot in the past 2 years. Through these experiences, I’ve compiled a set of universal and effective ways to get followers on Instagram. In my attempts to organize them somehow, I came up with this step-by-step guide to growing a follower base, more specifically: a road to 21k.
But before you get started with it, it’s time for a quick reality check: A silver bullet strategy that will suddenly bring you to the 1k, 10k or 21k mark, does not exist. When it comes to how to get followers on Instagram, timing is everything. Yes, there is a set of activities that you can do to increase your following. However, suddenly going full-speed with all of them isn’t going to result in anything remarkable, as the effectiveness of each action changes after reaching a certain follower milestone. For instance, there’s no point in buying a shout-out to your account for a 100 bucks from a big influencer while you have 10 followers. Yes, you might get some followers from that, but the price per follower would be unreasonably high. It would be much more effective when you’ve already established a strong identity and following on Instagram, and are looking to speed up the snowball effect. Alright, enough blabbering, let’s head over to the actual guide: How To Get Followers On Instagram… Plan & schedule social media ahead of time. Video, gallery & image posts Calendar, feed & grid preview Instagram, Facebook & Twitter
START PLANNING YOUR POSTS NOW Step 1: Growing from 0 to 100 Instagram followers Okay, so you now have a brand new account and need to build that initial momentum and get followers on Instagram. If you already have a business or a brand with a somewhat established community, then getting that initial following shouldn’t be that big of a challenge. Send out a newsletter to your existing customers, inviting them to follow you on Instagram. Remember that when you want people to do something, you need to give them an incentive. In this case, a discount for your products to the first 100 followers could work just fine. If you have a large enough email list, you can split the offer so that first the 100 followers get 30% off, next 100 get 20% off, and so on, to not discourage those who might have opened the email later, from following you. Before you send out the email though, make sure you already have a few engaging posts up to give an idea of your brand. If you don’t have an existing customer/follower community, you can turn to your friends, family or colleagues, and ask them to follow you. This is one of my personal favorites, because you can get the initial follower base quite easily even without posting any content (however, I’d still suggest having at least one post there to begin with), and if you’re one of those people with a large family and friend group, you might just hit that 100 followers quite quickly.
Also, if you have a brand website, you can capture any site visitors by adding an Instagram follow button, to be sure your audience knows where you find you on social! Of course, make sure that your website is well-optimized and built by a reliable website builder (for example, Ucraft or Wix). After you’ve completed this initial step, it’s time to choose a strategy to get followers on Instagram and growing this base to at least a 100 followers. Strategy 1: “Something’s coming…” This will be best if you have some kind of an announcement coming soon — a new website, a product, a giveaway, etc. Create an attractive profile picture, and an engaging and witty bio – don’t be afraid to throw some emojis in there if that’s something that would resonate with your audience. If you have a link to your homepage, email subscription page, or literally any other brand link that could potentially extend the relationship with your followers, definitely add that as well!
Even if you haven’t properly launched your site yet, it adds credibility to your brand — it shows your audience that you’re serious about your brand to have gone the extra-mile and bought a domain. Ideally, you should have at least a “coming soon” page set-up with a lead capture. But don’t sweat it — your Instagram page doesn’t necessarily grow faster by having a link in your bio. At this point, it’s more of a nice-to-have to start moving towards monetizing your audience, which you can totally do in the later steps as well. When writing an Instagram bio, make sure to be very clear on what your account is going to be about. If you’re planning to launch an eCommerce business, then say it. If you’re giving away free marketing advice, let them know. Maybe you’re launching a giveaway for the first 100 followers? They should know about it. Give people an incentive to follow you, even if you don’t have anything up at the moment. If you want to take it one step further (and you always should), publish at least one post that looks beautiful and conveys your brand message. This will help you to get followers on Instagram, as it lets potential followers know what you’re about, what kind of posts can they expect from you, and gets them excited about your upcoming brand!
For ‘Help a Marketer’, I created this: get followers on instagram Brand picture ☑️ Brand description ☑️ Incentive ☑️Website ☑️ Unfortunately, just having your account set up won’t help you get followers on Instagram. Search for accounts that are in your niche or in a niche similar to yours, and already have a substantial following (I wouldn’t go higher than accounts with 10k+ followers though). Once you have identified these accounts, start following at least 10 of them, and make sure to follow about 50 of their followers as well. If you want to go the extra mile (and again, you should), you can check out the accounts of those 50 followers before you follow them, to make sure they actually fit your target audience. Here’s the important bit — make sure to interact with the accounts that you follow on a regular basis! Like their latest posts, leave comments on them, respond to their Instagram Stories and/or just write them a direct message where you introduce yourself in one sentence and mention that you’ve started a new account and you would be honored to see them among your first followers who’ll get [insert the incentive you wrote about in your bio]. The personal approach of the direct message in combination with regular engagement will increase is a great tactic to get followers on Instagram – especially if you haven’t chosen an account that’s too big and will actually see your message. You should be doing all this in the later phases as well, but it’s especially crucial while when you’re still a new account.
Strategy 2: “A rising star” If, on the other hand, you don’t really have anything big coming up or if you’re interested in developing a personal brand (models, photographers, speakers etc), then go for this one. Everything we discussed in Strategy 1 is still useful. You should work on your bio description, explain who you are and what your account is about, reach out to other accounts in your niche and engage with their followers. The major difference here is that you need to build your feed up BEFORE you do the outreach. Remember, you won’t be driving people to your upcoming offer to get followers on Instagram — you will be driving them to your posts. Here’s the big question: How many posts should you have published before you start serious Instagram outreach? In my opinion, at least 9-12 posts would be a good starting point.
Buy Instagram LikesThis means when someone lands on your profile there is sufficient content to portray you and/or your brand. Keep in mind that your posts should complement each other to create a cohesive grid and feed aesthetic. Having a nice layout for your images really matters. Yes, each individual image works for driving engagement from your existing Instagram followers who see the posts in their feed. However, the overall grid look is one of the most important things (if not the most important) in helping you get followers on Instagram. It shows that you take your brand seriously, and lets them know that they can expect similar quality content consistently. If you’re stuck deciding on a style for your feed, check out this article for inspiration ✨
instagram feed Accounts that use consistent colour palettes and go the extra mile planning their feed will get followers on Instagram more quickly than those who don’t! If you decide to go with 12 initial posts, I’d suggest posting them within 2-3 days at least. It depends on how often you’re planning to post in the future, but I personally think that having all 12 posts published in one day doesn’t seem organic at all. (This, however, is just my personal preference, and if you’re super anxious to start, then knock yourself out and post all of them immediately). In every post, include a lot (30 per post) of different hashtags to make your initial posts more discoverable to potential followers. It’s important to show good engagement on your posts right from the start. I suggest choosing both hashtags that have very little post shares (maybe like 1k-20k), as well as very popular ones (10mil+). Chances are that you’ll start getting Instagram followers from this activity alone! The most important thing to remember is that your hashtags are relevant to the content of your post. For more hashtag tips, check out:
💡 The All-In-One Guide To Instagram Hashtags 💡 Takeaway: Create an attractive bio with an incentive to follow — an offer, the posts themselves, or both Engage with people and brands that might be interested in your content on a regular basis Work on your first posts to develop your own style/layout Research more and less popular hashtags, pick out as many relevant ones as you can, and use them on your posts. Moving on… Explore the data behind your Instagram account. Find the best time to post on Instagram Track your follower growth overtime Understand your post engagement TRY INSTAGRAM ANALYTICS NOW Step 2: Growing to 1,000 Instagram followers Once you have that initial traction, the following strategy will really give an extra boost to get followers on Instagram. Here’s what you do: Identify some of the bigger accounts(50k+ followers) that are similar to yours or are in the same industry with the same target audience you’re trying to reach. Check if their followers are real (some great tools for that: Fameaudit, SocialAuditPro) If the majority of their followers are real, open up their follower list and start following these accounts (I personally suggest to follow accounts that have a real human in the profile picture, instead of a logo)
Start checking who’s not following you back and unfollow these accounts. There’s plenty of apps for both Android and iOS for this exact purpose — just give it a search. Ideally, at least 20% of the people that you started following, should follow you back. The more followers you have, the ‘healthier’ your follower to following ratio is, the more attractive your feed looks, and the higher the follow-back percentage is going to be. People are more inclined to follow back Instagram accounts that: Look real Have more followers than the account is following Have a lot of followers* Have a nicely designed feed of posts In addition to the follow/unfollow strategy, you should start interacting with these bigger accounts (as long as they’re not direct competitors). Firstly, turn on post notifications for these accounts. Every time they post something, be the first to like and leave a comment. There’s already too many “This is so true”, “That’s dope man”,“Awesome post” type of comments out there because of engagement bots. They have become very easy to spot and most Instagram users know that they are not genuine:
GET FOLLOWERS ON INSTAGRAM Generic comments like this are often from accounts using a follower or engagement bot, and therefore don’t count as genuine engagement So try to write something related to the caption or the post — the more human you are, the better! Although AI writing assistants like Jasper AI are all the rage now, It is better to ask specific questions or add your own opinion. This will prove to other Instagram users in your community that you are genuinely interested. get followers on instagram Examples of short comments related to the caption on one of my posts. To reach 1000 followers, I would suggest combining the follow/unfollow strategy together with the strategies covered in the previous step! Secondly, when you start reaching the 1000 follower mark, it’s a good idea to start thinking about scheduling your Instagram posts. This will give you more time to create content, engage with your audience, and continue to get followers on Instagram. Scheduling and managing your Instagram content with Hopper HQ means you can post straight from your desktop, visually plan your Instagram feed, and save loads of time! Photos, videos, carousel posts, captions, first comments can all be scheduled in advance so you never need to rush for last minute posts again.
Sign up for a free 14 day trial today to test it out — you won’t want to go back to doing things manually. Takeaway: Identify the key accounts that are similar to yours and follow them Turn on post notifications for these accounts Leave a comment as soon as they post Follow their real followers Plan your social media posts. Visually plan your posts. Drag and drop everywhere. Step 3: Growing to 5,000 Instagram followers Now that you have a good foundation for growth, it’s time to accelerate even faster. I’m not saying you should stop doing what you have been doing previously. I think those methods are great even if you have passed the 20,000 follower mark. However, adding other methods from this point forward might give the same if not better results with less effort.
Firstly, you should start using engagement groups. If you haven’t heard about them, then you should read the following article, to understand what engagement groups are and how they work: Increase your Organic Reach on Instagram with Engagement Groups. Secondly, consider investing in ads. If you’re building a brand (and not just posting pictures of your cat), Instagram ads will come in quite handy at this point. Thirdly, definitely start scheduling your Instagram posts. Once you’ve reached this stage, every minute you invest into your Instagram counts. Check out this step by step guide to scheduling on Hopper HQ. Plan & schedule social media ahead of time. Video, gallery & image posts Calendar, feed & grid preview Instagram, Facebook & Twitter START PLANNING YOUR POSTS NOW To run ads on Instagram, you need to switch to a business account. If you don’t have it yet (or if you don’t know whether you have it or not), there’s a very easy way to activate it: