Building a strong following on Instagram is crucial for businesses, creators, and personal brands looking to grow their reach, engagement, and ultimately, their impact. However, with over 2 billion monthly active users, standing out on the platform can be a challenge.
To help you navigate the path to Instagram success, we’ve compiled 20 proven strategies to get more followers on Instagram. From optimizing your profile to leveraging the latest features, these tactics will set you up for sustainable growth.
1. Don’t Buy Instagram Followers
While it may be tempting to take shortcuts, buying fake followers is a big no-no. Not only does it violate Instagram’s terms of service, but it also does nothing to build a genuine, engaged community. Focus on creating high-quality content and interacting authentically with your target audience instead.
2. Establish a Strong Personal Brand and Value Proposition
Before you start growing your follower count, it’s essential to define your unique value proposition. What makes you or your business stand out? What kind of content can your audience expect from you? Clearly communicating this will help you attract the right followers who genuinely connect with your brand.
3. Maintain a Consistent and Cohesive Instagram Feed:
Your Instagram feed is the first thing new visitors see, so make sure it presents a visually cohesive and appealing aesthetic. Use a consistent color palette, editing style, and overall theme to create a polished, professional look that reflects your brand.
4. Optimize Your Instagram Bio
Your bio is prime real estate for making a great first impression. Use it to concisely convey who you are, what you do, and why people should follow you. Include relevant keywords, a clear call-to-action, and a link to your website or other important pages.
5. Craft Descriptive Captions With Relevant Keywords:
Captions are a powerful tool for increasing your discoverability. Use them to provide value, tell stories, and incorporate relevant keywords that your target audience is searching for. Keep your captions engaging and authentic to foster deeper connections with your followers.
6. Identify Relevant Hashtags for Your Audience
Hashtags are essential for helping new users discover your content. Research and use a mix of popular, niche, and branded hashtags that align with your target audience’s interests. Tools like Hashtagify and RiteTag can help you identify the most effective hashtag strategies.
7. Stick to a Regular Posting Schedule
Consistency is key when it comes to growing your Instagram following. Develop a posting schedule that works for you and your audience, whether that’s once a day, every other day, or a few times per week. This will help you stay top-of-mind and build a loyal following.
8. Determine Your Best Time to Post
In addition to posting consistently, timing your posts for maximum engagement is crucial. Analyze your audience’s activity patterns and experiment with different posting times to determine when your content performs best. Tools like Insights and Sprout Social can provide valuable data to guide your strategy.
9. Ensure Accessibility of Your Instagram Content
To reach the widest possible audience, optimize your Instagram content for accessibility. This includes adding alt text to your images, using clear, legible fonts, and ensuring your captions are easy to read. Making your content accessible will help you connect with users of all abilities.
10. Collaborate With Brands, Creators, and Influencers
Collaborating with complementary brands, creators, and influencers can help you tap into new audiences and cross-promote your content. Look for opportunities to guest post, co-create content, or participate in shoutout loops to expand your reach.
11. Utilize Instagram Reels to Increase Engagement
Instagram Reels have quickly become one of the platform’s most powerful features for driving discovery and engagement. Lean into creating short, eye-catching Reels that showcase your brand’s personality and provide value to your target audience.
12. Optimize Your Instagram Stories Highlights:
Your Instagram Stories Highlights are a prime opportunity to showcase your best content and give new visitors a glimpse into your brand. Organize your Highlights into relevant categories, use eye-catching cover art, and update them regularly to keep your profile fresh and engaging.
13. Create Shareable Content Such as Memes
Content Memes, infographics, and other visually-striking, shareable content tend to perform well on Instagram. Experiment with creating this type of content that aligns with your brand and resonates with your target audience.
14. Encourage User-generated Content
Encouraging your followers to create and share content featuring your brand is a fantastic way to build social proof and foster a sense of community. Repost user-generated content, run contests, and engage with your audience to tap into this valuable source of content.
15. Host Instagram Giveaways
Running periodic giveaways is a surefire way to boost your follower count. Offer an enticing prize that’s relevant to your brand and encourage users to tag friends, share your post, or follow you to enter. Just be sure to follow Instagram’s guidelines for running successful giveaways.
16. Promote Your Instagram Through Other Channels
Don’t limit your Instagram growth efforts to the platform itself. Promote your Instagram account through your other marketing channels, such as your website, email list, and other social media profiles. This will help you reach new audiences and drive traffic back to your Instagram page.
17. Analyze Your Top-performing Content
Take a close look at your top-performing posts to identify patterns and insights that you can apply to your overall content strategy. Which types of content resonate most with your audience? What time of day or day of the week see the highest engagement? Use these learnings to optimize your future posts.
18. Engage Your Audience Through Instagram Live
Instagram Live is a powerful tool for building authentic connections with your audience. Going live allows you to showcase your brand’s personality, answer questions in real-time, and give your followers a behind-the-scenes look at your business or creative process.
19. Experiment With Instagram Threads
Threads, Instagram’s standalone messaging app, presents another opportunity to engage with your audience and cross-promote your main Instagram account. Use Threads to share more personal, casual content and foster deeper connections with your most loyal followers.
20. Foster Community Engagement
At the end of the day, growing a successful Instagram presence is all about building genuine relationships with your audience. Make it a priority to actively engage with your followers by responding to comments, direct messages, and collaborating with them on content.
Conclusion
Implementing these 20 strategies will help you build a strong, engaged following on Instagram and unlock new opportunities for your business or personal brand. Remember, growing a platform like Instagram takes time and consistency, so stay patient, experiment, and have fun with the process.
