Six easy ways to get more Instagram followers
**This isn’t a guide on how to buy followers and it also isn’t a ‘quick fix’. Instead I’m going to share some real techniques to help you build a loyal and engaged following on Instagram.
Instagram is a great free marketing tool but if you’ve been trying to grow your followers in the last six months, you’re probably feeling like it’s not on your side - you’re not alone.
The truth is, you won’t grow your Instagram account over night. But eventually, you will have a group of followers that are genuinely engaged and interested in your business, which is far more valuable than 10 thousand fake accounts that you spent your hard-earned cash on.
1. Use Hashtags strategically
You can use up to 30 hashtags per post on Instagram. That’s 30 different keyword opportunities. 30 ways people can find your account.
Your choice of hashtags should be relevant to your business. They should also be relevant to what you’re posting and to new potential followers.
Pretend the hashtag search box is Google, what are your customers searching for?
Try to use a combination of popular (over 10K searches) and niche hashtags (less than 10K) to make sure you’re appearing everywhere. Update your list of hashtags frequently and check what your competitors are using.
2. Engage with other accounts
What hashtags might your customers be using on their posts? Instagram’s search function is a great way to find potential followers.
Once you’ve found some relevant accounts, engage with them.
When you comment on other Instagram profiles, try to be helpful / interesting and complimentary (everyone loves a compliment). Make sure you actually write something - set yourself apart from the bots commenting emojis.
Maybe even give them a follow if you like their account, people tend to check out their new followers. If you’re providing relevant content to that person, you’re very likely to get a follow back.
3. Provide relevant content
It might seem obvious, but it’s really important to spend some time analysing your content.
Are your posts relevant to your audience? Do they provide inspiration / value / entertainment?
If not, you need to re-think what you’re posting. If you’re selling a plumbing service, your audience probably doesn’t care about what you had for lunch.
4. Ask questions
No one likes the hard sell and your customer isn’t visiting Instagram to go shopping.
Caption your posts with questions, encourage your audience to get involved and to talk to you.
Ask your followers for their opinions, ask them for their advice. You could even ask them about their favourite Instagram accounts.
What’s important is that you find a way to encourage your followers to stop scrolling and comment on your posts. By doing this they actually become engaged with your content (and in-turn, your business).
5. Be authentic and consistent
Once you’ve established your brands’ personality and tone of voice, you need to use it consistently.
Your audience should be able to recognise a post from you in their long stream of content.
Ideally, a new potential follower should be able to visit your account and understand your brand from your first six images. If they have a quick scroll down the page, they should see consistent content.
6. Build genuine connections with your followers
Talk to your followers. If someone compliments one of your photos, ask them what they liked about it, start a conversation.
Try to imagine it’s a real life scenario. If someone told you they liked your shoes, would you just ignore them? No, you’d thank them, you’d probably tell them where you got them. You might even take a look at their shoes, and tell them what you like about them too?
Ok maybe you wouldn’t get into a long conversation about shoes.. but the point still stands. Be polite, if you’ve just had a nice comment on one of your posts - head over to that persons account and comment on some of their content. Be supportive.
If you'd like some more help and advice with your Instagram strategy, you can book a power hour with me here.