18 ways on how to grow your Instagram followers?

Images speak louder than words. When we look out for any profile on Instagram, it turns out to be absolutely appropriate. If we notice critically, we might observe the following assumptions:

• With over 1 billion Monthly active users (MAUs), Instagram is the 6th largest social profile.
• With 500+ million daily active users, Instagram ranks 2nd after Facebook for the daily users logins.
• The stories were introduced by Snapchat and it took them 6 years to hit 150 million daily active users, Instagram surpassed it within 8 months of the launching.
• Around 28.57% of the Instagram users installed the Instagram app.

But, here there are few questions, which you might be thinking of . Firstly, what is the use of these data ? Secondly, what are the ways to grow your Instagram profiles ?

We all know that Instagram is not new. But, what’s new is how we can implement it with the approaching algorithmic updates. You might spend hours  after hours to plan and create content for Instagram. Then, once you are confident enough and hit the “Share” button. Then, absolute silence, You get a few likes only from a handful of your total followers. 

Though, getting a 1000% growth on Instagram isn’t a cakewalk, but there are definitely ways how you can see the growth.

1. Bio Optimization:

The Instagram Bio is the most neglected, yet the most important part of the whole profile. A good bio should always be able to convey the purpose and the USPs are well-crafted. Out of the 150 characters, make the most of it. Craft it in such a way that you cover these points and make it clear to your followers:

• Who you are ?
• What is your business all about ?
• What action, you want them to take once they find your profile ?
• Your personal touch
• A link
• A defined call-to-action

Your bio-link is the only clickable link on Instagram. So, you must use it very wisely. While some businesses show the standard link in the bio, but many of them add links to reflect the recent posts. It’s suggested that you take full advantage of the bio-link that allows you to turn a link and convert it to a catalogue of links. You can club the post with a couple of brand – focused hashtags. 

2. Identify your best time to post on Instagram:

There is no specific way to find a suitable time to post on Instagram. But, what’s a relief is that there is surely an ideal time, when most of your followers are active on the channel. With Instagram Insights you can analyse when your audience is online. Tap “Insights” button from your Instagram profile and scroll to “your audience” and hit “See All”. 

Remember, content relevance is the key. You should also know which content is relevant for what audience and how it can help them. Experiment with different types of post types and then track engagement.

3. Posting consistency:

As a part of 2021 study, it is suggested that businesses should post 4 times per week in an average. But, TOT recommends to post on a daily basis. Brands that get into a regular flow with Instagram posts tend to see the best results. It is also, a key to a faster growth among Instagram followers compared to those who doesn’t post regularly. 

How does Instagram’s account benefitted from consistency ?

• If you post on a regular basis and getting a good engagement, Instagram will likely show your post to your similar audience.

How can you maintain the post consistency ?

• Post Quality content to resonate your target audience, but what’s much more needed is Engaging with your audience.
• Instagram scheduling tools allows you to post consistently which will no doubt save a lot of time.

4. Understanding how Instagram’s algorithm works :

When Instagram switched from the chronological feed to the ranked timeline,  many of us left panicked. However, with such a change, visibility increased by 50% than before. Here’s how we can use the algorithm for our advantage. 

There are 6 factors which determine, what shows up in each person’s timeline:

• Interest : How much Instagram thinks this post might interest your reader.
• Timeliness : How old the post is ?
• Relationship: Accounts a person based on how engagements on a regular basis.
• Frequency: How frequently the user uses the app ?
• Following: Posts from the accounts the user follows.
• Usage: How much time you spend on Instagram ?

The main aim which Instagram algorithm aims at is delivering a useful content for each user. So, here is the key , post high quality content consistently.

5. Types of Instagram’s posts:

Though, Instagram is a good platform for photo sharing. But, it’s not just limited to it. Instagram has a number of cool ways to share your content on the platform. You can try experimenting a combination of features to gain more followers on Instagram because it gives you chance to raech out and connect with a wider section of people.

Remember every feature has a plus point. For example, Instagram reels gives you the edge because they are the newest content type. Since launching Instagram Reels in 2020, the app has moved the Reels button to the center position in the menu bar and made Reels appear larger than photo posts on the Explore page.  Similarly, IGTV videos appear 4x larger than the videos. Since they can be of 60 minutes, they can be a good option to post long-form videos.

Instagram stories might disappear after 24 hours, but they also benefit. Around 57% of brands have admitted that they have somewhat helped or helped to a great extent as a part of the total strategy. 

Plus, it will work better if it’s a verified account or at least 10,000 followers, you can add Instagram Swipe Up links to Stories to drive traffic to specific pages.

Meanwhile, carousel posts are a series of up to 10 images/videos in a single post—boast the highest engagement rates of all post types. Think of carousels can convey as a mini-story or teaser to a longer-form piece of content, such as a blog. You can use text images, photos, video, or a mix of everything all in one thematic post.

6. Find your brand voice:

People don’t follow you because they want to see your sales pitches. They rather follow you because they enjoy your personality and the type of content you create.

What works for one business may not necessarily suit your nature of business. Though, you can be of the similar nature of the business. Personalize your business. Design a personality for your brand and create branding guidelines so that you can maintain consistency.

Branding guidelines should bring on clarity on the type of tone, style, and values along with your brand’s colors and fonts.

7. Engaging Captions:

Nice photos and nice captions together captures better attention. Captions give you more chance to add a context and meaning to the shared images. In addition, you can embed keywords in the captions and it can work wonders in terms of the searches.

You can take full advantage of the 2200 characters and experiment with various text lengths. After all, not all the captions needs to be read out as a blog. Isn’t it ?

Though the average Instagram captions length is rising compared to 2016 when it was 142 characters. In 2020, this limit increased to around 410 characters.

An important catch here is, when to keep it simple and when to play around with words?

8. Research and usage of the hashtags:

Have you seen #followers #followusforfollowback #agency and likewise words on the post captions?    Though, these hashtags do not have much relevance for Facebook, for Instagram definitely they are! Using the right hashtags can expose your image to a broader and targeted segment of the audience.

Start by finding out relevant and suitable hashtags that would appeal to your audience. There are various free hashtags generator tools that can help you out finding out the right set of hashtags.

Why are the hashtags helpful?

• If you want to gain more followers, hashtags are useful.
• Hashtags make your content more discoverable via searches or maybe filtering out which hashtags are same or similar to the profile.
• With hashtags, top content will show up in the timeline.

9. Audience Engagement:

Audience engagement is something very crucial when it comes to the Instagram followers’ growth. We might be confused with the likes and comments. But, what the focus should actually be are the metrics behind them. If you want your profile to grow, you should focus on engaging fans in your conversation.

Remember, when someone sees your content, that doesn’t mean that they follow ou. If you have a chance to interact with a potential follower, you should grab it. Every comment is an opportunity, so make sure you respond to each comment you receive. Ways to encourage customer engagement:

• Ask questions in your photos and captions.
• Encourage people to tag friends in the comments with inviting prompts.
• Use Instagram stickers such as open-ended polls and questions in the stories.

10. Invite collaborations:

One of the enticing ways nowadays to invite followers is by encouraging collaborations on your profile.

Influencer marketing is one of the trending approaches in which way you can increase your follower base. If you have the budget, you can pay content – creators to promote your brand. If you don’t have such a base, you can target 1000 – 1000k followers. In fact, they are very impactful.

Influencer content can be really impactful especially when:

•   You are looking out for followers.
• You are looking out for more engagement.
•  Helps to build an audience and win trust.
• Enhance your positive brand awareness.
• Provide fast added value and benefits for the audience.
• Endure successful, long – term business partnerships.
• Empowering and strengthening content strategy.

Remember, influencer marketing for the micro – influencers, you will actually get higher engagements rate than the larger accounts. Alternatively, you can collaborate or re – share user – generated content.

11. External linking your Instagram profile:

You know what’s an easy way to externally link your Instagram profile to the site? We can make it easy in a number of ways. The easiest solution to this is to link it to such pages, where the customers can easily find it. You can easily add your Instagram profile to the following ways:

• Site footer / sidebars
• Email footers
• Bios on other social media platforms.
• Social media posts of the team members.
• Instagram bio / posts / stories links
• Using link services to showcase various multiple platforms.
• Short links or directions in the landing pages.
• Adding swiping up links.
• Links in shoppable posts and stories.
• Paid promotion for the links in the stories and the posts.
• Adding links to Instagram direct messages.

12. Results analysis:

One way to figure out which post format is working or needs improvement is by understanding the various metrics. There are so many metrics that can help you analyze your results. You can monitor the results on various parameters and metrics. You can either check the analytics form the Instagram app “Insights” or through the third party apps.

The metrics doesn’t include vanity like: likes and comments. It’s more about the other severe metrics like impressions, reach, demographics, engagements rates and many more. One of the crucial aspect of the results analysis is the comparison between the various posts type and post metrics.

Key Indicators:

• Watch for the various trends.
• Whether they match the specific post type.
• Whether they drive in more impressions or more engagements.
• Do your hashtags drive in comparatively higher engagements?

13. Use the Trends – Instagram Reels

If you spend a good time on Instagram, you must know how common Instagram reels these days. So, in 2021 if you haven’t started using the opportunity, its a high time to start with it. Instagram’s newest video you can find in the center of the new navigation bar. Record upto 30 seconds of video and set up music and post on Instagram.

Since Instagram reels at the forefront of the app, there is a significant push to have users browse and share reels more often in 2021.

Reasons to use Instagram Reels:

• Attractive 15 seconds video with music and filters to your content.
• You get an option to modify the content selecting a wide variety of AR effects, audio and music effects and filters.
• Get the Explorer page views, you get a chance for increased views.
• Increased engagements from your followers.
• You as a user get an opportunity to feature yourself there and get your content in front of a bigger audience, but only if you use niche specific and relevant hashtags. 

14. Create an IGTV series

Back in 2020, there was a prediction that IGTV series would become a vital part of Instagram. In 2021 it’s still continues to prove its significance and vitality. With the lockdowns due to the COVID-19, more and more social media users are turning to Instagram for entertainment. Creating IGTV stories can is a creative way to connect to your community and cast a wider net to reach a significant audience.

Benefits of the IGTV:

• About 1 million weekly installs post the introduction of the IGTV installs.
• IGTV videos are not only an available option in the Instagram app and the IGTV app as well.
• A video that drives positive experience with video content increased significantly to 97%.
• 53.4% marketers find Instagram marketing relevant.
• By 2021, approximately 90% of all the Internet content will be videos.

15. Cross post Instagram posts in other platforms:

If you’re looking around for new opportunities to grow your Instagram following, cross-promoting Instagram on other platforms can be the answer.

In 2021, Tiktok and Pinterest can be best two ways in which Instagram following can grow outside Instagram. With Tiktok’s machine learning algorithm, it can easily determine which user can engage with what kind of content and serve them with similar results. On the other hand, Pinterest is more common for the increased referral traffic, with which many brands have witnessed growth in their Instagram following post joining Pineterest and Tiktok.

Some of the platforms best for cross posting are : 

• Buffer
• Hootsuite
• Facebook
• Instagram
• Twitter
• Youtube 
• Pinterest 
• LinkedIn

16. Engage with your audience on live sessions:

By now, one thing you must have understood that videos are the future of Instagram. Right ? So, in our list, we have the most significant solution for the increased traffic is the Live interactions on the channel. Instagram live is an unedited version of the video stream for the followers to tune in and engage with.

With Lives you can plan out sessions in various ways. You can host Weekly series, shows, games, tournaments, online webinars, tutorials and many more. One of the trends these days are showcasing your products and promoting online sales.

Benefits of Live sessions:

• Increases the chances of online visibility.
• A sense of urgency that can help you retain your audience from turning away.
• One of the facts of IG Live is that they are unedited. Thus, authenticity is something that your audience will definitely love to experience because they get to know the real you.
• Better Engagements than a mere post as they encourage conversations.

17. Use Branded hashtags:

Branded Instagram hashtags are a great way to help spread about your business, find User-generated content, build a community and attract new followers.

A branded hashtag is one which is unique for your business. It can be simple as your company name, taglines, or specific product, events or campaigns. 

You can also encourage and motivate your users to use your branded hashtag on their own posts for a chance to win a prize.

All posts using your branded hashtag also double their user-generated content (UGC). And, UGC can seriously help skyrocket your sales and build true brand trust and loyalty.

18. Create resonating memes for your audience:

Nowadays when you browse on Instagram you will see funny serious memes. Why do you think brands use these ? Brands realise the power of clever Instagram means specially when it comes to building brand identity or driving product interest and gaining more followers. In one of the reports, it’s suggested that around 55% of 13 to 35 year olds enjoy sending memes every single week as a major method of online communication.

Memes are the broadest piece of media which transfers from people to people over the internet. They can have cultural significance or just a funny or a clever tone to entertain its audience. 

Conclusion

Though there can be challenges when it comes to meme-creation, like integrating memes into your profile without compromising your aesthetic. But there are ways to do it in order to make it much easier.

Growing your Instagram account can often seem challenging, but if you follow the right set of techniques and strategies, you can definitely get more Instagram followers in 2021!

Remember it’s a combination of creative content, targeting the right audiences, and promoting your business in the right way. Try out some of these tips in 2021 and see how much your followers can grow this year!