Get more Instagram followers by following these 10 techniques for expanding your genuine audience.

1. Optimize your Instagram account

One of the most crucial stages is to have your account well optimized before you start researching how to increase your Instagram following. Consider the Instagram bio for your company as the “homepage” of your profile

How would users know the account belongs to your brand without a bio, image captions, a suitable username, or a profile picture? Although it may seem apparent, the pillars of your brand identification on Instagram are your bio and image. Optimizing your account is crucial since the link in your bio is the only place you can direct Instagram users to your website.

Keep your username as near to your genuine brand name as feasible to make it as search-friendly as possible. If your company name is lengthy, abbreviate it to something your target market would understand. Make your username free of digits or other special characters, and if at all feasible, keep it consistent with any social network accounts you currently have.

Making and implementing an Instagram marketing plan is the greatest method to enhance your account.

2. Keep a consistent content calendar

Posting material at haphazard, odd times is the worst thing you can do while attempting to gain followers on Instagram. If you’re fortunate enough to have users follow you initially, you don’t want to do anything to make them regret doing so.

Follow a regular publishing schedule to avoid this. In order to prevent spam, companies typically shouldn’t post more than a few times each day. However, whatever your rhythm, make it constant. Try uploading a couple times during the full day to spread your reach even further. About 200 million people use Instagram daily.

Maintaining a routine can help you give your followers a consistent experience and keep them informed about your business. But if you’re concerned about remembering to publish during these various times of the day, Sprout’s scheduling and best times features have you covered. Read on for more information.

3. Schedule Instagram posts in advance

Posting at the correct times may still increase your posts’ visibility by boosting their total interaction, even though the Instagram algorithm has evolved to show people more stuff they enjoy.

There are several things your company can do to increase visibility, and one of them is scheduling Instagram content now that Sprout Social is available. With the aid of our most recent technologies, we can assist your brand in easily scheduling Stories, Carousels, and Feed articles.

Your team may more effectively see campaigns and timetables by arranging content in advance. Building out material in advance is always a good idea, and using our Instagram scheduling tools, you can simultaneously target your audience and keep up a steady stream of content.

4. Get partners and brand advocates to post your content

Knowing the worth of your audience is crucial while learning how to increase your Instagram following. The more followers you gain naturally, the more interested clients and purchasers you will attract.

Being visible and being in front of clients is the greatest approach to attract them to follow you. Being active on both your own and other Instagram accounts is essential. To get your brand in the feeds of consumers, consider sponsoring user-generated content. Contests on Instagram are another way to promote your business.

reaching a wider audience These kinds of marketing increase social proof by demonstrating that your audience care enough about you to share your content or produce original UGC.

Get your name in front of a bigger audience as an alternative. To share your material with their audience, try collaborating with larger Instagram accounts in your sector, such as well-known influencers in your field.

Just be careful to provide something worthwhile. Making a strong sales pitch is the last thing you want to do. To increase your Instagram audience, look for marketing partnerships and co-marketing strategies with other companies.

5. Avoid fake Instagram followers

The difference between an Instagram account with false followers and one with real followers is significant. Even while buying Instagram followers could appear alluring, the negative effects outweigh the advantages of organic follower development.

Usually, fake Instagram followers:

The credibility of the account will be lowered if consumers visit an inactive Instagram feed with tens of thousands of followers. People shouldn’t be duped into following you. Develop enduring connections based on trust to increase participation.

Have no ROI: Although paying followers can appear more convenient, neither your purchased bot nor your unmanned new followers will be making any purchases. People follow companies on Instagram because they enjoy the content you share or your business in general. These customers really spend money and add financial value to your company.

little or no buzz is generated: How many people are going to comment on, like, and share your post if you have 10,000 false followers? Most likely, Instagram will remove these false or bot accounts, making your posts appear to be engagement graveyards.

Your Instagram posts have the potential to be shared, liked, commented on, and engaged with by actual people. Additionally, these users like responses from the opposite side.

For instance, Lush Cosmetics takes the time to address a variety of product queries, which encourages people to return, follow, or even share with others. A group of inactive followers will never be as valuable as these conversations.

6. Showcase your Instagram everywhere

If you don’t advertise your Instagram, how will people locate an account? Make sure your website and other social media platforms have your Instagram account displayed.

One of the best methods to get noticed is to raise exposure and awareness. Give them your location if you want to gain more Instagram followers. To encourage social sharing across all of your networks and to let people know where to reach you on Instagram, you may add social media buttons to your website and blog.

Cross-promotion across all of your social media platforms is a wonderful concept as well. Twitter is frequently used by the Museum of Modern Art to promote its Instagram account. You may effortlessly drive folks to your Instagram by utilising your other social networks.

Make sure, though, that you’re not only requesting a follow. Instead, focus on promoting original material on Instagram to give followers a reason to follow you there. Fortunately, you have a fantastic opportunity to increase your following through original content thanks to Instagram’s addition of a tonne of new video capabilities including Stories, IGTV, and Reels.

7. Post content followers want

It’s a good idea to discover what material your followers are interested in, even though this is easier said than done. On Instagram, you’ll see right away that certain material performs better than others. Because of this, testing is crucial.

The tiniest element, whether it be filters, captions, content kinds, or post times, may have a huge impact. So that you can share material that is well-liked, keep an eye out for new Instagram trends.

Your company should get Instagram analytics tools to advance your analysis. Tracking, comparing, and analysing Instagram material across accounts will be simpler as a result.

8. Get the conversation started

Conversation is one of the finest methods to get consumers aware of your Instagram. According to the 2020 Sprout Social Index, consumers prefer to engage with visual-first material such as photographs (68%), video (50%), and text posts (30%). Instagram is the ideal platform for this audience profile, combining eye-catching photos with captions that may be just as engaging if you’ve honed your Instagram caption copywriting abilities.

People continue to utilise social media as a point of contact for companies, whether for casual questions and discussion, serious customer service inquiries, or praise for their favourite brands and goods. And you must be supportive and communicative on Instagram for your business.

Respond to as many questions or comments as you can, since it might be the difference between gaining a new client, following, or increasing your relationship with your audience. According to our Index study, 89% of customers will buy from a brand after following them on social, therefore it’s critical to capture the attention and loyalty required to convert a visitor to your page into a follower.

9. Find hashtags that convert

Hashtags are one of the most tried-and-true techniques to gain Instagram followers. For years, hashtags have been an important tool for finding and extending our social reach. As a marketer, you want to grow your audience by collecting followers, and hashtags let you do exactly that.

To begin, look for hashtags that are not very popular. According to Social Media Examiner, the hashtag #love has more than 184 million photographs associated with it. Trying to stand out in a sea of millions of photos and videos on Instagram is a difficult task.

You must select hashtags that your target audience is more likely to check. These folks are more likely to follow your account if a meaningful link is created. One method to combine postings around hyper-relevant material to your business and campaigns is to use unique, customized hashtags.

M&Ms, for example, does an excellent job at directing hashtags to an event in which they are involved. Using hashtags like #mmspotlight, the company more directly targets its audience where the spotlight music event takes place and raises awareness.

Understanding how your hashtags function on Instagram is just as important as actually utilizing them. And, using Sprout Social’s hashtag analytics tools, you can evaluate what’s performing best by directly accessing hashtag performance and use statistics.

10. Make your Instagram followers happy

Last but not least, making your Instagram followers happy results in audience growth. We’ve given you lots of ideas for content ideation and scheduling, now put them to use in a way that feels authentic to your brand voice. To put it another way, avoid appearing desperate, sales-driven, or robotic.

For many accounts, this means mixing in posts that are really intended to make followers smile and create consumer connections. Don’t forget to provide content to your followers on your personal feed as if they were friends: this could include posting memes, inspirational content, or simply re-sharing interesting photos or artwork (all properly credited, of course) that can give your followers a mental pick-me-up throughout the day.

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