Each popular social network has its specificity and offers its users something different. Instagram is focused on visual content: attractive photos, funny and informal topics, or behind-the-scenes shots.
Where is the place for brand promotion here? Note that in its profile, for example, through Insta Stories, a company can show its personality, demonstrate greater commitment to a certain action, share inspiration, or reveal what its activities look like “from the inside”.
Thus, the site successfully promotes brands from almost all industries, especially those related to fashion, beauty, interior design, travel, and entertainment. It is also an ideal place for handicraft, art, and fitness enthusiasts.
In this article, we will share proven methods and strategies to help you get organic Instagram followers for your account and make your profile one of the most recognizable on Instagram. We invite you to read it!
How does Instagram’s Algorithm Work?
Suppose the goal is to attract new followers, i.e., those who will actively follow your profile’s changes (activity). In that case, adding more attractive photos with comments and popular hashtags is enough. In the first place – yes, but this strategy has no chance to work in the long term.
The algorithms in Instagram (and social media in general) are designed to promote the profile and content of those who interact with other users and how it works. When you like a photo or click “subscribe” on someone’s profile, it increases the likelihood that users with similar “interests, liked photos, and profiles you’re subscribed to” will see your content.
Doing so requires that if you want to acquire subscribers on Instagram, you must be a follower at the beginning. If you comment on someone else’s picture, chances are good that if you write something compelling, that person’s subscribers will visit your profile, too, out of sheer curiosity. Exploit this and write factual and funny comments. Engaging with fans and other users will make it much easier for you to increase the number of subscribers on your profile.
Okay, the method works; the more involved you are, the more chances you have to interact with the user and increase the number of followers on your profile.
Who are Your Instagram Followers?
Instagram subscribers are the people who subscribe to your profile to keep up to date with what you add. They are the accounts that will interact with your profile most often. They could be friends, family, influencers, companies, or even strangers who are interested in what you share on your profile. These accounts can receive notifications and updates about your posts if they choose to do so.
The First Point of Contact
The place where a potential fan gets to know your brand on Instagram is the BIO, i.e. the short description above the photos. It largely determines whether he stays with you for a long time.
A mistake photographers make is adding generic hashtags to their bio. For example: #weddingphotography #familyessays are compilations of photos from an army of other photographers.
If you add such a hashtag to your bio, be aware that after logging into your account, someone will click on it and, in a second, start looking at other photographers’ photos. Completely forgetting they exist.
Descriptive information about your actions will work better than adding an active hashtag. We have noticed that many photographers cover themselves with rigid BIO. You’ll often see a quote about photography or some boring “please contact me to arrange a photo shoot…”.
Such descriptions are unremarkable. And they could be if we started writing more about who a particular photographer is in private. What do they enjoy? What brings him joy other than photography?
The second thing about BIO: it needs to be legible. An Instagram user will only give you a few seconds to introduce yourself and tell you what you do. It should be a short ball, not some spin.
Sometimes, we wonder if the account belongs to a photographer, the mother of a child, or a person writing about their wedding. Only then, after taking a closer look at the photos, do we come to the right conclusion. Other Internet users need more time for such investigations and give up the idea of adding this account to their favorites.
Every one of us would like to gain new subscribers for free. Usually, a group of followers acquired organically stays with us for a long time, if not forever. Thanks to this, we can get a coherent group of recipients. However, many Instagram users need to learn how to encourage others to subscribe to them.
Use Appropriate Hashtags
Instagram is all about photos and videos. But not only that! So make sure your profile also has a description adequate to the post. Pay attention to the hashtags. They should be related to your industry and location and as detailed as possible. There are better choices than the most popular hashtags. Many accounts use them, so your post can easily disappear among other, newer ones.
Hashtags are often the foundation for increasing reach on Instagram. However, remember not to exaggerate their number. This begs the question: how many? Opinions are divided. Some recommend an average of 15 hashtags per post, while others recommend a maximum of 5. The truth lies somewhere in the middle. A better solution is choosing hashtags that best fit the post’s topic. Then there should be fewer of them.
Follow the Trends
Staying up to date with current Instagram trends is essential to attracting new followers. It is important to watch trending hashtags, topics, and initiatives. Including them in your posts will help increase your visibility and reach a wider audience.
The type of content you share also matters. Instagram has since some time appreciated creators who post clips – short videos in a vertical format. Videos are gaining popularity over photos and graphics. It’s worth keeping this in mind when planning your content, but also keep your brand personality in mind.
If your account is known for interesting graphics with text, there’s no need to discontinue it. Making too drastic a change to your profile may scare away your loyal followers. Interestingly, Instagram trends also include aspects such as the regularity of posts and interactivity of your content. Remember to add Insta Stories regularly.
Use User-Generated Content
Let’s remind you what so-called user-generated content is. It’s a great way to engage your community, drive action, and show that you care about your audience. It can be comments, photos, ratings, opinions, and video blogs – all created by genuine recipients of your brand. Well-demonstrated social proof, i.e. confirmation from other internet users that your brand is worthy of attention, is a real recipe for success.
User-generated content has a better impact on our memory. Moreover, it improves the image of the brand using these activities.
Interact with Other Users
It would help if you had as many interactions as possible to increase your reach on Instagram. This way, the algorithm knows you are active, and it is worth promoting your posts. So, worthwhile:
- Like other people’s photos.
- Comment on other profiles.
- Respond to comments and questions on your Instagram.
- Engage other people thematically related to your brand in your content.
Personal posts will also be helpful to increase your reach. Even though others don’t have access to them, the algorithm sees them, which positively impacts reach.
Create Instagram Stories and Videos
Insta-stories, i.e. content that disappears 24 hours after being posted, are the perfect way to grab users’ attention, just like Instagram Reels, i.e. short videos that appear not only on the board but also in the “review” section. This is a good way to promote content, organize competitions, or provide an interesting form of content.
Engage Subscribers
No brand exists without an engaged community. So, make your recipients actively participate in their lives. You can use several tools to do this. Organize contests, ask questions, conduct surveys, or tag other users. Remember a colorful call to action – this will encourage recipients to take an action, such as a photo.
Make Sure your Profile is Consistent
High-quality photos and consistent colors will make your Instagram profile more memorable and more professional. The style should match the brand’s personality and be prominent in every post.
Don’t be Bland
To increase your reach on Instagram, you need specific and interesting content. There are 500 million active users on this social network, so you will only break through if you have a specific idea. You need posts that evoke emotions in your recipients and thus attract them.
Collaborate with Others
Collaborating with influencers is an ideal way to increase your subscribers. These people usually have a wide fan base. Pay attention to choosing the right celebrities – you can search them by specific hashtags or locations. Another advantage of this kind of collaboration is that people trust them, making it easier for you to promote yourself with them.
Publish Regularly and at Specific Times
And lastly, a very simple tip, two to be exact. Firstly, publish posts regularly – not too often and not too infrequently. Adjust the frequency to suit your audience. Also, pay attention to the times when your subscribers are most active. Then, publish your content as videos, Instagram stories, or classic posts. This will help you attract a lot of interest at the beginning of the publication and lead to a larger reach later on.
Run Contests
Messages that ask questions that interest your target group always hold their attention a little longer. However, to achieve their goal, they must be well-designed and their content carefully thought out to help sell the products you offer. That’s why you need to answer the questions.
- What is your goal? Promote a product, gain subscribers, connect with recipients?
- What is your target group? You can target new or potential customers, but you can also target existing customers.
- What kind of questions will you ask? Should it be related to your product, content previously published on your profile, or something to interest your subscribers? Be sure to follow the “Keep it simple” rule, meaning the simpler (but not simplistic), the better. No one has time to solve complex puzzles on Instagram.
- What kind of reward will you give? It should be appealing, but not to everyone, because “everyone” doesn’t have to be (and never will be) your product’s followers or potential recipients. However, it would help if you decided whether the reward would be something from your product portfolio or something completely unrelated but appealing to subscribers.
- How do you choose the winner? If you’re running a contest on Instagram, never write that there will be raffle winners. This term falls under the definition of a lottery governed by completely different rules. The goal of your contest will be to choose the best of all the entries. It is up to you (or the competition committee if you decide to appoint one) to decide which is best. So it is up to you to decide who wins.
Paid Advertising
The latest method of attracting subscribers is paid advertising on Instagram. Sponsored publications are a very popular method of attracting new subscribers. A sponsored post can appear in the feed or on Tumblr, depending on the version purchased. It is as effective a method of acquiring followers as the others. However, it should be used when you notice a lack of new subscribers for a few days. Then adverts will be most effective in reaching brand new people.
Conclusion
To summarize, Instagram’s algorithm is largely based on how many followers you have and how quickly you get them. There are many ways to acquire new followers. The first group is a set of organic activities that allow you to acquire new subscribers thanks to your systematic work and interesting content. However, there are also paid forms of acquiring new subscribers, such as sponsored Instagram campaigns and buying subscribers. It’s up to you to decide which method you choose to build your community.
