Instagram could be a extremely targetable, visible advertising channel on your model and a possibility to construct a loyal viewers that grows with what you are promoting.
The truth is, over 500 million Instagram customers browse the app day-after-day, making it residence to among the most engaged audiences round.
On this information, we’ll present you the right way to develop your Instagram follower profile and enhance engagement, whereas rising a large following over time—one which’s filled with actual followers, not bots or pretend followers.
17 methods to get extra Instagram followers
Incorporate Reels into your content material combine
Cross promote content material
Curate your profile grid
Work with model ambassadors
Get follows out of your loyalty program
Market via your private Instagram account
Get on function accounts
Use the appropriate hashtags
Put up on the proper occasions
Steal your rivals’ followers
Pay for sponsored posts and product critiques
Use geotags to spice up native discovery
Set up your Tales in highlights
Ask for extra followers
Run a giveaway
Share user-generated content material
Use Instagram reside
Let’s dive deeper into the right way to implement every tactic to get extra Instagram followers.
Template Icon
Free Webinar:
The right way to Develop Your Instagram Account
A free workshop with field-tested Instagram advertising ideas. Discover ways to develop your Instagram viewers and monetize it with an internet retailer.
Incorporate Reels into your content material combine
Reels are enjoyable movies you’ll be able to share with followers in your Instagram account. They’ve audio, results, and artistic instruments. You may share them in your feed and publicly in Discover to succeed in new audiences.
Reels are new territory for manufacturers. Instagram’s magnificence partnerships supervisor, Kristie Sprint, said in a Shiny discussion board that Reels are nonetheless a comparatively new method to publish content material, and there isn’t one system for fulfillment. However, she does counsel the next tricks to acquire traction:
Hold content material distinctive and pattern drive. Establish developments on Instagram and TikTok and put your individual spin on it. This will increase the possibility your Reels will go viral and get in entrance of latest individuals.
Make content material relatable and easy. Not each Reel must be a manufacturing. Decrease high quality movies can carry out the identical, if not higher, than extremely produced Reels.
Educate your viewers. Discover the steadiness between training and leisure in your Reels.
Reels ought to be an enormous precedence for you proper now. It’s prime actual property on your model to be found by new followers.
Kristen Sprint, Magnificence Partnerships Supervisor, Instagram
Social media advertising company proprietor Trilce Jirón Garro, of TBS Advertising and marketing, agrees. “Don’t promote your merchandise via Reels content material. Share details. Present ideas in regards to the trade you’re in. Entertain viewers,” she says.
Trilce means that each new and current manufacturers incorporate entertaining Reels into their Instagram technique. “Reels give anybody the chance to succeed in new goal audiences. There’s no studying curve as a result of Reels content material is lo-fi. And creators can produce community-driven content material that builds belief, features followers, and makes gross sales over time.”
Trilce additionally loves the Instagram Insights Software launched for Reels. “Reels have turn into an built-in a part of any Instagram advertising technique. Analytics instruments for Reels has made it simple to trace metrics and analyze information to see in case your Reels are working. Now, you’ll be able to perceive precisely what your viewers likes and dislikes, when to submit Reels, and what calls to motion resonate with viewers.”
Utilizing Reels Insights, you’ll be able to see patterns and perceive totally different spikes in engagement that have an effect on your visibility on the platform. That manner, you’ll be able to create higher-quality content material that will get much more engagement and followers.
Need assistance making a Reels technique? Learn Why and The right way to Use Instagram Reels to Market Your Shopify Retailer to be taught extra.
Cross promote content material
Cross-promoting entails posting related content material throughout numerous social media channels. It’s a tactic used to save lots of time and sources. It’s additionally efficient at rising model consciousness and rising an viewers on Instagram.
Cellular customers are spending an rising period of time with video and leisure apps, with video content material on social media platforms accounting for the most important enhance. Whether or not it’s a short-form video or prolonged tutorial, you need to enhance the attain of your Instagram content material.
Justin Bieber’s vacation dance problem is a good instance of profitable cross-posting. In the course of the 2020 vacation season, the Canadian singer posted the identical dance problem on each TikTok and Instagram. On TikTok, his video brief acquired 9.8 million likes. The identical content material on Instagram acquired 4.8 million likes. He was capable of get in entrance of extra individuals simply by posting the identical video on two totally different platforms.
cross-promoting on instagram
Nadya Okamoto, founding father of life-style interval model August, has discovered that TikTok naturally cross-pollinates to Instagram and YouTube. She says in an interview with Trendy Retail, “As we’ve grown on TikTok from August, we’ve additionally grown to 175,000 followers on Instagram.” Actively posting on a number of platforms has “affected our total value of acquisitions to be tremendous efficient,” permitting the model to steer away from paid media as a predominant acquisition channel.
TikTok isn’t the one channel you’ll be able to cross-post on. The Instagram Reels format interprets nicely to YouTube Shorts and Pinterest Tales. It’s vital to notice that Instagram’s algorithm gained’t promote Reels which have a TikTok watermark. So for those who’re going to cross-post content material from Instagram to different channels, make sure the content material is top quality and doesn’t promote a competing platform via watermarks.
Curate your profile grid
Most of your followers gained’t comply with you for what you posted up to now however for the promise of what you’ll submit sooner or later. Your viewers needs to know what they’re going to get in the event that they hit that Comply with button.
Having a feed with a constant theme and a constant posting schedule can have simply as a lot of an influence in rising a following as lots of the different development methods we’ve coated above. Even a easy sample can entice new followers, so long as it’s communicated at first look to anybody who lands in your profile.
Think about your Instagram bio and your final 9 posts as your first impression on Instagram. Do they successfully talk a point of consistency via character, filters, colours, or structure? Does the clickable hyperlink ship individuals to the identical homepage each week? Or are you linking out to enjoyable and thrilling content material too?
The structure of your grid is an usually underestimated method to get inventive with the aesthetic of your feed whereas including a rhythm to your publishing technique and consistency that’s price following.
The truth is, many accounts that undertake this method are sometimes capable of spend much less effort on creating content material by specializing in changing guests into followers, producing textual content graphics or different content material with a sooner turnaround, and streamlining the general manufacturing of their Instagram content material.
You need to use a software like Later to simply plan out and schedule the look and structure of your feed. Letterfolk is only one instance of how far some manufacturers go along with the aesthetic of their Instagram structure.
letterfolk grid
Your feed serves because the billboard on your model. It’s a buyer’s first touchpoint with you and captures the essence of your model.
Trilce Jiron, TBS Advertising and marketing
Work with model ambassadors
Don’t need to pay the celeb influencer massive bucks to market your model? Works with model ambassadors who’ve anyplace from a pair hundred to a couple thousand followers. Ambassadors are individuals who genuinely help and imagine in your model and can inform their associates about it.
Luxurious shoe retailer Sarah Flint reviews seeing success with its model ambassador program, which has over 500 ladies. Every ambassador has their very own distinctive low cost code, which provides them a free pair of Sarah Flint footwear after 5 new clients use it.
Ambassadors like Holly Hollon attest to the standard and luxury of the model’s footwear. Her posts are genuine and relatable to common Sarah Flint consumers. This helps the model develop its Instagram following and earn gross sales.
Holly Hollon IG influencer
Get follows out of your loyalty program
Retailers are more and more launching loyalty packages, repeatedly encouraging shoppers to buy with their model over one other. It’s labored for manufacturers like Sephora and Blume. A technique manufacturers are capitalizing on loyalty packages is by rewarding those that comply with them on Instagram.
When luxurious retailer Rebecca Minkoff launched its rewards program, RM Rewards, it gave consumers the choice to earn factors by following the model’s Instagram account. Manufacturers like Blume are additionally discovering the worth in rewarding Instagram followers. Program members can earn Blume Bucks for changing into a good friend on Instagram versus Fb or Twitter.
Blume rewards program instance
Market via your private Instagram account
One other common method to enhance your Instagram following is rising your private account—mainly, make your self the influencer. Harnessing each the corporate account and your private account can enhance model recognition, follower counts, and gross sales. Professional tip: It’s also possible to run this playbook on TikTok to enhance your numbers.
It’s a tactic that works nicely for vogue label ANINE BING. Along with the model’s Instagram profile, the corporate’s founder additionally drives engagement and consciousness via her private Instagram web page, which has over a million followers.
Anine Bing instagram profile
Anine invitations followers into her design studio, takes them via the design course of, and even will get suggestions from followers all through the inventive course of. Anine additionally shares a bit about her private life and milestones, giving followers a peak behind the curtains of their favourite designer’s life.
Get on function accounts
Instagram function accounts are pages that curate the perfect content material in a selected area of interest. They’re just like the “better of” photograph journals for an trade. Some function accounts have a large following. For those who get placement on the account, it might probably ship new Instagram followers to your profile.
There are function accounts for each area of interest: journey, vogue, pictures, and extra. For instance, @discoverearth curates adventurous journey content material from all over the world for over 6.1 million followers.
Uncover Earth function web page
Use the appropriate hashtags
Your aim on Instagram is to have interaction your present viewers regularly whereas additionally rising your variety of actual followers. Posting new, fascinating, and fascinating pictures will fulfill the primary requirement, however to start rising you’ll discover hashtagging your pictures extraordinarily vital. Hashtagging makes it simple for individuals trying to find particular phrases to search out your pictures.
So which hashtags must you use? Similar to with Twitter and different social websites, customers on Instagram select sure hashtags over others. For those who use common Instagram hashtags inside your pictures, you’re more likely to succeed in new customers and be found.
On the time of this writing, these have been the highest 20 hashtags on Instagram:
#love
#instagood
#photooftheday
#vogue
#stunning
#glad
#cute
#like4like
#tbt
#followme
#picoftheday
#comply with
#me
#artwork
#selfie
#summer time
#instadaily
#repost
#associates
#nature
For those who checked out this listing and mentioned, “However none of these apply to my merchandise or model,” you’re probably appropriate.
Utilizing hashtags is one factor; utilizing the appropriate tags is totally totally different.
Fashionable tags like those listed above will probably web you further engagement and likes. Nonetheless, they gained’t result in elevated long-term engagement, new followers, or, most significantly, gross sales.
If you wish to tag your pictures correctly, you’ll want to search out and use essentially the most related hashtags. This implies doing the suitable analysis to be sure you’re utilizing hashtags that not solely describe your model however which might be additionally being looked for on Instagram.
To search out related hashtags, you’ll need to use a free on-line software like IconoSquare or Webstagram to begin.
Beneath, I used Webstagram to search out related, associated, and common hashtags for my males’s accent enterprise by trying to find key hashtags carefully associated to my model.
For example, looking the hashtag #MensFashion, I used to be capable of pull the next listing of further key phrase hashtags together with the variety of occasions they’ve been used (i.e., their recognition).
hashtag examples
It’s also possible to discover extra associated hashtags and their recognition for those who seek for any of your goal key phrases immediately within the Instagram app.
You’ll need to undergo this train making an attempt totally different key phrases that describe your model and merchandise, constructing out your hashtag key phrase listing as you go.
Remember that Instagram permits for a most of 30 hashtags per submit. Moreover, the favored phrases will change over time, so be sure you revisit your hashtag key phrases each few months so that you’re utilizing the absolute best phrases.
It’s also possible to steal hashtag concepts from rivals or related accounts which have the sort of following you aspire to, however finally, you need to create your individual teams of hashtags that relate to your particular account.
Professional tip #1: Right here’s a trick I exploit for my ecommerce companies. For each product and product class in my shops, I’ve researched the most well-liked associated Instagram hashtags. I got here up with 15 to twenty common hashtags for every class of merchandise I promote, in addition to a base of 5 to 10 common tags that describe my model and product providing. Lastly, I additionally created a listing of common native particular hashtags that relate to my model.
For instance:
Model key phrase hashtags
#mybrandname #mensfashion #mensaccessories #mensgoods #vogue #mensstyle #instafashion #menswear
Product class key phrase hashtags
#bugatchisocks #happysocks #corgisocks #socks #sockswag #socksoftheday #sockgame #sockswagg #socksofinstagram #happysockday #sockwars #funsocks #happysockday
Location-specific key phrase hashtags
#Toronto #TorontoFashion #TorontoFashionBloggers
All of those teams of key phrase hashtags are saved in a web page on Evernote. This makes it simple and environment friendly once I’m on the go to submit a brand new Instagram picture optimized for essentially the most related key phrases.
You may simply open my Evernote and duplicate my normal brand-, product-, and location-specific hashtags to submit with every photograph. Some Instagram scheduling instruments additionally allow you to save caption templates for storing your hashtag teams.
Doing the work of researching, organizing, and saving essentially the most relevant and common hashtags upfront will prevent a ton of time down the street, enhance your engagement, and assist garner new followers.
Professional tip #2: For those who’ve been posting to Instagram for some time and really feel you’ve missed out on all these alternatives to construct your viewers utilizing key phrase hashtags, fret not. You may nonetheless return and submit a remark together with your new hashtag key phrase lists and watch the likes and followers roll in.
Utilizing hashtags in Instagram tales
Hashtagging on Instagram posts is a given, however you must also be utilizing hashtags in your Tales for the possibility to be seen by customers who comply with that particular hashtag.
You need to use hashtag stickers (which may be discovered within the Instagram Stickers menu when making a Story) or simply hashtag immediately in your captions for an opportunity to be featured in a hashtag story.
Now that customers can comply with hashtags, your Tales on Instagram have an opportunity to be seen by each people who find themselves following that hashtag and anybody who’s simply checking it out.
Put up on the proper occasions
Past including the suitable hashtags and utilizing the perfect filters to get extra Instagram followers, you must also think about the timing of your posts.
A focused method entails analyzing what has and has not labored for you up to now. By visiting IconoSquare’s optimization part, you may get an in depth evaluation of your posting historical past versus engagement. This report can even spotlight the perfect occasions of the day and days of the week to submit.
The darkish circles point out once you often submit media. The sunshine grey circles present when your neighborhood has been interacting. The largest gentle grey circles signify the perfect occasions so that you can submit.
It’s also possible to get a number of nice perception without spending a dime from Instagram analytics for enterprise accounts, discovered beneath the Followers part.
You might need to think about using a social media scheduling software to mechanically publish your posts when your viewers is essentially the most engaged.
Steal your rivals’ followers
Top-of-the-line methods to search out and entice a brand new following is by in search of out your closest rivals’ Instagram accounts and fascinating with their audiences. These individuals have already proven some degree of curiosity within the merchandise you carry just by following your rivals.
So how do you successfully steal your rivals’ followers? By partaking with them. There are a number of methods to have interaction with Instagram customers, and the extra work you set in, the extra followers and repeat engagement you’ll get out of it.
The three sorts of engagement on Instagram are:
Comply with a consumer
Like a photograph
Touch upon a photograph
Don’t be afraid to make use of an emoji or two so as to add some character to your textual content.
Pay for sponsored posts and product critiques
All this optimized posting to your account is nice, however for those who actually need to enhance Instagram followers, you should make the most of influencer advertising and expose your model to a wider viewers.
So, how do you do this? First, not like the ways to develop Instagram followers talked about above, this one often isn’t free. Nonetheless, if accomplished appropriately, it’s of excellent worth.
To get began, you’ll must make a listing of enormous accounts in your area of interest. For instance, for those who promote magnificence merchandise, you’ll need to discover massive accounts from magnificence bloggers.
You might already be following these accounts, but when not, you’ll want to search out them. Top-of-the-line methods is to make use of Webstagram (talked about earlier) and seek for among the closest hashtag key phrases you uncovered to start with of this submit. While you do a seek for your key phrases, not solely will it present you the associated key phrases, it’ll additionally present you the highest Instagram accounts that function these key phrases.
There are a few issues to search for within the profiles outcomes:
A big following—often 20,000 to 200,000
An electronic mail tackle within the profile
If there’s an electronic mail tackle within the profile, it often means the account is open to sponsored posts or a shoutout in a sponsored Story.
You’ll need to electronic mail and ask their sponsored submit pricing. Typically, I’ve discovered the typical price to be round $20 to $50 per submit, relying on the dimensions of the next.
Nonetheless, for those who’re promoting a novel and authentic product, you may additionally need to think about sending your product for the influencer to overview and submit. Normally, the extra pure and fewer advertisement-like the picture, the higher the engagement and response.
You don’t essentially want influencers with a large following to get extra followers on Instagram, however fairly ones with a excessive engagement price (likes and feedback relative to follower rely), which many influencer marketplaces can present.
Use geotags to spice up native discovery
In addition to hashtags, you may also make your Instagram posts and Tales discoverable by tagging your location—both town you’re in or the venue the place the photograph or video was taken.
Places not solely have their very own Instagram feed but additionally their very own Story, and hashtags which you could contribute to once you use the placement sticker in your individual Tales.
Native companies can get essentially the most worth out of location tags by posting recurrently to those feeds and in addition partaking with posts from potential clients who’re bodily within the neighborhood.
Set up your Tales into Highlights
Every time a possible follower lands on what you are promoting profile, you’ve got a brief span of time to persuade them to comply with you.
A technique to do that is through the use of the Highlights function in your profile to prepare your Instagram Tales in a manner that communicates what your account is about.
Since Tales have a 24-hour lifespan, Highlights can be utilized to present them a second life and entice others to comply with you so that they don’t miss out on extra Tales sooner or later.
Use Story Highlights to develop Instagram followers by:
Creating trailers that tease what your account is about
Organizing your Tales into themes (like nations you’ve visited, for journey accounts)
Explaining your merchandise via footage and movies
Ask for extra followers
It sounds apparent, however it deserves to be mentioned: Don’t be afraid to often ask your viewers to comply with you.
The identical manner YouTubers ask their viewers to comply with them on the finish of their movies, you may also ask viewers to comply with you for extra content material.
Generally individuals would possibly actually get pleasure from what you set out on Instagram however want a nudge earlier than they really comply with you.
It’s also possible to do that in your Instagram captions, work it into your content material by pitching what your viewers will get in the event that they comply with you or by hinting at content material that’s developing that they gained’t need to miss.
Run a giveaway
Top-of-the-line sorts of feedback you may get on any social media submit, not simply Instagram, is when one consumer tags a good friend. Not solely do these feedback contribute to your submit’s engagement, which in flip makes it favorable to the Instagram algorithm, however every tag brings you a brand new viewers member who arrived via a advice and who you can probably win over as a follower.
One method to encourage this conduct is by posting relatable content material that begs for 1:1 sharing (e.g., a health club meme that asks you to tag a good friend who skips leg day). However a extra dependable manner is by operating a giveaway that encourages your viewers to tag a good friend and comply with your account.
Comply with Instagram’s promotion pointers and any authorized necessities for operating an Instagram contest that applies in your nation of operation.
For inspiration, right here’s an instance of a profitable product giveaway from Philip Kingsley that incentivizes individuals to comply with its account and tag a good friend for the possibility to win a group.
Free Studying Record: Social Media Advertising and marketing Techniques
Need to be taught extra about how social media may help drive gross sales? Obtain our free, curated listing of high-impact articles.
Share user-generated content material
Consumer-generated content material (UGC) is any kind of content material—similar to movies, pictures, critiques, audio, and extra—that you simply curate from followers or followers. It’s a necessary software in your advertising arsenal for gaining followers on Instagram. UGC helps humanize your model by that includes actual individuals, with actual tales, that present your product in actual life and builds a extra trusting relationship with potential clients.
Not solely does your viewers love their quarter-hour of fame in your Instagram feed, that includes them additionally helps drive extra gross sales in your on-line retailer. In response to analysis from Olapic, shoppers at present are 56% extra probably to purchase one thing after seeing a photograph of the product shared by clients.
Take Style Nova, for instance. The web retailer’s Instagram account depends closely on user-generated content material.
Style Nova’s user-generated content material provides it entry to hundreds of images from individuals everywhere in the world to share with its viewers—footage that each showcase the model’s values and encourage followers to have interaction with its posts and purchase the garments actual individuals are sporting.
In the case of creating user-generated content material on your on-line retailer, begin by asking clients to share their favourite experiences and pictures together with your merchandise by:
Making a branded hashtag feed the place clients can submit photos
Including a name to motion in your Instagram bio
Working a contest
Reaching out to influencers
Including an “ask” for user-generated content material in your packaging
Bear in mind, the aim of UGC is to indicate an genuine view of your merchandise. If some clients ship you lower-quality pictures that also spotlight your merchandise’ finest options, don’t be afraid to make use of them.
Use Instagram Stay
Stay video is the important thing to operating a profitable advertising technique on any social media platform. With Instagram, you should use Instagram Stay to stream movies to your followers and have interaction with them in real-time.
When your model begins a reside video stream, a hoop encases your profile image in Instagram Tales to inform followers they’ll test it out. Followers additionally obtain a notification once you begin a reside video. When you end your livestream, you’ll be able to add it to your Story for twenty-four hours.
Do not forget that Instagram Stay is interactive. Your followers will most likely remark whilst you’re reside, so attempt to acknowledge their feedback and discover methods to get them to take part.