Your name can be anything you like, up to 30 characters. You don’t want to keyword-stuff, but including your most relevant keyword in the name field can make you easier to find. Optimize your Instagram bio and profile Two-thirds of Instagram business profile visits are from non-followers. If your bio and profile convince them to click the follow button, those visitors may become followers. Your profile includes your name and username fields (mentioned above), your website and your bio. Your bio can be up to 150 characters, so make the most of it. Convey your brand identity and show new visitors why they should follow you. What kind of content can they expect? If you have a professional account (business or Creator), you can include extra info in your profile, like your contact information, type of business, and location.
Step 2. Create great content Design a gorgeous Instagram grid Sure, this might seem obvious, but it’s critical when thinking about getting followers on Instagram. Every post on your Instagram grid must be high-quality and visually engaging. When new users visit your profile, the content should make them want to see more (and click Follow). Give commercial photographer @nelsonmouellic a round of applause for this visual feat. Write compelling, long captions
Instagram is a visual social media platform, but great Instagram captions help you get more reach and engagement. Here are some key strategies to keep in mind: Put the most important words up front. If the caption is more than 125 characters long, users must tap “more” to see the whole thing. Make the most of those first words to inspire that extra tap. Ask a question. This makes it easy for your audience to leave a comment. That increased engagement will help make your account visible to more people. Use emoji. Emoji add a bit of variety and can make your caption more enticing. Just make sure you use those emoji correctly! Try different caption lengths. Our data shows that long captions are more likely to improve engagement, but ultra-short captions can also be very effective when the visuals speak for themselves. Will Tang of Going Awesome Places posts great photos with detailed captions that tell the story behind the shot. His Insta bio calls him a “creator of ridiculously detailed itineraries and guides.” That means this caption approach is very on-brand.
Post content that’s meant to be re-shared Your audience wants to engage with content that’s useful and inspiring. So when planning your posts, think about types of content that other people might like to share. People love sharing infographics. Feed that desire by supplying your followers with your expert insights. If someone embeds your Instagram posts in their blog, you’re exposed to a whole new audience of potential followers. People can also re-share your posts in their Instagram Stories. These posts are clickable, so anyone who wants to know more can click through to your original post. It’s another easy way to expand your reach to new audiences and potential new followers. For example, here’s how a Hootsuite post about LinkedIn demographics looks when shared to my Instagram Story. Hootsuite LinkedIn demographics story re-share Embrace Instagram Stories If you want more Instagram followers, you need to use Instagram Stories. Half a billion Instagram accounts use Stories every day, and 45% of the most-viewed Stories are from businesses.
People who use Stories are highly engaged. Plus, you can use the hashtag and location features in your stories to expose them to people who do not already follow you. Watch the video below for a few more Instagram Story pro tips. Make the most of Stories highlights Put a lot of effort into an Instagram Story and not quite ready to say goodbye after 24 hours? Pinned Stories highlights are a great way to introduce your brand to people who visit your profile. So pack those highlights with great info and content to show new visitors why they should follow you. Don’t forget to customize the cover photos on your highlights, too. Supplement company Vega keeps things on-brand and plant-friendly with their custom green highlights. Post consistently
Your existing followers want to see content from you. That’s why they followed you in the first place. So give them what they want! When users interact with your posts, those engagements tell Instagram’s algorithm that your content is valuable. Those interactions will then boost your reach. So giving your existing followers something great to interact with can help bring in new Instagram followers. How often should you post? According to our analysis, between 3-7 times per week. Post at the right time Instagram uses an algorithm, not a chronological feed. But timing is still important to the algorithm. Hootsuite’s social team found that the best time to post on Instagram is between 8 AM -12 PM PST or 4-5 PM PST on weekdays. But your audience might have different habits than ours. A tool like Hootsuite Analytics can show you the best time to post for your audience based on past engagement, impressions or traffic.
Hootsuite analytics dashboard showing Instagram followers online by hour Source: Hootsuite Analytics Try Hootsuite for free. You can cancel anytime. Start testing various times and measuring results. For example, if you’re a retail brand, you might want to test posting during lunch Schedule your posts and stories What if the best time to post to your account is 3 AM? (Hey, it happens.) Use a social media management tool like Hootsuite to schedule and publish directly to Instagram. Scheduling your Instagram posts in advance allows you to plan a cohesive grid that tells an overarching story. It also allows you to dedicate time to creating excellent captions rather than trying to come up with something witty on the fly.
You can also use Hootsuite to schedule Instagram Stories. Hootsuite Planner showing scheduled Instagram Stories Step 3. Make yourself findable Use relevant hashtags to reach new users Sadly, the text of your Instagram posts isn’t searchable. But your hashtags are. Using hashtags thoughtfully can be a good way to get followers on Instagram for free. You can even create your own branded hashtags. Relevant hashtags can help people find your content. Instagram users can even follow hashtags. That means your hashtagged content may appear in the feeds of people who do not yet follow your account.
You can include up to 30 hashtags in an Instagram post, but don’t go overboard. Instead, do some experimenting to learn how many hashtags work best for your particular account. Avoid hashtag gimmicks such as #likeforlike, #tagsforlikes, or #followme. These may give you a temporary boost in followers. But those people aren’t interested in what makes you and your content special. They’re not going to help you build a meaningful, engaged audience on Instagram. Instead, focus on using highly targeted hashtags specific to your photo, product, or business, like stylist Dee Campling does in this #wfh shot. Tag your location If the location of your post or Story is clear, it’s worth adding a location tag. It’s another easy way for people to find your content on Instagram.
If your business has a physical location, tag it and encourage customers to do the same. Users can then click on that location and see all photos and Stories posted from your store, restaurant, or office. For example, here’s what you get when you search for the location of Van Wonderen Stroopwafels in Amsterdam: Amsterdam location tag page on Instagram with top posts Source: Instagram If you’re posting from a conference or event, adding your location can help you connect with other attendees. This will expose your account to a highly relevant group of new potential Instagram followers.
Tag relevant users It’s easy to tag Instagram users featured in your photos. Just use an @-mention in your caption or Instagram’s tagging functionality within the post. Hootsuite Instagram post tagging a partner in the caption (as an example of how to get more Instagram followers) Users are notified when they’re tagged, so tags encourage them to engage with and share the post. Your post will also appear on the Tagged tab of their Instagram profile. You can also tag users in your Instagram Stories. Then, they can post shared content to their own Story with just a couple of taps. If they do so, their viewers can click through to your account. Hootsuite Instagram Story that tags a user (as an example of how to get more Instagram followers)
Be careful, though. Tagging someone just to get their attention isn’t a great idea. Instead, only tag users featured in your photo or relevant to your post’s content. Some potentially relevant users to tag might include: Customers Suppliers Other relevant businesses Colleagues or employees Someone who taught you a skill or told you about something you share in the post Anyone who appears in the photo Encourage others to tag you Another way to introduce your Instagram account to a new audience is to ask other Instagram users to tag you. When they tag you in a post, their audience sees your handle and can click on it if they want to learn more.
Your bio is a great place to ask people to tag you on Instagram. For example, Visit the USA asks Instagrammers to tag them for a chance to be featured on their account. Visit the USA's instagram bio Source: @visittheusa on Instagram Cross-promote your Instagram account on other networks If you want to get followers on Instagram for free, you need to make it easy for people to find you.
Your Instagram profile should be easily discoverable. If you’ve already built a following on another social network, let those fans know about your Instagram account. Share a link to your Instagram profile and give your existing social followers a reason to check it out. (Like an Instagram-exclusive coupon code, event, or contest.) When BlogHer hosted Jameela Jamil for an Instagram Live, they made sure to promote it on their Facebook Page as well. If you’re just starting your Instagram account, make sure to post some content before you promote the account elsewhere. Aim for a minimum of 12 posts.
You could also highlight some of your best Instagram posts on your other social channels. Consider boosting these posts with paid advertising so your other social followers can find and follow you on Instagram. Embed Instagram posts in your blog You’ve already seen some embedded Instagram posts in this blog. These clickable posts allow users to head directly to the relevant post or Instagram profile. Embedding your own Instagram posts in your blog is an easy way to share your content and drive traffic to your profile. Every new visitor to your Instagram profile is a potential new follower. For example, say Hootsuite wanted to announce our mascot’s makeover. Sure, we could share a few pictures of Owly’s new look. But we could also embed an Instagram post, like this: Any time you’re sharing visual content like photos, charts, or infographics in your blog, there’s an opportunity to embed an Instagram post with that content instead.
Share your Instagram account in other communications Think beyond your social channels when sharing your Instagram account. You can link to your Instagram account on your website, in your email signature, and in your online newsletters. The link doesn’t have to be big, either. You can use a small Instagram icon. Email signature featuring social media links If you’re promoting a new Instagram account, a quick email blast is a great way to get free Instagram followers fast. And don’t forget about your offline materials. You can include your Instagram handle on coasters, posters, packing slips, business cards, or packaging. It’s a simple way to drive more free Instagram followers to your account. Use Instagram QR codes Your Instagram QR code is a scannable code that allows other Instagram users to follow you instantly. It’s another easy way to promote your account on physical materials like packing slips, signage, and product packaging.
Your QR code is also a great way to get new followers in real time at networking events and conferences. People you connect with in person can scan your code to follow you without having to type out your handle. Try printing it out and tucking it into your namebadge holder for easy access. Find your Instagram QR code by tapping on the three lines icon at the top right of your Instagram profile and selecting QR Code . Try to get featured Feature accounts are Instagram accounts that curate and re-share content based on a hashtag or tagging. Some of these accounts have a huge following. If they share one of your posts (along with your handle), they can send a new stream of Instagram followers your way. There’s a feature account for just about every niche and interest on Instagram, so start exploring. For example, @damngoodstitch features embroidery posts. The account has more than 180,000 followers. Aim for the Explore page The Explore page is what you see when you click on the magnifying glass icon at the bottom of the Instagram app. According to Instagram itself, this is where “you can find photos and videos that you might like from accounts you don’t yet follow.”
Half of Instagram accounts visit Explore every month. That’s a huge opportunity for brands looking to grow their audience. Ending up on the Explore tab isn’t easy. Luckily, we’ve got an entire article dedicated to helping you get there. You can also pay to get into the Explore feed by selecting Explore as an ad placement. Bonus: Download a free checklist that reveals the exact steps a fitness influencer used to grow from 0 to 600,000+ followers on Instagram with no budget and no expensive gear. Get the free guide right now! different examples of the Instagram Explore page and Ads in the Explore feed Source: Instagram Step 4. Engage with your community Follow relevant accounts You should only tag people in an Instagram post when the content is directly relevant to them. But you can follow anyone you like. And when you follow a user on Instagram, there’s a good chance they will check out your feed and consider following you back.
Social listening is great for finding conversations and influential users (a.k.a. influencers) to follow. Instagram’s “Suggestions For You” section is also a handy resource for finding relevant accounts to follow. These suggestions show up in your Instagram feed between posts, in between Stories, or on the right side of the screen on a computer. Just remember not to follow too many other accounts too fast. Your follower ratio, or the number of people who follow you compared to how many you follow, is important for credibility. And don’t follow people just to get their attention, only to unfollow after they follow you back. This is kind of a jerk move and will hurt your Instagram reputation.
TikTok Follower KaufenEngage with existing communities Like all social media networks, Instagram is about the communities built within it. So make sure you’re participating in those spaces. Get involved by liking, commenting on, and sharing content from other credible users in your community. Avoid generic comments (like “Awesome post!”) that look like they come from bots. Engaging with other posts helps draw attention (and potential new followers) in two ways: People get notifications when you like and comment on their posts. They may check out your profile to return the favor. If others find your comments thoughtful or intriguing, they may check out your profile. Work with influencers in your niche Here’s an important stat for anyone thinking about how to get more followers on Instagram: 60% of consumers say they’d follow a brand on Instagram after seeing it promoted by an influencer they trust. If you’re not working with influencers now, then you should definitely consider it. Luckily, we’ve got a whole guide on Influencer marketing to help you out.
Collaborate with other brands Don’t be afraid to reach out to other brands to see if there’s a way that you can work together on Instagram. The right kind of collaboration could help everyone involved get more Instagram followers. Think about businesses you already collaborate with in other ways. Maybe you’re connected in a local business improvement association or shopping area. How could you work together on Instagram? One common option is to host a contest featuring products from multiple companies, like Rocky Mountain Soap Company did with Annika Mang of @borntobeadventurous. Try an Instagram Live collaboration Live video keeps getting more popular, and Instagram is a great place to take advantage of the trend. Users are notified when an account they follow starts broadcasting live, so a live video really grabs attention.
To get your Live video in front of a new audience, use the “Go live with a friend” option to co-host a live video with someone else in your industry. Ask the other person to host a Live video, then invite you as a guest. The two of you will appear in a split screen, introducing you to all of their followers.
Looking to get followers on Instagram? You’ve come to the right place… Instagram is a naturally a great place for brands of all shapes and sizes to gain exposure. However, growing an engaged and loyal audience on the app is no easy task. One of Hopper HQ‘s guest writers Johannes explains just how to get followers on Instagram in this detailed guide… Sadly, the majority of articles published on the topic are either too vague or too case-specific, and mostly present a couple of low-impact and/or exhaustively time-consuming ideas. In addition to that, these Instagram follower growth strategies need to be updated almost as often as Instagram updates its ranking algorithm – there’s a good chance that the tips shared in 2017 are long outdated, because well, Instagram has changed a lot in the past 2 years. Through these experiences, I’ve compiled a set of universal and effective ways to get followers on Instagram. In my attempts to organize them somehow, I came up with this step-by-step guide to growing a follower base, more specifically: a road to 21k.
But before you get started with it, it’s time for a quick reality check: A silver bullet strategy that will suddenly bring you to the 1k, 10k or 21k mark, does not exist. When it comes to how to get followers on Instagram, timing is everything. Yes, there is a set of activities that you can do to increase your following. However, suddenly going full-speed with all of them isn’t going to result in anything remarkable, as the effectiveness of each action changes after reaching a certain follower milestone. For instance, there’s no point in buying a shout-out to your account for a 100 bucks from a big influencer while you have 10 followers. Yes, you might get some followers from that, but the price per follower would be unreasonably high. It would be much more effective when you’ve already established a strong identity and following on Instagram, and are looking to speed up the snowball effect. Alright, enough blabbering, let’s head over to the actual guide: How To Get Followers On Instagram… Plan & schedule social media ahead of time. Video, gallery & image posts Calendar, feed & grid preview Instagram, Facebook & Twitter
START PLANNING YOUR POSTS NOW Step 1: Growing from 0 to 100 Instagram followers Okay, so you now have a brand new account and need to build that initial momentum and get followers on Instagram. If you already have a business or a brand with a somewhat established community, then getting that initial following shouldn’t be that big of a challenge. Send out a newsletter to your existing customers, inviting them to follow you on Instagram. Remember that when you want people to do something, you need to give them an incentive. In this case, a discount for your products to the first 100 followers could work just fine. If you have a large enough email list, you can split the offer so that first the 100 followers get 30% off, next 100 get 20% off, and so on, to not discourage those who might have opened the email later, from following you. Before you send out the email though, make sure you already have a few engaging posts up to give an idea of your brand. If you don’t have an existing customer/follower community, you can turn to your friends, family or colleagues, and ask them to follow you. This is one of my personal favorites, because you can get the initial follower base quite easily even without posting any content (however, I’d still suggest having at least one post there to begin with), and if you’re one of those people with a large family and friend group, you might just hit that 100 followers quite quickly.
Also, if you have a brand website, you can capture any site visitors by adding an Instagram follow button, to be sure your audience knows where you find you on social! Of course, make sure that your website is well-optimized and built by a reliable website builder (for example, Ucraft or Wix). After you’ve completed this initial step, it’s time to choose a strategy to get followers on Instagram and growing this base to at least a 100 followers. Strategy 1: “Something’s coming…” This will be best if you have some kind of an announcement coming soon — a new website, a product, a giveaway, etc. Create an attractive profile picture, and an engaging and witty bio – don’t be afraid to throw some emojis in there if that’s something that would resonate with your audience. If you have a link to your homepage, email subscription page, or literally any other brand link that could potentially extend the relationship with your followers, definitely add that as well!
Even if you haven’t properly launched your site yet, it adds credibility to your brand — it shows your audience that you’re serious about your brand to have gone the extra-mile and bought a domain. Ideally, you should have at least a “coming soon” page set-up with a lead capture. But don’t sweat it — your Instagram page doesn’t necessarily grow faster by having a link in your bio. At this point, it’s more of a nice-to-have to start moving towards monetizing your audience, which you can totally do in the later steps as well. When writing an Instagram bio, make sure to be very clear on what your account is going to be about. If you’re planning to launch an eCommerce business, then say it. If you’re giving away free marketing advice, let them know. Maybe you’re launching a giveaway for the first 100 followers? They should know about it. Give people an incentive to follow you, even if you don’t have anything up at the moment. If you want to take it one step further (and you always should), publish at least one post that looks beautiful and conveys your brand message. This will help you to get followers on Instagram, as it lets potential followers know what you’re about, what kind of posts can they expect from you, and gets them excited about your upcoming brand!
For ‘Help a Marketer’, I created this: get followers on instagram Brand picture ☑️ Brand description ☑️ Incentive ☑️Website ☑️ Unfortunately, just having your account set up won’t help you get followers on Instagram. Search for accounts that are in your niche or in a niche similar to yours, and already have a substantial following (I wouldn’t go higher than accounts with 10k+ followers though). Once you have identified these accounts, start following at least 10 of them, and make sure to follow about 50 of their followers as well. If you want to go the extra mile (and again, you should), you can check out the accounts of those 50 followers before you follow them, to make sure they actually fit your target audience. Here’s the important bit — make sure to interact with the accounts that you follow on a regular basis! Like their latest posts, leave comments on them, respond to their Instagram Stories and/or just write them a direct message where you introduce yourself in one sentence and mention that you’ve started a new account and you would be honored to see them among your first followers who’ll get [insert the incentive you wrote about in your bio]. The personal approach of the direct message in combination with regular engagement will increase is a great tactic to get followers on Instagram – especially if you haven’t chosen an account that’s too big and will actually see your message. You should be doing all this in the later phases as well, but it’s especially crucial while when you’re still a new account.
Strategy 2: “A rising star” If, on the other hand, you don’t really have anything big coming up or if you’re interested in developing a personal brand (models, photographers, speakers etc), then go for this one. Everything we discussed in Strategy 1 is still useful. You should work on your bio description, explain who you are and what your account is about, reach out to other accounts in your niche and engage with their followers. The major difference here is that you need to build your feed up BEFORE you do the outreach. Remember, you won’t be driving people to your upcoming offer to get followers on Instagram — you will be driving them to your posts. Here’s the big question: How many posts should you have published before you start serious Instagram outreach? In my opinion, at least 9-12 posts would be a good starting point.
This means when someone lands on your profile there is sufficient content to portray you and/or your brand. Keep in mind that your posts should complement each other to create a cohesive grid and feed aesthetic. Having a nice layout for your images really matters. Yes, each individual image works for driving engagement from your existing Instagram followers who see the posts in their feed. However, the overall grid look is one of the most important things (if not the most important) in helping you get followers on Instagram. It shows that you take your brand seriously, and lets them know that they can expect similar quality content consistently. If you’re stuck deciding on a style for your feed, check out this article for inspiration ✨
instagram feed Accounts that use consistent colour palettes and go the extra mile planning their feed will get followers on Instagram more quickly than those who don’t! If you decide to go with 12 initial posts, I’d suggest posting them within 2-3 days at least. It depends on how often you’re planning to post in the future, but I personally think that having all 12 posts published in one day doesn’t seem organic at all. (This, however, is just my personal preference, and if you’re super anxious to start, then knock yourself out and post all of them immediately). In every post, include a lot (30 per post) of different hashtags to make your initial posts more discoverable to potential followers. It’s important to show good engagement on your posts right from the start. I suggest choosing both hashtags that have very little post shares (maybe like 1k-20k), as well as very popular ones (10mil+). Chances are that you’ll start getting Instagram followers from this activity alone! The most important thing to remember is that your hashtags are relevant to the content of your post. For more hashtag tips, check out:
💡 The All-In-One Guide To Instagram Hashtags 💡 Takeaway: Create an attractive bio with an incentive to follow — an offer, the posts themselves, or both Engage with people and brands that might be interested in your content on a regular basis Work on your first posts to develop your own style/layout Research more and less popular hashtags, pick out as many relevant ones as you can, and use them on your posts. Moving on… Explore the data behind your Instagram account. Find the best time to post on Instagram Track your follower growth overtime Understand your post engagement TRY INSTAGRAM ANALYTICS NOW Step 2: Growing to 1,000 Instagram followers Once you have that initial traction, the following strategy will really give an extra boost to get followers on Instagram. Here’s what you do: Identify some of the bigger accounts(50k+ followers) that are similar to yours or are in the same industry with the same target audience you’re trying to reach. Check if their followers are real (some great tools for that: Fameaudit, SocialAuditPro) If the majority of their followers are real, open up their follower list and start following these accounts (I personally suggest to follow accounts that have a real human in the profile picture, instead of a logo)
Start checking who’s not following you back and unfollow these accounts. There’s plenty of apps for both Android and iOS for this exact purpose — just give it a search. Ideally, at least 20% of the people that you started following, should follow you back. The more followers you have, the ‘healthier’ your follower to following ratio is, the more attractive your feed looks, and the higher the follow-back percentage is going to be. People are more inclined to follow back Instagram accounts that: Look real Have more followers than the account is following Have a lot of followers* Have a nicely designed feed of posts In addition to the follow/unfollow strategy, you should start interacting with these bigger accounts (as long as they’re not direct competitors). Firstly, turn on post notifications for these accounts. Every time they post something, be the first to like and leave a comment. There’s already too many “This is so true”, “That’s dope man”,“Awesome post” type of comments out there because of engagement bots. They have become very easy to spot and most Instagram users know that they are not genuine:
GET FOLLOWERS ON INSTAGRAM Generic comments like this are often from accounts using a follower or engagement bot, and therefore don’t count as genuine engagement So try to write something related to the caption or the post — the more human you are, the better! Although AI writing assistants like Jasper AI are all the rage now, It is better to ask specific questions or add your own opinion. This will prove to other Instagram users in your community that you are genuinely interested. get followers on instagram Examples of short comments related to the caption on one of my posts. To reach 1000 followers, I would suggest combining the follow/unfollow strategy together with the strategies covered in the previous step! Secondly, when you start reaching the 1000 follower mark, it’s a good idea to start thinking about scheduling your Instagram posts. This will give you more time to create content, engage with your audience, and continue to get followers on Instagram. Scheduling and managing your Instagram content with Hopper HQ means you can post straight from your desktop, visually plan your Instagram feed, and save loads of time! Photos, videos, carousel posts, captions, first comments can all be scheduled in advance so you never need to rush for last minute posts again.
Sign up for a free 14 day trial today to test it out — you won’t want to go back to doing things manually. Takeaway: Identify the key accounts that are similar to yours and follow them Turn on post notifications for these accounts Leave a comment as soon as they post Follow their real followers Plan your social media posts. Visually plan your posts. Drag and drop everywhere. Step 3: Growing to 5,000 Instagram followers Now that you have a good foundation for growth, it’s time to accelerate even faster. I’m not saying you should stop doing what you have been doing previously. I think those methods are great even if you have passed the 20,000 follower mark. However, adding other methods from this point forward might give the same if not better results with less effort.
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