If you have found your way to this article then it will be a safe assumption that you are looking to grow beyond where you presently stand on Instagram. And I understand your reasons; Instagram is a great social influencer. From promotion to influence, loyalty to connecting with people; it is good for everything!
And from a business point of view, it is even more so. There is no other platform that offers the same level of exposure to people and products alike. Creative bios and witty marketing are just two of the many boons of this media sharing giant. You might have seen this awesome Instagram profile of outdoorvoices.
And I am ready to acknowledge another truth; there are thousands of articles that have been published on the topic. And thousands more are sure to follow suit. But one thing that all of them (but not this one!) don’t get is that Instagram regularly updates its ranking matrix. Simply put, the tips and tricks of the trade that people have been putting out from a few years back are no longer feasible.
So does that mean that there is no way to get more followers, no room to grow? No, if that were the case, it would defeat the entire purpose of this article. You can get more followers, just not in the same way as those accounts from five years back did.
Before moving forward, we need to take a step back to answer the question, what makes Instagram so popular? The answer is simple because it’s dynamic. Integral has never been static. It has changed a lot in the last few years. And so, you or I or for that matter, anyone, cannot grow using outdated methods.
Stay with me a little longer, and you’ll have sure shot ways and tricks to succeed. Because even though as a platform it is continuously changing, certain things have remained the same.
You will need to be dynamic too. Some tips work and no, it is not about buying followers on Instagram, we will come to it in just a bit. As for now, you have to change your strategy, what you have been doing is good enough for getting you where you are but for going beyond, you need something new. Let’s start by emphasizing the need to be persistent.
A quick note about putting in money: Wait till you are at a substantial level. There is no point in paid promotions if you are not high on followers yet. Yes, you will gain followers but not quite as many as you would when you employ this later.
Anyway! We have been talking for so long; let us now get on to the task at hand. A detailed and step by step discussion about the things you should do, the things you can do and the things that you should not do on your and for your Instagram page.
So here it is what you’ve been waiting for!
Tips to increase Instagram followers and how to retain them
Let me start by saying that quantity does not ensure quality. Let my readers take this as a deterrence against buying followers from Instagram. This is an issue that we are going to talk about in detail a bit further down the road. As of now, the management and retention of present followers are what we are going to discuss.
Instagram has the unique distinction of being the platform with the highest user brand interaction rate. There is no other platform that can rival it. See these numbers from Invespcro.
Geo-tagging and the use of hashtags are appreciated but you have to retain your followers too, not just focus on getting more and more. Be it a brand or an individual account, none can grow without loyalty and appreciation.
If you plan on holding on to the followers that you have, make sure that you interact with them regularly. Not just on comments but also get to know their views, ask them about the content that they would like to see on your page.
Over time as you begin to incorporate these reviews, the loyalty and interaction of your followers will increase. Both of these qualities are integral to the laying of a solid groundwork for the future.
Now let’s have a look at these Instagram follower tips:
Don’t Be Forgotten
In other words, keep posting regularly. Make sure that your account receives at least a single post per day. This is essential to stay visible and on the radar of your followers. Additionally, it will also lead to gaining new followers.
Your followers will interact and tag others in your posts, in turn, these people get to see your post, and they are being introduced to your page through them. Every tag that someone made is a potential follower to your page.
Keep Time in Mind
The time of your posts should be such that the maximum number of your followers has the opportunity to see your post. If you post during the night and your followers are active during the day, your post would have reached the bottom of the page by the time they check again.
Not that you would be completely overlooked but your followers might not scroll down far enough if your post gets buried under new content. It is harsh but true, you need to stay vigilant about the time your followers are active on. According to stats provided by Adespresso the best time to post on Instagram is 2-3pm CDT and then it depends upon various niches.
Give A Shout Out To Larger Profiles
If you have just started on Instagram, then this is one thing that you should do. Give a shout to more visible accounts, celebrities and people with a larger following than yours. Although, there is not a major chance they might repost your post or give you a follow.
Source: https://www.instagram.com/angelaliggs/
If either of those things happens, it is going to be big for you as you will receive an exposure that money cannot buy. Your account will instantly gain many followers and your posts will gain recognition.
Stay Focused On Your Theme
Do not meander from what your original theme was. You need to have an end goal in mind, the kind of identity that you want your brand to have. If you can stick to this strategy then over time your account will gain recognition via your work.
Pink and White Theme from Wovenbella
Everything needs to be with a purpose. Devote time to developing a theme for your account. Once done, make sure that every post is on the topic and not on off-course discussions. An exception can be made when you are addressing a particular event of special significance.
Make Sure Your Content Is Appropriate
In order to be unapologetic, do not go overboard with your posts. There is a fine line between risqué and outright tasteless. You want your posts to be freely shareable and easily relatable. Nobody is going to screenshot your posts if they do not find it pleasing.
Being likeable on social media is all about being admissible. A larger part of your potential followers are not looking for obscene humor. Remember, nothing is forgotten on the Internet, so post wisely.
Next is watermarking, I understand they are important for preserving the originality of the content but don’t let that be an excuse to paste a huge watermark right on top of the post. Reposts and screenshots are not always bad; it means that people like your content.
Benefits of Instagram Followers:
As we were talking, you need to have an end goal in sight for your account. As in the direction that you want to take your account in but whatever that direction might be, you are going to find that having a good number of followers on your Instagram account is always a good thing.
You will be able to make the most of this opportunity if you know how to address it. You can turn it into anything that you want. Access to hundreds of thousands of people is just a start for achieving something even bigger.
If you are a business account then it is all good news for you, if you are an individual then you have just had a lot many opportunities open their doors for you. There are many ways in which you can derive benefit from your followers.
Today, social media is the biggest influencer and Instagram sits on top of a very prestigious pedestal. With its unique features, it is possible to turn around any opportunity into a success story if you have the right number of followers on your account. Everything that we have been talking about until now, it has all been for this.
- Demography And Its Dividend
The moment an advertiser gets to notice the millions of followers that you have on your account, you are going to receive an email with a very generous offer. You can choose the price that you think suits your posts and promote the brand you are in business with.
Of course, that requires millions of followers. But for those in their quarter millions, it is something to aspire to. Growth has its benefits and the more you grow, the better the offers that you are going to receive.
Choosing to monetize your posts is a decision that rests entirely with you. It is just one of the many possibilities that open up with an increase in followers. There are plenty of others that you can choose from.
- Bring About Change in The Society
This is one of the nobler ways to reach your influence. The Internet is an all present entity today and has the power to bring about social change. Being able to reach a large number of people with a single post gives you the ability to highlight issues that you think deserve a global audience.
The more the number of people that see it, the more will be the people who talk about it. With enough people supporting the issue, any authority will be forced to take action.
Many stories highlight the power of the people. Instagram is a great tool; everyone knows that a picture is worth a thousand words. From deplorable living conditions to food and water crisis, everything is under the spotlight.
And this has been enough to bring about change; this has been enough to issue a call to action. You too can lend your voice to this noble charge.
- Boost Your Own Business
Gone are the days when small industries (such as handcraft and cottage based) perished for lack of demand. With the help of Instagram, even the smallest business owner has a scope to reach out to the customers from far reaches of their country.
Again, as in social change, there are many success stories here too. The biggest advantage that these tradesmen receive is that this is free advertising and they have to pay nothing to display their craft. Interested customers can reach out to them through its DM service.
It is a world of opportunity at your fingertips. You too can make your indigenously developed business grow and transform your small industry into another success story.
- A LaunchPad to The Stars
YouTube has played its fair share in making stars out of online sensations. Next is Instagram, as the social media giant is receiving a growing number of users with every passing month, many stars have emerged from its platform.
From fashion models to lifestyle coaches, everyone is making use of its reach and penetration to realize their dream and become the person that they have always wanted to be. Creative bios are a rage now and everyone is coming up with new ideas.
I suppose this one is the biggest motivator, everyone wants to be famous. That is one thing that we all have in common. And this is the opportunity for you to work on it. If not anything else, you can put in work in your account and be famous as the person with a million followers on Instagram.
There is no dearth of options once you open your mind to the possibilities that lie just within your reach.
- Reaching Out To unreachable people
As a brand or as an individual, you can reach out to the people no one else can. Everyone knows that there are corners of the world that advertising cannot penetrate down to. But the Internet has no such limitations. It already has penetrated to the depths of society.
You can be the person to deliver a message to the people from these places. Let them know about the things that they have been oblivious about. Or interact with the customers who have no way of reaching out to the brand and letting their views be known.
- Recruiting And Hiring
Ad agencies are getting more and more creative with passing days to be one step ahead of the current trend. They are looking for similar people, people who can dictate trends through their creativity, people who can create eye-catching campaigns.
And these recruiters are using social media as their hiring platform because this is one place where your work speaks volumes about you. You can land a pretty lucrative offer without having to leave your room, and all that is required is creativity and a unique way of looking at things.
Once you master that, you pretty much assure placement for yourself. All that is required are ideas, qualifications and degrees come afterward. If you have the talent, you have the stage to showcase it.
If you have a large following, you can translate it into a testament of your skill to attract people online.
Tips For Instagram Followers And How to Manage Them
The most important thing is to be the kind of person that you are in real life. Don’t try to come off as someone you cannot be in real life. The reason is simple, you will not be able to keep it up for long and your followers will notice this even before you can build your base.
A simple solution to this problem is taking outside help. It is no secret that a fresh set of eyes will do wonders for you. Having another person as your think tank will allow them to see and notice things that you might have been too close to for noticing.
The people who have sufficient monetary backing can even make use of professionals to help them analyze their accounts and grow. Bringing in a professional is always a good option as they have special training in the field and they are familiar with many technical aspects that you might not know of.
Although the cost of operation will run high, the cost per follower will be low as professional handling will bring about noticeable differences in your account.
Other than that, there is nothing that you can do that the others aren’t doing. What is the secret then, you ask? The effort, the time that you put in, the dedication and persistence that you have towards making your account a success, these are the things that will serve you in the long term.
Other important things to look after:
Real followers are important
Instagram is the best place to boost your business today. According to a survey, more than 80% of the people on the platform are there to look for opportunities and share their talents. The one thing that they all have in common is that they follow a business page. They interact and they form opinions.
You need these opinions to be in your favor. Of course, there are ways to gain thousands of followers in a very short time but that is not the way that you want to go. They are not real; they are just algorithms that line up dummy accounts at your doorstep.
Once you begin relying on their service you will never be able to build any real following. In the end, your account would not have fetched the result that you wanted and you would have ended up wasting a lot of money for nothing. Real accounts are what makes you popular.
Fake accounts do not take any interest in your activity and do not reach out to you for more, they are just for show. To grow a business model or to gain influence on the platform, you need people to know you. You need people who will talk to you, indulge you, and follow your word. So when buying followers from a services make sure they offer genuine and real people to follow you. SocialGala is the only name that comes in my mind for real IG followers.
To make a callback, I told you that everything that you do is going to benefit you, even buying paid promotion when the time is right. But fake followers are not one of them. Allow me to illustrate this with the help of an example. Suppose you get a lot of fake followers on Instagram, then what? What is your endgame?
The few real followers that you have will be able to spot the fake ones when they fail to see any interaction on the page. They will start to unfollow your account and you will lose the few actual connections that you made. If you want to gain followers just to entertain your ego then you can go ahead with the plan.
But if you are as serious about your account as I am about this blog, then you will put in real effort into it. You will put in a real effort to gain followers and then you will be able to spot the difference for yourself.
Don’t worry; I have been here with you for so long, I will be here for the last lap too. I will tell you exactly how you can get to the number of followers that you have been wanting on your account. And it is not as difficult as you think. All that you have to give is time and effort and you have everything to gain.
Start simple, get an account, and start to upload. Before starting on the coming part, make sure that you have grasped everything we have talked about till now. And congratulations! You have made it through the hard part, now the fun part begins, the one that we have been building up to.
How to go along achieving this?
Have a story to tell. It is as simple as that. When people start to see that you have an interesting account, they are going to want to follow you. And for that, it is important that you know, with absolute clarity what it is that you want from your account.
Like, most people want to grow their creative influence. So they start with sharing art and craft on their page. Others are businesses, they want to grow their business, and they share their products and the lifestyle that is associated with it.
Personally, the best way is to start by sharing photos of people. Your followers want to have an image to go with your name. Enigma is a good game, but it is not going to win you matches here. Until and unless you are building up to a big reveal, it is better that you do not go with that approach.
The camera is indeed your friend, point at things you want people to know about you. Give your page a personal touch by regularly uploading text-based images; they have always been a favorite.
Do not scatter when it comes to uploading your pictures. You want to come across as organized, haphazard and inconsistent themes will do more damage than good. You shouldn’t run after quantity, that is the surest way of ruining a page. Not everyone has got an album full of collectibles to show, build.
Be selective in what you put on your page, it is better to have a gap than to have a bad post. A negative review builds up twice as fast as a positive review.
To err is Human
This is just a note that I hope will help you if you are at a junction where you have begun doubting your choices. Growth is not always at the same rate. Some months will be slow; some are going to be better. Don’t let those lows get to you. If you stop, you are going to lose out on an opportunity you have worked so hard to create.
The internet can be a rough place too, you are bound to come up against criticism, and you are bound to come up against people who are not going to like your work. It is not for them that you strive, you work for your dream and the people that stand with you.
Those things being said, don’t be afraid to make small mistakes. Of course, you are going to get the captions wrong; there will be times when creativity will strike late. But all those are things that are going to lead to better things. Use them for future references. Don’t store your ideas, let your idea manifest, and come up with another.