Do you want to know how to get followers on Instagram without spending big bucks or engaging in shady tactics? You’ve come to the right article.
You could certainly take a shortcut and buy followers or use bots, but beware of the consequences. Instagram has stepped up its game when it comes to spotting and removing “inauthentic activity.” These shady tactics might boost your follower count for a short time, but they won’t do you any favors long-term. It’s relatively easy to spot accounts whose followers were most likely purchased. They typically have very low engagement in the form of a disproportionately low number of likes and comments in relation to the number of followers.
Your goal is to grow a following of real people that actually care about and engage with your brand. That’s the only way your Instagram strategy will deliver real business results. Below, I outlined 20 effective ways you can grow your followers organically.
1. Post high-quality images.
Determine what sort of content best resonates with your audience. If you post whatever you feel like, a great number of your followers will tune out and unfollow you. Your content needs to inspire and give your followers a reason to start following you. Your photos should visually communicate your brand aesthetic.
2. Automate image creation.
In order to be successful on Instagram, you need to churn out high-quality images on a regular basis. Creating images can be time-consuming and might require certain expertise on your part. Ideally, you want to have a system in place that allows you to create images easily. Aside from professional photos, which usually require a professional photographer and post-production editing, simpler, yet equally visually appealing creative assets can be easily created using online tools and iOS apps right on your phone. I recommend the following tools:
- Word Swag — mobile app-only
- Canva — mobile app and online tool. Personally, I prefer Canva’s online user interface when working on my laptop because I have more real estate to work with, as opposed to creating images on a mobile device where everything is crammed on a small screen.
Both mobile apps enable you to save the final work directly onto your phone.
3. Be consistent with your posts.
Consistency is key to long-term success on Instagram. You need to come up with a workflow that allows the designated person on your team to post on a regular basis, be it several times per day or per week.
The time you schedule your posts to go live matters a lot. In order to determine the best time to post, I turn to research conducted by Later.
When is the Best Time to Post on Instagram?
To find the best time to post on Instagram in order to get the most engagement, Later analyzed 12 million Instagram posts, posted in multiple time zones around the world from accounts ranging from 100 to 1 million+ followers.
Here are the top 3 global best times to post on Instagram for each day of the week, represented in Eastern Standard Time:
- Monday: 6am, 10am, and 10pm EST
- Tuesday: 2am, 4am, and 9am EST
- Wednesday: 7am, 8am and 11pm EST
- Thursday: 9am, 12pm, and 7pm EST
- Friday: 5am, 1pm, and 3pm EST
- Saturday: 11am, 7pm, and 8pm EST
- Sunday: 7am, 8am, and 4pm EST
4. Host a giveaway to gain followers fast.
Hosting a giveaway can be one of the best ways to grow your followers and create a high level of engagement on your Instagram account. Here’s an excellent example of a giveaway hosted by Bite Beauty. To maximize your chance of massively increasing your followers you need to make sure that you ask your followers to tag their friends who, in turn, also have to like your post and start following your account in order for both to be entered into your giveaway. You, in turn, need to guarantee not one, but two prizes to both individuals. Otherwise, the person being tagged has no incentive to start following you.
5. Run Instagram-only offers.
There’s no better way to reward loyal followers and encourage more people to start following you on Instagram than to reward your loyal followers with Instagram-only offers and discounts. This enables you to determine what kind of offers resonate best with your audience, and then tailor them in the future. You are also more likely to attract individuals interested in special offers not available anywhere else but your Instagram account.
6. Announce new product releases on Instagram.
Loyal brand followers love getting to know first about upcoming product releases on Instagram. Giving them a sneak peek entices them to not only continue following your account but spread the word to their network. Being heavy on visuals, Instagram is the perfect platform to share the news with followers. I recommend combining this method with a giveaway to spread the word and create buzz around the product release.
A good example of that is a beauty brand Summer Fridays, which launched a face mask on Instagram in 2019. To generate awareness and maximize sales for the upcoming product they created a series of posts announcing the product release.
7. Partner with influencers.
A great way to reach new users is to partner with influencers. These are typically users who have a large Instagram following. Influencers have established relationships with their audiences who are receptive to their messages and product testimonials. They have established trust and credibility by constantly posting content the audiences find interesting, fun, and engaging.
In the interest of all stakeholders involved, it is best to avoid working with an influencer who would otherwise not use your product had you not paid them. People following influencers are becoming discerning and acutely aware of spin when they see it. It is best to give the influencer an opportunity to back out of the deal in case they don’t like the product or can’t stand behind it. Great partnerships work when there is an authentic synergy between the brand and the influencer. In the long term, it’s in the best interest of your brand to develop relationships with certain relevant influencers who you’ll be able to tap in the future for more paid posts. Having these people identify with your brand and your product builds trust with their followers, which ultimately leads to more sales.
It’s worth noting that it’s best to leave the creative execution up to the influencers because they know their audience best and the sort of post aesthetic that would resonate the most.
Later.com has an excellent article with “5 Tips to Find Instagram Influencers for Your Business.” I suggest you give it a read to learn how to identify the right Instagram influencers to partner with.
Below are examples of paid posts. Notice that it’s customary for influencers to disclose the nature of the post by using the #ad hashtag. Otherwise, it would say “Paid partnership with XYZ” at the top.
8. Mix up your content.
Repetitive images can get boring over time. That’s why, if you want to keep your audience engaged, you need to mix up the kinds of shots you post. Product shots one day, shots of customers wearing/using your product or even just artistic shots.
9. Ask questions to drive engagement.
Asking a question is a great way to engage your community of followers. By asking questions you show that you genuinely care about the opinions of your followers. You create a two-way conversation instead of a one-way content dissemination approach.
10. Ask followers on social networks to follow you
You might have followers on Twitter or Facebook who are not following you on Instagram. Having an explicit call to action in your Twitter bio, for example, can prompt people to take action and start following you on Instagram. Here’s an example of Callaway Gold doing just that.
Other ways of getting people to start following you on Instagram:
- A post on your Facebook timeline
- Facebook “About” page
- Send out a tweet
- Company email signature
- Your next company email newsletter
- Company blog posts
11. Display your Instagram feed on your website.
If you’re using Shopify to run your eCommerce store, you can use apps like Instafeed or Instagram Feed to create customized galleries that automatically import Instagram images from specific profiles or hashtags.
12. Get followers to tag friends.
This tactic is not going to cost you anything, but it can yield new followers. All you need to do is post a piece of content and ask your followers to tag someone who might either identify with a statement or be interested in buying a given product.
13. Call to action — double-tap if you agree.
Want an easy way to generate a whole bunch of likes on your post? Simply post something that evokes a response, asking people to double-tap if they agree. You’d be surprised, but many people don’t realize that you can double-tap to like a post. Having a specific call to action helps people understand what you want. People often won’t act until they’re told.
14. Keep the aesthetic consistent across posts.
On the one hand, you need to mix up your content, but your overall feed aesthetic should be consistent. If your brand has retail presence, carrying over the same aesthetic creates a consistent user experience for your customers. It can also help you land more paid partnerships on Instagram when prospective partners know ahead of time if your brand aesthetic fits in with theirs.
15. Partner with another brand to host a giveaway.
This one is another one of the best ways to secure more followers at a ridiculously low cost, assuming you’re not selling Rolex watches. When you partner with another brand to host a giveaway whose target audience significantly overlaps with yours, but is not a direct competitor of yours, you create an opportunity to tap into their followers. Typically, in return, you’re expected to give away a gift card or several units of your inventory to select winners under the condition that they follow your account. Ideally, you want them to tag someone else who also needs to start following your account in order for both individuals to be entered into the draw. This is a very inexpensive tactic that can yield hundreds or thousands of new followers, as long as you pick the right company to partner with.
Below is a great example of that. Sprooslike — a manufacturer of enhanced collagen supplements — partnered with Made with Local — a food bar manufacturer, to host a giveaway. The two companies are not direct competitors, yet it’s easy to deduce that there’s a significant overlap between their target demographics. Hence, it makes sense for both parties to collaborate.
Fabletics hosted a giveaway back in 2017 with Bliss — a manufacturer of certified cruelty-free skincare products. Once again, one can assume a significant overlap between people interested in yoga pants and cruelty-free skincare products. Hence, this partnership worked. They did everything correctly by asking people to like the photo, follow both accounts, tag a friend, and even repost using a specific hashtag to qualify for an extra entry. A great example of a brand partnership.
16. Use powerful imagery and captions.
You can use emotion to trigger a response from your audience, be it through desire, empathy, pride, hope, etc. Fabletica knows how hard women work towards their fitness goals, so they employ powerful images that trigger an emotional response. The photo below was liked 9,878 times.
17. Use relevant hashtags.
Using relevant and targeted hashtags on your posts and stories is still one of the best ways to get discovered by new audiences on Instagram. And this can translate into more engagement, more followers, and more customers for your business.
Picking the right hashtags can be tricky as you’re tempted to use as many as possible. I recommend tailoring your hashtags to every post to make sure they’re relevant and not spammy. Alternatively, you can create thematic groups of predefined hashtags that you re-use on a regular basis.
Some brands Like Allbirds prefer to use just one branded hashtag:
Others, like Sproos, opt for 5 hashtags:
IMPORTANT:
I suggest you avoid stuffing the description with hashtags, as this sacred real estate is better suited for compelling copy. Instead, you should comment on your own post with any relevant hashtags you want to use, and it’ll have the same impact on discoverability as including them in the description. Below is a good example of this tactic by Zegna.
For more in-depth knowledge on how to find the right hashtags to use on Instagram, I recommend a great article on Later.com.
18. Use uplifting and inspirational quotes.
Using quotes is a great way to motivate your followers to follow their dreams and goals. It helps to evoke an emotional response, and as a result, followers are more likely to engage with content like that if it speaks to their struggles or goals.
19. Comment on your followers’ accounts.
Brands that want to create passionate advocates and loyal followers do not just engage in one-way communication. They monitor certain hashtags and use them to find users to follow and comment on their posts. This is a great way to express gratitude when someone posts something positive about your brand on Instagram.
Here’s an example of a skincare company, Purlisse, doing it right.
20. Encourage the use of a particular hashtag.
Asking your followers to use a particular hashtag of your own is a good way to run all kinds of awareness campaigns and get your followers in the habit of tagging their posts with your hashtag in order to be featured on your Instagram account.
Fabletics encourages its followers to tag their posts with #MyFabletics in order to be featured. This strategy ensures that Fabletics is top of mind when women post photos of themselves doing yoga or wearing Fabletics products.
Calm uses the #DailyCalm hashtag for quotes that remind followers to breathe, meditate, and slow down.
Nike encourages followers to use the famous #justdoit hashtag.
