How to increase followers & engagement on Instagram

Instagram quickly outgrew its first impression as a fun app for kids and has become a serious digital content marketing, networking and audience building tool for individuals, influencers and brands.

With over 200 million active monthly members sharing 60 million images and 1.6 billion likes per day, it’s one of the most popular social networking sites on the planet.  Did you know in 2022, people have been spending an average of 2 hours, 25 minutes on social media each day. Increasing rapidly as Covid sweeps around the world and more cities are pushed into lockdowns. 

Why should your business use Instagram?
Engagement rates for brands on most social networks are less than 0.1%, but Instagram blows them all away. The average Instagram engagement rate for brands in a 2014 Forrester study was an epic 58 times higher than on Facebook

Sure, 58 times greater engagement than Facebook sounds great, but you can do so much better than that on Instagram. Whether you’re a big brand or maybe just wondering how to become Instagram famous, you need to reach beyond that and aim for the stars.

Check out these 10 easy ways to get more followers on Instagram:

1: Like and comment on other users’ photos.
This is the most natural way to gain new followers. There are tools to automate these but they come with risks. Real, long term communities take time to grow and you’re much better engaging in real life, with relevant brands and profiles.

2: Bring on the hashtags
Use a mix of trending and relevant hashtags so your images get found in search. But don’t over do it. Mix up your hashtags from a pool of relevant tags to ensure you avoid being shadow banned. Add up to 10 tags in your comments to keep your posts looking neat.

3: Share the love
Visit the profiles of each person you’ve identified as an influencer in your space and “Turn On Post Notifications” to be notified every time they share new content. You can then interact with them regularly and become one of their favourite people or brands. You’ll get seen, they’ll follow back, it’s a total digital content love fest.

4: Decide what story you’re going to tell—and tell it consistently
No matter what industry you’re in, you can develop and tell a story perfectly suited to a highly visual channel like Instagram. A compelling, consistent narrative gives your social media content purpose and inspires engagement with your community. Boosting likes and shares of your posts that will expand your audience to new potential followers.

5: Remember that quality beats quantity
It’s better to post three amazing images per week than 100s of poor images showing no engagement. Edit your account to leave only the best images. No one wants to follow someone with thousands of pointless images that don’t match their business or profile.

6: Become a local Insta hero
See what’s going on in a specific area or city you’re targeting in ads, or even an event in a certain location by going to the search page and choosing the Places tab. Then, type in the name of the place to see all geotagged posts for that location.  this is especially useful if you’re looking to grow your business into new areas.

7: Ask for comments below
Ask questions in the captions of your photos. This is a great way to increase engagement!

8: Create a killer bio
Let people know exactly who you are any why you’re on Instagram. Don’t forget to use your bio link to drive traffic to your newest or most popular content.

9: Cross Promote
Promote your Instagram account on your other social media accounts and profiles. Tell people what they can expect once they’re following you (e.g., behind-the-scenes photos, sneak peeks, coupons, etc.)

10: Don’t give up
Like all good things it can take time to get the ball rolling. Don’t be put off, embrace your new Instagram account. Share your passion. Be honest, be you and be useful!
Need more help?

Contact us today to see how we can manage Instagram for your business.
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