You put in a lot of time planning and developing Instagram content. Everything is fine for a brief while after you hit “Share.” You’re certain you’ve written something fantastic.
Then there was radio silence. Alternatively, a few likes and comments from your small number of followers. But, if you don’t post quality content, how do you expect to gain more Instagram followers?
There isn’t a step-by-step strategy to growing your Instagram account. However, there are several recommended practices that will assist you in reaching a larger audience and gaining new followers.
Here are 12 techniques to increase buy cheap instagram followers.
1. Make your bio more appealing.
Make the most of the 150 characters available to you. Your Instagram bio tells potential followers who you are, what you’re all about, and what you want them to do after they visit your profile.
The following should be included in your Instagram bio:
- a concise explanation of your work
- Personalize it with a few touches of your personality
- A rallying cry (shop, read more, contact us, etc.)
- a connection
Use your in-bio link judiciously because it is your only clickable link on Instagram. Some companies offer a static link to their website, while others update it on a regular basis to reflect new content. Take advantage of link-in-bio solutions like Start Page to turn a single link into a collection of links if you want to make it easy on yourself.
All of the essential elements of a great Instagram bio are included in CoolStays.
Also, consider using a branded hashtag. For example, while talking about our products, we urge our followers to use the hashtag #BufferLove. By including the branded hashtag in our profile, people will know which hashtag to use to get our attention. Additionally, everyone who taps on the hashtag will see postings from fans who have used it.
In our Instagram bio, Buffer uses the hashtag #BufferLove.
2. Figure out when is the optimum time to publish on Instagram.
Notice how we didn’t state “discover the optimal Instagram posting time”? The truth is that there is no one-size-fits-all answer for when to post on Instagram to get the most engagement. However, there are methods for determining the best times for your followers.
To begin, use Instagram Insights to determine when your target audience is available. From your Instagram business profile, touch the “Insights” tab, scroll to “Your Audience,” and then tap “See All.” Scroll to the bottom of the page to see when your audience is most active.
Instagram Insights will assist you in determining the optimum time to publish.
You should also think about when your material is most useful. Because consumers are more likely to be cooking outside of work hours, a step-by-step recipe video, for example, would perform better. A post about a coffee shop, on the other hand, would do well at 2 p.m., when people are in a slump. Track engagement by experimenting with different publishing times.
If you need some extra help deciding when to publish, Buffer’s Answers tool offers three posting time ideas for increasing your Instagram reach.
Buffer’s Answers function calculates the ideal times to post based on your prior posts and followers’ behavior.
More detailed advice can be found in our article, How to Find the Best Time to Post on Instagram.
3. Consistently post
Businesses share four Instagram posts every week on average, according to a 2021 survey of 14 industries. However, we encourage that you submit at least once a day. The highest outcomes are seen by brands who publish on Instagram on a regular basis. According to a Tailwind study, Instagram profiles who post daily earn more followers than profiles that post less frequently.
Consistency is crucial to getting your posts seen on Instagram’s algorithmic timeline. If you publish your posts frequently and they receive a lot of engagement, Instagram’s algorithm will likely place them near the top of your followers’ feeds.
Of course, quality always takes precedence over quantity. More posting frequency does not always imply increased engagement. Concentrate on developing material that will resonate with your target audience (see section 9: Engage with your audience for more information).
Instagram scheduling options allow you to post on a regular basis without having to worry about updating every day directly from the app. Discover our best Instagram scheduling tools (both free and premium) as well as scheduling strategies in How to Schedule Instagram Posts to Save Time and Boost Engagement.
4. Understand how Instagram’s algorithm works.
The switch from a chronological feed to a sorted timeline caused a lot of anxiety among Instagram users. Since the update, the average post has been seen by 50% more people than before. So don’t bother trying to figure out how to beat the Instagram algorithm. Instead, concentrate on figuring out how to make the system work for you.
Interest, timeliness, relationship, frequency, following, and usage are the six elements that influence what appears in each person’s timeline.
Here’s a quick recap of what each of those terms means:
- Interest: Based on recent behavior, Instagram estimates how much a person will like the post.
- The post’s timeliness refers to how recently it was published.
- Accounts with which a person interacts on a regular basis are referred to as a relationship.
- The frequency with which someone uses the Instagram app.
- Posts from the accounts a user follows are referred to as “following.”
- Instagram usage is defined as the amount of time a person spends on the platform.
Instagram’s algorithm is designed to show the most relevant content to each user. While six distinct aspects may appear to be a lot to consider, the greatest thing you can do is continually produce high-quality content.
How the Instagram Algorithm Works in 2021: Everything You Need to Know delves deeper into each ranking aspect. We also offer advice on how to generate content that caters to each element, as well as recommendations on how to make the most of the Instagram algorithm.
5. Experiment with different sorts of material.
Instagram is much more than just a photo-sharing app. Over time, the app has added a variety of new ways to post information on the network. Mixing things up with different sorts of material is one of the best strategies to obtain more Instagram followers since it allows you to reach and engage with a wider audience.
Remember that the algorithm considers people’s interests and tries to display them the types of information that they interact with the most. As a result, if someone likes and comments on Instagram Reels more frequently than other types of posts, they’re more likely to see more Reels in their Instagram feed. However, if someone engages with carousel posts more frequently, they’ll see more of that type of content on their timeline.
Each form of material has its own set of benefits. Instagram Reels, for example, have an advantage because they’re the newest video category, and Instagram is constantly releasing new features. Since its inception in 2020, Instagram Reels has moved the Reels button to the center of the menu bar and made Reels look larger on the Explore tab than photo posts. Given that 200 million people visit the Explore page every day, that extra visual real estate can significantly increase the number of individuals you reach.
Videos on Instagram TV (IGTV) are also 4 times bigger than photographs on the Explore page. And, because IGTV videos may last up to 60 minutes, this format is great for long-form video.
On the Instagram Explore page, Instagram Reels and IGTV take up more space.
Instagram Stories are only available for 24 hours, but they do have their advantages. As part of their social media strategy, 57% of firms say Stories have been “somewhat effective” or “extremely effective.” You may also use Instagram Swipe Up links in Stories to generate traffic to certain sites if you have a verified account or at least 10,000 followers.
Carousel postings, which include up to ten images or videos in a single post, have the best engagement rates of any post category. Consider carousels to be a teaser or mini-story for a longer-form piece of content, such as a blog. In one topic post, you can use text, graphics, photos, video, or a combination of them all.
A carousel post is used by DLC Anxiety to illustrate how to reframe anxious thoughts.
Are you perplexed by the various arguments for various post types? People enjoy what they enjoy. While research can tell you what the average engagement rate is for each content type or argue that one is better than the other, the ideal method is to mix it up. Mixing up your Instagram material allows you to reach out to people with a variety of interests, which helps you grow your Instagram following.
6. Find your brand’s unique voice and develop content that reflects it.
People don’t like sales pitches, so they don’t follow your company on social media. They like your personality and the stuff you produce, therefore they follow your brand.
Even if you’re in the same industry, what works for one company could not work for you. Juggling Daisies Hobby Farm and Such and Such Farm, for example, both consider themselves to be one-of-a-kind farms. Juggling Daises is all about entertaining stories, adorable photographs, and family-friendly material. Meanwhile, Such and Such Farm’s approach is more rough-hewn, with curse words and a sense of humour.
Publish without a hitch. Analyze with ease. Authentically engage.
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Consider what kind of tone you want to have. Funny? Informative? Playful? Cynical? What you’re enthusiastic about should also be reflected in your personality. So many of Such and Such Farm’s Instagram postings discuss their agricultural procedures, indicating that they believe in sustainably cultivated vegetables. What are some of the themes you cover on Instagram? Everything you post on your business account should reflect the personality and beliefs of your company.
In its bio and Instagram postings, Juggling Daisies displays its distinct individuality.
Consider your company’s account like a person. Create a personality for the account, as well as branding standards, to ensure consistency. Along with your brand’s colors and typefaces, branding guidelines should include notes on tone, style, and values.
7. Create excellent captions
Great Instagram captions maintain people’s interest when they see nice photographs. Captions allow you to add more information or context to the photo or video you’re sharing. Additionally, incorporating keywords in captions can help you appear in app search results.
Captions on Instagram can be up to 2,200 characters long. Of course, not every caption has to be written in the style of a blog post. Experiment with various lengths. Some photographs thrive from a brief, snappy remark with a couple of emojis, while others require something longer and more contemplative.
Although the average length of Instagram captions is increasing, most firms still stick to the 2,200 character restriction. The average was predicted to be 405 characters in 2020, up from 142 characters in 2016.
On Instagram, OnlineDrea uses both short and extensive captions.
So, when do you go for the long haul and when do you stick to the basics? There is no one-size-fits-all solution. It’s great to mix it up, just like with content genres. Take a look at these two posts by OnlineDrea’s Andréa Jones. One includes a brief caption, while the other directs you to the caption for a more detailed explanation.
We’ve talked about hashtags a lot on the site, but it appears that they’re more essential on Instagram than everywhere else on social media. The appropriate hashtags can help you reach a wide and focused audience, and unlike other social media platforms, Instagram users don’t appear to experience hashtag fatigue.
Begin by looking for hashtags that are relevant to your target demographic. Display Purposes and AutoHash are two free Instagram applications that can help you select relevant hashtags for your Instagram photos. With Display Purposes, for example, you simply enter in a few lines about your image and it will suggest the best hashtags to use.
Hashtags are crucial if you want to grow your Instagram following. When others tap on the same hashtag from another post, it makes your material discoverable via search or filtering. People may even follow their favorite hashtags to see the most popular content using that hashtag in their Instagram feed.
Instagram enables you to use up to 30 hashtags per post, but don’t go overboard just to get to 30. For best engagement, TrackMaven suggests using nine hashtags. Just make sure you don’t use the same nine hashtags several times. Rather, categorize your go-to hashtags so you can quickly add a few relevant hashtags to each post.
You may create and preserve hashtag groups with Buffer Hashtag Manager. Then you can add hashtags to your planned Instagram posts by selecting from your pre-saved groups.
Hashtag Manager aids in the creation of a hashtag group library, allowing you to increase the reach of each Instagram post.
9. Make eye contact with your audience.
On Instagram, engagement is vital for growth. Many businesses make the mistake of focusing just on likes and comments, ignoring the people behind the numbers. If you really want to grow your Instagram following, you need to start a discussion with your followers.
Remember that just because someone views your content doesn’t guarantee they are actively following you. If you have the opportunity to interact with a potential follower, seize it. Every comment you receive is an opportunity to earn a new follower (or retain an existing one), so make sure you answer to each one. Don’t panic if the prospect of tapping away on your phone makes your hands cramp. You can respond to comments from your PC using the Buffer Engage tool.
But don’t wait for your followers to strike up a dialogue on their own. Create possibilities for participation. In Instagram Stories, use Instagram stickers like open-ended questions and surveys. In your photo captions, pose questions. Use prompts like “Tag your BFF who you’d invite on this cruise!” or “Tag your wine-loving friend who you’d do this wine tasting with!” to encourage users to tag others in the comments.
Are you looking for additional inspiration? Learn how to obtain more Instagram followers by increasing engagement with our Instagram engagement tips.
10. Work together with others
Collaboration with others through partnerships or influencer campaigns is another wonderful strategy to get Instagram followers.
A excellent example is our Blume brand spotlight. Through the initial Instagram Story and the accompanying Highlights, Blume gains access to Buffer’s followers. Blume, on the other hand, will share the limelight with their followers, bringing their audience to Buffer. It’s a win-win situation.
Janice Ayan of Blume is featured in this week’s Instagram Highlights.
Another strategy to increase your Instagram following is to use influencer marketing. You can pay content artists to promote your brand if you have the funds. Micro-influencers (1,000–10,000 followers) can be quite effective if you want to keep things simple (and low-budget). Micro-influencer content, in fact, has a better engagement rate than content from larger accounts. You can find micro-influencers and form partnerships with them, or simply re-share user-generated content (UGC).
Remember how we talked about branded hashtags in Section 1: Optimize your bio? With just one tap on your branded hashtag, you’ll have access to a complete library of material.
We encouraged followers to use #BufferStories and #BufferCommunity when we originally launched Buffer’s Instagram. We found and re-shared user-generated material using those hashtags. Our Instagram followers went from 4,250 to 21,000 in a year.
Jon Woon was discovered through our branded hashtag, and we re-shared the content on our own account (with permission of the original creator).
Why is UGC so well-liked? According to Ramon Berrios of Trend, “it relays actual experiences regarding a firm’s products or services from prior customers, which improves brand trust.”
Collaborations also provide you the opportunity to demonstrate your ideals and personality through association. The companies and individuals you support and identify with say a lot about your personal brand. Local businesses might benefit greatly from partnerships as well. Consider forming a partnership with your neighbors to reach a highly targeted audience.
11. Make a link to your Instagram account from somewhere else.
Make it simple for others to find your Instagram account. No one should have to sift through your website’s pages to find your Instagram account.
We connect to Buffer’s social media accounts at the footer of our website.
Add a link to your Instagram account to:
- Footers in emails
- Bios on other social media sites in the footer and/or sidebar of your website
- Team members’ social media posts
12. Examine your findings
Examining what your present fans respond to is one approach to figure out how to attract more Instagram followers. With Instagram Insights or third-party analytics tools like Buffer, you can track a variety of Instagram stats right in the app.
Don’t get caught up in vanity metrics like likes and comments. Instead, consider what the data tells you. If you’re testing out a new hashtag, for example, metrics like new followers and reach will tell you more about the hashtag’s value than likes from your present followers. Impressions, on the other hand, can help you figure out when your material is most likely to be noticed if you’re experimenting with different posting timings. Which measurements are most important will be determined by your end goal.
Analyzing your data can help you detect trends and figure out what material your audience responds to.
Keep an eye out for emerging patterns. Is there a type of image that generates more impressions or engagement? More of such photographs should be posted to see how your followers react. Do you get more likes from those who don’t follow you if you use particular hashtags? Increase the frequency with which you use certain hashtags, and keep a look out for new followers.
Learn more about Instagram stats and how to use them to fuel your marketing plan by reading our Instagram Analytics guide.
What strategy do you use to handle your Instagram marketing?
If you want your Instagram account to grow steadily, you must provide your target audience with high-quality content on a regular basis. For personal accounts, piecemeal social networking is OK, but corporations need to be more planned. All of the strategies we discussed will help you obtain more Instagram followers, but they aren’t one-time tasks. It’s critical to stay on top of your social media content strategy.
Planning and scheduling posts takes time. It might also be difficult to maintain engagement. Buffer allows you to manage every aspect of your Instagram marketing plan in one place, from scheduling to analytics. Begin for no cost.