How To Increase Your Followers On Instagram

 

Whilst buying followers may seem like a tempting idea, it actually can be very detrimental for your business. It goes against Instagram’s Terms of Use, and your account will lose its reach and visibility if it suspects the account to be fake or spam-like. Although it takes time to a build up a following on Instagram, which understandably can get a little frustrating at the start of your journey if you’re not seeing instant results, it’s better to stick with 100% organic and real followers rather than buying a set of fake ones who have no interest in your business. 

 

 

Knowing your brand is important as it helps you to convey your message across to an audience who are getting to know you. They want to feel confident that you know what you’re doing, and what you stand for. Having a clear vision for how you want your Instagram to look is key to establishing your brand. 

 

 

Your Instagram bio tells those who come across your profile who you are and what you do. You need to keep it short (the character limit for bio’s on Instagram is 150), but create a lasting impression. Add in a link to your external sites and use keywords in your bio that really reach out to your target demographic. 

 

 

On Instagram, you can now search for hashtags, locations, username, profiles and keywords. This means that by using keywords that are relevant to your audience, your account is more likely to pop up to them on their explore page – maximising your visibility. By involving keywords, location tags and hashtags in your caption (reasonably), you’ll be able to increase your exposure and your following. 

 

 

By partnering with another brand or influencer, you can expand your reach by targeting their followers. Those who follow these brands/influencers trust them to deliver valuable content, and if they’re promoting you, then it should peak the interests of their followers too. 

 

User-generated content is another great way to boost your following. Not only will it help to improve your brand trust, but it will help you to create a loyal connection with your following. Ask permission to re-share stories and posts, and make sure to credit your customer if they agree to you posting their content onto your timeline and feed. 

 

 

Reels are an ever-growing part of Instagram which continue to gain popularity as Instagram changes the algorithm to push more video content to the user. Reels act like TikTok’s ‘For You’ page, and are highly optimised to content that a user is already interacting with. They don’t need to be following you to see them, and can bring you a lot of engagement. Here are some ways you can increase your chances of your Reels being shown: 

- High Quality Video 

- Caption SEO (Keywords, hashtags, location) 

- Trending sounds and filters 

- Keeping them short and sweet 

- Original content 

- Convey your message by using text for accessibility purposes, and for those who have their volume off 

 

 

Creating good visual content is key to gaining followers. Having a consistent feed with great graphics is a sure-fire way to impress. Sites such as Photoshop and Canva are good for creating graphics, and you can make ones that are highly personalised to your brand. You style of content gives those viewing it for the first time an idea about you, so making sure this content shows you in a positive way is key. It also shows you care about your brand, as you’re putting effort into making graphics that relate to you and your products/services. 

 

When you have your content, you can create a content schedule. You can base this on your analytics, where you can find what’s working and what isn’t, when your followers are more likely to be online and the best times to post on the platform. Scheduling tools such as Hootsuite and Buffer help to free up your time by posting the content you’ve created for you after you’ve scheduled it to go out. Instagram also now allows you to schedule posts within the platform, and gives you an overview of how they’ll look when posted. 

 

Make your content accessible by using alt-text. This helps those with disabilities and visual impairments know more about what you’re posting. Be as descriptive as you can with your alt-text, as you need to be inclusive of all those within your target audience. 

 

Giveaways and exclusive offers are good forms of content if you want to attract an audience. Posts such as ‘Follow us and tag 4 friends in the comments for a chance of winning’ automatically sees your following grow, and bring other members of your target audience who haven’t seen you yet over to your profile. 

 

 

Promote your Instagram on other social media sites and your website. Letting followers know you have an Instagram account and where to follow it can see you create a following foundation that already begins with your loyal followers on other social media platforms. 

 

Building your following on Instagram isn’t something that happens overnight, but with time and effort you should see a steady increase that works wonders for your business in future. Follow these tips and see your Instagram grow today. 

 

 

Get in touch to discuss your specific requirements and see how we can help you grow your social media presence 

 

Tel: 07963216248 

Email: chris@chrislondononline.co.uk 

 

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