How to Boost Your Instagram Growth Organically
You’re a brand or influencer trying to grow a following on Instagram.
So you publish content, follow others in your niche, but nothing seems to work. Sure, you get a few followers here and there — some of which are actually in your industry.
But you want to speed up the process and growth hack the heck out of your IG account.
Well, there’s good news — you can do it organically.
We’re going to dive into some of the methods you can use — but first, let’s take a look at some of the reasons why your account is struggling.
Why Aren’t Instagrammers Following You?
Knowing where you’re going wrong will help you to improve your Instagram marketing results. This goes for both influencers, brands, and anyone else who wants to become popular on the world’s second largest social media network.
See if the following sounds like you.
You Don’t Publish Posts Consistently
The frequency of your posts matters.
Why?
Because Instagrammers are hyper-social and are actively looking for amazing content. So if people come across your profile and they see you spend days without posting, then they’re going to think you’re not active and will skip hitting that “follow” button.
Even if you have thousands of followers already, not publishing content consistently will hurt your engagement rates.
In case you didn’t know — Instagram’s new algorithm rewards content by pushing it up in your followers feed if your posts get a lot of engagement.
So keep in mind as you grow your account — consistency is key!
You Ignore Your Audience
If you’re not engaging with your audience, then you’re hurting the image of your personal or corporate brand. Let’s not forget that Instagram is a social network — keyword social.
So it’s critical that you spend time each day responding to comments and commenting on others’ posts. You should also make it a routine to find and share other people’s content.
Your Content is Low-Quality or Downright Boring
No one wants to view, read, or watch content that’s going to put them to sleep. Or worse — hurt their eyes.
This is why it’s vital to publish high-quality content. Every video and photo you upload should be high-definition (both visually and audibly).
If it isn’t, then users will bounce away faster than you can blink.
Also, the topics you cover should be fascinating enough to attract and hold the attention of your intended audience.
Research what’s trending and try to create content around those topics and ideas. You can also survey your followers to see what type of content they want and on what topics.
Use a poll with ideas for them to choose from.
Alright, so what can you do to actively grow your Instagram account? Here are some organic marketing hacks to try.
Develop a Content Strategy
You won’t get far in your endeavor to increase your Instagram following without exceptional content. So to ensure you have a consistent flow of eye-catching content, you need a plan.
Your strategy should consist of pushing out high-quality posts that are packed with breath-taking visuals and those that evoke emotion or tell a story.
Of course, the type of content you post depends on the industry you’re in and the audience you’re looking to attract.
So to start, you should focus on generating content that starts conversations, inspires, or makes people laugh.
It’s a good idea to create a theme around your content, so when people see your posts, they can immediately identify it with your brand. You can do this by using specific color schemes, filters, and layouts.
Keep an eye on what performs well (and what doesn’t), so you know what to continue publishing. Once you have an idea of the forms of content and topics, you can create a monthly schedule.
There are tools you can use to automate your social media posts, such as Hootsuite and HubSpot.
Focus On Telling Stories
People today love stories. So if you’re looking to sell a product or service, or even your personal brand, then stories must be a part of your strategy.
It’s about giving narrative, character, and purpose to your content. If you’re able to enlighten, inspire, and/or entertain your audience, then you’re in the money.
What better way to share these stories than with Instagram Stories?
To date, there are 500 million people using Stories daily. So it’s a popular tool and widely accepted. You can almost guarantee users will at least click on your video to see what it’s about.
And if you keep them short and engaging enough, you can get them to watch the entire thing (and even follow you afterward).
Plus, about 33% of the most viewed Stories are created by brands.
So if you’re not already incorporating Instagram Stories into your campaign, then it’s definitely time to start!
Target a Specific Audience
There are over 1 billion Instagram users — so there’s plenty of fish in the sea to catch. But this doesn’t mean you need to cast your net far and wide.
While this sounds like a plausible tactic, it’s not going to yield consistent or long-lasting results. For one, you can’t please everyone.
You should gear your content towards a particular group of people so that it resonates with them. Attempting to create content for everyone will water down your feed and make it impossible to keep your followers happy.
There’s just not enough content to go around for everyone. So your bet is to sit down and research your target audience.
Where are they located, how old are they, and what do they do? How about their problems, concerns, and desires?
With these type of insights, you can generate a plan that appeases them. From the kind of content they like to consume (memes, stories, live video) and the topics that attract them the most.
Use Hashtags that’ll Attract Your Target Audience
Alright, so you know who your audience is and the type of content they like. Now, it’s time to get their attention.
Hashtags are one of the most effective ways to help non-followers find you. The key is to choose popular hashtags that aren’t overly used, so your posts aren’t lost in a sea of content.
It’s also a good idea to include location-specific hashtags if you’re catering to a specific community or city.
Keep an eye on trends in your industry so you can ride the wave and potentially catch more fish.
Experiment with Different Posts and Strategies
There’s no cookie-cutter method for attracting Instagram followers. These are people with needs and desires that you have to learn and adjust to.
But it’s difficult to do this without doing a bit of experimentation. You don’t want to get comfortable or complacent with your strategy. There’s always room for improvement.
What works today may not necessarily work tomorrow. You should try switching up your content types, topics (as long as they’re relevant), and your approach.
Of course, you want your strategy to stay true to your brand, or it’ll come off as non-authentic and spammy.
Some of the things you can test include:
- Frequency of posts
- Different content types (cinemagraphics, memes, etc.)
- The times and days you post
- The hashtags you use
- The content in your posts
This isn’t an all-inclusive list but should give you a good headstart.
Now, it’s also important to note that your hashtags can also help organize your content. So it’s ideal to use the same hashtags on similar content.
This will allow followers (and non-followers) to find the content they’re looking for. You can think of hashtags like folders.
Some of the hashtags you can use include:
- Industry tags (#hotel)
- Niche tags(#Healthandwellness)
- Branded tags (your company or product/service name)
- Community tags (#GoBucks)
- Location tags (#OrlandoHotels)
- Event tags (#NationalWomensDay2019)
- Event type tags (#WeddingDay)
This should give you an idea of how you can use hashtags to make your posts more organized and visible.
Get Real Instagram Followers and Not The Fake
Your approach to buying Instagram followers should be strategic. You’ll find many influencers on social media buying followers for their accounts.
And they do this to help build their credibility and earn more followers. People today will only follow accounts they perceive as popular and trustworthy. You can also get free instagram likes and followers using old tricks, but that wouldn’t stick for long.
Social proof is a part of gaining this trust.
Now, before you go and buy followers, you have to ensure they’re real people and accounts, not bots and fake profiles. This will make your IG account look bad and could potentially get it banned or suspended.
After researching dozens of growth services available, the best service was a company called Hashtags For Likes.
At Hashtags For Likes, you can pay monthly for a steady flow of real followers from the audiences you’re targeting. It’s a strategic approach — not a spammy hack.
Start Building Your Instagram Account!
As you can see, there are many ways you can grow your account organically. Even buying followers is an organic way to get more followers using your newfound social proof.
Once you have a good number of followers, you will find it easier to get more and more followers.
So start putting together your strategy and let us know in the comments how it pans out!
