Instagram is a key component of many brands’ social media presence. It drives profitable traffic to landing pages and grows conversions.

It might be time for you to improve your Instagram presence. Your audience will grow, which means you’ll have more opportunities to interact with them and create memorable experiences for them.

It is crucial to distinguish organic from paid followers. Sometimes brands choose the easy route when trying to increase their Instagram followers. These shortcuts, such as paying for followers and likes, are all too common. However, these shortcuts are rarely worth the cost. The Instagram algorithm is regularly updated to remove low-quality accounts and interactions.

It’s important to remember that the number of your Instagram followers doesn’t necessarily mean anything if they don’t have engaged fans who make purchases, visit your landing pages and share your brands with their friends and followers. These tips will help you build your Instagram following.

10 ways to increase your Instagram followers

1. Optimize your Instagram Account

Before you starting trying to figure out how to get followers on Instagram, it is important to optimize your account. Your brand’s Instagram profile is your “homepage”.

How will people recognize that your account is associated with your brand if there are no bio, image captions, proper usernames, or profile images? Although it may seem obvious, your Instagram bio and image are essential to your brand identity. Optimizing your account’s bio is the best way to drive Instagram traffic to it.

You can link to marketing pages or product pages that are related to certain keywords, hashtags, or campaigns via your Instagram account if you’re unsure. Although linking to your homepage is fine, why not provide a seamless experience for users when they move from your bio to a website? This has resulted in the popularity of IG’s link landing pages. These pages host the relevant links to the last pieces of content mentioned by a brand on its feed. They also have “link in bio” posts that direct audiences to those linked links.

Also, make sure your username is search-friendly. This usually means staying true to your brand name. Reduce the length of your business name to something that your audience can recognize. Your username should not contain special characters or numbers. If possible, keep it in line with any other social media handles that you have.

An Instagram marketing strategy is the best way to optimize your Instagram account. Get our free guide to help you get started.

2. Keep a consistent content calendar

You should not post random content when trying to gain followers on Instagram. If you are lucky enough to have users follow you from the start, don’t forget to thank them.

You can combat spam by sticking to a consistent posting schedule. To avoid spam, brands should not post more than once a day. However, it is important to keep your posting schedule consistent. There are approximately 200,000,000 Instagram users who log on every day. To reach even more people, you can publish a few times per day.

A schedule can help you create a consistent experience for followers and keep them informed about your brand. If you are wondering how you will remember to post at different times throughout the day, Kobe Digital has you covered with its scheduling and optimal times features. Continue reading for more information.

3. Insta posts can be scheduled in advance

Although Instagram has made it easier to display more content, the algorithm still allows you to post at the right time so that your posts are more visible and get more engagement.

Your brand has many options to increase visibility. Kobe Digital Social scheduling of Instagram content is just one example. Our new tools make it easy for brands to schedule content.

Your entire team will be able to see schedules and campaigns more effectively if you plan content. It is always smart to plan and use our Instagram scheduling tools to reach your audience while maintaining a consistent flow.

4. Partner with brand advocates and get them to post your content

It’s essential to understand the value of your Instagram audience when you want to increase your Instagram followers. Your organic followers count will increase, which will result in more customers and buyers.

Customers will follow you best if they see you and are present. It is important to be visible on your Instagram account as well as other accounts. Sponsor user-generated content to increase your brand’s visibility in customers’ feeds. To reach a wider audience, you can also host Instagram contests. These campaigns create social proof because your followers are willing to repost or create their own UGC.

Another way to increase your reach is to use a larger audience. To share your content with their audience, you should work with bigger Instagram accounts in your field, such as notable influencers.

Make sure that you are providing value. You don’t want to appear too salesy. To grow your Instagram following, you should seek out marketing partnerships and co-marketing plans from other businesses.

5. Fake Instagram followers are not to be trusted

There is a big difference between fake and real followers on Instagram. Although it might be tempting to buy Instagram followers, the negative consequences of this practice outweigh the benefits of organic growth.

Fake Instagram followers are:

• You can track new followers into following you: An inactive Instagram account with thousands of followers will make it less credible. Do not trick people into following your account. For better engagement, build trust and maintain long-lasting relationships.

• There is no ROI: Although it may seem easier to buy followers on Instagram, your unmanned new followers or acquired bots won’t be buying anything. Instagram users follow brands for one reason: They like the content you post or your company. These people are real spenders and can add monetary value to your company.

• You can create little to no buzz: How many people will comment, like, and share your content if you have 10,000 fake followers? These bot accounts or fake accounts will most likely be deleted by Instagram and your posts will look like engagement graveyards.

You can allow real people to comment, like, comment, and share your Instagram posts. These users also enjoy receiving responses from others.

Lush Cosmetics, for example, takes time to answer questions about products. This results in users returning, following, and possibly sharing their answers with others. These interactions are more valuable than having a bunch of inactive followers.

6. Your Instagram account should be displayed everywhere

How will people find your account if you don’t promote it? Your Instagram account should be listed on your website as well as other social networks.

One of the best ways for being discovered is to create visibility and awareness. You can get more followers on Instagram by letting people know where you are located. To promote social sharing across all networks and show people where you are on Instagram, add social media buttons to your blog or website.

Cross-promoting across social media is another great idea. The Museum of Modern Art frequently spreads awareness through Twitter about its Instagram. Your other social networks can be used to direct people to your Instagram.

But, you should not ask for followers. You should promote original content on Instagram to give users a reason to follow your account. You have a fantastic opportunity to grow your followers with creative content, thanks to Instagram’s new video features, Stories, IGTV, and Reels.

7. Followers of post content want

This is not an easy task, but it’s worth learning what your followers are interested in seeing. Instagram will quickly show you which content performs well. Testing is crucial.

It doesn’t matter if you are using filters, captions, or different post types, even the smallest details can make a big difference. You’ll be able to spot the latest Instagram trends and know when you’re posting high-quality content.

Your brand should invest in analytics tools to take your analysis one step further. This will allow you to compare and analyze Instagram content across accounts.

You can feel confident about your content strategy. Analyze different captions, filters, and other elements to find out what resonates with your audience. Analyzing your competitors is a good place to start if you aren’t sure where to begin.

While you shouldn’t copy your competitors directly, it is smart to note what they are doing and posting that encourages engagement. You can do some competitive research. To see what is working for brands in your industry, you can use our Instagram Competition report.

8. Start the conversation

The conversation is one of the best ways for users to be aware of your Instagram. According to the 2020 Kobe Digital Social Index consumers prefer visual-first content such as photos (68%), video (50%), and text (33%). This audience profile is ideal for Instagram. Instagram combines eye-catching images with captivating captions. If you have Instagram caption writing skills, it can be equally engaging.

Social media continues to be used by people as a way to contact brands. This can be for simple questions and chats, serious customer service queries, or praise for favorite brands and products. Your business should be supportive and open-minded on Instagram.

It could make the difference between acquiring a new customer, following you, or building a relationship with your audience. The Index research showed that 89% of consumers will purchase from brands after following them on social media. It’s therefore important to get the attention and loyalty necessary to convert visitors to your profile into followers.

9. Use hashtags that can be converted

Hashtags are one of the best ways to gain followers on Instagram. Hashtags have been a vital tool for discovery, and they allow us to expand our social reach. You want to grow your network by gaining followers as a marketer. Hashtags are a great way to do this.

Start by looking for hashtags that aren’t too popular. Social Media Examiner explains this theory by showing how #love has over 184 million photos. It is difficult to find the right way to highlight your Instagram content amongst millions of photos and videos.

It is important to search for hashtags that are most popular with your target audience. These users will be more inclined to follow you if they are connected in a meaningful way. Use unique hashtags to group posts about campaigns and hyper-relevant content for your brand.

M&M is a great example of how to focus hashtags on an event they are attending. The brand can target its audience directly by using hashtags such as #mmspotlight and create awareness.

It is just as important to understand how hashtags perform on Instagram. Kobe Digital Social’s hashtag analysis tools give you direct access to hashtag usage and performance data to determine which hashtags are performing best.

Do not blindly follow the hashtag universe. Be aware of what you are tagging to build your following.

10. Your Instagram followers will be happy

You will see an increase in your audience’s happiness if you make your followers happy on Instagram. You’ve been given many tips on how to schedule content and brainstorm ideas. Now, put these tips into practice so that they feel real to your brand voice. Also, try not to appear sassy, sales-driven, or robotic.

This could be used to bring smiles to the faces of followers and build customer relations. Make sure to share content with your followers like you would friends on your account. This could include sharing memes, inspirational content or just resharing photos and artwork that might give your followers some mental lift.