Growing Your Instagram Following
Part 1
Instagram is a popular social media platform that is visited daily by many users – and that makes it an important outlet to grow your business! Growing your following on Instagram can help create a community of potential customers as well as spread the word about your business and/or services. A large following on Instagram is a great way to increase traffic to your website or other social media platforms, increase sales or grow your client base, or help you become an influencer in your niche. Today we will touch on several things you can do to attract new viewers and followers to your Instagram. We will continue this list next week in Part 2, so don’t miss it!
Instagram Reels
If you’re not familiar with Instagram Reels, you must be living under a rock. These short-form videos are all the rage on Instagram, and they are the most effective way to reach new audiences right now. Instagram’s algorithm is loving Reels that they consider high interest, and viewers are seeing Reels from both users they follow as well as users they are not following. This means Reels can reach beyond your current following to other users that may be interested in your content. Here are a few tips to help you get the most out of your Reels:
1. Use relevant keywords and hashtags for your Reels
2. Use trending sounds in the Reels you create
3. Keep it short and sweet
4. Be original – don’t just copy other popular Reels
5. Add text to your Reels for users who view them without sound
6. Create high-quality Reels specifically for Instagram – don’t use share videos from other platforms like TikTok
7. Create Reels that highlight your particular business and services such as behind-the-scenes snippets, popular trends within your niche, or before-and-after shots of your projects
Enhance Your Captions
Create captions for your Instagram posts that make your posts searchable for users. Instagram users can utilize a keyword search to find content that they are interested in – you want to optimize your captions to be easily found by users who are interested in your content or services. When Instagram provides results for searches, it considers the type of content (video vs. photo posts), captions on the post, and when the content was posted. Provide captions that are relevant to your content/niche and that include keywords that users may search for when they want content similar to yours.
First Impressions are Lasting Impressions
When a user finds content they like, they will often visit the profile of that creator. This visit is going to be their real first impression of who you are and what you offer to them as a consumer. It is important to create a profile that will interest your target audience and move them from a viewer to a follower. Your Instagram feed should clearly show your overall niche at a glance. Having an esthetically pleasing feed may also be important depending on your niche (think design, home décor, etc.). The first total impression of you as a content creator will be what a viewer considers when they choose to (or not to) click that “follow” button.
Hashtag Strategy
Hashtags can sometimes make or break the reach of a particular post. Many users follow particular hashtags they are interested in, and including popular hashtags in your content can help your post get views quickly. Your hashtags should be relevant to the post itself and/or your niche. Additionally, using more hashtags can help your post find its way to more users. Make sure you are spelling your hashtags correctly as well!
Host a Giveaway
Hosting a giveaway on Instagram can be a great way to gain new followers, especially if one of the requirements is to share a post or tag a friend to enter. Additionally, giving away a product or service that you provide can allow new or potential clients to learn first-hand what you offer. They could become a repeat client or a great referral for you as well. When hosting a giveaway, keep a few things in mind:
1. Set clear and simple requirements to enter – if it is difficult or cumbersome to enter your giveaway, it’s likely you won’t get a large number of participants. Set easy requirements such as sharing your post in their story, following your page, and/or tagging a friend in the comment section.
2. Collaborate – collaborating with a user or brand in your giveaway is a great way to gain new followers. If the collaborator is within your niche, you already know that the users they bring to the giveaway are already part of your target audience and are more likely to stick around after the giveaway is over.
Collaboration
As mentioned in the previous tip, collaborating with other influencers and/or brands is a great way to gain Instagram followers. Not only will you build a community with followers of your collaborator(s), but you may create a new relationship with that brand/influencer for future collaborations. Collaborating is a great opportunity to grow your following, reach more users within your target audience, and depending upon the type of collaboration, provide fun giveaways to give back to your supportive followers. Just remember – it’s not imperative to only collaborate with huge influencers – micro-influencers may have a smaller audience, but often they have a more tight-knit community that is involved and willing to stick around and provide support to their favorite influencers!
Create Shareable Content
The way you share your content is important, but what you share is just as important (if not more so)! Make sure you are providing content that is shareable for Instagram users. When you flip through your Instagram feed or explore your feed, you probably notice the type of content that you see the most. Aside from the Reels we mentioned earlier, static posts that tend to be popular are inspirational or motivational quotes, informative posts, and memes. Adapt these types of content to your niche and target audience, and you may be well on your way to increasing your Instagram following. Try to create memes within your niche that may appeal to your target audience!
As you can see, there are many small tweaks you can make to your Instagram profile and content to attract and gain new followers. In Part 2 we will visit several additional ways to increase traffic to your Instagram profile and hopefully increase the number of viewers and followers you have!
