10 Effective Ways to Get More Instagram Followers And Engagement

If you’re toiling away at Instagram marketing, your top goals likely revolve around gaining more followers and earning more engagement. You may have seen success with past tactics that eventually tire out, and it’s time to try something new. If you’re at a standstill, turn to these 10 simple principles to build your Instagram account. 

1. Everything Can Be Bought 

Did you know you can get instant followers on Instagram for a price? There are companies that sell Instagram likes, follows, and engagement. It’s a great way to kickstart your Instagram followers goal. 

Just be wise when taking this route. Buying Instagram followers only works if you’re willing to put the time and effort into building engagement organically after the initial purchase. Otherwise, your human followers will smell a rat. 

2. It’s All in the Timing 

Using data analytics, you can determine when your target audience is online and when they’re more likely to engage. Analyze your posting history and that of a major competitor. Identify periods when you’ve received the most engagement and see if you can spot a time pattern. 

3. Your Hashtags Are King 

Do you prioritize hashtags when creating your Instagram content? You should, since they make your content searchable for the general Instagram world. Good hashtags are the best way to attract organic followers. They also help your posts show up in the newsfeeds of those who are most likely to find your content valuable. 

To improve your hashtag effectiveness, focus on trending, but specific hashtags. A single word such as #food probably has hundreds of millions of photos attached to it. But #indianfoodinnewyork will be less populated. 

Just make sure the hashtag you use is trending in some way. It doesn’t work to use #indianfoodinnewyork if no one is searching for Indian food in New York. Sign up for alerts from Google Analytics to determine the top trending hashtags in your industry each day. 

4. Give Your Bio a Facelift 

Ultimately, potential Instagram followers will end up on your profile page. They’ll probably read your bio and take in the entire page before deciding if they’ll like your content or follow your page. 

Every few weeks or so, you should be taking stock of your bio page and updating it according to trends and promotions. For example, it’s currently popular to use emojis in your bio description to generate more search traffic. 

Additionally, your bio link should change with each marketing campaign. You might even change it day to day if you have a large inventory, and you want to send consumers to specific products. 

5. Influencer Marketing Can Be Your Guide

Perhaps the most powerful way to make an impact on your follower count and engagement is through influencer marketing. In other words, you’ll pay someone with 10,000+ followers to do sponsored endorsements or product reviews for your company. In so doing, you expose your brand to their loyal following.

When these followers hear a heartfelt endorsement from a brand they trust, they’re likely to check out your profile. If they like what they see with your profile and Instagram bio, follows and engagements will ensue. 

Influencer marketing isn’t always a slam dunk. Like all of these tips, you need careful planning to succeed. Most importantly, you must find an influencer who will honestly and enthusiastically endorse your products. So, let a potential influencer sample your products/services and get their feedback before you hire them. 

6. Have an Instagram Style 

Try to give your Instagram page an overall aesthetic look. You might use green predominately throughout your images. Or perhaps you’ll use black and white photos. Choose something that’s on brand and captivating to draw attention and let consumers know when they’re dealing with your content in their feeds. 

Seek a unique, relatable voice or tone to use on your account as well. It should match the style that your target audience will enjoy, whether it be casual with plenty of slang or business-like and professional. Go with what feels natural, since you’ll need to be consistent in this voice with all your posts. 

7. Stories Should Be a Daily Priority 

Brands who fail to post to Stories daily often get forgotten. For many Instagrammers, the first thing they do when opening the app is to run through the Stories reel. The automatic play feature is in your favor since your Story will appear in the reel without provocation. 

Every time you post, your Story will appear at the front of the reel, giving you a boost of attention. While you shouldn’t post so often you’re seen as annoying, you should post more than once per day. 

When you’ve dropped a particularly powerful Story or piece of wisdom, organize them into a highlights reel. They will appear at the top of your profile and serve as lasting communication for your target audience. 

8. Ads Can Help 

Instagram offers businesses the option of paid geo-targeted ads. Like Facebook ads, these are directed towards your target audience, giving you a better chance of getting followers. Ads are often focused on a product to sell, but you could also advertise your Instagram profile, encouraging those viewing it to stop by your profile to see the latest and greatest news and posts in your industry. 

The cost of Instagram ads can add up, but you can keep it under control by setting a budget at the beginning. You can set a certain dollar amount and let the ad run to your geo-targeted audience until it runs out. 

9. Make Your Posts Worthwhile 

Nobody engages with content unless it offers some value for them, whether it’s funny, entertaining, informative, or even promotional. Shameless plugs for your products or services can be very valuable if the person who sees it desperately needs what you’re offering. 

Take a closer look at your content. Is it carefully curated to match the needs and interests of your customer base? If the answer is no, it’s time to go back to the drawing board and develop a content calendar that’s better suited. 

10. Schedule Mounds of Content Ahead of Time 

Instagram accounts that post every day see far more engagement than those that post intermittently. This is true with both your newsfeed posts and Stories. You might be wondering how you’re supposed to develop engaging content every single day when you have hundreds of other things to do.

The best strategy is to develop several weeks’ worth of content in one go. Schedule it to run in advance, and then continually make content. You can replace the content that’s less valuable if necessary, and if you miss a day of creation, you’ll have enough content to fill in the gaps. This is one of the best ways to boost both your follower count and your engagement! 

Adam Hansen
 

Adam is a part time journalist, entrepreneur, investor and father.