Instagram is more than a photo-sharing platform; it’s where businesses showcase their creativity and share their products with a global audience.

As a brand, getting a significant following on Instagram will help you market your products and exhibit them to a wider audience.

To do this, you must have a clear roadmap for growing your Instagram following.

In this guide, I’ll share a list of seven practical tips on how to get more followers on Instagram. 

With these tips, you can expect to grow your following organically fast.

1 – Optimize Your Bio

Your Instagram bio serves as the digital storefront of your account. You must therefore leverage this opportunity to make a good first impression.

Instagram allows you only to use 150 characters in the bio. You must utilize them to convey your brand offerings and values.

To optimize your bio:

• Have a concise description: Outline what you do in easy-to-understand language and highlight what makes you stand out in your industry to grab your audience’s attention.
• Share your values: Let your audience know what you believe in as a brand. This will help you create a connection with like-minded individuals who will form a community around your brand.
• Include keywords: Ensure that your bio contains keywords around your niche. For example, if you deal with spices, ensure your bio contains the word spices. This will help you appear in the search, ultimately earning more followers.
• Share your contact: Sharing your contacts or physical location is beneficial because it helps those interested find you easily.
• Add a link to your product page: Instagram does not allow links in captions. The only way to have a link on the platform is to put it in your bio. Ensure you add your most important landing page on the bio, to drive traffic to your offerings.

Here’s a properly optimized Instagram bio from Faucet Face.

Source

They’ve made it known that they design water bottles for various occasions and added that they support animal rights and other values. They also have a link to their product page and physical location.

This bio gives a new user viewing this profile a ton of information in only a few characters. A person who values the environment and a healthy lifestyle will most likely follow the page and buy from the business.

2 – Post High-Quality Content Consistently

Posting high-quality content consistently helps you attract new followers and encourages your existing audience to share it with their networks. For example, if someone finds your post interesting, they can tag a friend helping you reach more people.

High-quality content contributes to more engagement of your posts. The Instagram algorithm takes note of posts with high engagement and pushes them to the “Explore” page, where more people can see them.

Follow these tips to ensure your content is creative and high-quality:

• Have a content calendar: Use a content calendar to plan your posts and ensure you have a steady stream of content going at all times. A content calendar will help you schedule your posts at optimal times and maintain an aesthetic that resonates with your brand theme. 
• Invest in quality visuals: Instagram is all about visuals. Ensure you use high-resolution images and videos by investing into professional photography services or a good recording device. Being able to produce appealing content is not given to everyone, considering delegating this task can have some benefits. 
• Understand your audience: The key to retaining your followers is understanding their interests and using content that resonates with them. Organize your ideas to curate and post content that provides value or entertains your audience.

Pro Tip: Monitor your Instagram post analytics using Instagram Insights to learn which content performs best. This will help you fine-tune your content to suit your audience’s interests. 

3 – Engage Your Audience In Comments and Mentions

Engaging your followers in the comments can help you gain more followers and keep your account active.

When you reply to comments or mentions, you’re instantly increasing your visibility. Thanks to how Instagram is built, commenting on other user’s posts enables you to expand your reach among their audience. A new potential community of loyal followers for your brand. 

Also, interacting with your own audience helps encourage participation and allows you to showcase your brand personality.

Here’s an example of Target’s Instagram account where the admin interacts with customers in the replies.

Source

If you receive comments from dissatisfied customers, engaging them positively is your opportunity to turn them into brand advocates. Resolving issues not only show the concerned customer, but also other users, that you’re committed to customer satisfaction. Hence, improving your brand perception and popularity.

Pro Tip: Engaging your followers in the replies can give you ideas for future posts. For example, you can answer a question about your products in a new post.

4 –  Use Instagram Advertising

You can pay for Instagram advertisements to get more visibility in your posts and gain more visitors to your account. Instagram advertisements look like abnormal Instagram posts with a “Sponsored” text at the top.

This method of gaining more followers on Instagram is great, especially if you’re new to the platform. The posts are shown to users who may not have seen your account and expose your posts to a wider audience who may be interested in your niche.

Instagram advertising allows you to target users based on different demographics. For example, location, interests, or behaviors. This ensures your posts are shown to the right people, who may end up following you or showing interest in your offering.

Sponsored posts allow you to add a clickable call to action, such as “Visit Instagram profile.” This encourages users to click and view your account to see more of your posts.

5 – Use Influencers

Influencers have established a dedicated audience that trusts their recommendations. You can leverage their services to gain more followers and gain credibility.

There are many influencers on Instagram, and depending on your budget, you can get someone to work with from your industry.

You can work with influencers through sponsored posts where they mention your brand or use your products or promote giveaways or contests around your products.

Influencers are also very helpful when you want to create a buzz around your products or services. They can create a captivating scenario that depicts your product or services as the solution getting their audience to notice and follow you.

6 – Promote Your Instagram Account On Other Platforms

Promoting your Instagram account through an already existing online presence is a strategic way to get more followers on your account. You can direct people who are already familiar with your brand to follow you in the following ways:

• Website traffic: Incorporate an Instagram widget on your website with a direct link to your Instagram to push traffic to your Instagram account.
• Other social media: Promote your Instagram on other social platforms where you have followers. For example, Facebook, YouTube, TikTok, or Pinterest.
• Mentions: Mention your Instagram account every time you have an opportunity. For example, if you appear on a podcast, ask the listeners to follow you on Instagram for more.

Promoting your Instagram account to potential followers on other platforms will help those interested find you easily and follow your account.

7 – Buy Followers

Let’s face it; buying followers can be seen as a shady practice, and it also goes against Instagram guidelines. However, it’s still a widely spread technique among influencers, brands and many more. As it helps you gain more followers on Instagram fast.

Buying followers on Instagram may seem like a shortcut, but it can help you grow your following, since people tend to be more willing to follow an account with a following already. 

When you have a significant number of followers, you gain more credibility because people are more likely to trust a business with a solid following.

Even it’s not advised, reasonably buying real and active followers can help you increase your engagement and follower base. Elements that positively contributes to your brand visibility and perception. Ensure you buy followers the correct way to get you started on growing your account. 

A healthy and organic traffic growth shouldn’t be neglected. While buying followers can give a boost, it shouldn’t be chosen as a single tactic to grow on Instagram. 

Boost Your Brand’s Visibility On Instagram

Getting more followers on your Instagram account needs a strategic approach, creativity, and dedication.

Using the list of tips we’ve discussed, you, too, can grow your following and create a community of engaged followers for your brand.

Keep learning, checking your metrics, and refining your strategy to create content that engages, informs, and converts your audience into customers.