Instagram has evolved beyond a mere platform for personal connections and amusing posts. It’s now a potent marketing tool embraced by brands worldwide to engage potential customers. Additionally, Instagram, a part of Meta, has catapulted numerous creators into success by allowing them to monetize their personal brands through their content. If you’ve ever considered enhancing your Instagram presence or launching a business on the platform, you’ve come to the right place. With over 1.35 billion daily users seeking visual inspiration and trends, the question is: How can you capture their attention?
This guide will show you how to craft authentic content to attract genuine followers, not automated bots, and boost engagement across your Instagram posts, Stories, and Reels.
When exploring strategies on how to build an audience on Instagram, it’s inspiring to delve into personal success stories like Juliana Dever’s journey.
Instagram Audience Growth: Key Insights for Marketers
Initiating an Instagram presence can seem overwhelming. The goal is to quickly gather followers to foster engagement and achieve your marketing objectives. But the question arises: how crucial are these followers, and why isn’t purchasing them a viable option?
The Significance of Instagram Follower Count
It’s a common belief that the size of your audience on social media, particularly Instagram, is merely a superficial metric for marketers. However, while follower count shouldn’t be the ultimate aim, the growth of your audience is a key indicator of success.
Here are several reasons why building up to your first 1,000 followers, and beyond, is beneficial:
- A larger follower base typically correlates with increased engagement opportunities. This can enhance the visibility of your posts and further expand your Instagram presence;
- Expanding your audience can significantly boost brand awareness and funnel more potential customers, aiding in achieving revenue and other critical objectives;
- A substantial following acts as social proof to potential customers and opens doors for partnerships with other brands.
In essence, the size of your Instagram following is instrumental in achieving broader marketing goals. While focusing on follower growth, it’s equally important to monitor other vital metrics like engagement rates and click-throughs, ensuring you’re making strides toward all your business goals.
The Pitfalls of Purchasing Instagram Followers
Embarking on the Instagram journey, the urge for swift audience accumulation is natural. The notion of purchasing followers to expedite success may be tempting. Yet, this tactic should be excluded from your Instagram growth plan for several reasons:
- Purchasing followers goes against Instagram’s policies and could lead to account termination;
- A bloated follower count may look good on the surface, but inauthentic followers offer no real interaction or business conversions. They fall short in driving towards substantial goals.
What should you do instead? Prioritize organic growth techniques and leverage Instagram’s advertising features to boost your profile and attract authentic followers.
Strategies for Rapidly Expanding Your Instagram Following
Eager to expand your Instagram following? Implement these strategies to start drawing in more followers immediately.
#1: Enhance Your Instagram Profile’s Appeal
Ensure your profile is fully set up before you make your first Instagram post, story, or reel. A well-optimized profile not only boosts your visibility in searches but also encourages potential followers to connect with you upon encountering your profile or content. A partially completed profile is less likely to draw attention.
- Begin by refining your Instagram display name. Along with your brand name, think about incorporating a succinct slogan or a concise explanation of your business’s activities. Choose keywords that resonate with your target audience, keeping the tone approachable and authentic;
- Next, utilize your Instagram bio to convey more detailed, keyword-rich information about your business. This section is an ideal space to highlight social proof, such as awards, the number of satisfied customers, or collaborations with renowned companies;
- Incorporate branded hashtags in your bio to guide new followers to more of your content or encourage them to share their own user-generated content. However, refrain from using non-branded hashtags in your bio, as they do not enhance your profile’s searchability within the app.
#2: Organize a Sequence of Introductory Instagram Posts
Create and plan content that will appeal to potential customers and encourage them to follow your account. An empty content grid is unappealing, so prepare a series of introductory posts for immediate release. These could include introductions to your business, your range of products and services, and your team members.
Don’t stress excessively about the timing of these posts. Post during business hours on your Instagram profile initially. As your follower count grows and you post more consistently, insights from your Instagram account will reveal the optimal posting times based on when your audience is most active.
#3: Incorporate Targeted Hashtags into Your Posts
Using hashtags is not a guaranteed shortcut to massive reach or follower gains, but they do play a key role in increasing your content’s visibility and putting your brand on the radar of potential followers. Hashtags provide context to your posts, aiding Instagram in understanding your content’s theme and thus presenting it to a more relevant audience.
When adding hashtags to your Instagram posts and reels, consider the opportunity to feature in related hashtag feeds or on hashtag pages. To optimize results, adhere to Instagram’s recommendation of using three to five hashtags per post or reel, including a branded hashtag, and then assess their impact.
While Instagram doesn’t offer analytics for individual hashtags, you can evaluate the performance of specific posts. By limiting your posts to a few select hashtags, you can identify which ones yield the most beneficial results for your account.
#4: Utilize Geotags for Localized Engagement
To draw in a local audience, using Instagram geotags can be particularly effective. Conduct research to identify suitable local geotags – searching your region, town, or neighborhood within Instagram’s search feature can help you find the most relevant and active ones.
Varying your geotags with each post is fine, provided they relate to your content. This approach is especially useful if your business participates in events across different locations, enhancing your visibility.
#5: Craft a Distinctive Visual Identity
Despite the introduction of separate tabs for Reels and Stories, the importance of a cohesive grid aesthetic remains. A recognizable brand aesthetic is key in making your content memorable and ensuring it stands out in crowded Instagram feeds.
Develop a style guide for your Instagram content, detailing the tone, color palette, fonts, filters, and templates for reels and stories, to establish a memorable aesthetic.
#6: Implement Effective Calls to Action
Even if users enjoy your content or brand, they might not follow you without a direct prompt. Use compelling calls to action (CTAs) in your captions, visuals, and dialogue to encourage viewers to follow your account.
Avoid generic CTAs that lack value. Instead, offer enticing reasons to follow, such as exclusive Instagram Live sessions with your founder, early access to special deals, or unique content not shared on other platforms.
#7: Leverage External Channels to Boost Instagram Following
Utilize your existing presence on other marketing platforms to drive followers to your Instagram account. For instance, share your Instagram profile link on Facebook or in email campaigns, accompanied by a compelling call to action (CTA). Give your audience a reason to follow you on Instagram, such as access to exclusive content or insights.
If you’re new and building your brand awareness from the ground up on Instagram, it’s still beneficial to embed an Instagram link on your website. This allows visitors, whether they arrive through ads, organic searches, or referrals, to easily discover and follow your Instagram account.
#8: Analyze and Replicate High-Performing Content
The more content you produce, the more data you gather to refine your strategy. Unsure about what content to create next? Turn to your Instagram insights for direction. Understanding what resonates with your audience can be achieved in several ways.
Instagram insights detail the follower gains for each story and feed post. Access this information under the Profile Activity section in the insights of any post, focusing on the Follows metric to determine the number of new followers gained.
For reels, which lack specific insights, observe overall follower metrics for spikes that correlate with popular reels.
Remember, Instagram might also expose your content to non-followers if it aligns with their interests. Analyze which content types are reaching non-followers the most, and create more of such content to potentially convert them into followers.
#9: Actively Engage with Your Followers
It’s crucial to acknowledge and respond to user interactions with your content. Engagement levels significantly influence Instagram’s ranking algorithms. Higher engagement rates can elevate your content’s visibility, aiding in audience growth, a vital aspect for smaller accounts.
If resources are limited, strategize your engagement efforts. Aim to be active and respond promptly within the first 30 minutes after posting. Utilizing Instagram’s saved replies feature can expedite your response time, enhancing engagement efficiency.
#10: Actively Engage with Other Instagram Accounts
Instead of passively waiting for engagement on your posts, proactively interact with content from other relevant accounts. By leaving thoughtful comments on posts from related creators or brands, you can draw attention to your brand from their followers as well.
To optimize this process, curate a list of complementary brands and influencers in your niche. Add them to your Favorites list to ensure their content regularly appears in your feed. Optionally, you can choose to view only your Favorites feed for more focused engagement.
#11: Forge Collaborations with Synergistic Brands
If you’re finding it challenging to reach potential followers, consider collaborating with more established brands. This can involve joint ventures like co-hosting giveaways, crafting recipes, or undertaking projects using products from both brands.
For shared content on Instagram, utilize the platform’s Collab feature. Once the partner brand accepts the collaboration, the post will appear on both accounts’ feeds, significantly boosting your brand’s exposure.
#12: Establish Partnerships with Influencers
Beyond brand collaborations, engaging with influencers can effectively introduce your brand to new audiences and attract followers within your niche. This approach works best when the influencer’s audience matches your target demographic.
To identify suitable influencers, use Instagram’s search functionality or third-party influencer marketing platforms. Follow or favorite these influencers to keep track of their content. Engage with their posts to build a rapport, and then reach out via direct message to propose a collaboration.
#13: Utilize Instagram Ads for Extended Reach
Growing an Instagram audience organically is feasible with no budget, but those with advertising funds can potentially accelerate this growth. While Instagram ads aren’t specifically tailored for follower growth, they can still be a valuable tool.
Instagram doesn’t provide a direct ad objective for increasing followers. For Facebook, you can run ads aimed at page growth, but there’s no exact counterpart for Instagram. Instead, the in-app Boost tool is your ally, designed to draw people to your profile, with the hope that they’ll follow you.
However, it’s crucial to recognize that Instagram ads should not be the sole or initial strategy for audience building. Ads can capture attention, but without a solid foundation—like a developed account with engaging content and an appealing bio—they might not lead to conversions. It’s advisable to implement organic growth strategies first and then complement them with targeted ads.
When setting up an ad aimed at boosting profile visits, begin with a high-performing organic post that effectively represents your brand and appeals to your target audience. Posts with engagement rates above your average are ideal for promotion.
To promote a post, tap the Boost button and set your goal to More Profile Visits. When defining your audience, if you already have an engaged following, use the Automatic option to target a similar demographic. For smaller or less engaged audiences, consider specifying interests or locations for more precise targeting. Set a suitable timeframe and budget for your campaign.
As your ad runs, closely monitor its performance, especially the cost per follower acquisition. If the ad brings many profile visits but few followers, reassess and enhance your profile’s appeal or publish more organic content to better attract and retain your target audience.
Conclusion
Building an Instagram following of 1,000 or more followers doesn’t happen overnight, but by following this growth strategy, you can achieve this milestone more effectively. This will allow you to shift your attention toward the business objectives that hold real significance, such as engagement, website traffic, and revenue generation.