Last Updated on March 3, 2024 by Asfa Rasheed
Does it seem like everyone’s on Instagram? The social media platform has over 500 million active users each day. Most of those users are in the United States.
People flock to Instagram for light-hearted social media content. They want to see pictures of places to visit, restaurants to try, and workouts to do. It beats arguing about politics on other social media accounts.
Is it too late to get started on Instagram? Absolutely not! There’s a lot of room for growth, but you have to learn how to gain followers first.
Keep reading for digital marketing tips and brand building on Instagram.
Table of Contents
1. Research Your Competitors
Who are your competitors on Instagram? They’re local businesses in your industry. They’re also global accounts that you can learn from.
Spend some time researching similar accounts in your niche. Look at their profiles to see how they brand themselves. Study the posts that get a lot of engagement. Check to see what hashtags they use.
You can get a lot of ideas and inspiration to apply to your own Instagram account.
2. Define Your Brand
Businesses and influencers turn to Instagram because it’s an effective way to build a brand online. If you want your Instagram account to gain followers, you want it to be known for one thing.
That’s your brand.
Influencers have a personal brand that revolves around a certain topic, such as food, travel, or fitness. Personal branding is important if you’re an individual trying to get your name out.
Brand building is consistently communicating the one thing that makes you different in the marketplace. It includes a visual look that reflects your brand as well.
3. Fix Your Profile Page
Your profile should be treated as a sales page if you want to gain more followers. The bio and profile image are important pieces of that sales page.
When someone sees your content for the first time, they’ll be curious about your account. They’ll look at your profile and decide if they will follow you or not.
Write your bio so it tells a little information about what your account offers. You can then invite people to follow your account for more great content.
4. Collaborate With Other Accounts
It’s possible to get more followers by working with other accounts. Pick accounts that target the same audience and are aligned with your brand.
Repost their content regularly and message them for collaboration ideas. You can do a stories takeover or host other creators on IGTV.
You’ll expose your account to more people and gain followers.
5. Create Content Themes
It’s hard to come up with Instagram content on a daily basis, especially when you factor in stories, reels, and IGTV. There’s a quick trick that will help you with content ideas.
Assign a theme to each day of the week. For instance, Mondays are #MotivationMondays, Fridays are #FollowFriday, and Thursdays are #ThrowbackThursday.
Have different content themes that are relevant to your brand and niche. You can do the same for your stories and other types of Instagram content.
6. Create a List of Hashtags to Use
Hashtags are how people who don’t follow your account discover your content. You’re allowed to use up to 30 hashtags in your news feed posts.
Some content creators use hashtags in stories and hide them behind stickers. It’s an effective way to get stories seen to a wider audience.
Which hashtags should you use? They have to be relevant to your post. Initially, you should use hashtags with under 100,000 posts.
Using widely used hashtags with millions of posts ensures your content will get lost in the shuffle.
Research hashtags by doing a quick search in the app or on a computer. Type in potential hashtags and you’ll get hashtags with the number of posts.
Make a list in a Notes app so you can copy and paste the hashtags as you create content.
7. Use All of Instagram’s Features
Instagram turned into much more than a place to post pretty pictures. Since it’s owned by Facebook, it follows Facebook’s model of “borrowing” features of other popular social media platforms.
Instagram Stories came about because Snapchat was a threat to the network. Instagram incorporated the main feature of Snapchat and renamed them stories. Now, you can see stories on Facebook, Linked In, and YouTube.
In 2018, Instagram launched IGTV. That lets you upload longer videos or go live with video content. That was in response to the growing popularity of YouTube.
In the last year, Instagram created Reels. This feature is very similar to what you see on TikTok.
The more you utilize these features, the more opportunities you’ll have to capture new followers. Your content will also rank higher in a user’s news feed once they interact with your content.
These tips from Instagram influencers show you what features you should pay attention to on the platform.
8. See What Works Right Now
There are a few types of content that do very well on Instagram. Some content creators use infographics with tips and useful hints.
Others like to use screenshots of tweets that are short and to the point. Apps like Remix from Buffer create images from your tweets. All you have to do is copy and paste the link into the app.
You might have noticed some influencers using carousels. These are series of images that tell a story and encourage viewers to scroll through the different images.
These forms of content combined with stories and reels will boost your engagement and followers.
9. Create Compelling Captions
It’s not enough to have an image or series of images in your posts. The most engaging posts tell a story in the caption. It’s a somewhat personal story that has a lesson or takeaway for your audience.
Of course, it has to be relevant to your niche. A food blogger or chef could post a picture about a dish and write a story about the inspiration to create it.
A fitness professional can document their journey to get fit and healthy. They can share a nutrition tip that they use with clients.
Each story must have a few elements to foster engagement and gain followers. The first is a headline. It must capture attention right away.
The second is a lesson for your audience. The third thing is the call to action. This is probably the most important because it tells people what they should do next.
A call to action can spur engagement or get people to visit your bio for more information. Good calls to action are “check out the link in the bio,” “tag a friend who needs to see this,” or “double-tap if you agree.”
10. Use a Scheduling Tool
One of the things you have to do to gain followers on Instagram is to be consistent. If you only post when you get around to it, you won’t gain traction at all.
Instagram’s algorithm responds positively when you post on a consistent basis. Your posts, stories, and reels are more likely to get seen in news feeds.
As a result, people respond and you get more followers.
The best way to be consistent is to batch your posts every week. Use a scheduling tool to post your content to Instagram at set times.
There are dozens of tools that you can use to schedule posts. Later, Loomly, Buffer, and Hootsuite are a few examples of scheduling tools.
You may have to upgrade to a paid version to unlock features that allow you to schedule stories to Instagram.
11. Follow Up With Comments
Do you want to know the secret to building a successful Instagram account? It’s not about the number of followers you have. Yes, it does help build credibility for your brand.
Engagement matters much more. That’s how you build a loyal following and gain Instagram followers at the same time.
As part of your posting strategy, set aside time to follow up with people who comment and engage with your post. Respond to each comment and ask questions.
If you see people regularly engaged with your content, send them a direct message to thank them. It’s a simple message that can lead to getting clients and sales.
Learn How to Gain Followers on Instagram
Instagram is the place to be on social media. It’s a way to build brand awareness and get traffic to your website. The tips in this article show you how to gain followers on Instagram the right way.
It takes work and consistency, but with time, you’ll find success on Instagram. You’ll slowly build your following that’s engaged and loyal to your brand.
Do you want more helpful tips to grow your social media presence? Check out the blog for more great details.
