We've all heard the cookie cutter advice - get a nice camera, post relevant photos, and other simple tips that won't really do anything to spurt the growth of your Instagram account.
The methods below, on the other hand, will give you that rapid increase you're looking for. Assuming you have the basics down - good photos, descriptions, everything like that - the guidelines below will help you go above and beyond where you currently are. Read on.
Branch out with the hashtags you use.
Are you starting off your hashtags on each and every description with #love? Although it's usually the #1 most-followed tag at any given time, that also means the competition is fierce. Unless your post is an absolute stunner, you'll get lost in the fray with the millions of other people tagging #love in that same hour.
Vary your hashtag usage so you're getting more specific and targeting your audience in a more direct manner. For example, if you always tag #summer, you might try #warmweather, #summerlove, or even something like #sundress.
Try to get shoutouts from others like you.
There are three common approaches to getting shoutouts on Instagram.
- Buying them. Guaranteed, but the account doing the shoutouts might do a lot of them, making yours less effective, but still potentially effective.
- Trading them. Reach out to someone else who posts similar content to you and see if he or she would be interested in teaming up for some cross-promotion.
- Giving, then hoping. If you want to get a shoutout from someone who has quite a few more followers than you do, sometimes, the best way is to do that is to give him or her a shoutout... then just wait and hope you get noticed. If you have a relevant account, you might get a shout back.
Try one or multiple of the above methods - even a single shoutout from a big account can mean hundreds to thousands of new followers.
Crosspromote through other platforms.
If you're not sending Instagram followers to your Facebook and vice versa, you're missing out on extra exposure and visibility. Tell your audience to link up on the other network as well and you'll get an immediate boost on both accounts from your existing audience.
And to make crosspromoting that much better, your followers will have different followers of their own on each of these network accounts, too. Although there will be some overlap, but the reach you get will still be powerful.
Ramp up your postings and keep them consistent.
Step your game up and start posting daily if you're not already. The biggest accounts post 2-4x per day - don't be afraid to go past the "once a day" recommendation if you feel your content is something your audience would enjoy consistently - for example, funny pictures or something else that doesn't require a lot of thought to digest.
The easiest way to stick to an aggressive posting schedule is to think of photo and post ideas beforehand, then just schedule them and let a program do the work for you. Hootsuite is one such program that can do this.
Play to a certain theme.
Look through your Instagram posts right now and take note of the posts with the highest amount of interaction. What do they all share in common? Are they of similar types of photos? Are the descriptions all short and sweet?
Chances are, there will be one or multiple common "themes" that your audience just tends to love in your posts. Find them and you have a proven method to grow your Instagram through increased interaction right away. Just don't overdo it with creating more of the same - even the best things can get repetitive.
Get smart with your giveaways.
In the point above, if you do giveaways, they were probably your posts with the highest amount of interaction. Everyone loves free stuff.
Our recommendation is to do more giveaways - in terms of growth, there simply is not a better way to expand your reach and get brand new followers.
And in case you're worried, you don't have to spend a fortune to put together a solid giveaway. Give away items with high perceived values. Head somewhere like Amazon or Aliexpress and just start looking at the category your business falls into most. You can find some really cheap stuff that would be really cool to receive for free. As long as it's unique, no one will know the real price.
Make your product shots of the giveaways look amazing, too. This is Instagram... right? Make your audience stop, stare and think, "I want that".
Recap: 6 unique ways to grow your Instagram
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Use smaller hashtags to get more visibility and personalize the approach to what you post.
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Get shoutouts by buying them, exchanging them, or getting them naturally through promoting others for free.
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Crosspromote through other social platforms, especially Facebook, for expanded reach and follower counts.
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Post more (at least once a day) and post with absolute consistency.
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See what's been working and replicate that theme in future posts.
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Do giveaways, even if they're not for exorbitantly expensive items. You'll still get a ton of interaction.