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Instagram is one of the most popular social media platforms for networking. This is partially due to having new features released more regularly than any other social media platform, but mostly it’s due to the high volume of active users the app seems to attract.

Quick Fact

Instagram boasts more than 1 billion active monthly users and around 500 million active daily users. Studies have also shown that 90% of all users follow at least one business account, making it the ideal platform for businesses to boost their visibility as well as engagement rates.

But, to grow your Instagram profile and successfully market your brand, you are going to need followers. We all know there are shortcut ways to get followers, but you are much better off growing your Instagram organically to attract authentic followers.

Authentic followers will take an active interest in your brand which means they will be more likely to engage with your content as well as buy your products.

The steps below will teach you how to organically grow your Instagram:

1. Create a Unique Bio

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The first thing you should do as part of your Instagram growth strategy is to create a unique bio.

When people visit your Instagram page, your bio is one of the first things they will see, so it’s important that you get it right. Your bio is your chance to tell the world who you are and what your vibe is. You should utilize this space by posting a link to your website.

Important Note

Make sure you update your bio regularly to keep things fresh and compelling.

2. Post High-Quality Photos

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High-quality photos on Instagram are a must. Therefore, accidentally covering your camera lens, having blurred selfies, or posting fuzzy pictures of beautiful scenery is just not acceptable.

You need to post well-thought-out, clear, and engaging photos. You don’t need a top-of-the-range camera to achieve this. Instagram is a mobile phone app, so people will expect to see photographs taken with a mobile phone. But if you do happen to be looking for an even more successful outcome, you could purchase some professional photography equipment.

Try to be unique and make sure you are posting content that reflects your company’s attitudes and values. Why not look through the photos you have posted in the past? Check which ones received the most engagement. This should help you work out the sort of thing that appeals to your targeted audience as well as determine what will work best for promoting your brand.  

You should check out your competitors’ posts. See what kind of photos and captions they have been using. Look at some of their more popular posts and takes notes on what you think they have done well. This will help you with analyzing your own posts.

3.Post Brilliant Captions

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Photos are the thing that will catch your audience’s eye, but your captions are what will keep them interested.

Again, make sure your captions reflect your company’s attitudes and values. Give your company a personality by giving your captions a personality. Would your company post factual captions, funny captions, or perhaps even rhyming captions?

You could try asking a question in your caption. This will encourage your audience to interact with your posts. When people do interact by commenting on your post, you should always follow it up with a reply. Your followers will appreciate that they are important to you.

Whatever you decide to do, make sure it is unique and interesting.

4. Use Hashtags to Your Advantage

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Instagram hashtags are more important than you may realize. The hashtag has been in operation for over a decade now (since 2007 to be exact). Everyone knows what hashtags look like, but does everyone know how they work?

Basically, Instagram hashtags categorize your content, making your posts more discoverable to a wider audience. This makes hashtagging one of the top ways to achieve organic Instagram growth. If you do decide to use hashtags as part of your business marketing strategy, be sure only to use ones that relate to your business. 

For example, if your business is centered around fitness, but you are hashtagging about cute dogs, you are going to end up with an audience that is only interested in cute dogs. Not the kind of audience you need in order to grow your business.

To get the best out of hashtags you should use a mix of trending hashtags and hashtags that are more bespoke to your brand. This shouldn’t be difficult since Instagram allows you to use up to 30 hashtags per post.

Don’t worry if using hashtags doesn’t grow your account instantly. Instagram is a competitive place. Perseverance will boost your chances of being seen.

5. Post Regularly

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Consistency is key with social media management. You should plan out the specific times that you intend to post each day.

Posting regularly keeps your Instagram account active which is one of the best ways to attract people to your profile. Algorithms give preference to the people who post most frequently. This means the more you post the more your visibility will increase.

However, don’t start spamming. A couple of posts per day should be more than enough. Any more than that is probably too much. Try optimizing your schedule to meet the needs of your targeted audience. Using an analytics app can help you with this.

It is also a good idea to keep a stockpile of photos and videos on hand for days when you don’t have enough time to generate content, but still need to post some. Perhaps use them as a backup for weekends or when you go on vacation.

6. Engage with Others

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Alongside replying to comments left on your posts, there is so much more you can be doing to engage with others.

You should follow Instagram business accounts that are comparable with your own. This will give you access to potential new followers. You can make yourself visible to these potential new followers by interacting with your competitors’ posts. This will motivate the users to interact with your posts which will hopefully result in them following your account.

Repost popular user-generated content. For example, if you are a hairdresser, you could find Instagram pages that are promoting hair care products or salon equipment and share their posts via your Instagram stories.

You should also make an effort to like these posts and comment on them. Doing this will allow you to engage with an audience that already has an interest in things relating to your business. This could initiate further interest in your Instagram profile, resulting in a higher number of followers.   

So, be sure to set time aside each day to engage with other users. Start liking more posts and commenting on them. You could also try leaving responses to other people’s Instagram stories.

7. Collaborate with Influencers

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Businesses collaborating with influencers is something that is being done more regularly. Instagram influencers are users with a large following. They are also usually experts in a particular subject.

Influencer marketing is becoming one of the most effective social media marketing tools. It is the best way to advertise your brand to lots of people in a short amount of time. Influencers will help drive traffic to your page which will increase your engagement rates and hopefully boost your sales.  

There are thousands of influencers out there, but it would be more beneficial for you to use those who already promote things related to your business. For example, if you are selling cars you would be better off collaborating with someone who is already associated with cars, rather than collaborating with someone who would usually promote things like fashion brands or fitness equipment.  

When you are searching for an influencer to collaborate with, you should be aware that they are often inundated with offers and swamped with spam. This means it can be difficult to get your message seen in the first place.

Why not try something a bit different? You could offer them an incentive, such as some of your merchandise for free or at a discounted rate. The most important thing is to make it worth their time and effort. Remember, being an influencer is a job. They will expect to be paid for the work they do.

8. Run a Giveaway

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Another popular way of getting followers is by running giveaways. All you need to do is decide on what you are going to give away and then decide on your competition rules. Standard rules usually include things such as:

  • liking the post that is announcing the giveaway
  • following the page that is running the giveaway
  • sharing the giveaway on your Instagram story.
  • tagging friends in the comments section of the giveaway post (sometimes it will be as general as ‘tag your friends in this post’ or sometimes it will specify how many friends you need to tag)

Doing this generates excitement around your product which drives traffic to your Instagram account.  

9. Cross-Promote

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You should consider promoting your Instagram account via your other social media platforms. You could do this by posting a link to your Instagram account in the bio section or the ‘about’ section on the other platforms.

If you have a website, you should also make sure to advertise all your social media accounts at the bottom of each page. The same goes for sending emails, be sure to advertise your social media accounts at the bottom of every email you send.

Cross-promotion is a brilliant tool for driving traffic to your page but remember not to post identical content across all platforms otherwise your audience might get bored.

10. Make Use of All Features

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To make the most of Instagram you should make use of all the features that are on offer. Some of these include:

  • IGTV – this is a video sharing feature that enables you to share videos that are much longer than the ones you can share on your story or on your grid. Video is a great way to connect with your followers’ so you should definitely make use of it.   
  • Instagram Stories – this feature allows you to post photos and short videos. You can also pose questions and hold polls via your Instagram story. Remember that whatever you post here will disappear after 24 hours.
  • Instagram Shopping – this feature allows you to tag your products in your posts. This is a great way to encourage people to buy your products. It also provides a fast and efficient way for them to do so.  
  • Professional Dashboard – this is a feature that was introduced this year. It gives you help to recognize trends based on your Instagram’s performance. It also gives you helpful hints and tips on how to make the most of Instagram overall.

These are just a few of the features that can really help with getting more organic Instagram followers. But there are many more you can find out about.

SimplyGram Growth Service 

For some extra help growing your Instagram profile, you should use SimplyGram’s organic Instagram growth service.

SimplyGram will pair you with a dedicated account manager who will ask you to provide information on which Instagram profiles have followers you would specifically like to attract.

The followers you acquire will have been targeted with your particular needs in mind. This means they are highly likely to engage with your stories and posts.  

As part of your subscription, you will be assigned a dedicated marketing team and have access to 24-hour support, 7 days per week. 

With SimplyGram you can cancel your subscription at any time, so why not sign up now for a free 3-day trial.

Conclusion

These are some great starting points to help you to grow your Instagram profile organically. Try them all out, some will be more successful than others, it is all about trial and error. The most important thing is to find a strategy that works best for you.  

Remember to check your insights regularly, so you are conscious of the levels of interaction taking place with your account. Doing this will make you aware of when you are doing things correctly and will highlight when it’s time to make some changes.

Mattie Schultz
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