Instagram is one of the most popular social media platforms for networking. This is partially due to 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 2.4 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 shortcuts to getting 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.
Below, we’ll take a look at some key steps you can take to establish a successful Instagram growth strategy.
Table of Contents
1. Create a Unique Bio
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.
Here’s an example of a great bio by Meta themselves. As you can see, it talks about what they do (connecting people) while incorporating a CTA (Connect with what you love). This is an excellent strategy.
Important Note
Make sure you update your bio regularly to keep things fresh and compelling.
2. Post High-Quality Photos
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 take notes on what you think they have done well. This will help you with analyzing your own posts.
3. Engage with Others
Alongside replying to comments left on your posts, there is so much more you can do 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 also motivate the users to interact with your posts, which, in turn, 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 promote 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.Quick Fact: On average, Instagram posts see an engagement rate of 0.71%. This breaks down to 0.59% for photos, 1.26% for carousels, and 1.23% for Reels.
4. Use CTAs
Attracting potential followers to your profile is only one part of a successful Instagram growth strategy. Once you get them there, you need to convince them to do what you’d like. Many viewers will simply scroll through your page, or like your post, and then leave.
By using CTAs (Calls-to-Action), you can help convert more of these viewers into subscribers. But, avoid using generic CTAs. According to HubSpot, personalized CTAs perform significantly better (at around 202%) than general ones. CTAs may also improve the engagement by as much as 300%, depending on how they’re used.
You can use CTAs in your bio to get people to visit web pages, buy products, and even follow you. You can also use CTAs in post descriptions, to increase engagement, boost product sales, and increase your following.
Stories are another place where you can use CTAs. When you engage with other profiles, that gets you some level of visibility for your profile. If you have live stories when people encounter your profile, they’ll be tempted to watch your stories. Using a CTA is an excellent way to draw these viewers in.
Here’s a great example from Google, incorporating a CTA into a post description. Notice how they combine the use of hashtags and a CTA to get optimal results.
5. Make Use of Analytics
While many creators often don’t realize it, most successful Instagram growth strategies rely heavily on the use of analytics.
You’re probably wondering how analyzing your existing followers can help you gain new ones. Every creator, brand, or account, has a specific target audience that they want to reach.
In the case of a furniture company specializing in wooden furniture, their target audience would likely be people who love wooden furniture. In the case of a sneaker brand, it would be sneaker lovers with an interest in the brand’s style.
By analyzing the performance of your past content, you can see which content appeals most to your target audience. This information allows you to sculpt future content to reach more people with an interest in your specific niche.
Furthermore, it allows you to do A/B testing, and see which approach has the best results. For example, you could test out two different types of CTAs, or see which kind of background imagery your target audience prefers. It can even help you establish the best time of day for you to post.
In short, keeping track of analytics is essential to help grow your Instagram followers. So don’t skip this step!
6. Collaborate with Influencers
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.
7. Run a Giveaway
Another popular element of many Instagram growth strategies is 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 like:
- 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.
8. Cross-Promote
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, so be sure to advertise your social media accounts at the bottom of every email you send.
Cross-promotion is a brilliant tool to use as part of your Instagram growth plan. It can really help drive traffic to your page. However, remember not to post identical content across all platforms, otherwise your audience might get bored.
9. Make Use of All Features
While engaging with similar accounts is critical, there’s another essential aspect to engagement. Your Instagram growth plan would be incomplete if it didn’t make room for encouraging followers to engage with you.
To make the most of the platform, use all the Instagram features that are on offer. Some of these include:
- 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 in November of 2020. It helps you recognize trends based on your Instagram performance. It also gives you helpful hints and tips on how to make the most of Instagram overall.
Additionally, since Instagram has a useful array of many tools and features, you can easily give followers many opportunities to connect and engage with you. Some of the best options include the following:
Q&A Sessions
Question and answer sessions are one of the best ways to engage your followers, especially after you have a reasonable base of followers. This type of session can have two excellent effects in terms of engagement.
First, it allows followers to feel like they have access to your brand. By creating a platform where they have personal access to you, it helps them to feel valued, improving the likelihood that they’ll recommend your account to others.
Secondly, it allows users to get answers to their most burning questions about you, your brand, or your business. You can do it entirely via Instagram stories or, if you’re ready to go for it, organize an Instagram live.
Polls and Quizzes
As with Q&A sessions, polls and quizzes help to create a sense of interaction and allow followers to feel like they have a connection with your brand. At the same time, it allows you to gauge your viewers’interest, or find out which kind of content interests them the most.
If you’re unsure how to get started, you can always use sample questions to get the ball rolling.
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, consider using 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. Incorporate as many of them into your Instagram growth plan as you can. Some will be more successful than others. It’s 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.
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