What are the best ways to grow your Instagram?
Here are the quickest ways to grow your Instagram:
1. Start showing Reels
Reels are a new feature on Instagram that are short, engaging videos that are up to 90 seconds long. Reels can be fun, creative, and informative all at the same time.
If you're not using Reels yet, now is the time to start. Reels are a great way to draw attention to your content and grow your audience.
A quick way to create your first Instagram reel is as follows.
Storyboard concept
If you know in advance what your concept or story will be, the shooting process will be much easier. You don't need a complete storyline, but having a general idea of what you want to talk about will help you stay on track during filming.
Shooting the Instagram reel
Once your storyboard is ready, it's time to start filming! Remember that your reel should be less than 90 seconds long.
Previewing and adding effects
After you've finished filming, it's time to add the effects or music you want in the background. You can also lower your reel to make sure it doesn't exceed the 90-second limit.
Share the real Instagram
Finally, it's time to share your reality on Instagram!
You can share it on your feed or as a story. You can also use relevant hashtags and tags to draw more eyes to your content.
2. Schedule posts to increase your followers on Instagram.
When we discuss your Instagram growth, we're mostly referring to the growth of your Instagram followers.
To increase your followers, you need to create high-quality content for your Instagram posts. But creating posts is not enough, you need to change your processes.
To do this, consider using an Instagram scheduling tool to plan your posts in advance and put your Instagram strategy on autopilot.
One of my favorite ways to schedule Instagram posts is with the free planner Combin Scheduler.
This tool allows you to plan, manage, and schedule your posts from a single dashboard.
Here are the steps Follow these steps to get started easily with this tool.
With Combin, you connect to your Instagram page (or business profile), add new Instagram posts, add your post description and relevant hashtags, mark your location, and set a date and time for the post.
By scheduling posts, you can engage with your Instagram audience on a regular basis, improving the growth of your followers over time.
3. Prioritize quality over quantity.
Some sources claim that you should post on Instagram between one and three times per day, however, this may not be the most effective for you.
While brand awareness is good, your potential followers may see high-frequency messages as spam and start to unfollow you. Second, if you start publishing multiple times a day and then slow down, your engagement rate with your target audience may drop.
If you are not able to produce quality photos Every day, post them less often. It's always better to post a few quality photos per week than a lot of low-quality content.
Use Instagram analytics to see which posts are the most trending and successful that resonated with your audience, and with the Instagram algorithm. You can also boost your top-performing posts with Instagram ads, by having a call to action consisting of visiting your profile and going to your website.
4. Use Instagram Stories
Instagram started out as a social network for sharing photos, however, it has expanded far beyond that point already. There is 500 million stories created daily around the world.
The intention of Instagram stories is to share the moments of your life quickly and easily. The best feature here is that all stories are featured at the top of the Instagram feed without any prepayment or post boosting.
While stories only last 24 hours, their impact is much longer, especially with the most popular stories that you can pin to the highlights of your profile and allow visitors to your page to read them again and again.
Stories can of course take the form of a photo, but for better engagement, we suggest making them look more lively - opt for videos. If you don't know how to shoot or edit videos, use the tools available.
For example, Renderforest has a large library of Instagram Story templates that are suitable for any type of industry.
You should also create Instagram reels, live videos, and IGTV videos as part of your Instagram marketing strategy.
5. Create your own hashtags.
Hashtags create a community and involve people who have common interests. The right hashtag can expose your Instagram image, video, or story to a large, targeted audience.
Lots of brands create their own hashtags and encourage people to use them - #JustDoIt, #ImLovinIt - we all know what they stand for.
We know it can be hard to convince people to use your hashtag and start following you, but why not start with smaller groups?
Let's say you're organizing a virtual or video conference and you think of a hashtag - #MarketingSummit.
Make sure it's not taken and start using hashtags during the event - on invitations, as decorations, in marketing materials, etc.
You can even repost images from your followers who used the hashtag, showing how much you appreciate their photos.
6. Socialize and comment on other accounts.
Let's not forget that Instagram is a social media platform where you can meet new people and connect with those who share common interests.
Start liking tons of photos that relate to your profile theme. For example, if you demonstrate a healthy lifestyle or a fractional diet, look for people who talk about it.
Leave your comments under the other posts, let them know that they are doing well, or share your own thoughts on this topic. Don't forget your own feedback and DM inbox.
Offer your followers two-way communication. If you don't want to miss a comment on your profile, make sure you've enabled notifications.
7. Give people a reason to follow you.
The main reason people follow a particular brand, blogger, or influencer is because they've found value for themselves in it. Usually, we tend to subscribe to content that is visually appealing and is specifically informative or even motivating.
Become one of these experts who can educate or motivate those who are considering changing their diet and losing weight. Tell them that you have gone through all the pains and challenges that have led you to what you have now.
If you look at Kayla Itsines, you can tell she's good at influencer marketing, sharing her workouts and meal planning with a huge community: (Bikini Body Guides) and users of the Sweat with Kayla app.
8. Have a unique grid.
Don't underestimate the power of visual communication. When it comes to presenting a brand, customers recognize the product primarily by its logo or by the choice of colors. If we see a soft drink and a red label on the bottle, we all know that it is the famous Coca-Cola.
Do the same with your own Instagram profile and make your grid consistent and visually appealing.
It's not just about color, but also about structure and symmetry. You can use A tool like Planoly or Preview which allows you to preview the layout of the image before publishing it. Be sure to stick to a single image filter to ensure color consistency, or be more creative with collage or puzzle images.
Another tip is to add a few quotes on a single color background or to display the same object on every third or fourth photo in the row.
With this organized photo publishing flow, you can start telling your brand story. Your followers will be more likely to stay on your community platform because they will be waiting for other posts to come.
9. Geolocate your photos.
When visiting places that are super amazing - be sure to geolocate them. Instagram users who have been there or are planning to visit the awesome restaurant or town you're tagging will notice your photo - and potentially follow you since you have something in common.
You can even create your own geotag and develop content around the location so that others can use it in the future. If you see that people are starting to use your geotag, start socializing. Write a comment, like a photo, start following their Instagram content — people will notice and follow you in return.
10. Work with Instagram influencers.
Join forces with other famous, popular, and well-known bloggers and influencers; in this way, you exchange followers with each other. Be sure to collaborate with influencers who have similar interests or topics, as people will be more likely to follow you.
It's hard to force men who follow auto repair centers to follow some makeup artists who talk about beauty products. Not only can other influencers make a difference, but also real brands. If brands don't approach you, you can have their marketing team send a short introductory email.
Don't be afraid to ask for a promotion. Spend money to boost your profile to expand your social reach and let others know that you exist.
11. Get the most out of your Instagram bio.
Your Instagram bio is going to be the first interaction that many people have with your brand, so you need to make sure it stands out from the crowd.
Your Instagram ID is not enough. In your business account, you need to be clear and concise about what your business does, and work in keywords that are relevant to your brand or industry so that visitors know exactly what it's about.
Another top-notch tip is to maximize the potential of your Instagram bio link by using a tool like LinkGallery - a new product from the famous URL shortener, Rebrandly - to send your visitors to several destinations, from a single link.
All of your links - whether it's your website, your webshop or even your other social channels - are hosted on a page that can be customized to suit your brand image and accessed from this small but powerful link in your bio.
You can also use the built-in analytics feature to see which links your potential customers are most interested in, and use that data to optimize your CTAs and conversion paths.
Check out this guide on creating an Instagram business page for more tips on how to optimize your account and increase your followers.
Bonus tip: Add captions
Want to add an extra layer of engagement to your stories? Add a caption that tells viewers what you're saying in the video.
This way, people who are hard of hearing or whose volume is not adjusted can still follow. You can even add emojis to help get your point across!
You can also use it as a thumbnail for your messages. If you have a video with a big message, adding the caption as a thumbnail will not only help get your message across, but maybe an easy way for people to know what your message is about without having to click on it.
Summary.
There are lots of ways to grow your Instagram profile this year. Think about the layout and overall look of your profile, make sure to post regularly, there is value for your followers in the content you share. If you want to broaden your reach, use Instagram hashtags and geolocation.
Make sure that people can easily find you and visualize your main interests and topics that align with your personal branding. Work with other influencers and brands on social media. Whether through rants, promotions and giveaways, other profiles can boost your visibility.
Follow a few of these suggestions to grow your Instagram account and you are sure to gain more followers this year.
Have we lacked strategies to grow your Instagram? Let us know in the comments.
Further reading: To generate sales on social media, check out my articles on How to make money on Instagram and How to sell on Facebook.
