So you want to grow your Instagram following...of course you do! It's 2020 - and whether you're an Influencer, Content Creator, or Small Business - having a larger following can get you seen by more people, and increase your credibility tenfold! Growing your following really is a win-win situation. But how do you do it? Let me tell you!
There are many reasons why you may be reading this blog... you may have just started out on your Instagram journey and you're not sure where to start, perhaps you've hit a follower plateau, or maybe (god forbid) you're considering buying your followers and thought you'd give growing your following organically one last chance before giving in to the dark side... please don' do that... seriously!
So in this here little blog I'm going to give you my TOP five tips on growing your following; quickly, efficiently, and most importantly, organically!!
This is a step-by-step framework, that if you follow - you will begin to see organic growth on your account within the first day!
Tip 1: Follow
Here’s the thing - there are currently 1 billion active monthly users - 500 million of those using the app daily! There are no shortage of people on the app, and many of them are already following accounts that are similar to yours!
So - all you have to do is get them to notice you, like your content, and eventually trust your opinions and input!
One of the easiest ways to do this is through following! Here's how:
Firstly, find 10-20 accounts in your niche or industry that post very similar content to yous, and are already doing well (in terms of following, reach and engagement!)
You can find their super fans (the followers that engage with their posts regularly) by looking at the people who comment on and like their posts regularly and first!
Save your 10-20 in a folder on Instagram - visit their accounts daily, and start to follow the followers that are most engaged with them, and you think will like your content too! If you do this strategically, you will start to build an engaged superfan following of your own!
Tip 2: Engage & Comment
Use this same list of 10-20 people, and start to comment on each of their posts. Set a notification on your account to notify you immediately when they post new content, and engage immediately!
Respond to comments on their posts. If their followers are asking a question in your industry or niche and you know the answer - follow it! Build rapport and start to become a recognisable name in the industry or niche as a result!
Tip 3: Join or create a community
Next, I want you to join a community - or start to build your own! The latter is stronger and will result in you building more dedicated superfans, but the first could be easier to start with due to an already established reach!
Examples of 'communities' could be; support groups, engagement groups, facebook groups of people with the same hobbies, interests, or skills as you, industry groups or meet-ups, fandoms!
Integrate yourself into these groups, and once again, become a name that pops up a lot. The more people that see you, the more people will; know, like, and trust you!
Once you've established yourself in these communities - you can start to interlink your own content within them - and connect them on more and different platforms!
Remember to keep the communities you join relevant to your niche or industry!!
Tip 4: Show up on Stories
By this stage - if you've followed the previous steps in this guide you should be growing more and more followers every day, but gaining followers is only half the problem. There's no use gaining 50 new followers a day, if 50 people also unfollow you - this is how we get stuck in follower plateaus and stunt our growth!
So.. how do we make our new followers stick around? Simple, show up for them - and more importantly, show up on stories!!
By showing your face on stories and talking to your camera, you not only build trust and rapport with your following, but they get to know you better - have a more emotional or stronger connection t you and your account, and will find that so much harder to leave behind with a careless unfollow!
In short - show up and give them something to stick around for!!
Tip 5: Post Consistently
The next tip is important, not just because it continues that conversation you have between you and your audience, but it also gives you algorithmic favour! Instagram's algorithm weighs your content against three very important algorithmic pillars - the first two are interest and relationships (we'll talk about these in another post!) but the final factor is timeliness or otherwise, consistancy!
Instagram wants you to show up consistently on the app. Because the more content you post, the longer people use it for. This works for big old IG because more time on the app = more ad space to sell = increases the bottom line = more profits (*you get the jist!)
So there we have it - show up, be consistent, simple right!!
Tip 6: Reels
Now my last two tips are going to focus specifically on reaching an entirely new audience. By doing these last two tips, your content will be shown to an entirely new, but still relavent, audience - without the manual hassle involved in the first three tips (this being said, it is vital you do all of these tips if you want to grow efficiently!
So... reels, let's talk about them shall we?
At the present moments, Instagram is giving algorithmic favour and HUGE growth opportunities to those who are taking advantage of their new feature 'Instagram Reels'. Reels are 15-30 second short clips that show up on the explore feed of potentially millions.
Instagram has now even included a whole reel tab on its app - making the opportunity to be seen larger and more achievable than ever before!!
So get out there, make some reels, and remember - keep it RELAVENT and NICHE!!
Tip 7: Hashtag strategy
My final tip, and once again this is focusing specifically on broadening your reach and finding an entirely new audience - is having a planned, authentic, and reliable hashtag strategy!! Did you know that making slight changed to the way you use hashtags in your posts can increase your engagement instantly by over 12.5% (I'm serious!!).
Now the subject of hashtag strategy and using hashtags to grow your following, engagement and reach is a huge one - and this blog post is already long enough!
But if you are interested in learning more about using hashtags I've actually created an entire FREE hashtag guide that you can go and download right now by clicking here
So there we are... my extremely easy to follow, seven stage, step-by-step guide to growing your followers and finding superfans on Instagram as an Influencer, Content Creator or Small Business in 2020!! I hope you enjoyed this blog - and if you fancy it, maybe even give us a cheeky follow on Instagram yourself (we post daily IG tips!!)
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