Instagram is a powerful marketing tool for businesses looking to expand their reach. It allows you to promote your brand and business in a friendly and authentic way. However, it takes lots planning, patience and perseverance to increase your brand reach using Instagram.
Before you begin to read about Instagram follower hacks, here are some stats that will convince you to make Instagram as an integral part of your social media marketing strategy:
• Over 150 million people use Instagram to message businesses every month. Source: Meta insights
• 93% of marketers have already used Instagram to acquire potential new customers. Source: Hoot suite Social Media Index 2023
• 98% of fashion brands use Instagram. Source: Influencer Marketing Hub 2023 Benchmark Report
Growing your Instagram community is crucial to boost your brand exposure. However, it requires strategy, innovation and consistent efforts to increase your follower base on Instagram. In this article, we will share with you some simple hacks to gain genuine followers along with tips to apply each hack, so as to reap maximum benefits. Here we go:
1. Maximize the impact of your profile picture
3. Run Instagram contests & giveaways
4. Take advantage of Instagram reels
5. Use online polls to engage with your audience.
6. Increase popularity of your hash tags
7. Promote your Instagram Account across multiple platforms
8. Collaborate with influencers and brands.
9. Reach a wider audience with shareable content
10. Lean into user-generated content
11. Customize your geo tag to improve discoverability
12. Create catchy captions using keywords
Tip 1 # Maximize the impact of your profile picture
Your Instagram profile picture does more for you than just introducing your brand to the world. It helps in establishing your credibility and attracting the right audience. Your profile picture creates the first impression of your Instagram account on visitors, and it is essential to maximize its impact to reap benefits from your presence on Instagram.
• Make sure to switch to the business profile. It will help establish the credibility of your brand.
• There must be a profile photo (if there is no profile photo, people are less likely to trust the brand).
• Your Instagram profile photo should be clear and of high quality.
• Choose a close-up photo and avoid cluttered photos.
• Choose a photo that is consistent with your brand identity.
• Use your brand colors in the profile photo.
• Avoid filters, as they look unprofessional and artificial
Tip 2 # Write an engaging bio data
1. Know your audience and goals: What do you want to achieve from your Instagram presence? What do you want your potential audience to know about your business? Having a clear understanding of your audience and business goals can help you tailor effective bio data for your Instagram account.
2. Be clear and concise: There are only 150 characters in your bio; you need to be clear and concise and highlight only the most important information about your business that will attract the targeted audience towards your business.
3. Use keywords: People often use keywords to search for a business account on Instagram. Make sure to include relevant keywords in your bio to help people find your profile.
4. Show your personality: Your bio gives you a great opportunity to show your brand personality to the world. Use an effective tone and language to connect with your audience on a personal level.
5. Use emojis: Emojis add a touch of fun, personality, and connection to Instagram. However, using too many emotions can have a negative impact, so make sure to use them sparingly.
6. Include call to action: Make sure to tellpeople what you want them to do next, whether it’s visiting your website, signing up for your newsletter, or following you on other social media platforms.
Here are some examples
Tip 3 # Run Instagram contests & giveaways
Running contests and giveaways is the proven way to increase your Instagram followers. It allows you to offer a giveaway prize in exchange for an Instagram like, follow or commenting and sharing your profile with others.
• Make sure to promote your giveaways and contest on your Instagram page and other social media channels.
• Giveaway prize must be something that your target audience would be interested in. For instance, if you are dealing in make-up products, you can give away lipsticks or if you are a publishing house, you can give away books or stationary.
When done correctly, Instagram giveaways help you to establish your brand, nurture a loyal following and connect with a larger audience organically. Keep in mind that it requires strategic planning and a clear understanding of what you want to accomplish as a result to run a successful giveaway.
Tip 4 # Take advantage of Instagram reels
Posting reels is a great way to get more followers faster. According to a report published by social insider, reels get 67% more engagement than standard Instagram videos. Moreover, it gives you the chance to reach new audiences. The more people you reach, the more people are likely to convert to Instagram followers for your brand.
• Create reels relevant to your business and targeted audience. Find out what kind of reels they would like to watch
• Make your reels appealing and entertaining. For instance, you can show your work culture to establish credibility or you can create funny reels to connect with the audience
• Brainstorm ideas to create innovative reels such as showcasing your business story, sharing about the features of your products or services, discount offers etc.
• Use keywords and hashtags to describe your video content
• Use trending sounds on Instagram reels
• Make sure to add on-screen text for viewers watching it without sound
• Use high-quality video footage
Tip 5 # Use online polls to engage with your audience
Direct communication is always the best way to communicate with anyone. Online polls allow you to engage with your audience and connect better with them. It also gives you a chance to get more followers.If you are engaged in an online business or content creation or are simply trying to connect with your community on social media, online polls are a convenient way to know how your existing followers feel about your content. It also helps to know their interests to get better content ideas.
• Ask engaging questions relevant to your targeted audience.
• Use a variety of poll formats, such as yes/no, this or that, would you rather, and emoji slider polls. Make sure to use a mix of formats to keep your audience engaged.
• Promote your post by sharing a teaser post or story.
• Once the poll has concluded, share the results with your followers in a post or story. It is a great way to start a conversation with your followers.
• Use relevant hash tags in your poll questions so they are seen by more people interested in the topic.
• Promote your polls on other social media platforms, such as Facebook, to drive more traffic to your Instagram profile.
Tip 6 # Increase the popularity of your hashtags
Hashtags go viral when they connect with a large number of social media users and encourage them to share them. It is often dependent on the relevance and timeliness of the hashtag. Hashtags associated with original and compelling content have a higher probability of gaining traction.Once you have created engaging, and relevant hash tags, the next step is to spread the words about your hash tags to reach a wider audience. This will increase the chances of your posts being discovered by a wider audience. For instance, #WantAnR8 by Audi is a hashtag that gained huge popularity among the people.
When the R8 was first unveiled, one of the Twitter users (Joanne McCoy) included the hashtag #WantAnR8 in her message to express how much she wanted to ride it. She was surprised by the company, as they allowed her to spend a day behind the wheel of an R8. Later, as the brand utilized it to publicize the release of their car, the hashtag gained popularity. As more people started using the hashtag, the brand surprised a few of them by giving them a day behind the wheel of an R8.
So you can think of unique yet relevant hashtags to connect with your audience. Here are some simple tips to increase the popularity of your hash tags
• Ensure the presence of your hash tags on receipts, print ads, store signs, and at relevant events.
• You may include your hashtags on your social profiles, website, and email to connect with your offline presence.
• Use hashtags in your posts and stories. You can include hashtags in your captions, comments, and stories.
• You can also use hashtags in your bio. When using hashtags, make sure they’re relevant to your post. It is recommended to use 3-5 number of hashtags per post.
• Encourage your followers to use your hashtags. You can ask your followers to use your hashtags in their own posts and stories.
• Promote your hashtags on other social media platforms, such as Twitter and Facebook.
Tip 7 # Promote your Instagram account across multiple platforms
Cross-promote your Instagram content on various platforms to increase its visibility. For instance, you can direct individuals to your account through your website, podcast, email newsletter, or other social platforms.
Cross-posting Instagram content to Facebook and other social media profiles can drive huge traffic to your Instagram profile. Users who don’t know you’re on Instagram and are following you on other platforms will also discover your Instagram account.
You can easily modify the settings in your Instagram account for every post to cross-post automatically, or you can also do it manually for select posts. For instance, at eSearchLogix, we have added our Instagram link on our website footer.
Here are some of the ways to promote your Instagram account on other platforms. Add your Instagram link to
- Your business website’s footer or side bar
- Your business emails
- Social media posts from team members
- Bios on other social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter
- Networking events and webinars
- Use your Instagram QR code of your profile for in-person events
Tip 8 # Collaborate with influencers and brands
A winning strategy for your Instagram branding is collaborating with other brands, creators, and influencers. It helps your brand get better exposure and engage with a new set of potential followers.
However, you don’t need to break the bank to collaborate with other influences. There are many micro-influencers who often boast a higher engagement rates and budget-friendly sponsored post rates than macros. It is crucial to identify the right influencers and brands with an audience that is likely to be interested in your niche products and services. Once you have launched a collaboration, make sure to promote it on various social media platforms. The right strategy will depend on your bandwidth and budget requirements.
Tip 9 # Reach a wider audience with shareable content
When you want to reach new followers organically, creating shareable content is the best growth hack. It allows you to add something different from dull routine to your Instagram feed. Inspirational quotes, informative carousel posts, and popular memes are proven ways to increase your post engagement and number of followers. Memes have proven to be very effective at generating viral reach. They are often combined with text and imagery (a photo, GIF, or video) along with a pinch of humor in it.
Here are some tips to craft shareable content
• Know your audience to create relatable content that they would love to share
• Be original as people are more likely to share unique and original content
• Create your own memes and quotes
• Try to resonate with members of the community with your quotes, reels, memes, nostalgia posts and other shareable content pieces
Tip 10 # Lean into user-generated content
Encouraging your community to share user-generated content is an effective way to boost brand awareness, increase the credibility of your brand, and grow your Instagram family. Here are some statistics related to it.
84% of people are more likely to trust brands if they use UGC in their digital marketing efforts. (Source: Sprout Social)
75% of consumers say that UGC makes a brand more authentic. (Source: Stackla)
There are many examples of how brands effectively use UGC to increase their reach. For instance, Starbucks has a dedicated hashtag for UGC, #RedCupSeason.
This hashtag is used by customers to share photos and videos of themselves while enjoying Starbucks coffee during the holiday season. It often uses this hashtag on its Instagram feed.
There can be many ways to incorporate UGC into your branding strategy for Instagram. For instance, you can collect UGC images and videos from your loyal customers and save them into your Instagram stories highlight. Your followers can use your branded hashtag or tag your brand while sharing the content. Here are some tips for it.
Tips
• Encourage your followers to create user-generated content by creating branded hashtags, running contests or giveaways, and featuring them on your Instagram stories and feeds.
• Make sure to ask for permission to share UGC, even if you have been tagged by someone in their post. You can do this either by sending them a DM or by commenting on their post in which you are tagged.
• While sharing UGC, make sure to give credit to the original creator.
• Give credit to the original creator. When you share UGC, be sure to tag the original creator and give them credit in the caption.
Tip 11 # Customize your geo tag to improve discoverability
Geo tags are used for adding a location to your Instagram post or story. Customizing your geo tags is an effective way to make your Instagram content discoverable by your targeted audience in specific locations. This tag allows you Instagram account to be found anytime an Instagram user clicks on the same geo-tag on another photo. They can be as specific as an exact address or as broad as a city or a country tagged as a location. These tags prove to be valuable for local businesses. When you tag a specific location on the content, people looking for location-specific content can come across your profile. It will help to promote your business to the relevant audience in the specific location.
Tips
• Use specific geo-tags such as “New York City” or “Midtown Manhattan.”
• Use a mix of geo-tags related to your business and the content that you are sharing.
• Use geo-tags in your posts as well as stories to reach people who are interested in the specific location where you are. You can use location stickers to add geo-tags to your stories.
• Contribute posts and stories related to the location so people feel better connected with it.
Tip 12 # Create catchy captions using keywords
Until recently, people used to explore Instagram via hashtags, location tags, usernames, and profile names. However, now you can search on Instagram using keywords. It means writing engaging and relevant captions using choice keywords can have huge impact your content’s discoverability. Here are some tips for writing your Instagram captions.
• Make sure to provide context and authenticity in your caption.
• Be descriptive and accurate, so audience can easily find your content
• Use catchy and appealing language to reach your targeted audience.
There are also free Instagram caption generation tools that can make it easy for you to write engaging and attention grabbing captions within few seconds. These free AI powered Instagram caption generator tools that can be used to create the engaging caption for your posts and help you get more likes, followers and comments.
Wrap Up
Instagram is a powerful platform for businesses to grow their brand and reach new customers. By following these tips, you can increase your followers, engagement, and reach on Instagram. Just be sure to use them authentically and consistently, and you’ll start to see results.
