Instagram has become a critical component of many brands’ social presence, directing profitable traffic to landing pages, increasing conversions, and cultivating an engaged audience.

If your Instagram presence isn’t as strong as you’d like, it might be time to learn how to sharpen your strategies for gaining real, organic Instagram followers. The larger your audience, the more opportunities you will have to engage with users and provide them with unique experiences.

The organic distinction is significant: when it comes to gaining more Instagram followers, some brands take the easy way out. Pay for likes and follower sites abound, but these shortcuts are never worthwhile because the Instagram algorithm is constantly updated to weed out paid, low-quality accounts and interactions.

Not to mention, the number of followers on Instagram is meaningless unless it represents an engaged fan base that makes purchases, visits your landing pages, and advocates for your brands with friends and followers. With these Instagram follower growth tips, you can start building your presence the right way.

10 Methods for Increasing Instagram Followers

Improve your Instagram account.

One of the most important steps before figuring out how to gain Instagram followers is to have your account fully optimized. Consider your brand’s Instagram bio to be the “homepage” of your account.

Maintain a consistent content calendar.

Posting content at random, haphazard times is the worst thing you can do when trying to gain followers on Instagram. If you’re fortunate enough to have users follow you at the start, you don’t want to make them forget why they followed you in the first place.

Maintain a consistent posting schedule to combat this. To avoid spam, brands should post no more than a few times per day, but whatever your cadence, keep it consistent. Approximately 200 million Instagram users log in every day, so try publishing a few times throughout the day to spread your net even further.

Plan ahead of time your Instagram posts.

While the Instagram algorithm has changed to show users more content they like, posting at the right times can still increase the visibility of your posts by increasing overall engagement.

There are many things your brand can do to increase visibility, and scheduling Instagram content is now one of them thanks to Sprout Social. With our newest tools, we can assist your brand in scheduling content in a simple manner.

Your entire team will be able to see campaigns and schedules more efficiently if you schedule content ahead of time. It’s always a good idea to plan out your content ahead of time, and with our Instagram scheduling tools, you can reach your audience while also maintaining a consistent flow of content.

Encourage partners and brand advocates to share your content.

When learning how to get more Instagram followers, it’s critical to understand the worth of your audience. The more followers you have (organically), the more buyers and potential customers you will have.

Getting in front of customers and being present is the best way to get them to follow you. It is critical to be present on both your own and other people’s Instagram accounts. To get your brand in front of customers’ feeds, consider sponsoring user-generated content. You can also hold Instagram contests to promote your business.

reach a larger audience These campaigns increase social proof by demonstrating that your fans care enough to repost your content or create their own UGC.

Avoid using phony Instagram followers.

There is a significant difference between an Instagram account with fake followers and one with legitimate followers. It may appear tempting to simply buy Instagram followers, but the negative consequences outweigh the benefits of organic follower growth.

Display your Instagram account everywhere.

People will not be able to find your account unless you promote it on Instagram. Check that your Instagram account is linked to your website and other social media platforms.

Increasing visibility and awareness is one of the most effective methods for being discovered. If you truly want to increase your Instagram followers, make it clear where they can find you. You could include social media buttons on your website and blog to help promote social shares across all of your networks and to show people how to find you on Instagram.

Post content that your followers want.

While this is easier said than done, learning what content your followers want to see is a good idea. On Instagram, you’ll quickly notice that some content performs better than others. This is why testing is so critical.

The smallest detail, whether it’s filters, captions, content types, or post times, can make all the difference. Keep an ear to the ground for new Instagram trends so you can post popular content.

Your brand should invest in Instagram analytics tools to take your analysis to the next level. This will make tracking, benchmarking, and analyzing Instagram content across accounts easier.

Get the conversation going.

Conversation is one of the most effective ways to make users aware of your Instagram account. According to the 2020 Sprout Social Index, consumers prefer to engage with visual-first content such as photos (68%) and video (50%) followed by text posts (30%). Instagram is the ideal platform for this audience profile, combining eye-catching visuals with captions that can be just as engaging once you’ve honed your Instagram caption copywriting skills.

Look for hashtags that convert.

Hashtags are one of the most tried-and-true ways to gain Instagram followers. For years, hashtags have been an important tool for discovery and extending our social reach. As a marketer, you want to grow your community by gaining followers, and hashtags can help you do just that.

To begin, look for hashtags that aren’t overcrowded. This theory is supported by the fact that the hashtag #love has over 184 million photos associated with it, according to Social Media Examiner. Trying to stand out in a sea of millions of photos and videos on Instagram is a difficult task.

You must find hashtags that your target audience is more likely to check. These users are more likely to follow your account if a relevant connection is made. One way to group posts around hyper-relevant content to your brand and campaigns is to use unique, branded hashtags.

Make your Instagram fans happy.

Last but not least, when you make your Instagram followers happy, you will see an increase in your audience size. We’ve given you plenty of ideas for content brainstorming and scheduling, so put them to use in a way that feels authentic to your brand voice. To put it another way, avoid appearing needy, sales-driven, or robotic.

For many accounts, this entails sprinkling in posts that are legitimately intended to make followers smile and build customer relationships. Don’t forget to provide content to your followers on your personal feed as if they were friends: this could include posting memes, inspirational content, or simply re-sharing interesting photos or artwork (all properly credited, of course) that can give your followers a mental pick-me-up throughout the day.