How to get more followers on instagram ? Here are 17 tips to attract more instagram followers to your profile 

Instagram^[3] can be a highly targeted, visual marketing channel for your brand and an opportunity to build a loyal following that grows with your business.

More than 500 million Instagram users browse the app every day, making it one of the most engaged audiences.

In this guide, we'll show you how to make your Instagram can constantly grow and increase engagement so that over time you gain a huge following - one that is full of real fans, not bots or fake followers.

17 helpful tips to get more instagram followers 

1. Use instagram reels

Reels are fun videos you can share with followers on your Instagram account. They have audio, effects and creative tools. You can share them on your feed and publicly in Explore to reach new audiences. 

Reels are new territory for brands. Instagram's beauty partnerships manager, Kristie Dash, explained in a Glossy forum that Reels are still a relatively new way to publish content, and that there is no one formula for success. But she does suggest the following tips for getting a grip:

• Keep content unique and trending. Identify trends on Instagram and TikTok^[6] and put your own spin on it. This increases the chances of your Reels going viral and getting new people to see them.
• Make content recognizable and simple. Not every Reel has to be a production. Lower quality videos can perform the same, if not better, than highly produced reels.
• Educate your audience. Find the balance between education and entertainment in your Reels.

Using Reels Insights, you can see patterns and understand different spikes in engagement that affect your visibility on the platform. That way, you can create higher quality content that generates even more engagement and followers. 

2. Cross-promotion of content.

Cross-promotion involves posting similar content on different social media channels. It is a tactic used to save time and resources. It is also effective in increasing brand awareness and increasing an audience on Instagram. 

Mobile users are spending more and more time on video and entertainment apps, with video content on social media platforms accounting for the largest increase. Whether it's a short video or an extended tutorial, you want to increase the reach of your Instagram content. 

Nadya Okamoto, founder of lifestyle period fire^[11] August, has discovered that TikTok has a natural cross-pollination with Instagram and YouTube^[7]. She says in an interview with Modern Retail^[8]: "While we've grown on TikTok since August, we've also grown to 175,000 followers on Instagram." Actively posting on multiple platforms has "impacted our overall acquisition costs to be super effective," allowing the brand to avoid paid media as its primary acquisition channel.

TikTok is not the only channel you can cross-post on. The Instagram Reels format translates well to YouTube Shorts^[1] and Pinterest^[4] Stories. 

It is important to note that Instagram's algorithm does not promote roles that have a TikTok watermark. So if you are going to post content from Instagram to other channels, make sure the content is high quality and does not advertise a competing platform through watermarks. 

3. Manage your profile grid

The majority of your followers will follow you not because of what you have posted in the past, but because of the promise of what you will post in the future. Your audience wants to know what they will get when they click the follow button.

Maintaining a feed with a consistent theme and posting schedule can have as much impact on follower growth as many of the other growth strategies we discussed above. Even a simple pattern can attract new followers

Your Instagram bio and your last nine posts are your first impression on Instagram. Do they effectively communicate a degree of consistency through personality, filters, colors or layout? Does the clickable link send people to the same homepage every week? Or do you also link to fun and exciting content?

The layout of your grid is often underrated as a way to get creative with the aesthetics of your feed while adding a rhythm to your publishing strategy and consistency worth following.

Indeed, many accounts that take this approach are often able to spend less effort creating content by focusing on converting visitors into followers, producing text images or other content with a faster turnaround time and streamlining the overall production of their Instagram content.

Your feed is the face of your brand. It is the first point of contact for a customer, and it represents the essence of your brand.

4. Collaborate with brand ambassadors 

Don't want to pay celebrity influencers a lot of money to market your brand? Work with brand ambassadors with a few hundred to a few thousand followers. 

Ambassadors are people who genuinely support and believe in your brand and will tell their friends about it, that way their followers will also become your followers 🙂 .

5. Get followers of your loyalty program

Retailers are increasingly launching loyalty programs, repeatedly encouraging consumers to store with their brand rather than another brand. It has worked for brands such as Sephora and Blume. 

One way brands benefit from loyalty programs is by rewarding those who follow them on Instagram , that way they quickly gain more followers.

When luxury retailer Rebecca Minkoff its rewards program RM Rewards launched, it allowed shoppers to earn points by following the brand's Instagram account. Brands like Blume are also finding value in rewarding Instagram followers. Program members can earn Blume Bucks by becoming a friend on Instagram vs. Facebook^[5] or Twitter^[9]. 

6. Promote your Instagram business profile through your personal Instagram account

Another popular way to gain more followers on Instagram is to grow your personal account. Make yourself the influencer. By using both the company account and your personal account, you can increase brand recognition, followers and sales. Pro-tip: You can also run this playbook on TikTok to improve your numbers. 

It's a tactic that works well for fashion label ANINE BING . In addition to the brand's Instagram profile, the company's founder also encourages engagement and awareness through her personal Instagram page, which has more than a million followers. 

Anine invites followers into her design studio, takes them through the design process and even gets feedback from followers during the creative process. Anine also shares a bit about her personal life and milestones, giving followers a behind-the-scenes look at the life of their favorite designer. 

7. Make use of feature accounts

Instagram feature accounts are pages that manage the best content in a specific niche. They are like the "best of" photo journals for an industry. Some feature accounts have a huge following. If you get placement on the account, it can send new Instagram followers to your profile. 

There are feature accounts for every niche: travel, fashion, photography and more. @discoverearth manages e.g. adventure travel content from around the world for more than 6.1 million followers.

8. Use the right hashtags

Your goal on Instagram your Instagram profile is to regularly engage your current audience while growing your number of real followers. 

Posting new, interesting and engaging photos fulfills the first requirement, but to start growing you will find hashtagging your photos extremely important. Using relevant hashtags makes it easy for people searching for specific terms to find your photos.

Which hashtags should you use? Just like on Twitter and other social sites, users on Instagram choose certain hashtags over others. If you use popular Instagram hashtags in your photos, you are much more likely to reach new users and get discovered.

Using hashtags is one thing; using the right tags is quite another.

Popular tags are likely to result in more engagement and likes.

However, they will not lead to more long-term engagement, new interested followers or, more importantly, sales.

If you want to tag your photos correctly, you need to find and use the most relevant hashtags. This means doing the proper research to make sure you are using hashtags that not only describe your brand, but are also searched for on Instagram.

To find relevant hashtags or niche hashtags that are relevant , you want to start by using a free online tool such as IconoSquare or Webstagram.

Below, I used Webstagram to find relevant, related and popular hashtags for my men's accessories business by searching for key hashtags closely related to my brand.

For example, if I use the hashtag^[10] #MensFashion search, I was able to retrieve the following list of additional keyword hashtags, along with the number of times they have been used (i.e., their popularity).

You can also find more related hashtags and their popularity if you search for any of your target keywords directly in the Instagram app.

You want to go through this exercise by trying out different keywords that describe your brand and products as you gradually expand your list of hashtag keywords.

Keep in mind that Instagram allows a maximum of 30 hashtags per post. Moreover, popular words will change over time, so be sure to revisit your hashtag keywords every few months to ensure you are using the best possible terms.

You can also steal hashtag ideas from competitors or similar accounts that have the kind of followers you're aiming for, but ultimately you want to create your own groups of hashtags that relate to your specific account.

Hashtags for brand keywords

#mybrandname #mensfashion #mensaccessories #mensgoods #fashion #mensstyle #instafashion #menswear

Hashtags for keywords in product categories

#bugatchisocks #happysocks #corgisocks #socks #sockswag #socksoftheday #sockgame #sockswagg #socksofinstagram #happysockday #sockwars #funsocks #happysockday

Location-specific keyword hashtags

#Antwerp #AntwerpFashion

All these groups of keyword hashtags are stored on a page on Evernote. This makes it easy and efficient to post a new Instagram image optimized for the most relevant keywords on the go.

Doing the work of researching, organizing and saving the most applicable and popular hashtags in advance will save you a lot of time along the way, increase your engagement and help you gather new followers.

SUPERTIP : 

If you've been posting on Instagram for a while and feel like you've missed every opportunity to build your audience using keyword hashtags, don't worry. You can still go back and post a comment with your new hashtag keyword lists and watch the likes and followers pour in.

Using hashtags in Instagram stories

Hashtagging on Instagram posts is a given, but you must also use hashtags in your stories to have a chance of being seen by users who follow that particular hashtag.

You can use hashtag stickers (found in the Instagram Stickers menu when creating a story ) or just hashtag directly into your captions for a chance to appear in a hashtag story.

Now that users can follow hashtags, your stories on Instagram have a chance to be seen by both people who follow that hashtag and anyone who just views it.

9. Post at the right times

Besides adding the right hashtags and using the best filters to get more Instagram followers, you also need to consider the timing of your posts.

A targeted approach includes analyzing what has and hasn't worked for you in the past. After all, you want to post at times when the most followers for your niche are online .

Consider using a social media scheduling tool to automatically publish your posts when your audience is most engaged.

10. Steal your competitors' followers on instagram

One of the best ways to find and attract new followers is to search for your competitors' Instagram accounts and connect with their audiences. These people have already shown some interest in the products you offer by simply following your competitors.

The three types of engagement on Instagram are:

• Follow a user
• Like a photo
• Comment on a photo

Don't be afraid to take a few emoji^[12]'s to use to give your text some personality.

11. Pay for sponsored posts and product reviews

All this optimized posting to your account is great, but if you really want more Instagram followers, you should take advantage of influencer marketing and bring your brand to the attention of a wider audience.

So, how do you do it? First, unlike the tactics mentioned above to grow Instagram followers, this one is usually not free. However, if done correctly, it is of good value.

To get started, make a list of major accounts in your niche. For example, if you sell beauty products, you want to find major accounts of beauty bloggers.

Maybe you already follow these accounts, but if not, you need to search for them. One of the best ways is to use Webstagram (mentioned earlier) and search for some of the closest hashtag keywords you found at the beginning of this post. When you search for your keywords, not only the related keywords will be displayed, but also the best Instagram accounts with those keywords.

There are some things to look for in the profile results:

• A large following - usually 20,000 to 200,000
• An email address in the profile

If there is an email address in the profile, it usually means the account is open to sponsored posts or a shoutout in a sponsored story.

You want to send an email and ask their prices for sponsored posts. In general, I have found that the average rate is around $ 20 to $ 50 per post, depending on the size of the following.

However, if you sell a unique and original product, consider sending your product for the influencer to review and post. Usually, the more natural and less ad-like the image, the greater the engagement and response.

You don't necessarily need influencers with a huge following to get more followers on Instagram, but rather those with a high engagement rate (likes and comments in relation to the number of followers), which many influencer marketplaces can provide.

12. Use geotags to encourage local discovery

In addition to hashtags, you can also make your Instagram posts and stories findable by tagging your location: the city you are in or the location where the photo or video was taken.

Locations not only have their own Instagram feed, but also their own Story and hashtags that you can contribute to when you use the location sticker in your own Stories.

Businesses can get the greatest value from location tags by regularly posting to these feeds and also responding to messages from potential customers who are nearby.

13. Organize your stories into highlights

Every time a potential follower lands on your company profile, you have a short time to convince them to follow you.

One way to do this is to use the Highlights feature on your profile to organize your Instagramstories to communicate what your account is about.

Since Stories have a lifespan of 24 hours, Highlights can be used to give them a second life and entice others to follow you so they don't miss any Stories in the future.

Use Story Highlights to grow Instagram followers by:

• Creating trailers that show what your account is about
• Organize your Stories into themes (such as countries you've visited, for travelogues)
• Explaining your products through photos and videos

14. Ask for more followers

It's obvious, but worth saying: don't be afraid to ask your audience to follow you from time to time.

In the same way YouTubers ask their viewers to follow them at the end of their videos, you can also ask viewers to follow you for more content.

Sometimes people can really enjoy what you post on Instagram, but need a nudge before they will actually follow you. 

You can also do this in your Instagram comments by incorporating it into your content by pitching what your audience will get if they follow you or hinting at upcoming content they won't want to miss.

15. do a "giveaway"

One of the best types of responses you can get to a post on social media, not just Instagram, is when a user tags a friend. These comments not only contribute to the engagement of your post, which in turn makes it beneficial to the Instagram algorithm , but each tag brings you a new audience member who arrived via recommendation and who could potentially gain you as a follower.

One way to encourage this behavior is to post recognizable content that begs for 1:1 sharing (for example, a sports meme asking you to tag a friend who is skipping legday). 

But a more reliable way is by running a giveaway ( giveaway ) that encourages your audience to tag a friend and follow your account.

For inspiration, here is an example of a successful giveaway by Philip Kingsley that encourages people to follow his account and tag a friend for a chance to win a collection.

16. Share user-generated content.

User-generated content (UGC) is any type of content, such as videos, photos, reviews, audio and more, that you manage from fans or followers. It is an essential tool in your marketing arsenal to gain followers on Instagram. UGC helps humanize your brand through real people, with real stories, showcasing your product in real life, and building a more trusting relationship with potential customers.

Your audience not only loves their 15 minutes of fame on your Instagram feed, but when you show them, you also encourage more sales in your online store. 

Consumers today are 56% more likely to buy something after seeing a photo of the product shared by customers. 

Take Fashion Nova, for example. The online retailer's Instagram account relies heavily on user-generated content.

Fashion Nova's user-generated content gives it access to thousands of photos of people around the world to share with its audience - photos that both showcase the brand's values and inspire followers to engage with its posts and buy the clothes real people wear. 

When it comes to creating user-generated content for your online store, first ask customers to share their favorite experiences and images with your products by:

• Create a branded hashtag feed where customers can post images
• Adding a call-to-action to your Instagram bio
• Holding a contest 
• Reaching out to influencers
• Add a "query" for user-generated content in your package

Remember that the goal of UGC is to show an authentic image of your products. If some customers send you lower quality photos that still highlight the best features of your products, don't be afraid to use them. 

17. Use Instagram Live

A successful marketing strategy at any social media^[2] platform. Instagram lets you use Instagram Live to stream videos to your followers and engage with them in real time. 

When you start a live video stream on your brand's Instagram account, a ring appears around your profile picture in Stories to let followers know they can watch. Followers will also get a notification when you start a live video. When you finish your live stream, you can upload it to your Story for 24 hours.

Remember that Instagram Live is interactive. Your followers will likely respond while you are live, so try to acknowledge their comments and find ways to engage them.

Some ways to gain more followers when using Instagram Live are:

• Influencer takeover
• Hosting an AMA (ask me anything) or Q&A
• Teasing a product launch or update
• A look behind the scenes
• Share a current event 
• product review

Building an Instagram growth strategy to boost followers 

In this post, we've talked about the most effective ways to use Instagram to grow your Instagram followers, but it's not always a numbers game. As with any social network, the most successful content strategy is to be authentic and social.

If you focus on engagement, not just the number of followers, Instagram can be a great home base for your products and brand and can lead to a healthy revenue stream for your e-commerce business.

Buying followers through bots or scams is not a good idea because the Instagram algorithm will delete that group of followers and might even block your Instagram account. So best use our safe tips for more followers .