Instagram is one of, if not the most popular apps in existence today. With over a billion users, it would seem like Instagram would be an easy place to gain followers, but this is not the case. Gaining followers on Instagram can be tough when you aren’t paying attention to the right things. Not many people actually know the best ways to use Instagram as it isn’t quite as easy as it seems, especially if you are new to the social media platform.
There are infinite guides and strategies that many people have been told to work such as posting as much as you can, or using as many hashtags as possible on one post, or just following a bunch of random people who might not be interested in your page, but none of these actually work. If you would like to learn some real strategies to grow your Instagram account that actually works, here are a few ways to do just that.
Use the Best Hashtags
A hashtag essentially makes your post more searchable. When you make use of a hashtag relevant to your account, the users scrolling through that hashtag are much more likely to see your content and follow your account. Hashtags are a great resource when used properly. If you use hashtags that are not relevant to your account or your content, your posts will show up on users’ pages who are simply not interested in what you are posting. It is incredibly important to make use of hashtags properly in order for them to work as a means to gain more followers.
Sometimes it can be difficult to think of hashtags, or take a lot of time, which is why service like Growthoid exist; to help take the pressure off of you, by taking care of the hashtags and engagement on your behalf, so you can focus on creating great content. When hashtags are used correctly, your account will reach far more people than it would if you did not use hashtags. Instagram users can now follow hashtags and if you continuously post under a hashtag relevant to you, people who are definitely interested in your content will see your posts and interact with them, making them even more visible and therefore bringing more traffic to your page.
Have an Optimized Bio
An important feature on Instagram that tends to go unnoticed is the bio. A bio is a short description of your account and the type of content you post. You can optimize your bio in a few ways. One of the ways in which you can optimize your bio is to include keywords. To ensure your page is attracting the type of people you want it to attract, make sure that your bio contains carefully chosen keywords that pertain to your content. Instagram will advertise your account to people who seem interested in the keywords you used. This means that your account will become more visible to people who aren’t necessarily looking to follow new accounts, but the Instagram algorithm will decide to whom your page will be advertised, partly based on your bio. Having an optimized bio is a definitive way to gain relevant followers who are more likely to interact with your content.
Engage to Create Engagement
Engagement is one of the best ways to gain new followers on Instagram. People love when their content has high engagement, regardless of whether that engagement is a like or a comment or a reply. If you come across someone who is interested in similar content, it is a good idea to interact with their content by liking and commenting on their post. This will encourage them to engage with your future posts and get the ball rolling for other people to engage as well. Engagement doesn’t only have to happen on a grid post though.
Instagram stories have multiple features that allow for people to engage with their followers such as a question box, polls, music suggestions, replies and many more, so be sure to try out different growth methods. When viewing other users’ stories, try to engage with as much content as possible. If someone posts a poll, vote on that poll and get your name to be more visible to that user.
Make Use of Captions
Captions are usually short descriptions that are at the bottom of a grid post. These can range anywhere from being an inspirational quote, to a life update, to a witty joke. Captions help to boost your post when they are used correctly. When captioning a post, be sure to make use of keywords that are relevant to that post. Instagram uses keywords to boost your posts and show them to people who are likely interested in similar content. Be sure to make the captions interesting whilst also including your keywords.