Simply put, Instagram is a photo and video sharing social network owned by Facebook. The app allows you to upload various photos and videos while adding filters, captions, hashtags, and giving you the ability to share them with the world. But you already knew that didn't you? You came to this post to learn how to grow your Instagram page- how to gain more Instagram followers. So let's get to it.
Growing your Instagram Follower Count
I'll be honest with you. It is going to take you more than one day to grow your Instagram page and follower count. I know, shocker right? Instead, I am going to break this post down into 10 different days- kind of like a 10 day blueprint, if you will.
Day 1.)
Let's start simple. First you need to analyze what kind of page you want. If you have an Instagram page that posts everything from puppies to tennis to nightlife to fitness and so forth, well, nobody is really going to follow you because you don't have a niche. So, find what you are most passionate about, and focus your page on that. Now, open up your Instagram app and research at least 20 pages that represent a similar niche. See what hashtags they are using and write them down. Don't be eager to get right into posting. There's no rush.
Day 2.)
Alright cruising right along. Now you can/ should devise a game plan for your page. Get a calendar together and start organizing your thoughts and your posts. Just get a game plan together- the more you plan, the easier and less time consuming everything will be down the road. Make sure you research when your target market is online and browsing their social channels the most. If you post at a wrong time, your engagement and 'likes' will be much lower than expected. Something as simple as googling 'when are people on Instagram the most,' will give you a good idea here.
Day 3.)
Wohooo go ahead and post your first planned out post! Make sure you write an engaging caption. A good idea is to include a question within your caption, thus influencing your followers to respond to your question in the comments and in turn increasing engagement. Make sure you use some of the hashtags that you researched within your caption. Try not to use more than 10 hashtags per post. No need to overwhelm your followers. Now, go do some more research on pages within your niche and toss out some likes to their posts.
Day 4.)
Simply repeat day 3!
Day 5.)
Continue to post each day- the more consistent you post, the more you are trusted by your followers! **But do not post more than 2 or 3 times a day** No need to blow up your follower's newsfeed. You can also start experimenting with Emoji's- see if you get more likes and engagement when you use them! Just make sure you are using relevant emoji's.
Day 6.) You know the drill. Post again! Now go engage with other pages within your niche. 'Like' at least 10 photos, try to comment on a few, and follow a few more. The more posts you engage with, the more people and pages you will see returning the favor.
Day 7.) By now you should be getting great engagement on your posts- lots of likes and comments, along with a few new followers! Now, lets up the game with a simple instagram advertisement. I know you have $5.00 to spare right? So let's give it a try. Go onto your Instagram profile page (If you don't have a business page you'll need to set that up), and simply click the 'promote' button towards the top. Choose a post that you want to highlight. Set up your targeting preferences- demographics, locations, etc. and watch the advertisement work it's magic!
Day 8.) Pretty cool to track and analyze your ad right? It is also amazing what 5 bucks can do on social media. Anyways, go ahead and put up another post. It is day 8! Now go through and like, comment, and following some more pages again. Finally, research some new hashtags.
Day 9.) Let's get a little creative here. Go ahead and create two posts today. Make sure they are at optimal times, but spread out throughout the day. The image itself should be similar, but change up the caption and the hashtags on each. See what post performs better. Kind of like a little experiment.
Day 10.) You made it. Or you've just been reading this whole blog post not really following along from day to day- but hey that's cool too! Anyways, take a look at all of your past posts. Which one(s) seemed to outperform the others? What is so special about these posts? Did one have an engaging question? Was it the hashtags? Did you crush it with your $5.00 advertisement (If you didn't do this, I know spending money is scary, but c'mon it's 5 bucks). Where you found success over there 10 days, take that success and run with it. Make a future game plan- continue to schedule and plan out your posts, and continue to grow those followers. The sky is the limit right?
I hope you found these tips and suggestions useful. If you have any questions don't be afraid to reach out or comment below. If you want tips on all things social sent right to your inbox don't forget to subscribe to our newsletter.
