Want to get more followers on Instagram?
Last year, I started a new Instagram account for my blog Short of Height.
Since it was a fashion blog and my main Instagram account back then wasn’t relevant, I decided to start fresh. I wanted to experiment to see if I could grow a fashion account and utilize it to brand the blog.
I started playing around and then realized the account was growing faster than my main account. It showed such progress that I had no choice but to focus on building the fashion account.
My little experiment showed so much untapped potential. I was able to quickly grow the account despite the fact that no one knew who I was since I don’t post photos of my face on the platform.
The results? To date, I have over 47,000 followers. These aren’t your ordinary bot followers – these are relevant and targeted people in my niche.
After testing over 30 different methods to grow the account, I learned a couple of neat tricks. I’m going to share these with you today so you can build your Instagram account and get more followers.
Let’s get started…
1. Connect to Facebook
Connecting Facebook to your Instagram account is one of the easiest and quickest ways to launch your Instagram account.
The best part about connecting Instagram to Facebook is being able to follow your friends from Facebook who are on Instagram when you have just joined Instagram.
Since this is so convenient, most of us would choose to follow the friends who are already on Instagram.
From my perspective, this scenario means that my Facebook friends will automatically decide to follow me and therefore will be added on to my followers list on Instagram. It’s a quick and easy boost.
I didn’t do this until 30,000+ down the line. After connecting my account, I got over 300+ friends following me. It’s the best method for the least amount of work.
2. Share quality photos
If you want to remember one tip, THIS is it! The better quality your pictures are, the higher followers, likes, and comments you’ll get.
This is Instagram after all, and it is arguably the most visual-focused social media platform out there.
To improve the quality of your photos. Here are two tips:
- Good lighting: Always have quality lighting when snapping photos. This means it’s easier to shoot photos at daytime with plenty of light. Taking photos when lighting quality isn’t good or at night tends to have a negative effect on your photos, especially without fine tuning your camera settings. You’ll only end up with a grainy picture.
- Use a DSLR or mirrorless camera: One tip I picked up from other famous Instagram users is they use mirrorless or DSLR cameras. Using a quality camera will help enhance the quality of the image and assist you to stand out.
Posting quality photos will also put you in front of other pages. Some Instagram pages will publish your photo and tag you on the comment. This is called a shotuout allowing their Instagram followers to find you.
3. Like other people’s photos
Here’s the thing, no one will notice you when you’re new on Instagram. To get people to notice you, you need to like other people’s photos.
When you do, people will then look at your profile and choose to follow you when you have a quality profile that is relevant for them to follow.
One trick I learned is when other people like your photo, it helps to get your photo on the explore page. This is a good way to get you more Instagram followers.
4. Follow others
If you want to grow your followers, you need to follow others. Following is a quick and easy way to get other people to follow you back.
Always start with following your competitors that are closest to your account.
When following others. Always be on a lookout for these criteria.
- Do they have an active account?
- Do they engage actively with various followers (as opposed to do they only talk to themselves)?
- Do their followers engage with them?
If your answer is YES to all three, then it’s the right account. I can’t give you the percentage of what is good engagement because it varies based on industry. I recommend you take a look around, but I think you will know what good engagement is when you see it.
5. Comment
I find that when I like someone’s profile and leave a comment, I see a higher likelihood of them following me back.
Do this continuously and you’re on the right path of building a good following.
While this takes more work, it’s a good method to use when starting out.
Recently I tried this on a client’s profile and was able to grow their account by only commenting.
6. Exchange shoutouts
What are shoutouts? Shoutouts are co-promotions that are extremely popular on Instagram. This is similar to posting quality photos and getting a shoutout from other pages. The difference is, both of you are co-promoting each other’s pages.
So let’s say your Instagram account shares business quotes and tips. You can then find another account that posts similar posts as you, has similar followers and engagement.
You can then reach out to them via email, or simply send them a DM and ask for a shoutout.
Here’s a simple message that I use.
Hey [Name],
I love your Instagram account. I was wondering if you would like to exchange shoutouts or do a SFS with my account at @[your IG], I post similar photos as you and have similar engagement and followers like you. Let me know.
If you decide to send them a DM, you should leave them a comment on their latest photo to let them know that you sent them a DM. Otherwise, they may miss it.
For others to find you quickly, you should also make sure that you have your email displayed.
Here’s an example of a shoutout.
7. Run contests
Launching a contest can help speed up the process and get you more followers on Instagram without much work. All you need is to simply put up a prize that your followers want. I recommend giving away something that is relevant to your niche.
Since launching my account, I’ve organized four different contests that have gotten me over 5,000 followers.
The type of contest you should be launching is the ‘like and tag X friends.’
For my contest, I got people to tag THREE of their friends in the comments to count as a participant.
8. Take advantage of hashtags
The more hashtags you use, the more Instagram followers and engagement you’ll get. Don’t take my word for it, just take a look at Dan Zerella’s instagram study.
According to his study, higher engagement has a direct correlation with the number of hashtags used. In this study, those who take advantage of all the hashtags saw an increase in engagement.
If you can use all 30 hashtags, why not?
Summing up
Since you made it this far, one tip most people tend to forget is they have to be themselves on Instagram. I’m not going to lie; I can’t stand people who are ‘too professional’ on Instagram. It’s soooo boring.
Chill out people, it’s a visual platform that allows you to show off your creativity. Embrace the social platform. Yes. Social platform.
Be social, be you and have fun. Happiness is contagious.
Guest Author: Aaron Lee has been sharing social media tips on AskAaronLee.com since 2010 & has recently started ShortofHeight.com , a fashion blog for short men.