How to Get Instagram Followers? 12 Tactics for Instagram Growth.
Summary
Read the 12 best tactics that can help you gain a larger and more engaged audience for your business on Instagram.
13 minute read
You will learn
- Best practices to help you grow your Instagram audience
- The importance of a unique brand voice on Instagram
- How to post consistently and at the right time to grow your audience
You spend hours planning and creating content for Instagram. For a brief moment after hitting the “Share” button, all is right with the world. You’re confident you’ve posted something great.
Then silence. Or a few likes and comments from a handful of your followers. But how do you get more followers on Instagram if not by posting great content?
There’s no step-by-step guide for growing on Instagram. However, there are proven best practices that will help you reach a wider audience and gain new followers.
Here are 12 ways to get more followers on Instagram.
1. Optimize Your Bio
Make the most of those 150 characters. Your Instagram bio tells potential followers who you are, what you do, and what action you want people to take after visiting your profile.
Your Instagram bio should include:
a clear description of what you do
- hints of your personality
- A call to action (shop, read more, contact us, etc.)
- A link
The link in your bio is your only clickable link on Instagram, so use it wisely. Some businesses include a standard link to their website, while others change it regularly based on their latest posts. If you want to make things easier, use link-in-bio tools like Shop Grid, which allow you to turn a single link into a catalog of links.
Also consider including a branded hashtag. For example, we encourage our fans to use #BufferLove when talking about our products. By adding a branded hashtag to our bio, we let people know which hashtag to include to get our attention. Plus, when someone taps on the hashtag, they’ll see posts from fans who have used it.
2. Find Your Best Time to Post on Instagram
Notice we didn’t say the best time to post on Instagram? The truth is, there’s no universal answer to when you should post on Instagram to reach the most people. However, there are ways to find the ideal times for your followers.
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First, use Instagram Insights to find out when your audience is online. On your Instagram business profile, tap “Insights”, scroll to “Your Audience”, and then tap “See All”. From there, scroll down to find your audience’s most active times.
You should also consider when your content will be most relevant. For example, a step-by-step recipe video may perform better outside of working hours, as people are more likely to be cooking. On the other hand, a post about a coffee shop might do well around 2 p.m., when people are hitting the afternoon slump. Experiment with different posting times and track engagement.
If you’re looking for additional guidance on when to post, Buffer’s Answers feature will provide you with three suggested posting times to maximize your reach on Instagram.
Find more in-depth guidance in our article, How to Find Your Best Time to Post on Instagram.
3. Post Consistently
A 2021 study across 14 industries shows that businesses share an average of four Instagram posts per week. However, we recommend posting at least once a day. Brands that get into a regular flow of posting on Instagram tend to see the best results. According to a Tailwind study, profiles that post daily gain Instagram followers faster than those that post less frequently.
Given Instagram’s algorithmic timeline, consistency is a key factor in keeping your posts visible. If your posts are shared regularly and receive good engagement, Instagram’s algorithm will likely display your posts near the top of your followers’ feeds.
Of course, quality is always more important than quantity. Posting more frequently doesn’t necessarily mean a higher engagement rate. Focus on creating content that resonates with your target audience — more on that in section 9: Engage Your Audience.
Instagram scheduling tools allow you to post consistently without having to worry about publishing directly from the app every day. Check out the article How to Schedule Instagram Posts to Save Time and Boost Engagement for our favorite Instagram scheduling tools (both free and paid) along with scheduling tips.
4. Learn How the Instagram Algorithm Works
Many Instagram users initially panicked about the switch from a chronological feed to a ranked timeline. However, since the change, the average post is seen by 50% more followers than before. So forget about trying to learn how to beat the Instagram algorithm. Instead, focus on learning how to work the system to your advantage.
Six factors determine what appears on each person’s timeline: interest, recency, relationship, frequency, following, and usage.
Here is a brief overview of what each of these factors relates to:
Interest: How much Instagram thinks a person will like a post, based on previous activity.
Recency: How recent the post is and how relevant it is to the user.
Relationship: The accounts a person regularly interacts with.
Frequency: How often a person uses the Instagram app.
Following: Posts from accounts the person follows.
Usage: How much time a person spends on Instagram.
Instagram’s algorithm tries to show the best content for each individual user. So although six separate factors may seem like a lot to worry about, the best thing you can do is consistently create high-quality content.
We cover each of the ranking factors in more detail in the article How the Instagram Algorithm Works in 2021: Everything You Need to Know. We also include a guide on how to create content that caters to each factor and share tips on how to use the Instagram algorithm to your advantage.
5. Experiment with Different Content Types
Instagram is so much more than just photos. Over the years, the app has introduced many ways to share content on the platform. Mixing different content types is one of the best ways to gain more followers on Instagram, as it gives you the opportunity to reach and connect with a wider range of people.
Remember: The algorithm looks at interest and tries to show people the types of content they interact with most. So if one person likes and comments on Instagram Reels more often than other types of posts, they’re likely to see more Reels in their Instagram feed. However, if another person interacts more frequently with carousel posts, they’ll see more of that type of content on their timeline.
Each type of content has its advantages. For example, Instagram Reels have an edge because they are the newest type of content and Instagram always promotes new features. Since the launch of Instagram Reels in 2020, the app moved the Reels button to the center position in the menu bar, and on the Explore page, Reels appear larger than photo posts. Since 200 million people check the Explore page every day, that extra visual space can make a big difference in how many people you reach.
Instagram TV (IGTV) videos also appear 4x larger than photos on the Explore page. And because IGTV videos can be up to 60 minutes long, this type of content is ideal for long-form video.
Instagram Stories disappear after 24 hours, but they have their advantages too. Fifty-seven percent of brands believe that Stories are “somewhat” or “very effective” as part of their social media strategy. Plus, if you have a verified account or at least 10,000 followers, you can add Instagram Swipe Up links to Stories to drive traffic to specific pages.
Meanwhile, carousel posts — a series of up to 10 images/videos in a single post — boast the highest engagement rate of all post types. Think of carousels as a mini-story or a teaser for longer content, such as a blog post. You can use text images, photos, video, or a combination of everything in one themed post.
Confused by all the arguments for different post types? People like what they like. So while studies can tell you what the average engagement rate is for each type of content, or argue for one type of content over another, the best strategy is to use a variety of types. Mixing up your content on Instagram will allow you to reach people with different preferences, and that expanded reach will help you grow your Instagram following.
6. Find your brand voice and create unique content
People don’t follow your business on social media to see sales pitches. They follow your brand because they like your personality and the content you create.
What works for one business may not suit your brand — even if you operate in similar industries. For example, hobby farm Juggling Daisies and Such and Such Farm both consider themselves unique farms. Juggling Daisies leans into fun stories, cute photos, and wholesome content. While Such and Such Farm has a rougher style that includes profanity and humor.
Ask yourself what tone you want to have. Funny? Informative? Playful? Cynical? Your personality should also reflect what you’re passionate about. Such and Such Farm believes in sustainably grown produce, so many of their Instagram posts talk about their farming practices. What topics do you cover in your Instagram content? Everything you share on your business account should showcase your brand’s personality and beliefs.
Think of your business account as a person. Design the account’s personality and create brand guidelines so you can stay consistent. Brand guidelines should include notes on tone, style, and values along with your brand’s colors and fonts.
7. Write great captions
Beautiful photos will grab people’s attention — great Instagram captions will keep it. Captions give you the opportunity to provide more context or details about the photo or video you’re sharing. Using keywords in captions can also help you appear in search results within the app.
Instagram captions can be up to 2,200 characters long. Of course, not every caption needs to be written like a blog post. Play around with different lengths. Some photos suit a short, witty caption with a few emojis, while others may benefit from something longer and more thoughtful.
The average length of Instagram captions is growing, but most brands are still nowhere near the 2,200-character limit. In 2020, the average is estimated to be 405 characters, compared to 142 characters in 2016.
So when should you go long, and when should you keep it short? There’s no hard and fast rule. Just like with content types, it’s best to mix them up. Take a look at these two posts from Andreá Jones of OnlineDrea. One post has a short caption, while the other explicitly directs you to the caption for a longer explanation.
8. Research and use hashtags
We’ve covered hashtags frequently on the blog, but they don’t seem to be as important anywhere on social media as they are on Instagram. The right hashtags can expose your image to a large and targeted audience, and Instagram users don’t seem to get as tired of hashtags as they do on other networks.
Start by finding hashtags that would resonate with your target audience. Free Instagram tools like Display Purposes and AutoHash can help you find relevant hashtags for your Instagram posts. With Display Purposes, for example, you simply type in a few words about your image and it recommends the best hashtags to use.
If you want to get more followers on Instagram, hashtags are essential. Using hashtags makes your content discoverable through searches or filtering when people tap on the same hashtag from another post. People can even follow their favorite hashtags, so the best content featuring that hashtag will appear in their Instagram feed.
Instagram allows up to 30 hashtags per post, but don’t add more just to reach 30. TrackMaven recommends nine hashtags for maximum engagement. Just make sure you’re not always using the same nine hashtags. Instead, group your favorite hashtags by category so you can quickly add a few relevant hashtags to each post.
With the Buffer Hashtag Manager tool, you can create and save groups of hashtags. You can then select from pre-saved groups and add hashtags to your scheduled Instagram posts.
9. Engage your audience
Engagement is crucial for growth on Instagram. Many brands make the mistake of focusing on likes and comments without considering the people behind those metrics. If you truly want to get more followers on Instagram, you need to engage your fans in conversation.
Keep in mind that just because someone sees your content doesn’t mean they’re currently following you. If you have the opportunity to interact with a potential follower, you should take it. Every comment is an opportunity to gain a new follower (or retain an existing one), so be sure to respond to every comment you receive. If your hands are already cramping at the thought of typing on your phone, don’t worry. With Buffer Engage, you can reply to comments from your computer.
Don’t just wait for your followers to start the conversation, though. Create opportunities for engagement. Use Instagram stickers like open-ended questions and polls in Instagram Stories. Ask questions in photo captions. Encourage people to tag their friends in the comments with prompts like “Tag your best friend you’d invite on this cruise!” or “Tag a wine-loving friend you’d do this tasting with.”
Need more ideas? Check out our Instagram engagement tips to learn how to get more Instagram followers by boosting engagement.
10. Collaborate with Others
Another great way to gain Instagram followers is to collaborate with others through partnerships or influencer campaigns.
A great example is our brand spotlight with Blume. Blume gets access to Buffer’s followers through an original Instagram Story and accompanying Highlights. Meanwhile, Blume will share the spotlight with their fans, bringing their audience to Buffer. It’s a win-win for both sides.
Another way to grow your Instagram followers is through influencer marketing. If you have a budget, you can pay content creators to promote your brand. However, if you’re hoping to keep things simple (and low-budget), micro-influencers (1,000–10,000 followers) can be very effective. This is because content from micro-influencers tends to have higher engagement rates than content from larger accounts. You can search for micro-influencers and reach out to collaborate, or simply reshare user-generated content (UGC).
Remember the branded hashtags we talked about in Part 1: Optimize Your Bio? Just one tap on a branded hashtag gives you an entire catalog of content to choose from.
When we first launched Buffer’s Instagram, we encouraged fans to use #BufferStories and #BufferCommunity. We used these hashtags to search for and reshare user-generated content. Within one year, we grew our Instagram followers from 4,250 to 21,000.
Why is UGC so popular? “It conveys authentic experiences with a brand’s products or services from its previous customers, which increases brand credibility,” says Ramon Berrios from Trend.
Collaborations are also an opportunity to showcase your values and personality through associations. The businesses and people you partner with and support say a lot about your own brand. Partnerships can be especially powerful for local businesses as well. Consider partnering with your neighbors to reach a hyper-targeted audience.
11. Link to Your Instagram from Elsewhere
Make it easy for people to find your Instagram. No one should have to dig through pages of your website to find your Instagram profile.
Add a link to your Instagram account in your:
- Email footer
- Website footer and/or sidebar
- Bios on other social media platforms
- Team members’ social media posts
12. Analyze Your Results
One way to figure out how to get more Instagram followers is to find out what your current fans are responding to. You can track several Instagram metrics directly within the Instagram Insights app or through third-party analytics tools such as Buffer.
Don’t become obsessed with vanity metrics like likes and comments. Instead, think about what those metrics are telling you. For example, if you’re testing a new hashtag, metrics like new followers and reach will tell you more about the value of that hashtag than likes from your existing followers. However, if you’re experimenting with different posting times, impressions can give you a clue as to when your content is most likely to be seen. Your ultimate goal will determine which metrics matter most.
Track trends. Does a certain type of image get more views or engagement? Post more of those images and see how your followers respond. Do certain hashtags lead to more likes from people who don’t follow you? Use those hashtags more often and watch for new followers.
Read our Instagram Analytics guide to learn more about Instagram metrics and how to use them to support your marketing strategy.
How do you manage your Instagram marketing?
If you want to grow steadily on Instagram, you need to consistently provide your target audience with quality content. While a piecemeal social media approach is fine for personal accounts, businesses need to be more strategic. All the tactics we’ve outlined will help you gain more Instagram followers, but they aren’t boxes you can check off just once. Staying on top of your social media content strategy is essential.</div>How do you manage your Instagram marketing?
Michal Záruba je specialista na digitální marketing a konzultant v oblasti sociálních médií a SEO. Více než 8 let pomáhá značkám růst online prostřednictvím strategického obsahu, optimalizace pro vyhledávače a efektivní komunikace na platformách jako LinkedIn, Instagram a YouTube.
Na svém blogu sdílí praktické tipy o tom, jak propojit SEO, sociální sítě a brand building do jedné funkční strategie. Zaměřuje se na to, jak firmy mohou využít moderní nástroje a algoritmy k tomu, aby jejich značka nezískala jen dosah, ale i důvěru.
Když zrovna netvoří obsah, přednáší o digitálním marketingu, školí týmy a sleduje nové trendy v AI a vyhledávání.