How to gain followers on Instagram organically?
3 min read
How to gain followers organically on Instagram? There are several ways that can help you become more visible on Instagram and organically grow your follower count. You just need to follow them patiently.
Post regularly
It is very important for the account to be active and regularly post new content. Ideally, at least one post per day — when launching a new account, it can even be more. The number of posts directly increases the number of new followers and at the same time keeps the attention of your existing followers.
How to gain followers on Instagram?
Choose a style and stick to it
Even when creating your account, you should have a clear idea of what kind of content you will fill it with. If it’s landscape photography, only post landscapes; if it’s portraits, don’t post animals, and so on.
Maintain consistency not only in content but also in form. Stick to the same photo format and ideally a similar color palette. You usually won’t get a new follow based on a single post — followers tend to browse the entire account first. That’s why it’s important for posts to go well together and be relatively uniform.
Use hashtags
Hashtags are very powerful and can bring you significant visibility. You can add up to 30 hashtags to a post, so make use of this option. It’s up to you whether you add them directly to the post caption or in the comments. However, a recent study found that posts with hashtags directly in the caption achieve slightly better stats.
Choose hashtags carefully
When choosing hashtags, always pay attention to the number of posts tagged with them. Avoid the most generic ones (#summer, #love, #nature). Prefer those with fewer than 500,000 posts so your photo doesn’t get lost in the flood of others. If you have trouble coming up with relevant hashtags for your post, use an app such as Focalmark, which will generate them for you.
Tag your location
Geolocation also helps achieve better post results, so don’t forget to add a location to your posts. However, it should always be accurate. If your post contains a photo from Bali but you’re posting it from Slovakia, tag Bali. If the content of your post doesn’t relate to a specific place, add the location where you currently are to reach followers from your area.
Engage with your audience
Engagement is key — not just the number of likes, but especially the number of comments. Therefore, try to maintain a dialogue with your followers. Ask a question in your post and invite answers in the comments, and make sure to respond to them. Engage especially in the first hour after posting, so that the Instagram algorithm identifies your post as worthy of being shown to as many users as possible.
Follow others
Be active in following others as well. Choose accounts and people who are interested in the same topic. If your account reflects your photography work, don’t hesitate to follow other photographers too. In all likelihood, they will follow you back.
Collaboration pays off
If possible, collaborate with other accounts. If a large account with tens of thousands of fans shares and tags you, new followers will certainly come your way as well. Again, try to choose accounts for collaboration that are similar in content to yours.
Organize a contest
Contests have always been a great tool for quickly and relatively easily gaining a larger number of new fans at once. So from time to time, organize a contest on your account too. However, don’t forget when creating it to keep in mind the official rules that contests on Instagram are subject to.
When choosing a prize, prefer something that your followers will truly want, and the prize should be connected to the content of your account. For example, if you have an account dedicated to a cosmetics brand, choose cosmetics as the prize.
Don’t shy away from different formats
In addition to photos, it’s also worth using other formats such as video, live video, stories, or IG TV. These are formats that Instagram itself is currently pushing to the forefront, so it would be a shame not to take advantage of their potential and to engage your fans in various ways.
Don’t forget about analytics
If you use a business account, pay attention to the statistics that will bring you valuable information about your followers. From them, you can also find out at what hour of the day they are most active on Instagram. Adjust the timing of your posts to these times in order to maximize the chances of the greatest reach, and thus make yourself as visible as possible.
Building an account on Instagram truly requires patience, and there are no shortcuts to this goal. If there are, they certainly won’t pay off for you.
In addition to organically gaining followers, you can always also help yourself with paid advertising. However, the most important thing always remains the content of your account itself, which, if it doesn’t engage followers, won’t be helped by paid promotion either.
Tools to support Instagram can also be found here
Michal Záruba is a digital marketing specialist and a consultant in social media and SEO. For more than 8 years, Michal has been helping brands grow online through strategic content, search engine optimisation and effective communication on platforms such as LinkedIn, Instagram and YouTube.
On the blog, Michal shares practical tips on how to combine SEO, social media and brand building into one working strategy, focusing on how companies can use modern tools and algorithms so that their brand gains not only reach but also trust.
Alongside creating content, Michal lectures on digital marketing, trains teams and follows new trends in AI and search.