01 Oct HOW TO GET MORE FOLLOWERS ON INSTAGRAM
We recently gave you 5 great Instagram for business tips and due to the high level of responses we thought we’d stick with the Instagram theme.
Instagram is blowing up right now, not just on a personal level, but also on a business level. More and more companies are making the transition from posting once a week to posting 1, 2, 3 times daily as they are now able to see the benefits.
Starting out can be hard and finding your audience isn’t always easy, like any Social account it can take some time to grow but if you follow these simple points you’ll see your account get the recognition it deserves..
1) Hashtags
Unlike Pinterest, Instagram is a hashtag loving zone. Using industry relevant hashtags on Instagram can significantly improve the reach of your posts, therefore helping grow your audience. I would say you should be using between 3 and 7 per post to see results and always make sure they are fitting. You can find the most popular hashtags on Google, they can vary slightly but usually stay fairly consistent. I will say though, do not to use hashtags simply because they’re popular. If your post is of a new Dress or pair of Jeans you have online don’t use #Directioners or #Belibers. Keep them relevant – in the clothing example, you could use #trend or #fashion. Both of these are popular tags but are also relevant to the post.
2) Actively Engage with Others
Connecting and engaging with people is one of the best ways to grow your account. By this we mean being active on the people you follows and your fans profiles buy levitra commenting and liking their posts. Be sure that when anyone responds to something that you have posted that you interact with them, it shows appreciation and customers like that. Answer their questions, thank them for their comments and get person, ask them how their day is or wish them well. If you keep them conversation going and regularly engage with people will notice your approachable manner and want to join in. Find those in your industry, follow them, engage with them and it turn they tend to do the same. This is also where you can find your audience, if they see you engaging with others like you then it makes it easier for them to find and follow you.
3) Link Accounts (+Website)
If you have a couple of other Social Network accounts and have an audience on them then you should definitely be linking them up. When posting on Instagram push the content out to your other channels, Facebook, Twitter, Flickr, Tumblr etc. When something is posted on another account from your Instagram account it shows up as ‘from Instagram’, this is a less ‘spamy’ way of posting ‘follow us on Instagram’.
I would always encourage that your Instagram is also linked to your website.
4) Post More
We’ve all been there, followed a promising account or a brand you love and it sits there neglected or they post once a week/2 weeks…not enough to keep anyone interested. If you have the content then post at least a few times a week! The more you post, the larger variety of hashtags you use, the more you’re engaging with other people/brands, the faster your audience will grow. So hop to it…
5) Follow more people
Personally I don’t think that there is an ideal specific ratio for ‘followers to followings’ but I think that you should be following as many people as possible. Unless you’re Starbucks or ASOS no one wants to follow you if you’re only following 30 people, it can come across as ignorant. An easy way to find people to follow is by following people that your followers follow! These people will most likely have the same interests. The good thing about Instagram is that it is fairly reciprocal and if you like and engage with people, they will often like you back. But here’s a big no, no…don’t follow someone just to get them to follow you and then unfollow them – it’s rude and not good etiquette. Follow people you have a genuine interest in.
As with the rest of your Social Media accounts you’ll be wanting more followers but one thing I would definitely encourage you NOT TO DO is by followers. This well not help you in the long run and having these ‘fake’ or ‘bad’ followers can actually stun your growth and ruin your chances of getting noticed. Focus on creating a great community of genuine fans and connect with your existing customers this way your audience will grow naturally.