Instagram’s algorithm is constantly changing.
They’re trying to make more money with updates to the way – and order – we see photos and adverts.
This is all well and good for the advertisers, but for us regular joes who might be trying to build a brand or business it can be frustrating.
Luckily, there are still some surefire ways to get more followers that don’t involve paying for ads. Here are our top tips.
Always use hashtags
When using hashtags, the aim is to appear on the ‘top posts’ section of the hashtag’s search.
Think about using these creatively. The #love hashtag, for example, has 1.1billion posts, which would make it extremely hard for anyone to pick out your content.
It is more important to be specific, utilise hashtags that you might have more traction within, rather than ones where you’re competing with hundreds of thousands.
If you’re using Instagram to promote your business then use hashtags relevant to your audience. You can also use branded hashtag that includes your company’s name or says something unique about your brand identity.
The limit is 30 hashtags per post, but it can look a little clunky if you try and constantly fill that quota.
Another no-no is using same hashtags on each post as if you have copied and pasted them. Instagram will see through your shady game and so will your existing followers.
If you feel that hashtags will ruin your inspiring caption, then either use line breaks of dots to separate your caption from the hashtags or include them (quickly – time is of the essence) in the first comment, but you need to include them somewhere.
You can check out Instagram’s most popular hashtags here to get some inspiration.
Captioning is happening
In order to grow and nurture any type of following, you have to offer them something. Even if you have kick-ass pictures you still need to bring some originality to the captions.
Write something that shows off what your Instagram profile is about. Maybe it’s about your love of cats, maybe it’s about your start-up company.
Be a storyteller, make it engaging, but don’t go overboard as this will require a big commitment from the person reading.
Quotes are popular, as are inspiring messages (but beware: the inspirational message approach tends to work better for those who already have a following.)
Include a question or a call to action in your caption, and encourage comments from your existing followers.
Stick in a couple of emojis in your caption to attract attention, you can even put them in your username to draw people’s eyes to you.
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Be consistent
Four times a day is said to be the optimal amount of times to post to increase engagement, but this can differ based on who your followers are, what their habits are, and what you’re posting.
Four posts may sound extreme – particularly if you take your time over them – but between one and three posts a day is necessary for growth as you need to stay present on people’s feeds.
That said, if you haven’t got something good to say, don’t say it. Save your posting until you have the goods.
You’ll see that many of the biggest professional Instagram stars will re-post their best old photos some months later – scroll back a few dozen photos on most fitness or food bloggers’ pages and you’ll often start seeing dupes pop up.
They know which ones got the most engagement and followers so they post them again to maximise the effect.
The posts they choose to repost are usually good quotes and stellar still-life photography that isn’t time-sensitive, so they could be viewed at any moment and seem fresh.
Be prudent: you do not want people to associate you with irrelevant posts and hit the unfollow button.
Engage with your audience
It’s simple: start liking and commenting on people’s photos. They may just reciprocate with a follow.
Like photos related to your posts, hit up the explore page and double tap if you like what you see.
Search for photos that are similar to yours, from people you want to engage and like their photos.
Give attention to the posts that don’t have many likes, this is bound to have more of an impact with the person at the other side.
To speed up the pace of follower accumulation, search hashtags like #followme #like4like #instadaily and like plenty of photos in that search.
Keep doing this until you have liked about 1,000 pictures – I told you it was going to be hard work – and do this every day.
Some speculate you can get a follow for every six photos you like. This is probably an exaggeration – but you will soon see the results of your like project and be able to gauge your own success rate.
If that all sounds like to much work, you can get auto-like or auto-comment programs, such as IG Flash – which is free – to do all that work for you.
We wouldn’t recommend it (how many would unfollow if they knew?) and it’s a little shady but if you’re lazy, it’s one way you can try.
Forget the old rules of timing
It used to be the case that everyone serious about building their brand would post at certain times of the day to boost engagement.
Now that our feeds are no longer chronological, we don’t need to be so strict.
Although you don’t need to be on an exact schedule of when to post, it still makes sense to avoid lumping all your posts together.
Particularly if you’re adding four photos or videos a day, you don'[t want others’ feeds to be oversaturated with your selfies – as nice as I’m sure that’d be.
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Tips to increase your Instagram following
- Use a lot of Hashtags: Use three or four popular ones, then use ones relevant to you, use ones your audience use.
- Caption your photos: Write something interesting that will appeal to your audience, include a question or a call to action, and use emojis.
- Post everyday: Consistency will increase your following, post everyday and more than once.
- Like4Like: Like your audience’s photos, and then keeping liking until your finger is sore.
- Comment for a follow: To increase your chance of a follows, comment on your audience’s photos.
- Time is sacred: Only post when your audience will be active on Instagram, otherwise it is a waste.
- Follow4Follow: You should only follow people that follow you back, unfollow inactive users, and don’t follow more accounts than follows you.
- Be original: Your profile should have a theme so people have a reason to follow you.
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