With over 1 billion global users and a strong grasp on the valuable 18-34 age demographic, Instagram is an essential component of digital marketing and e-commerce strategies for businesses. Expanding your audience and gaining followers is important, but some brands make the mistake of trying to buy followers. While it may seem like a simple fix to get more eyes on your account fast, cutting corners to boost follower counts is just not worth it. For meaningful, sustainable growth, you’ll need to learn how to increase Instagram followers the right way, while avoiding common mistakes of Instagram marketing.
Why You Should Never Buy Instagram Followers
To answer the question of why you should not buy Instagram followers, let’s first take a look at why you would want to increase your follower count in the first place. In theory, more followers = more eyes on your posts, and more eyes on posts = more click throughs, more page views, more add-to-carts, and more sales.
Of course, theory and reality don’t always align, and that’s the case when it comes to purchasing Instagram followers. Having a smaller base of organic followers who are highly engaged is more valuable than having a huge follower count of fake and/or low-engagement users.
The Best Ways to Organically Grow Your Instagram Following
Building up high-quality, organic followers takes more time and effort than just buying followers, but it’s also investing in your business in the long term, cultivating a community of supporters that are actually interested in what you’re selling. Here are some tips for connecting with those high-quality users to grow your Instagram following.
Optimize Your Instagram Bio
While it might seem like common sense to have your Instagram brand identity locked down, you’d be surprised how often businesses skip this step.
- Make sure you have an easy-to-remember (and spell) username, and keep it as consistent as possible across various platforms. If you can have the same username on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, TikTok, and Snapchat, claim it. Avoid long or complicated names full of numbers or special characters.
- Have an eye-catching profile image, and keep it consistent across your various platforms.
- Use your bio to give a brief, clear description of what you offer.
- Don’t waste your bio link! This is your chance to drive traffic to your site, so make the most of it by directing visitors to an important destination like your shop, service packages, or contact page. You can also use a tool like Linktree to create a landing page that easily directs visitors to multiple places online.
Plan Your Posts
If you haven’t guessed it yet, the theme here is “consistency.” In order to gain and retain Instagram followers, you should be posting according to a consistent schedule. The best time to post on Instagram will differ based on your location and industry, so do some research and testing to find the best schedule for your business.
Creating a content or editorial calendar is an important way to plan out your Instagram posts and align them with your current brand initiatives, from advertising a sale to driving email list signups. Working on your content calendar in advance helps you see the big picture, but it also takes the pressure off, so you won’t be panicking for a last-minute idea whenever you remember to post.
Stay Focused
The social media landscape is notoriously frenetic, catering to ever-decreasing attention spans and a revolving door of trends. While it’s important to stay up to date, remember that building a successful business is a long game. You don’t have to partake in every Instagram meme or TikTok challenge, and you shouldn’t if it isn’t relevant to your business and customers. Pick and choose what you post to create a cohesive brand identity while also connecting with your followers. Sharing “just for fun” content is fine as long as it fits in with the tone of your brand.
It’s important to apply this same focus to your hashtags, as well. Hashtags are a great way to reach new users when you understand how to do so. The vaguer the hashtag, the less likely you will gain any traction from it. Don’t just hashtag your posts with #party or #fun. Instead, go for more specific hashtags like #Atlantapartyplanner or #NorthGeorgiaphotographer.
We can help you grow your Instagram following—and your business overall—with digital marketing services, including social media management and social ads. Get in touch with TrustWorkz to learn more!
