Instagram is primarily a free image and video-sharing social networking website. It has a wide range of features, ranging from stories, reels to live streaming. Instagram presently has 1.074 billion registered users, with over a billion of them actively using the app. Female users account for 51% of global users, and this percentage is increasing by the day. The 25-34-year-old age group holds the highest advertisement demographic globally, led closely by the age range of 18-24-year-old. Instagram was among the leading five most-downloaded apps across both the App Store and Google Play last year as per Sensor Tower. According to data from 2018, Instagrammers spent an aggregate of 53 minutes on the network. With 140 million active Instagram users, India is one of the most prominent countries on the platform. Men account for 72.9 per cent of Indian Instagram users whereas females are at 27.1%. One of the earliest markets to try out Instagram Reels and the Reels tab was India. And did you know that Indian artists are credited for two out of five songs shared worldwide on Reels?
It's simple to create an Instagram account.
- Click Sign up on instagram.com,
- Insert your email address and create a username and password,
- or click Log in with Facebook to sign up using your Facebook account.
- Select Sign up if you're registering with an email address.
- If you register with Facebook, you'll be asked to log into your account if you're not already signed in.
- Its Piece of cake!
If we talk about Instagram's features, followers and following are some of its most prominent features. Following refers to the people you are following on Instagram, and followers refer to those that follow you. This helps you to interact with your favourite artists, engage with brands, and even expand your own business by reaching potential clients. It also provides artists and influencers with a medium to connect with their intended audience. Followers are one of the most significant criteria to consider when determining an individual's Instagram profile. Some claim that gaining too many followers on social media is pointless. However, having a large following is advantageous in many instances. One can even earn money with Instagram and we’ll tell you how. Having a large number of followers means you can reach out to a larger number of folks regularly. It is for this reason that many brands and businesses are on the lookout for such Instagrammers. Every business wants to reach a particular demographic, and they can do so by contacting an Instagrammer to advertise their products. An influencer’s account can be a great way to increase sales, and you can get paid well for doing so.
However, getting followers is a tough challenge that necessitates a lot of strategic planning. But don’t freak out yet! Why are we here for?
The most relevant aspect to note is that there are two fundamental strategies for increasing followers. One is an organic approach, while the other is a simpler and faster tactic. Let's take a look at four organic ways/steps to gain more followers:
Determining your target audience:
First and foremost, you must choose an appropriate target audience for your account. This will help you in grasping your ideal crowd who will not only be a part of your followers but will also enhance your engagement positively. Furthermore, brands with a similar core demographic will reach out to you. Let us use an example to explain what we mean when we say "appropriate target audience." If you're into makeup and beauty, for instance, your target audience will be other makeup enthusiasts. Some may want to learn about makeup, while others may want to see the products you use or recommend, and this would attract makeup or beauty-related brands to advertise via you. Therefore, if you have a specific theme, you cannot simply seek followers. You'll have to screen your needs and direct them to the relevant users.
Managing your profile:
As previously stated, there are over 1 billion Instagram users; but, what makes you unique? You may be able to attract users to your account, but what will compel them to explore and follow you? This is where your profile's appearance and content are taken into consideration. Instagram is a visual platform so planning your feed aesthetically surely has an advantage. Select a suitable grid layout, it's easy to begin and sustain a coherent Instagram theme with a layout. Select a beautiful theme that reflects your visual style. An Instagram theme is the overall expression of your Instagram feed. Most importantly, decide what you'd like to post about. Your content is the most significant, try making it unique. It is now more essential than ever to have high-quality Instagram content. It is vital because it not only helps you attract followers but it also enables you to monetize your account.
There are several other things you can do to manage your profile, such as capturing quality pictures or videos, using the same filter to retain a pattern, consistent use of identical borders, adding value to your content, and so on. Although content is entirely up to you, there are apps like “Preview” and “Canva” and that can assist you in choosing your favourite theme from a variety of options.
Increase Engagement:
Now that you’ve decided your audience and worked on your feed and content, it’s now time to engage users to your content. To be honest, if you have relevant content, engaging your audience isn't difficult. The only trick is to stay active and upload regularly. When we look back to the early days of Instagram, low-quality photos and intermittent posting rendered it a lot easier to build a following. However, now is the time to be consistent, and you must be able to create and post content that your audience can enjoy and interact with on a regular basis. But we’ll have to understand that the algorithm isn't preventing you from rising; it's simply altering the manner in which you can grow. It is advisable that you post something in your feed every day, whether it is a Picture, a Reel, or an IGTV video. If you can't post anything on your feed, use Stories instead. You have a better chance of reaching viewers if you post to Stories more frequently as they access their everyday stories and the greater views you get, the higher your rank will be. Some people or brands also choose to upload 10 to 30 posts every single day but studies have shown that it doesn’t affect engagements positively. If you start posting several times per day and then cut back to only a few times per week, you'll end up losing followers get much less engagement each post. Therefore, the best posting frequency is the rate with which you or your brand can consistently post. And thus, remember to keep consistency over frequency.
Hashtags:
A hashtag (e.g., #lifeisgood) is a grouping of letters, numbers, and/or emoji followed by the # symbol. They're used to organize content and make it easier to discover. Hashtags can be clicked on. Anyone who searches for an Instagram hashtag or clicks on one will be taken to a page with all of the posts labeled with that hashtag. Hashtags are a great way to grow your Instagram followers. When you add a hashtag, your post will show up on the hashtag's page. If you insert a hashtag in your Story, it may appear in the related hashtag Story, which is also featured on the hashtag page. You may add several hashtags to your post or story. So this is how you'll seek your niche viewers, engage them, and even entice them to follow you if they enjoy your content.
For a deeper understanding, assume you're an Instagram content creator who posts poems or blogs. The hashtags listed below will be relevant for your posts to reach your intended audience -
#poetry #quotes #poetrycommunity #writersofinstagram #life #poem #instagram #lovequotes #writer #quoteoftheday #poet #quote #poetsofinstagram #follow #art #poems #thoughts #inspirationalquotes #writing #instagood #quotestagram #like #motivation #inspiration #motivationalquotes
Now that we've talked about the organic ways to grow your Instagram followers, let's take a gander at the quicker choices -
Reposting:
Reposting is the method of republishing content that has already been published by someone else. Before we dive in, make sure to give proper credits to the original creators; otherwise, the content would be considered plagiarized rather than reposted. Reposting is a good way to get your word out there without spending a great deal of effort. You can choose to maximize your unique content as you expand, or you can initiate by posting your content for every 5 or 6 reposted contents.
The follow-unfollow method:
This may appear to be a very shady way of gaining followers, but if you're just getting started and need a base crowd, it can be helpful. Begin by identifying an account with a considerable number of followers and an equivalent target audience, and then start following their followers. Hypothetically, follow 500 of them every day, and maybe 50 of them will return the favour. Now pick a day to unfollow those 500 people, including those who followed you back. Following that, 25 of your existing followers (or 50 per cent) may unfollow you, but the remaining 25 will become your baseline audience. Great hack right? We know (winks).
Apps:
This is going to be the easiest of them all. Third-party apps save your time and effort by automating the follow-unfollow technique that you would have done manually. Aside from that, some apps may allow you to purchase followers. But, after all, nothing worthwhile comes so easily right? Many third-party apps will ask for your Instagram ID and/or password, some will require your credit card information, and the rest will simply request access to your data via your phone settings. This is risky, and if you value your privacy, you should avoid it. And if you're still interested, all it takes is a quick Google search to find apps that genuinely work. Simply pursue thorough research and you'll be good to go!
If you ask us, we believe that taking the long road will lead to tangible results. Moreover, to maintain an ethical touch, you may also consider reposting in addition to the organic methods. And now that you’ve all that you need to know about gaining Instagram followers, what are you waiting for? Go get it!