The question that all businesses that use Instagram, or another social network, ask themselves is the same: “How to get more followers?”
There are two ways to get followers on Instagram: the quick way and the smart way. I will explain how each one works:
The Quick Way to Get Followers on Instagram
The Google Keyword Planner tool tells us what type of topics users search for when searching for “Instagram.” This reveals to us that either they are looking for the Kardashian/Jenner account, or how to get more followers on Instagram.
The Fast Way real followers for instagram. If you are like most users, you will soon find several resources and tips that will tell you quick ways to get more followers on this social network. For example:
- Use the hashtag #f4f (follow by follow) or #followme (follow me) in the comments of popular users.
- follow, and moments later, unfollow popular users (?)
- Like at least 1,000 photos that include a popular hashtag.
The A Little Quicker Way. Does this still sound like a lot of work? Then try an app that automates this process. If you look for these applications from your mobile device, you will find several options with solutions to get followers on Instagram quickly.
The Fastest Way. If no app convinces you, the quickest option is to pay for followers. Go to the website of a provider of these services, choose the number of followers you want and VOILÀ!, you already have many followers.
It sounds too easy to be true, what’s the trick?
There is nothing wrong with these types of methods, as long as you only want thousands of followers. BUT, if your boss or client will soon ask you for the ROI of your Instagram efforts and you decide to apply this method… you will be in trouble! Because?
Well. In all the articles, videos and web pages that offer this type of services, they omit a very important word in any marketing strategy: SEGMENTED followers. What they don’t tell you is:
- WHO are your followers
- WHERE your followers live
- WHY would they be interested in your business
- WHAT value will these followers bring to your business
In other words, these schemes focus on the quantity and not the quality of followers.
If you gain 10,000 Instagram followers overnight using “quantity” methods… how many of them would be interested in your Japanese food restaurant? In your vintage clothing store? In your wall decoration company? interiors? Very few. I assure you, almost none.
There is very little chance that these users will interact with you, leaving comments and likes on your photos or sharing your content with their friends. If someone decided to snoop around on your account, for example your boss or client, the logical question would be “why does an account with so many followers only get 3 or 4 likes on their photos?”
The Smart Way to Get Followers on Instagram
Now let’s talk about how to get better followers on Instagram. Although these methods will take longer – compared to “quantity” – the promise is that you will get followers that are more relevant to your business and that will stay with you for the long term. These users are more likely to increase your ROI on your marketing efforts. And in this method, there are 5 ways to get more followers on Instagram:
1. Monitor a hashtag in your niche to find your target audience. If you do this daily, you will not only know the trends within your industry, but you will also find the people who want to know about you, if they follow you on Instagram.
So if you’re that Japanese food restaurant in Chicago, you might want to keep a close eye on these hashtags:
If you find a post that catches your attention, look for more information on that user’s profile to see if it’s worth a “follow.” If you have common interests, they will surely follow you back.
If you can, go further. Leave a comment on that post. Just make sure the comment is about the photo —and not about you. (If a user wants to know about you, they can see your profile) A positive comment about a common interest may be enough to get them to follow you back.
2. Monitor a hashtag in your niche to discover user-generated content. It’s similar to the previous method, but on a different level. You will be surprised to know that there are already users who publish content about your business, your products or services. And these users will be happy to let you share these photos with your followers… as long as you ask nicely for their permission.
Users are flattered if a brand thinks their photo is worthy of being shared with more people. And, they are more likely to follow you to see their photo on your account. They can even share your account with their followers. This happened to Pantone, look what happened.
3. Sponsor an Instagram contest with another brand. Partner with another Instagram user who is in the same niche as you to run an Instagram contest in which the condition to participate is to follow both accounts. Look at the example of the sports store RiseNY and the SneakerWatch website.
This method is a win-win, but smaller brands can benefit more. In this example, RiseNY has over 7,300 followers on Instagram; SneakerWatch has over 337,000. This contest can help them have more segmented followers, because both brands are in the sports clothing and accessories industry.
4. Post on Instagram regularly. It may be very obvious, but we cannot skip this step. Even if you are very charming, leave a lot of comments and give away a lot of prizes, it is very important that the value of your brand is reflected in your Instagram account. The only way to achieve this is to post photos and videos regularly. Be sure to include hashtags relevant to your industry (like #chicagofoodscene, for example). This makes it easier for users to find you, since they share a common interest.
5. Promote your Instagram account on multiple channels. The first to know that you have an Instagram account are your regular customers, your employees and your suppliers. They are the people you communicate with frequently! Or not? If you have a database with their emails, you can design a message inviting them to follow you. Constant Contact and Mailchimp have integration with Instagram so you can show everyone you see what your Instagram account is like.
The next people you should know are visitors to your website. It may be that through organic searches or through paid ads they have reached your website. Include a widget that gives you a taste of what they can expect if they follow you on Instagram.
If you have a tangible product, consider adding more information about your Instagram account on the packaging. In this case, Domino’s used the packaging box to invite its customers to upload photos of their pizzas and tag them with the user @dominos. It is very likely that these users also follow Domino’s out of curiosity and find their photo on the Domino’s Instagram account, which currently has more than 73 thousand followers.