Growing your Instagram account is not only possible but also absolutely necessary if you want to build a loyal following. The first step to doing so is figuring out who your target audience is. Then, you need to create an Instagram account for your brand, brand it by creating a cohesive theme for all of the images and videos you post on that platform, make your Instagram shoppable so people can buy from your store, optimize your bio with information about what you’re selling (and why they should buy from you), and add hashtags so that people searching for things relevant to what you’re offering will find you.
There are also tons of other ways — listed below — to grow followers on this social media platform:
Create an Instagram account for your brand.
If you’re planning to use Instagram for business purposes, it’s important to create a business account as well. You don’t need to be an expert on how to do this beforehand, but here are some tips:
- Please use your actual name and photo. Nothing is more upsetting than coming upon a corporation or brand whose name and image are plainly false. Don’t take the chance of jeopardizing your reputation by doing so!
- Set your profile to public. This makes it possible for users to find your content while browsing the app on their phones or computers without having direct access to other parts of their phone (like email addresses). However, feel free to set yours to private if you are concerned about privacy issues.
Brand your Instagram account.
There are two reasons why branding your Instagram account is important. First of all, it gives your brand a consistent appearance across all of your social media platforms. This implies that a user of your Facebook page, for instance, will be able to recognize the identical logo and color scheme on Instagram. Second, it facilitates the development of an emotional bond between you and your account’s followers.
There are many different ways to brand an account — here are some guidelines:
- Choose a name that matches what you do in real life (e.g., if you sell jewelry on Etsy or run a business that produces bracelets). If there’s no perfect match available, consider using initials instead (like @EtsyJewelry).
- Create a logo or avatar that identifies with the type of content that you post. For example, if most of what I post is fashion-related content then I would consider adding some kind of stylized drawing in addition to my personal face photo (and maybe even other people). If most things are food-related then perhaps something like a cartoon chef might work better than me holding up something yummy looking!
Make your Instagram shoppable.
Ensure that potential clients can find you and the goods you sell by taking advantage of this opportunity. This may be done by connecting your Instagram account to your website, adding a “add to cart” button to each of your posts, and including a “shop now” or “add to wishlist” button in the post’s description.
Anyone with access to some basic computer skills and no coding knowledge can start selling products online even if they don’t currently have an ecommerce platform set up for it (you’ll need an app to make shoppable posts).
Optimize your Instagram bio.
Your Instagram bio should include the following information:
- Your brand name and logo
- A link to your website
- A short bio that describes your business in a few words. The focus should be on what you do, not who you are. For example, “I’m a freelance writer specializing in travel writing, based out of New York City.” If you’re running a business that’s based on visuals or content creation (like an artist or photographer), it can be helpful to include what type of work you do in this section as well — but keep it brief so as not to overwhelm readers with information overload!
You can also add hashtags here if there are any relevant ones; however, don’t put more than three so as not to distract from the rest of your bio text itself. Finally, make sure that there aren’t any grammatical errors or typos before publishing this post!
Post more videos and share more stories.
- Post more videos. Videos are great for sharing your brand story and connecting with your audience. They can also be used to create a sense of community by giving people something to look forward to at a specific time each week, like behind-the-scenes footage or tips on how you use your product.
- Share more stories. You can share stories directly on Instagram or save them as drafts and post them later if you don’t have time right away. Stories are perfect for showing behind-the-scenes footage and providing sneak peeks into the creative process while also engaging with your fans through polls and comments that appear underneath each post — just like on Snapchat!
Use hashtags to grow followers.
In order to grow your Instagram, you’ll need to use hashtags. These are words or phrases that users can add to their posts so that others can find them easily when they search. The more relevant a hashtag is to your niche, the better it will be for you. For example, if I’m running a travel blog and want to share photos of my adventures in Bali, I could use hashtags like #bali #traveldiary or even just #travellingasmeansoftransport (note: not all of these would necessarily be relevant).
Post user-generated content and give credit where credit is due.
It’s important to give user-generated content’s author credit. Not only does it promote your social media accounts, but it also shows to potential clients that your business values the hard work of others. This is especially important if you’re using someone else’s image or video on one of your posts. Give them credit anywhere they have linked to their original post, including in the description and on their website and social media accounts (if applicable).
If this isn’t possible, include other methods for readers to find out more about them and how they can be contacted — like an email address or phone number — or even just mention that there are “more images” or “video coming soon” elsewhere on your site!
Find influencers in your niche who will collaborate with you.
Influencer marketing is a great way to broaden your reach and attract new customers. Influencers are people with a large following (usually in the thousands) who are interested in your niche, so they’re likely to be more receptive to collaborating with you than those who aren’t. Find influencers whose audience is similar to yours, and reach out to them on Instagram or their website with something like:
- I love your work! I noticed that you were interested in . I have an article on that would be great for your audience — would you like it?
- Hi there! I’m really into too. Have you seen my article about ?
Hire professional writers to create content for you to post and share on your Instagram account.
Hiring professional writers is an excellent way to grow your Instagram account.
- Hire writers who understand your industry, know your brand, and can create engaging and interesting content.
- Hire writers who will create content that aligns with the values of your business or organization.
Engage with your audience
Engage with your audience, ask questions, offer giveaways and contests, and promote user-generated content on your page, when possible and appropriate. Engaging with fans is crucial in order to grow your Instagram audience. You can do this by sharing content from other influencers or brands, asking questions and hosting giveaways and contests. For example, you can ask users to choose their favorite photo out of a group of options you’ve posted or offer them an opportunity to win free tickets to your next show.
Promote user-generated content on your page whenever it is possible and suitable to do so! Users will be inspired to keep contributing fantastic content by the knowing that they are being featured on the account they follow.
With Instagram being such a popular platform, it’s important to follow these tips and implement them in order to grow your audience. By doing so, you’ll be able to reach more people who are interested in what you have to offer!
RUCHI RATHOR Founder & CEO
Payomatix Technologies Pvt. Ltd.
FOUNDER AND INVESTOR | PAYMENTS PROCESSING EXPERT | MERCHANT ACCOUNT SOLUTIONS | WHITE LABELLED PAYMENT GATEWAY | Dreamer, Creator, Achiever, Constantly Evolving
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