“How To Get More Instagram Followers That Are Engaged” written by Mike Marko.
You may have heard that Instagram is the fastest growing social network.
In just the last four years, Instagram expanded to over 200 million monthly active users. And just as importantly, Instagram has also been shown that, relatively speaking, Instagram has the most engaged users compared to other social media platforms.
That’s probably why you have considered Instagram to be an important part of your overall business marketing plan.
So you created your account, posted a bunch of pictures… but almost nothing has happened. Very few followers, and no interaction. I bet that is very disappointing.
That’s why I want to help you learn how to get more Instagram followers.
How to Get More Instagram Followers
You should have already setup your Instagram profile like we discussed previously, so now you need to learn some tips on how to attract engaged followers. So let’s get started…
Tip #1: Use The Right Hashtags When Posting
Your primary goal on Instagram is to engage your current audience while also growing your following. That means you should be posting new and interesting (and engaging) photos regularly.
But in order to help grow your present following, you need to use hashtags so that people can find your photos when they are searching for specific terms.
Now how do you know what hashtags to use?
Just like in any other social media (and also for keywords in SEO) people use certain hashtags more frequently than others. If you pick the right hashtags for your photos, then you are more likely to reach a bigger audience.
Here are the most current top 20 hashtags on Instagram (per Webstagram):
1. #love 932,581,857 posts
2. #instagood 493,403,717 posts
3. #photooftheday 358,637,041 posts
4. #tbt 348,739,926 posts
5. #cute 339,343,134 posts
6. #me 331,475,739 posts
7. #beautiful 326,315,516 posts
8. #happy 321,689,559 posts
9. #followme 320,106,207 posts
10. #follow 313,980,215 posts
11. #fashion 278,305,647 posts
12. #selfie 274,668,938 posts
13. #picoftheday 271,900,644 posts
14. #like4like 253,157,651 posts
15. #tagsforlikes 249,919,964 posts
16. #girl 245,444,723 posts
17. #friends 236,132,926 posts
18. #instadaily 235,426,413 posts
19. #summer 232,214,602 posts
20. #fun 224,142,738 posts
But I bet as you look over this list you are probably thinking that none of these apply to your brand or the niche you are targeting. That isn’t surprising.
Using the RIGHT hashtag is extremely important when trying to get more Instagram followers to be engaged with your content. You can use these popular hashtags, but this won’t create a long-term engaged following you need to grow your customer base.
To find relevant hashtags, I love to use IconoSquare. It will help you find different hashtags related to your particular niche.
For example, I did a search on the hashtag #hiking and came up with the following top 15 hashtags:
#hiking 11,232,675 photos
#hikingtrail 131,991 photos
#hikingadventures 408,406 photos
#hikingwithdogs 110,764 photos
#hikingday 29,155 photos
#hikingtrails 57,850 photos
#hikingbuddy 24,200 photos
#hikingdog 24,570 photos
#hikingboots 17,034 photos
#hikingworldwide 25,045 photos
#hikingtrip 32,223 photos
#hikingadventure 24,695 photos
#hikingbuddies 17,905 photos
#hikinglife 22,613 photos
#hikingshoes 13,158 photos
Try this same exercise for your own niche, brand, and products. Build a list as you go and keep it for reference whenever you post to Instagram.
TIP: I personally keep the list on a notepad on my phone for quick reference and use.
Tip #2: Post Pictures That Brand You
Make sure you post pictures that help brand you and are related to your niche. Don’t just pick any picture to post.
Posting to Instagram is almost like telling a story but with pictures overtime. Use the pictures to tell the story about who you are and the end result for your product and services.
I like to use the analogy of a travel agent: they sell the destination and not the airplane. Don’t sell the airplane (the actual products) but show what the products can do for them. Show how your business solutions actually solved the problem. Make the pictures fun and show the benefits of what you are promoting.
Back to the travel agent example, show the hotel, cocktails on the beach, romantic sunsets, etc… and NOT pictures of the airport or the airplane. 🙂
Tip #3: Post When It Counts Most
Beyond using the right picture and hashtags, you should consider the timing of your post.
For example, do you think your target audience is on Instagram 5AM? Maybe, maybe not… you won’t know for sure unless you do some testing.
Start collecting data when you post at different times. Keep track of when you get any interaction like a like or comment on your picture. You’ll probably start to see a pattern develop. You can then collect that data and make decisions on when you want to post to get the biggest impact for your effort.
The cool thing is, you don’t have to do this manually. You can visit Iconosquare’s optimization section and get a detailed analysis of your posting vs engagement. This report will help you determine both the best times and the best days of the week to post.
The latest stats for our main Instagram account, @bren_and_mike, is shown below. The dark circles indicates when you usually post media. The light gray circles shows when your community has been interacting. The biggest light gray circles represent the best times for you to post.
I go over this in more detail in the following video.
To help you with scheduling your posts, you can try a (paid) scheduling program like ScheduGram which can handle multiple accounts.
Tip #4: Interact With Other Instagram Users
This is probably the most important tip.. and that is to interact with other Instagram users. When you want to aggressively grow your Instagram account, it helps tremendously to interact with other accounts.
Using Iconosquare, or searching for Instagram hashtags, you can find accounts that are associate with your niche. Then find some images and like and comment on them, then follow the users account. The idea is that this will encourage them to follow you back.
Will everyone follow you back? No.
But you will get a percentage that will. Presently you can follow up to 7,500 accounts before you have to start unfollowing accounts so you can follow more.
Final Thoughts on How To Get More Instagram Followers
Instagram is an effective resource for building up a following and getting traffic to your website or offer. We’ve been using it effectively for quite a while.
Follow these four tips on how to get more Instagram followers. You’ll find that overtime you’ll build up a very interactive following.
If you want help in building up your Instagram account (especially using automation to interact with other Instagram users), fee free to contact me and we can talk about the different options we offer. We offer an Instagram marketing service if you need help in building up your Instagram account.
Be sure to also check out out this more comprehensive blog post: How to Market Your Business with Instagram And Get Results.
You can also check out Instagram Marketing Mastery by clicking here.
And keep in mind… have fun!
P.S. – If you like this post, feel free comment down below and/or share on Facebook.
Have questions and want to connect?
Add me on Facebook then shoot me a message:
http://www.Facebook.com/mike.marko.37
Suggested Articles:
1. How to Beat Facebook Rules And Build Customer Relationships
2. Essential Twitter Marketing Tips – Scheduling Your Tweets
3. Tips on Improving Twitter Lead Generation and Increasing Blog Traffic
Author: Mike Marko
Click here to contact Mike
www.IMConsultantServices.com
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