22 Proven Ways to Get Instagram Followers

Instagram has become the next big thing on social media, so much so that Instagramming is a thing now just like Googling. More than 50 billion photos have been posted on Instagram since its birth in 2010, and it has over 500 million daily active users. People have become internet famous overnight because of this social media website and there are tons of people running personal brands via the fanbase gained on Instagram.

It’s no surprise that a platform this big has everyone hooked up on it and people look to become internet celebrities through it. However, not everyone has been able to grow equally on Instagram. That has more to do with the little things and hacks they missed out on than their personality. So many people think they aren’t good enough to get crazy numbers on Instagram when, in reality, they just need to tweak a few things.

This article will unravel the 22 ways by which you can get Instagram followers just like those big accounts you see on the site. We have taken proven ways from Instagram stars themselves and listed them down for you.

1. Insert Page Breaks in Your Description

While writing your bio, make it look nice by creating page breaks. This makes it easier to read and makes viewers curious to check out some photos. Emojis can go a long way as well, but you should not place them in the beginning or end of a sentence.

2. Mention Other Accounts in Your Bio

Mentioning another Instagram account in your description actually increases engagement by around 50%. If you’re posting a photo with another Instagram account, figure out a way to mention that account in your description.

3. Present an Interesting Life

To up your Instagram following, try showcasing an interesting life that people will envy. Pictures in which you hang out with friends or go on vacations are bound to increase likes and followers. Even if you don’t have many activities to post, reposting previous interesting moments as throwbacks have the same effect as they did when you first posted them.

4. Geotag Your Posts

Followers want to know where you are and what you’re doing, especially if the picture is very interesting. That’s why images with the location included can perform up to 79% better than others. It can also be very helpful as the algorithm tends to push posts that are geotagged to people residing within that location even if they aren’t interested in the content. This is important as it brings new followers.

5. Change It Up a Little

Selfies get more likes and engagements only if they are not repetitive. Followers tend to support something different as it feels fresh and unique. Don’t post the same pose more than 3 times and even they should be spaced apart. Things like changing your dressing sense or getting a fresh new hairstyle will keep your followers entertained and wanting to comment.

6. Change It Up a Lot

If you feel like your followers aren’t increasing as much as they used to, it’s probably because they are tired of looking at your posts and are moving on. To save your Instagram account from dying, give them the change they want to see by doing something completely different like hitting the gym instead of posting selfies.

7. Get a Pet

This lines up with the previous point. People on the internet go crazy over seeing their favorite content creators get pets. It gives them something unique to talk about and increases comments drastically. You may even get more followers who are interested in animals in general. It is so efficient that Instagrammers have even complained about followers just wanting to see pictures of their new pet(s).

8. Tag What You Use

Followers like your personal photos because they like how you look. Tagging the products that you use to look good will be much appreciated. This will also attract followers of the product and increase your following. Do make sure to ask for permission from the brand you’re about to tag because copyright is a thing.

9. Use Captions Wisely

A nice picture on Instagram is good enough to stop people from scrolling past it and actually pay attention, but it’s not quite enough to get people to do anything more than liking it. A caption on the photo allows people to converse in the comments, thus increasing engagement. Use appropriate hashtags to get your post recommended to more people looking for similar content.

10. Up Your Stalking Level

Do you want to find out what pictures your friends liked and commented on and who they followed? If you go to your notifications and swipe right, you’ll be able to see all that. This can help you connect with people your friends are following and keep your fans multiplying.

11. Use CTAs and Engaging Tools in Posts

Mostly effective in stories, asking questions and including CTAs can be helpful to keep things dynamic on your page. Some common calls to action are:

• Which look do you prefer?
• Click on the link to learn more.
• Double tap if you’re a fan of this.

These calls to action can do wonders for post engagement and give your followers some sort of activity. It will feel like a community and more people will want to join.

12. Make Instagramming a Two-Way Thing

Posting regularly will keep your fans intact, but it might become one-sided at times. To avoid that, a good thing to do is to comment on other people’s posts (most preferably your own followers’ posts) so that they feel a connection with you. Don’t just spam messages and emojis into their comments, though. Give something more constructive that they can feel good about. It’s social media, so keep it social.

13. Blue Is the New Gold

Pictures with more blue in them tend to get 20% more likes than other pictures. There have been many guesses as to why this happens, but most people think blue pops more and makes pictures attractive. To take advantage of this hack, make sure there is a sparkle of blue somewhere in your posts.

14. Collab with Other Instagrammers

If you want to grow on Instagram organically, collaborating with another Instagrammer can do wonders. This is very much appreciated by the algorithm as well since this is what Instagram wants: a community. A bonus is that you get to tag and be tagged with other Instagrammers, which allows you to share followers with each other and get famous in another fanbase.

Reaching out to other Instagrammers is often stressful, though. You should pick the ones that fit your taste and style on Instagram.

15. Repost on Other Social Media Sites

If you have a community you’ve built on platforms apart from Instagram, you should get them engaged on your Instagram as well. This is a tedious process and requires reposting content from your Instagram account to Facebook, Twitter, and Snapchat or share links (which is much less effective), but it’s hard work that pays.

Your fans on other social media websites will be interested in stuff you do on a daily basis and will follow you on Instagram to look for it. This is also an easy way of keeping other social media accounts active, but we’ll focus on Instagram in this article.

16. Learn from the Competition

It’s tiring to keep a schedule of posting on Instagram. Often, you might not be able to keep up and just want easy content to post. At times like this, it is helpful to have competition around because you can look at whatever they posted and simply replicate it as long as it doesn’t go against copyright laws. This allows you to take time off and brainstorm new ideas that can increase your following. It’s sort of like taking a few steps back to leap forward.

17. Use Instagram ds

You can make ads for your account and the kind of Instagrammer you are to attract new audiences. Facebook’s Power Editor is a great tool for this purpose, which can be used in conjunction with Facebook advertising to push ads to more viewers. It does cost a little, so be wise when and when not to do this. You may also not want to make it a regular thing as it will make your current fanbase think you’re more corporate than someone they can relate to or take inspiration from.

18. Ride on Trends

If you’re an Instagrammer, you must stay up to date with whatever is trendy. This is very important because if you don’t, people will get bored of your content and will want to move on. To avoid that, use hashtags of popular trends like Women’s Day or International Towel Day when they arrive. You can even share an occasional meme as memes are always trendy and people that like your sense of humor may start following you.

19. Post at the Right Times

It is very important to keep track of when you get the most engagements after a post is up. This will let you know the time of day when your fans are most active so that you can post right at that time. This will give an initial push to every post, allowing the algorithm to recommend it more. Your followers can even keep a schedule of when you will post and check your Instagram account out of curiosity.

20. Get Verified

That little blue tick beside your name that you get when you get verified is an amazing way to stand out from the competition. To become verified, these are the requirements:

• You must prove authenticity.
• Your account must be unique.
• You must have a public account.
• Your account must be complete.
• Your account must be notable by Instagram.

Viewers take being verified as a symbol of confidence and are much more likely to hit the follow button.

21. Switch to a Business Account

This may be a bit controversial because a lot of people assume their engagements are going to decline once they show to their fans that they have a more corporate feel. However, based on experiences of Instagrammers, it doesn’t affect fan engagements at all. The added perks of switching to a business account are incredibly helpful as you now get all the stats and analytics at your fingertips. This is useful in deciding what time to post and to know your followers better.

22. Post Stories to Draw Attention

Instagram is well known for introducing stories. They are a great way to draw attention to your posts. You can use stories to tease your fanbase and get their attention and then draw them toward your actual post. It has also been the most effective way of obtaining new followers as Instagram shows tons of stories in the search box and whatever people fancy, they click and follow.

Conclusion

Becoming an Instagram star does involve luck, but it’s more heavily reliant on how you shape your account. The best way is to take inspiration and guidelines from people who have achieved this goal, and that is exactly what we have tried to deliver to you.

There are many stories of people who started off on Instagram knowing nothing and weren’t able to achieve anything for the first few months or even years for that matter just because they weren’t doing the right things. We hope we have helped with this aspect at least a little through this article. It all boils down to dedication and motivation in the end. We wish you the best of luck for your career on Instagram.