13 Tips to Get More Followers on Instagram in 2020 – Shopify
Instagram can be a highly-targeted, visual marketing channel for your brand and an opportunity to build a loyal audience that grows with your business.
In fact, over 500 million Instagram and IGTV users browse the app every day, making it home to some of the most engaged audiences around.
But like any social network out there, there are the right ways to use your Instagram profile, wrong ways to use it, and clever ways to use it.
In this post, we will show you how to most effectively use Instagram to increase engagement and grow a massive following over time—one that’s full of real fans, not inactive fake accounts.
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How to get more followers on Instagram
Let’s dive deeper into how to implement each tactic to get more Instagram followers.
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1. Use the right Instagram hashtags
Your goal on Instagram is to engage your current audience on a regular basis while also growing your number of real followers. Posting new, interesting and engaging photos will satisfy the first requirement, but to begin growing you’ll find hashtagging your photos to be extremely important. Hashtagging your photos makes it easy for people to find your photos that are searching for those specific terms.
So which hashtags should you use? Just like with Twitter and other social sites, users on Instagram use certain hashtags over others. If you use popular Instagram hashtags within your photos, you’re much more likely to reach new users and be discovered.
Here are the current top 20 hashtags on Instagram:
#love (1, 271, 692, 015)
#instagood (742, 795, 562)
#photooftheday (507, 358, 504)
#fashion (487, 010, 088)
#beautiful (463, 668, 566)
#happy (427, 528, 663)
#cute (418, 686, 470)
#like4like (417, 887, 839)
#tbt (413, 049, 020)
#followme (392, 011, 012)
#picoftheday (380, 504, 677)
#follow (371, 102, 705)
#me (348, 193, 980)
#art (343, 874, 151)
#selfie (337, 204, 715)
#summer (324, 498, 110)
#instadaily (323, 307, 593)
#repost (309, 603, 537)
#friends (307, 567, 075)
#nature (303, 040, 276)
If you looked at the list above and said, “But none of those apply to my products or brand”, you’re likely correct.
Using hashtags is one thing, using the right tags is a completely different thing.
Popular tags like the ones listed above will likely net you additional engagement and likes, however they will not lead to increased long-term engagement, new interested followers, and most importantly, sales.
If you want to tag your photos properly, you’ll need to find and use the most relevant hashtags. This means doing the appropriate research to make sure you’re using hashtags that not only describe your brand, but are also being searched for on Instagram.
To find relevant hashtags, you’ll want to use a free online tool like IconoSquare or Websta to start.
Below, I used Websta to find relevant, related and popular hashtags for my men’s accessory brand by searching for key hashtags that are closely related to my brand.
As an example, searching the hashtag #MensFashion, I was able to pull the following list of additional keyword hashtags along with the number of times they have been used (popularity).
You can also find more related hashtags and their popularity if you search for any of your target keywords directly in the Instagram app.
You’ll want to go through this exercise trying different keywords that describe your brand and products, building out your hashtag keyword list as you go.
Keep in mind that Instagram allows for a maximum of 30 hashtags per post. Additionally, the popular words will change over time, so make sure you revisit your hashtag keywords every few months to make sure you’re using the best possible terms.
You can also steal hashtag ideas from competitors or similar accounts that have the kind of following you aspire to have, but you ultimately want to create your own groups of hashtags to use that relate to your specific account.
Protip #1: Here’s a trick that I use for my ecommerce businesses. For every product and product category for my stores, I have done the research to see which are the most popular Instagram hashtags around those product categories. I came up with 15-20 popular hashtags for each category of products I sell, as well as a base of 5-10 popular tags that describe my brand and product offering overall. Finally, I also created a list of popular local specific hashtags that relate to my brand.
For example:
(Brand keyword hashtags)
#mybrandname #mensfashion #mensaccessories #mensgoods #fashion #mensstyle #instafashion #menswear
(Product category keyword hashtags)
#bugatchisocks #happysocks #corgisocks #socks #sockswag #socksoftheday #sockgame #sockswagg #socksofinstagram #happysockday #sockwars #funsocks #happysockday
(Location specific keyword hashtags)
#Toronto #TorontoFashion #TorontoFashionBloggers
All of these groups of keyword hashtags are stored in a page on Evernote. This makes it easy and efficient when I’m on the go to post a new Instagram image, optimized for the most relevant keywords.
I can easily open my Evernote and copy my standard brand, product and location specific hashtags to post with each photo. Some Instagram scheduling tools also let you save caption templates that you can use to store your hashtag groups.
Doing the work upfront of researching, organizing and saving the most applicable and popular hashtags will save you a ton of time down the road, increase your engagement and help garner new followers.
Protip #2: If you’ve been posting to Instagram for a while and feel like you’ve missed out on all these opportunities to build your audience by using keyword hashtags, fret not. You can still go back and post a comment with your new hashtag keyword lists and watch the likes and followers roll in.
Using hashtags in Instagram stories
Hashtagging on Instagram posts are a given, but you should also be using hashtags in your Stories for the chance to be seen by users who follow that specific hashtag.
You can use hashtag stickers (which can be found in the Instagram Stickers menu when creating a Story) or just hashtag directly in your captions for a chance to be featured in a hashtag story.
Now that users can follow hashtags, your stories on Instagram have a chance to be seen by both people who are following that hashtag and anyone who’s just checking it out.
2. Use the right filters on Instagram
Keyword hashtags aren’t the only thing you should pay attention to. The Instagram community responds to certain photo filters more favorably than others. Using these preferred filters can have an impact on your engagement.
Here are the 10 current most popular filters on Instagram according to Iconosquare:
Normal (No Filter)
Clarendon
Juno
Lark
Ludwig
Gingham
Valencia
X-Pro II
Lo-fi
Amaro
TrackMaven ran a study on Instagram accounts to see how filters affected engagement and found that Mayfair, Hefe, and Ludwig drove the most interaction.
But more important than the general Instagram community’s favorite filters, are your particular audience’s favorite filters. Consider this custom graph which correlates filter usage to engagement from my own Instagram account:
You can use IconoSquare to review the performance of your own account to understand what is and is not currently working for you.
3. Post on Instagram at the right times
Beyond adding the appropriate hashtags and using the best filters, you should also be considering the timing of your posts.
A targeted approach is to analyze what has and has not worked for you in the past. By visiting IconoSquare’s optimization section, you can get a detailed analysis of your posting history vs. engagement. This report will also highlight the best times of the day and days of the week to post.
The dark circles indicate 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.
You can also get a lot of great insight from Instagram Analytics for Business accounts for free, under the Followers section.
You may want to consider using a social media scheduling tool to schedule and automatically publish your posts for when your audience is the most engaged.
4. Steal your competitor’s followers on Instagram
One of the best ways to find and attract a new following is by seeking out your closest competitors’ Instagram accounts and engaging with their audience. These people have already shown some level of interest in the products you carry simply by following your competitors’ account.
So how do you effectively steal your competitors’ followers? You can steal your closest competitors’ followers by engaging with them. There are several ways to engage with Instagram users, and the more work you put in, the more followers and repeat engagement you’ll get out of it.
The three types of engagement on Instagram are:
Follow a user
Like a photo
Comment on a photo
I ran an informal test with my business account to see how my competitors’ followers responded to my marketing advances. I targeted the followers of a close, local competitor. Since I know many of his followers would be local, I added my city to my profile to create a greater sense of familiarity between my brand and the people I am targeting.
I began by simply following 100 of my competitors’ followers. Later, I followed another 100 but I also took the time to like one of their photos. Finally, I followed a third group of 100 and liked as well as commented on one photo from each account..
Here were the results:
Follow: 14% followback
Follow + Like: 22% followback
Follow + Like + Comment: 34% followback
Although the are many variables and the test was far from scientific, the results were clear. The more you put in and engage with people, the more you’ll get out of it.
Note: While it’s against Instagram’s terms of service, some entrepreneurs use automation to follow the same process above. House of Hannie discusses this tactic and the pros and cons of it on the episode of Shopify Masters below.
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5. Pay for sponsored posts and product reviews
All this optimized posting to your account is great but if you really want to make an impact, you need to take advantage of influencer marketing on Instagram, exposing your brand to a wider audience.
So how do you do that? First, unlike the tactics above to grow your account this one usually isn’t free. However, if done correctly, it’s good value.
To get started, you’ll need to make a list of large accounts in your niche. For example, if you sell beauty products, you’ll want to find large accounts from beauty bloggers.
You may already be following these accounts, but if not you’ll need to find them. One of the best ways is to use Webstagram (mentioned earlier) and search for some of the closest hashtag keywords you uncovered in the beginning of this post. When you do a search for your keywords, not only will it show you the related keywords, but it also shows you the top Instagram accounts that feature those keywords.
There are a few things to look for in the profiles results:
A large following—usually 20k to 200k
An email address in the profile
If there is an email address in the profile, it usually means they’re open to sponsored posts or a shoutout in a sponsored Story.
You’ll want to email them and ask them their sponsored post pricing. In general, I have found the average rate to be around $20-$50 per post, depending on the size of their following.
However, if you’re selling a unique and original product, you may also want to consider sending them your product to review and post. The more natural and less advertisement-like the image, the greater the engagement and response usually.
You don’t necessarily need influencers with a massive following, but rather ones with a high engagement rate (likes and comments relative to follower size), which many influencer marketplaces can provide.
Here’s an example:
6. Use geotags on Instagram for local discoverability
Besides hashtags, you can also make your Instagram posts and Stories discoverable by tagging your location, either the city you’re in or the venue where the photo or video was taken.
Locations not only have their own Instagram feed but also their own Story just like hashtags that you can contribute to when you use the location sticker in your own Stories.
Local businesses can get the most value out of location tags by posting regularly to these feeds and also engaging with posts from prospective customers who are physically in the vicinity.
7. Organize your Stories into Highlights
Whenever a potential follower lands on your profile, you have a short span of time to convince them to follow you.
One way to do this is by using the “Highlights” feature on your profile to organize your Instagram Stories in a way that communicates what your account is about.
Since Stories have a 24-hour lifespan, Highlights can be used to give them a second-life and entice others to follow you so they don’t miss out on more Stories in the future.
Use Story Highlights to:
Create trailers that tease what your account is about
Organize your Stories into themes (like countries you’ve visited to for travel accounts)
Explain your products through pictures and videos
Promote your products using swipe-up links (you need at least 10K followers and a Instagram Business account to do this with your Stories)
8. Ask for more followers
It sounds obvious, but it deserves to be said: Don’t be afraid to occasionally ask your audience to follow you.
The same way YouTubers ask their viewers to follow them at the end of their videos, you can also ask viewers to follow you for more content.
Sometimes people might really enjoy what you put out on Instagram, but need a nudge before they actually follow you. Sometimes you just need to remind the users of a platform that they can subscribe to get more in the comments of a post.
You can also do this in your Instagram captions or even work it into your content by pitching what your audience will get if they follow you or hinting at content that’s coming up that they won’t want to miss.
9. Hop on trends for more followers
When the opportunity presents itself, aligning your content with trending topics or hashtags can improve discoverability and engagement.
For example, you can ride the wave of a trending topic or event, such as a holiday, in a relevant way to boost your engagement and reach. Or you can participate in one of the many hashtag holidays that exist, such as #NationalCoffeeDay (falling on October 1st in 2018). Mark relevant events in your calendar so you can prepare relevant content in advance.
Be sure to join the conversation in a meaningful way and when in doubt, ask yourself if your target audience would actually pay attention to the trend.
For instance, here’s Faballey catching up with ‘what the week looks like’ trend on Instagram Reels:
10. Run a giveaway to attract Instagram followers
One of the best kinds of comments you can get on any social media post, not just Instagram, is a comment where one user tags a friend. Not only do these comments contribute to your post’s engagement, which in turn makes it favorable to the Instagram algorithm, but each tag brings you a new audience member who arrived through a recommendation and who you could potentially win over as a follower.
One way to encourage this behavior is by posting relatable content that begs for 1:1 sharing (e. g. A gym meme that asks you to tag a friend who skips leg day). But a more reliable way to get your audience to tag their friends is by running a giveaway that encourages your audience to tag a friend and follow your account.
Be sure to check out our post on running a giveaway for more, as well follow Instagram’s promotion guidelines and any legal requirements for running a contest that apply in your country of operation.
For inspiration, here’s an example of a successful product giveaway from the5th that incentivizes people to follow their account and tag a friend for the chance to win two free products for the both of them.
11. Be consistent with your Instagram posts
Most of your followers won’t follow you for what you posted in the past but for the promise of what you’ll post in the future. Your audience wants to know what they’re going to get if they hit that follow button.
Having a feed with a consistent theme running through, where you publish at a consistent pace, can have just as much of an impact in growing a following as many of the other growth strategies we’ve covered above. Even a simple pattern can entice new followers, as long as it’s communicated at first glance to anyone who lands on your profile.
Consider your Instagram bio and your last 9 posts as your first impression on Instagram. Do they effectively communicate some degree of consistency through personality, filters, colors, or layout?
The layout of your grid is an often underestimated way to get creative with the aesthetic of your feed while adding a rhythm to your publishing strategy and consistency that’s worth following.
In fact, many accounts that adopt this approach are often able to spend less effort on creating content by focusing on converting visitors into followers, producing text graphics or other content with a faster turnaround and streamlining the overall production of their Instagram content.
You can use a tool like Later to easily plan out and schedule the look and layout of your feed in advance. Sonnet Insurance is just one example of how far some brands go with the aesthetic of their Instagram layout.
12. Closely monitor your Instagram following over time
It’s not enough to get more Instagram followers if you’re losing them just as fast. Keep an eye on the rate at which you’re growing as well as how engaged your following is overall.
Social Blade is a great free tool for analyzing the growth of your following (or your competitors), showing you followers added and lost over time and on specific days.
With an Instagram Business account, you also get an Instagram Analytics dashboard which offers valuable insight for free that you won’t get anywhere else. You can see how many people are checking out your profile, how many people your posts have reached, what your most engaging posts are, and where most of your followers are from.
You can use this data to diagnose where you’re falling short and where you could do more. Look for patterns in the posts that were the most engaging and try to replicate that in your future content.
You can also use a Shopify analytics app like RevTap to see how your Instagram ad campaigns are performing.
13. Use the Instagram tools at your disposal
There are hundreds of Instagram tools out there that can help you and your Instagram strategy, but I mentioned three key ones to help you build your audience and engage with them over time:
Later: Schedule and automatically publish your Instagram posts from your computer or mobile device.
IconoSquare: Info, analytics and insights into your account and followers.
Webstagram: Find the best hashtags for your posts and people for your sponsored posts.
14. Use high-quality images
Instagram is a visually-driven platform. We’re all there for discovering ideas and inspiration for what we want to wear, what decor we wish to have, our next project, travel destination and more. Now imagine if someone shared hazy pictures of things – how would you know you even want to do that?
So remember whenever you’re posting something on Instagram, the image is of high-quality. It needs to capture the user’s attention immediately.
Also read: The beginner’s guide to smartphone photography
15. Talk to your followers
Growing your Instagram takes more than just posting good content. If you want people to know you or engage with you, you need to engage with them as much. Now you can do this in a couple of ways.
For starts, start replying to the comments or questions you get on your posts. Even if it is just thanking someone for dropping a note.
Next, consider hosting a live chat to let your followers join in and ask you questions about your products and services. It’s also a great way to win their trust by showing them the real face behind the brand.
For example, here’s Suta engaging with their followers in the comments section, making them feel noticed and appreciated:
16. Make your Instagram stories more engaging
A lot of us post Stories to show what we’re doing through the day by clicking pictures of products, or where we are. What if you made these Stories even more engaging?
You can do this in a number of ways. Add stickers to your stories that are trending on Instagram, supporting a cause that people are talking about or use text to share a story or talk about your products.
Here’s an example from Shop Lune, for instance:
17. Share your values, vision and mission
Did you know that the new-age consumer is cause-driven? About 40% of us choose to consciously interact with brands that support a cause we believe in or want to contribute to.
So if there’s anything you’re doing to give back to the society, share it with your followers. We’re not asking you to boast about it. But just educate them about what you’re doing and give them a chance to contribute and be a part of your journey too.
Here’s how Fabuliv does it:
18. Experiment with long captions
Don’t just use captions to promote your deals, discounts or drop the product’s name. Go one step further and use the space to tell a story about your brand or an upcoming product range. People love to hear stories and this is your space to bear it all!
Here’s an example from Exclusive Lane, a home decor store:
19. Host Instagram Takeovers
We know how skeptical you may be about letting someone else handle your Instagram. But did you know that getting an expert or an influencer to collaborate with you on your feed is a great way to show how ‘involved’ you are with your audience? It’s also a form of user generated content that often goes untapped!
For example, if your store sells home decor products, invite Instagram influencers that active share home styling tips to host a live AMA or create authentic content for your feed on a given day around a specific theme. This is also a great hack to tap into the invited person’s following and increase your own.
20. Create Story highlights on your profile
Often times we see something on an account that we want to go back to after a few days. But then we never find the same post even if we remember whose feed we saw it on or whose Story it was featured on. The reason is that there’s just too much content being shared on the platform. Even your favourite brand is posting so regularly that you might miss out on a few updates!
But you can tackle this by creating Story highlights on your profile. With this feature, you’ll be able to categorise your posts into topics that your audience likes to engage with the most.
Here’s how Heads Up For Tails has done it:
21. Tag people and accounts in your images
But don’t overdo it of course. Tag only those accounts that are relevant or those users that actively interact with your brand. It’s a smart move to capture their attention and also get discovered by those who follow them.
For example, if you just hosted a launch party and are posting pictures of the same, take time to identify all those people in the pictures and make sure you tag them. Similarly, if you’re using another brand’s products in your studio set up and it gets featured, tag them as well. One brand to another, it’s only love!
22. Optimize your Instagram bio with hashtags
Instagram’s discovery is dependent on hashtags. If you want to reach a bigger audience, you need to find new ways to associate your brand with a hashtag. Instead of just posting hashtags in your posts, also include a few in your Instagram bio.
Now don’t go all out, trying to replace all your bio with the hashtags. The idea is to either include a branded hashtag or those that your target audience tends to use commonly.
Here’s an example of a branded hashtag being used by Heads Up For Tails:
23. Ask questions in your posts and include call to actions
Instagram’s algorithm gives preference to posts that have a high engagement rate. But more often than not, you see brands focusing only on metrics such as likes. While that’s not wrong, there are other numbers like saves, shares and comments that matter as well. But to get your followers to do so, you’re going to have to give them a little nudge.
You can do this by including questions in your captions or laying down the next steps for them. It could be to send you a message, subscribe to your notifications or tag friends, anything that is clear and simple to do and leads to any form of engagement.
24. Cross-post your Instagram content on other social channels
To grow your Instagram account, you need more visibility. And you can do this by driving traffic to your account from Facebook, Twitter and other social platforms you’re making use of. This way you introduce your account to a fresh audience.
You could set up cross-posting automatically or do it manually when you think it’s a piece of content your audience is absolutely going to love.
25. Get your account verified
The little blue tick you see on some accounts adds credibility to your brand. But getting it approved by Instagram is tough. Not impossible though!
Once you’ve built out an audience for your brand and have your content rhythm set, go to your Settings and then request verification. Now they may or may not approve your request. But it never hurts to try!
Grow an Instagram following that grows your business
In this post we talked about the most effective ways to use Instagram to build a targeted following, but it’s not always a numbers game. As with any social network, the most successful strategy overall is to be authentic and social.
If you focus on engagement, not just followers, Instagram can be a great home for your products and brand that can lead to a healthy stream of revenue for your ecommerce business.
Ready to use Instagram to grow your business? Here are some more resources to help you out:
Why and how to use Instagram Reels to market your Shopify store
Sell on Instagram: How to optimize your Instagram bio, hashtags and posts to increase sales
New to the eCommerce industry? Start your online store on Shopify with a free trial.
Illustration by Eugenia Mello
#REF!
How do you get more followers on Instagram for free?
Find and post in popular hashtags related to your photo, product, or brand. Create your own branded hashtag. Use hashtags in Stories. Don’t go overboard using too many hashtags. Don’t fall for hashtag gimmicks such as #likeforlike or #followme.
How can I increase my followers on Instagram?
Use the right Instagram hashtags. Steal your competitors’ followers. Use geotags on Instagram posts. Organize Stories into Highlights. Post user-generated content. Collaborate with other brands. Post at the best times. Use Instagram analytics tools. Livestream on Instagram Stories.
How do I get real followers on Instagram in 2020?
Fill out your Instagram bio. Find your audience through hashtags. Connect with potential customers. Post relevant and engaging content. Publish consistently. Start a conversation with your followers. Use Instagram Live.
Instagram Success Tips: Generate 700-1000 Followers Every Week
So, you want to know how to be successful on Instagram? While there are over 800 million monthly active accounts, being an Instagram success story is still possible.
You will be required to put in a lot of work and effort, but the outcome is worth it.
Doing so will help your account stand out and gain a targeted following. For the last few weeks, I’ve been gaining over 700 new followers every few days.
This is down to several strategies which I’ll be explaining in this article, including how I use Sked (formerly Schedugram) to plan, create, and automatically publish content. The best thing of all, these can be applied to both personal and business accounts.
Are you ready to be an Instagram success?
Create the perfect bio
Produce interesting content
Post regularly
Identify top hashtags
Utilise Instagram Stories
Take advantage of Instagram Highlights
Cross promote friends and influencers
Go Live on Instagram
Engage with your followers and targeted audience
1. Create the Perfect Bio
Before anything, you first need to make sure your Instagram bio is attractive. It needs to be able to tell your audience who you are, what you do and includes a clear call-to-action.
This is mandatory to becoming an Instagram success. Your targeted audience won’t follow you if they aren’t interested in what you have to offer and being able to tell them that within a few words is important.
Check out the below examples to get inspiration for your Instagram bio to help achieve Instagram success.
MyProtein’s Instagram Bio
As you can see from the above screenshot, MyProtein explain who they are, how you can get involved and lastly giving them some sort of value by entering their competition to win their products for free. Clear, attractive and informative.
Creation Agency Instagram Bio
Creation Agency’s Instagram bio consists of what the agency does, who they are, what they have to offer on the platform by following and also a few links for extra information. The last link takes you directly to the latest blog post.
My Instagram profile bio consists of who I am, what I do, where I’m going next and a clear call-to-action to follow on Facebook.
Straight away you will be able to identify what type of content I would likely post. This is exactly what you need to do so your targeted audience have an actual reason to follow you.
You also get one clickable link that you can add to your profile, so it’s worth putting some thought into how best you can use it. Many brands use it to link to their websites but that may not be the most beneficial way to use it.
One way you can get more mileage out of your profile link is to use a redirect URL. It’ll allow you to send traffic to any web page you want, every time you post. It’s a great way to promote different offers to your followers and the good news is, you get three branded redirect URLs for free with every Sked account as a part of the app’s link-in-bio feature.
For more detailed tips on how to set up a redirect URL and create the perfect Instagram bio, check out this article.
Back to Content Menu
2. Produce Interesting Content
Now you have got a quality Instagram bio sorted for your account, it’s time to think about your content plan.
If you create low-quality boring content that just really sucks and isn’t attractive, too many words and not interesting to your audience, don’t expect to be an Instagram success.
This platform is all about content, and not just any content. It’s about sharing high-quality interesting content.
In order to succeed, you need to plan out your content strategy and create eye-catching media – whether that’s images or videos. It’s not that hard to create super engaging content on Instagram…
There are lots of tools available on the web and app stores that will help you create striking content. When I’m not using Photoshop, I’ll tend to use tools like Canva, Adobe Spark Post, Typorama or other tools on the web.
In fact, if you haven’t tried it yet, Sked’s Canva integration is a great way to add graphic design elements to your images and give them an extra ‘wow’ factor before scheduling them to post automatically.
To get started, log into your account, click on the ‘Upload posts’ option, then ‘Create banner with Canva’. This will open the Canva integration, as in the image below.
Next, upload an image (see green arrow above) and let your creativity take over using Canva’s wide range of drag-and-drop tools. You can add text, borders, frames, backgrounds, shapes, and more … the options really are limitless.
Once you’re happy with your design, click on publish, fill out your caption and first comment, then add it to your queue or schedule it to post on a specific time/date.
3. Post regularly
Posting regularly is one of the ingredients on how to be an Instagram success. This requires you to be very active. Ideally, you should be posting a least once a day.
If you can post more than that, 2-3 times a day will get you the most reach and engagement, especially to grow your account.
While it can be a pain to post several times a day, Sked comes in handy for this and automates your posting.
Just set-up your content queue and add the Instagram content. To do this, open your account and click on the ‘Setup queue’ option on the homepage.
Next, select your account, enable your queue (see green arrow below), and choose your timezone (red arrow). Then, click the ‘Add’ button for the days you want to post and set the time (blue arrow).
Now, when you add a post to your queue, Sked will automatically post it for you when your preferred time comes around.
I would also recommend identifying the best time to post on Instagram.
This also applies to Instagram Stories. You should be utilising that feature mostly every-day or when you have the chance to show off interesting content.
You could also make use of Instagram stories by promoting your latest content, telling your audience you have uploaded a new post (and in case you didn’t know, you can schedule images and videos to post automatically to Instagram Stories using Sked, too).
Throughout my time managing various Instagram accounts I’ve come across a lot of businesses making silly little mistakes on Instagram that really affects their chance of growth and being an Instagram success.
These little mistakes can be anything from using no hashtags to a bunch of random non-related hashtags to even no caption!
When sharing content on Instagram, it’s vital you utilise Instagram hashtags. The reason being you will maximise your chances of reach, engagement and potential growth.
For all content I share on the platform, I make sure to use up all 30 hashtags – this gives me maximum exposure.
I also make sure to do regular in-depth keyword research to find the best hashtags that will give me the chance of being featured in the top nine posts.
Instagram hashtag keyword research is very important. If you get it right and manage to rack up a lot of engagement within a short period of posting, you may even hit the explore page.
If I were you, I would start doing Instagram hashtag research and then use Sked’s hashtag manager to keep them organised. You can use it to store all your hashtags separately or in groups, which is really handy if have more than one account to manage.
It’s much easier than storing them in Evernote and having to copy-paste them all the time. If you haven’t tried hashtag manager yet, take it for a test drive and see what you think.
5. Utilise Instagram Stories
Instagram Stories can be used in various ways. It’s a brilliant feature that should be utilised regularly. Especially when your account surpasses 10, 000 followers which enables you to start adding hyperlinks within your stories.
This is a fantastic way to drive more traffic and generate more business from Instagram.
You should also create polls on Instagram stories to find out specific information about your followers, for example, what type of content they prefer.
Using this feature to announce a new post is also a great strategy, as a result, you will see an increase in engagement much faster.
And you can use Sked to schedule image and videos posts to publish automatically to Instagram Stories, as well as to add clickable links. To find out how to enable story posting for your account, check out this article.
6. Take Advantage of Instagram Highlights
Taking advantage of Instagram’s recent update which includes the ability to display story highlights on your profile, is the perfect strategy for increasing website traffic.
You might consider creating a few highlights to promote and encourage your audience to follow you on other social networks.
You may decide to create a few product highlights including a hyperlink to directly buy the product or service. Use your creative mind to find interesting unique ways to increase traffic, engagement and follower growth – all of which will help you become an Instagram success.
Cross promoting contribute to Instagram success if done right. Make use of your other social accounts to help grow your Instagram.
Share your Instagram updates on your Facebook or Twitter, consider even showcasing your Instagram uploads on your website – ASOS do a great job of this to promote their clothing. You can also automate your Instagram uploads directly to your Twitter by using tools like IFTTT.
Depending on how big your account is, you should consider connecting with large accounts and Instagram influencers, ask them if they would be willing to collaborate.
However, if your account is nowhere near the same size nor the engagement ratio, then you should really consider providing value before you drop that ask.
I’ve done this plenty of times and it has really helped with follower growth and engagement. This strategy can also be done via Instagram Stories and is quite effective.
8. Go Live on Instagram
Instagram Live can bring in a lot of engagement and new followers, especially if you provide value and share it across your social channels.
If you promote it before-hand using hashtags in your story and posts you’ll most likely gather a few new interested followers wanting to see what you have to offer.
Instagram Livestreams are great for driving traffic too if your Instagram Live has racked up a lot of viewers, considering dropping in a few call-to-actions such as telling them to click the link in your bio for exclusive content.
Your Instagram Live should be interesting to your audience and that can be achieved by sharing what happens behind-the-scenes.
You could also do weekly or monthly question and answer streams, these are great for your audience to get to know you more and for you to find out what your audience likes to know about you, giving you more ideas for content.
9. Engage with Your Followers and Targeted Audience
Ultimately, being an Instagram success on Instagram also comes down to how you engage with your followers.
If you show that you are an actual human behind that profile picture and actively reply to your audience’s comments and direct messages regularly they will be more likely to engage with your content and recommend you to their friends, family and followers.
This also applies to engaging with your followers content.
Leaving a few likes, comments and following back your audience will help build positive healthy relationships encouraging engagement and trust. This can be very effective when engaging with targeted audiences. I’ve found this one of the best ways to grow my accounts.
When I’ve identified targeted accounts or competitors that have a large following, I’ll visit their followers and engage with their content providing it’s suitable.
This is very effective as they will receive a notification each time I engage with their account. For the best results, I would highly recommend spacing out your interactions.
For example, I tend to like a few of their pictures, then 10 minutes later I’ll leave a comment, 20 minutes after that I’ll possibly follow them.
This will give them three notifications all at different times, of which they would probably want to find out who I am. You will have a better chance of them checking out your profile.
If they do and they like what they see, they may engage with the content on my account and potentially drop a follow. That’s how great relationships with a targeted audience are then built.
However, I wouldn’t just stop there.
You should continually engage with them whenever you see their posts in your feed.
This will keep them engaging back with your content unless they already do. The more “human-like” your account is, the more engagement and interaction you may receive.
Over to you
So now you know how to be Instagram success story, you just need to action the above tips and try out different types of content and hashtags. Never be afraid to experiment with your marketing.
Recap: How to be an Instagram success
Create the perfect bio.
Produce interesting content.
Post regularly.
Identify top hashtags and use them effectively.
Utilise Instagram Stories as much as possible.
Take advantage of Instagram Highlights.
Cross promote friends and influencers, the bigger the account, the return is usually much better.
Go Live on Instagram with interesting topics/stories and include call-to-actions.
Engage with your followers and targeted audience on a regular basis to build a healthy relationship.
If you’re looking to carve out hours in your social media workflow, sign up for Sked’s 7-day trial. Our all-in-one Instagram scheduler allows you to automatically post images, carousels, Stories, videos and more. Tag locations, users and products and manage all your hashtags in one place to save 5+ hours every week.
The Ultimate Guide to Creating an Instagram Profile Everyone …
In case you missed it, here’s a link to my previous viral post, “The 1 Painfully Obvious Reason Nobody Follows You on Social Media. ” OK, brands. Influencers. Small-business owners. Thought to win on Instagram? Let me tell you exactly how. I first started playing with Instagram in 2013, right as it was really starting to pop (similar to what’s going on with Snapchat right now). For two years, all I did was focus on finding as many ways to organically grow my account as possible–and as a result, I went from 0 followers to almost 20, 000 followers on zero ‘s right. The only thing I did was invest time, and figure out through experience what really works and what doesn’t. I have since helped many brands, influencers, personal trainers, professional athletes, fashionistas, gamers, foodies, photographers, musicians, and more, grow their own Instagram followings well into the thousands and tens of thousands. I am the social-media director of a specialized digital agency in Chicago called Idea, how do you create the perfect Instagram page? Let’s start at the very beginning. (We’re going to get really, really in the weeds here, so I suggest bookmarking this for future reference. )INTRODUCTION TO INSTAGRAMHere’s the first thing you need to know–and I don’t care if you are a big brand or a kid in the city just trying to catch a look:Instagram is an easel. It is, bar none, the most artistic social-media platform out do you need to know this first? Because you need to realize that you are competing against world-renowned photographers, brilliant stylists, stunning architecture, dramatic portraits, hot models in bikinis, mouth-watering burgers, jaw-dropping sunsets, gorgeous oceans, incredible cityscapes, and behind-the-scenes photos of Taylor people that win on Instagram are, by every definition, artists. It doesn’t matter what your business is or what you are selling. The truth is, when someone goes to your page, the very first thing they ask themselves is, “Do I want this page in my feed every day? “The first six to nine boxes that appear when someone views your profile are judged by viewers like they would a painting. The way the photos blend together. The colors. The perspectives. The textures. It is art, plain and simple. The Instagram pages that tend to acquire the most followers and attention? They know this, and they capitalize on it. If you are a flower boutique, or a window company, or a real estate firm, or something that doesn’t typically fall within the realm of “art, ” you need to first ask yourself how you can make whatever it is you are selling, art. Plain and to know an industry that took this concept and ran with it? fitness industry in the past five years, especially on Instagram, has adopted elements otherwise found in fashion and entertainment. Workout videos now have the production quality of music videos. Shirtless photos are taken with the precision of a high-end fashion photographer. Fitness on Instagram is no longer just about health and workouts. It has forged a space of its own and now resembles an entirely new “lavish lifestyle. “If you want to succeed on Instagram, this is the first step. In every post, every photo, everything you do, ask yourself if you are creating art. Unless, of course, you are one of those teenagers born with a perfectly symmetrical face. Then just post selfies all day and you’ll be fine. OPTIMIZING YOUR PROFILEWhen you first set up your Instagram account, it is important to make your bio extremely “to the point. ” When people come to your page, you want them to know three things:For example, your bio may look like this:”Gluten-free Foodie. Personal Chef. Featured in Inc. Magazine. Follow for daily recipes you can cook at home! “Add in a few well-placed emojis and that’s a great bio. Why? Because immediately I know what the person does, what their niche is, am reassured with some sort of credibility (Inc. Magazine), and I know what to expect if I follow your bio you should have a link to your website, a landing page, etc. One thing people don’t do enough on Instagram is make use of this link space. It can easily be changed out, and in certain posts you can refer people to the link currently in your bio. Use this as your Call to Action, directing users from your social platform to wherever you would like them to go next. UNDERSTANDING YOUR NICHEHere’s the thing: At the end of the day, success on Instagram all depends on your niche and your desired audience. Those are the variables that end up setting the example: If you are a professional landscape photographer and you are trying to build a following on Instagram, you are competing in the “professional landscape photographers” space. This means when people come across your profile, they are going to ask themselves, ” are a lot of really great landscape photographers out there. Should I follow this one? Or another one? “On the flipside, you have other niches where the expectation is not based on the quality of the photo but the funny response it elicits–@thefatjewish being a prime example. He’s not on Instagram to showcase his ability to take beautiful photos. He’s there to make people laugh, which means the expectation for him is to post funnier content than the other users in his same is why it is crucial that you do your research. Follow all sorts of different accounts within and surrounding your area of interest. Keep up with what people are doing, who is succeeding, what types of posts prompt a lot of engagement, what kinds of posts don’t perform well, how people are promoting themselves and/or their brands, and finally, what the expectation is for “great content. “Understanding the expectation from your desired audience members is what will help guide your own content AFTING THE PERFECT POSTLet’s start with the I mentioned above, you first have to know what sort of niche you’re playing in. But let’s walk through a few of the broad categories and the types of photos. 1. SelfiesIf you are an influencer, a personality, a fashionista, a personal trainer, a chef, a model, a PERSON, then it is absolutely crucial that your photos include YOU. Nothing kills me more than for an individual to ask for help growing their social-media following and then say they don’t want to be in any of the photos. You can do it, but you’re making it a lot harder on what you will about selfies, about the “narcissism of social media, ” etc., but the truth is, we as consumers want to see the people we follow and look up to. If you are an influencer, you yourself are a huge part of the value. You have to show who you are, period. 2. Square ShotsGreat for food photos, scenery and architecture, and interior design, square shots tend to perform very well on Instagram. This means that your shot is perfectly square, either head-on or top-down. Reason being, it is geometric and pleasing to the eye. 3. Staged ShotsThis is most popular in fashion, modeling, fitness, as well as with brands–say if you are a pizza company or a candy company, something where you turn the object into the “persona” of the shot. Staged shots are where elements are strategically placed to create a certain effect. Classic example I see all the time: fitness model standing shirtless in designer jeans, holding the leash of his new baby pitbull, standing next to a bright red Ferrari. OK, so what do we have here? We have a shirtless model, we have a cute dog, and we have an expensive car. Recipe for success, nine times out of 10. 4. Perspective ShotsThese are the shots where someone takes a photo from an angle where it looks like their friend is holding up the Leaning Tower of Pisa. Perspective shots are cool because they force users to do a double-take–which is your whole goal as a content creator. You want people to take a second to really look at your photo, because the longer they look, the higher likelihood they will engage, or at least remember you. 5. Over-EditedThere is a tasteful way to do this, and then there is a not-so-tasteful way. Using certain apps (which we’ll get to in a second) can turn a regular ol’ photo into a work of art. The way you edit your shot can end up creating a whole brand aesthetic in itself. If you can create an aesthetic where no matter who sees your photo, they know it’s yours, you ING: BEST PRACTICESOnce you have your photo shot (and edited) the way you want, it’s time to craft the the longest time–and still, to this day–there seems to be a consensus that short posts are the way to go on Instagram. I wholeheartedly disagree. The photo is the starting point, and the caption is the story that takes it to another I first started on Instagram, I treated it like a microblog. I would post really lengthy captions about my workout routines, my nutrition, my mindset in the gym, etc. I made it more of a journal than anything else–and whenever I would post a photo or video with a single-line caption, people would comment asking me to get back to writing more. I now see a lot of influencers doing this, and the comments are always filled with the same things: “I really needed to read this today! Thank you for keeping it real! ” Etc. In each and every caption, ask yourself what additional value you can provide. Maybe you can tell the story of how you captured the beautiful shot that you did. Maybe you can explain, in detail, how to perform the exercise you’re showing, or how to cook the meal you’ve photographed. The key is to provide more value. More value. Always more addition, you want to direct people to the next action: They looked at your photo, they read your caption, they “liked” or commented, now what? This is where you can direct them to the link in your bio. Maybe your caption is the first paragraph of a longer blog post on your website–direct them to go read the rest. Maybe you have a more in-depth video on YouTube. Maybe you have an email course they can sign up for. The whole purpose of building an audience on social media is to eventually provide them even more value elsewhere. Start putting those puzzle pieces in place and directing them to where that other content is finally, your signature. Sometimes it’s nice when people have a signature at the bottom of their Instagram posts that cleanly displays a few hashtags, maybe a branded Call to Action, etc. For example, mine is simply || GROWTH HACKINGAh yes, the real game within social those that don’t know, when I was 17 years old I was one of the highest ranked World of Warcraft players in North America. I am a gamer at heart. My brain is wired to see how things operate, and then strategically find ways around the “limits of the game. ” Social media is no different than a video game. There are rules to each platform, and the whole goal is to figure out how you can use those limits to your advantage. The people who struggle (in video games and with growing their social-media platforms) are the ones who stop asking the question Why? That’s the secret. You have to ask Why, over and over and over again, until you discover the tiny tweak that moves the are a few growth hacks I discovered that will help you grow your Instagram audience. HashtagsLet’s start with the obvious one. Hashtags are like buckets. Whenever you put a hashtag in your post, your photo is then archived under that hashtag–meaning when someone searches #beaches, since you used #beaches on a post, you now appear within that people don’t realize is that hashtags are also like keywords. Some hashtags are really, really popular, and the bucket is so saturated that nobody will ever find your post. Other hashtags are only used a handful of times, and never pick up in milar to how SEO works on a website, it’s important that you choose a few hashtags that are really popular, a few that are moderately popular, and then a few that have a small audience stagram’s limit per post is 30 hashtags. Some people take the route of creating a stock list of 30 popular hashtags and then copying and pasting them into the end of each caption. The issue with this is it makes your page look very unprofessional–almost like it’s “trying too hard. ” One way around this is to take that list of 30 hashtags and paste it in the comments of a photo you posted weeks and weeks ago. Reason being: Since it has already been posted, it won’t appear in your audience’s feed, however, the new hashtags will recirculate the photo into hashtag buckets where people can find it–and ultimately find your page. You can do this with 30 hashtags or a small handful. Either way, I find it to be better than just pasting your list at the end of each post on the day that you post it. Tagging InfluencersWhen you post a photo, you have the option of tagging people (not in the caption, but in the photo itself). One growth hack I’ve seen is when people tag other influencers in their photos, because if one of those influencers “Likes” their photo, then that influencer’s audience will see, and some will convert into followers. This is a great growth strategy, but should be used sparingly. Only tag influencers in posts where it makes sense, and do not “spam” the same people over and over again. I’ve had this done to me and it’s terribly annoying. Shout-OutsShout-Outs can work in a few different best way to grow your Instagram page is to have a popular account feature you and your content. Some popular pages charge you for this exposure (from around $50 to $100 per post, depending on the size of the account). Other pages ask for what is called a “shout for shout. ” This means that they want access to your audience just like you want access to their audience. So you both post each other’s content, “shout” each other out in the caption, and as a result, some followers from their page convert into followers of your own–and vice order to do this, find popular pages within your niche and reach out to them, asking if they’d be interested in either featuring you or, if you have a decent-sized audience yourself, doing a “shout for shout. “4. CollaborationsA more refined version of the “shout for shout” method, in-person collaborations are the single best way to grow your Instagram account, period. Whatever your niche is, find other influencers or brands within that niche and reach out to collaborate. If you are chefs, cook a crazy dish together. If you are models, do a shoot together. If you are photographers, go explore the city together. If you are bodybuilders, catch a lift together. Then, take a photo together, post it on each other’s page, tag each other in the caption, tell a story of what it was like to collaborate, and then hit the followers come flooding in. Like, Like, Like, CommentIf you are interested in the “nitty-gritty” growth hacks, you should read this article about “Like” strategy is simple: Search hashtags relevant to your niche and “Like” hundreds of photos every single day. If you want to take this a step further, comment on lots and lots of being, think of this as a manual ad. When you “Like” or comment on someone’s photo, it appears in their notifications. Chances are, they will be interested to see who you are and what you do, so they’ll check out your page. The more people who check out your page, the more exposure you get to new users–and the hope is that a certain percentage of them will convert into stagram has a few caps set in place with this, so you can’t go and “Like” 8, 000 photos in a row. But you can do a few hundred in a day. It’s tedious, but it works. 6. Follow/UnfollowAh, the most beloved and yet hated tactic of them all: Follow/ truth is, this is the best way to build your first 1, 000 Followers. Gaining traction is hardest in the beginning, since nobody really wants to follow a page with 49 Followers. Whether we want to admit it or not, your Follower count is usually your first badge of “credibility. “Similar to the “Like” strategy, find people within your niche and follow them. Referencing the growth hacking article above, more people convert into followers if you both follow and “Like” a few of their photos. This is the exposure you need in the beginning to get your page started. Let the people you’ve followed sit for a few days, maybe a week, and then go back through the list and unfollow them–unless you genuinely want to continue following them. The reason this is important is because it looks bad if you have 1, 000 Followers but are Following 6, 000 people. You always want to keep your Followers to Following ratio as low as possible. I’ve found that using this strategy, about 30 percent of users end up following you back and/or stay following you. Again, tedious, but it works. 7. Publication FeaturesIf you have a killer Instagram page where you are providing real value to people, the next step is to reach out to publications and tell your story. Explain how you engage your audience, what you share with them, how you yourself provide value within your niche, and I promise there are publications that want to post about you–and in turn, promote your you are then teaching others in your niche how to succeed as well–and there is tremendous value in that. 8. YouTube Shows, Podcast Features, etc. And finally, you should be laddering your success on Instagram to as many other opportunities as possible. Once you pass a certain threshold and become a thought leader, the doors will open and you will have access to so many more opportunities. Reach out to people–even in other industries–and ask to speak about your expertise on their podcasts, their YouTube shows, their blogs, etc. Congrats. You are now a thought leader in your industry. EDITING APPSAs promised, here are a few great apps I would suggest to amplify your Instagram content:Snapseed:Video Sound:Boomerang:Over:Banner Pic:VSCO:
Frequently Asked Questions about how to create profile on instagram
How do you make an Instagram profile?
How can I increase my followers on Instagram?Use the right Instagram hashtags.Steal your competitors’ followers.Use geotags on Instagram posts.Organize Stories into Highlights.Post user-generated content.Collaborate with other brands.Post at the best times.Use Instagram analytics tools.More items…•Nov 5, 2020
How do I make my Instagram profile more attractive?
Create the Perfect Bio. Before anything, you first need to make sure your Instagram bio is attractive. … Produce Interesting Content. … Post regularly. … Identify Top Hashtags. … Utilise Instagram Stories. … Take Advantage of Instagram Highlights. … Cross Promote with Friends and Influencers. … Go Live on Instagram.More items…•Feb 2, 2018