There are at least 1 billion active users on Instagram at any given time. It is fair to expect this number to grow as time passes. In many ways, Instagram is the holy grail of social media platforms. Celebrities and famous personalities know that if they want to sustain their fame, being on Instagram is almost essential. Even brands that wouldn’t conventionally be on Instagram find themselves promoting ads and getting on-board to capitalize on the massive user base. Yet, the greatest benefit of Instagram is not for the big-timers, rather it is those with talent and potential. The ones who wouldn’t have otherwise achieved the levels of success they have if this social media platform didn’t exist.
There is no doubt that these are the users or ‘influencers’ as they are now termed are benefitting the most from Instagram. More often than not, it appears as though they became famous overnight and suddenly all you can hear is the name of an influencer that you didn’t even know existed up until yesterday.
But what you end up seeing is only the tip of the iceberg. There is more to the story of the crazy followership that makes people famous. Genuine followers, undoubtedly play a very crucial role in the process. So here’s everything you need to know about how to get Instagram followers genuinely.
How to get Instagram followers genuinely
There is no shortcut when it comes to acquiring genuine followers. You need to implement certain rules and put in the work to not just convince Instagram’s algorithm that your content deserves the spotlight but also to attract genuine followers regardless of the algorithm’s role. If one were to actually quantify a successful formula for Instagram’s fan acquisition process, then consider this:
Due Diligence + Content + Consistency = Genuine Followers
In this article, we will cover each aspect of the formula and look at solutions that will help you do justice to them, thus helping you to acquire a genuine fan base.
1. Due Diligence
Your profile bio, tone of voice, and behavior of your target audience are aspects that require a certain amount of due diligence on your part. By due diligence, we mean that you must give time and dedication to certain activities diligently, even on a daily basis if necessary. Since you are the product, it’s important to communicate very clearly what you are all about and make it easy for the audience to access you. On Instagram, image is pretty much everything. So here are the things you must do as part of your due diligence.
1.1 Brand creation
What is the purpose of your brand? Are you hoping to establish yourself as a personality or do you have a product (like art or music) that you want to promote? Take some time to sharpen your ax and figure out what you want to be on Instagram. There are so many competitors on Instagram that it’s almost imperative that you stand out.
Knowing your own identity will not just help you in optimizing your profile and curating better content but also give Instagram an idea of who you are.
The most important reason to focus on brand creation is to separate yourself from the herd. When you create your own individual brand, you establish your own color palette, content style, and your profile’s look and feel. Even the way you highlight your stories can be leveraged to convey your brand identity. These aspects will become recognizable elements that will create recall value and attract genuine followers.
1.2 Profile optimization
Keywords play an essential role on Instagram because the Explore page behaves like a search engine. Your profile needs to be optimized to make sure that users who are looking for content that belongs in your sphere of influence will see your account first. So, for example, if your account on Instagram is a nature photography account, then you need to make sure that the username reflects that in some way. Besides the username, your bio also needs to convey that you are a nature photography account and describe what your account is about.
Your Bio is also the only place where you can add a link. So whether you want to direct people to a website or another handle, make sure to add the link. This way, the users will get to know you more intimately and you’ll be able to hook them more effectively.
1.3 Identify your target audience
Knowing who your target audience will help you to leverage hashtags correctly and follow Instagram handles/influencers/brands that you share your target audience with. In order to identify your target audience, you need to know what their interests are and which is their preferred form of content consumption (Reels, Posts, IGTV, or Stories, or even a combination). If you are creating an Instagram account for fashion content, then undoubtedly your audience is interested in fashion-specific news, brands, and influencers. The same logic applies to photography enthusiasts, interior designers, anime fans, or teach lovers in terms of their niche audience.
Once your due diligence is done, you will have a fairly clear idea of the kind of content that you want to produce. Here are a few things to keep in mind when you are in the process of curating your content.
1.4 Make sure that you’re using the right hashtags
Hashtags give not only Instagram but even users an address that will guide them to your post. You must create cool, fun hashtags that will be exclusive to your brand while also identifying hashtags that are relevant to the category that your brand belongs to. Currently, Instagram allows for 30 hashtags that can be used on one static post so make sure that you take advantage of this option and populate your content with as many relevant hashtags as possible.
Hashtags also play another major role in terms of trending content. Since every digital movement or activation comes with its own hashtag, you need to keep tabs on trending hashtags, whether general or category-specific that will create engagement and content creation opportunities for you. In this category of hashtags, you will also face hashtags that are not relevant to your brand. Certain hashtags promote a movement in history like #BlackLivesMatter or an important cause like the #icebucketchallenge, in these cases, it’s important to participate in the narrative even if it’s only by means of a support post or story.
1.5 Engage with your audience and other handles
Whether you receive comments on your posts/reels or it is you who must comment on other brands/users/influencers’ content, engagement must be done diligently. Engaging with your audience will make them happy and give them a positive impression of you. It will also conclude in a possibility of recommendation or reposting on their part which in turn will add to your genuine followership. In terms of your participation in other people’s content, you must make sure that you interact with influencers and relevant brands that share your category. Being a part of the conversation will help you get noticed and on a good day, you might even get noticed by someone major which will boost your followership.
2. Content
Good content is a fundamental aspect of getting famous on Instagram. Ultimately, all your efforts will be in vain if your content is not unique or fails to connect with your audience. Since content is the element that sets you apart from the rest, your immediate and maximum focus needs to be on content. Keep in mind that if your content is good/relatable, not only will your account pull users effortlessly, it will also be foolproof against Instagram’s current and future algorithm demands. All of our suggestions will only empower what you post, but if your content does not stand out, even your most ardent promotion efforts will eventually stop bearing fruit.
2.1 Format/Style of content
Your own individual content style aside, Instagram has different content formats that you must definitely consider taking advantage of. The duration and nature of your content will vary depending on whether you’re using Stories, Reels, IGTV, or Posts. While it is important to take advantage of each format, you must have clarity on which format does the most amount of justice to your content. For example, if your content is being received best on Reels or more suited to the short video style that Reels advocates, then the majority of your Audience is from the Reels ecosystem.
2.2 Take advantage of every format
Just because your content performs well in a particular format (like Reels), it doesn’t mean that you should not be reposting content on Stories and feed. While you may create your content to perform well in one format, doesn’t mean that it won’t be consumed in other formats as well. Even if your content is a Reel, you can and must post it as a normal post for feed and share it on your IG story as well. This will help you cast a wider net that will increase the reach of the post and as a result, draw in more followers.
2.3 Establish a content style
Whether you intend to sound cute, informative, or even funny, maintain it. When anyone reads the text or caption on any of your Instagram content, they need to immediately recognize it as coming from you. This implication is not just in terms of how your content sounds, but also in terms of the kind of font and colors that you use. We also recommend that you stay away from clickbait lines since those can be a major repellent for genuine followers. Be genuine yourself and you will be able to attract genuine followers.
2.4 Run contests and challenges
Users love incentives and there is nothing like a good contest or challenge to get followers to stop scrolling and pay attention. Throw a challenge from your Instagram story or do a giveaway with a condition being that the user must follow your profile. While the trick itself is an age-old one, you can be very creative about how you execute it.
3. Consistency
Even though it may feel like a lot of effort for something that is not your strong suit, it’s important to have been consistent regarding certain activities like posting and scheduling. At the end of the day, it’s about your recall value for both the algorithm as well as your audience.
3.1 Create a Content Calendar
Of course, there is no way to predict what’s going to start trending and there are certain events/occurrences that require spontaneous content. On the other hand, there are normal days when there is not much happening either. Besides this, you need to take into account festivals and special occasions that naturally begin trending when they arrive. No matter the case, content must go out regularly and consistently and this is when a Content Calendar comes in handy.
To create a Content Calendar, all you really need is an Excel Sheet with the date, day, and type of content/post/reel that will go on the allocated date. Mark the special occasions/ trending days like Valentine’s day, Emmy Awards, Christmas, Earth Day, etc that are relevant to your Instagram audience. For such days, think about wishing post or content ideas to leverage the hashtag as best as you can. A Content Calendar can be planned on a weekly or monthly basis. This will keep you prepared for the things that are predictable by creating content well in advance while ensuring that you are in a headspace to tackle events that take the internet by surprise.
3.2 Use Scheduling tools
We don’t live in those Draconian times when one had to log-in at the allocated time and create a post every single time. For everyday content that’s part of your staying consistent agenda, you can schedule them using these incredibly useful tools like:
Two major downsides to keep in mind are that these platforms start charging a fee after the free-trial period is over and they still don’t have a scheduling mechanism for Reels. Nevertheless, these apps are amazing for activities like cross-posting and analytics, so do give them a try.
Bonus tips
1. Keep tabs on your account’s analytics
There are exceptional tools available like Fanpage Karma that look at the in-depth performance of your Instagram Account. From the best time to post your content and the most effective hashtags on your account to the best/least performing post, analytics tools provide crucial information in terms of numbers that will help you create/alter your Instagram strategy.
Insights are also available on your Instagram Account itself. As long as you have a Creator account, you will find a gold mine of information like post-performance, reach, and follower trends for the last 30 days from the Insights section in your profile. Use this information to understand the behavior of your target audience and plan your content accordingly.
2. Have on-ground activations/activities
It’s easy to lose sight of reality when one is immersed deep in the digital world. But one cannot underestimate the importance of organizing an on-ground activation. When real people attend a meet-and-greet or a promotional event, that’s real followers that you get to acquire. Another major benefit of such activations is that you can promote the event on your Instagram and promote your Instagram in your event. If you also consider the aspect of recall value, then you have acquired some really good quality followers.
We hope you found this article helpful! Take care and stay safe.
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