How to Grow real Instagram followers

Grow real Instagram followers

In summer 2019, Instagram finally completed the milestone of 1 billion monthly active users.

Today, Instagram is one of the most popular social media application in the Internet world with over 500 million active users sharing 60 million posts and 1.6 billion likes per day.

Grow real Instagram followers - Why?

Millions of accounts making money on Instagram. They are making money on Instagram because of their huge fan following. 

You can also generate a passive income on Instagram. But most importantly, you should have followers who will pay attention to brands with your contents.

Having a larger amount of Instagram followers can mean more sales of your affiliate marketing, more views on your Blog/YouTube, and a stronger community for your brands.

So, In this complete article, I've given 10 proven strategies that help you to grow real Instagram followers.

First of all, I'm going to tell you why you have to grow real Instagram followers.

Quality over quantity:- Grow real Instagram followers

Followers on your Instagram account is more than just a numbers game. 

If you've considered buying followers to boost your Instagram presence, then let me tell you one thing that you will never grow on Instagram.

Paying for followers means you get nothing more than fake followers which are typically bots that give no value to your branded account. At the same time, you may lose your ranking and engagement rate too.

On the other hand, real followers having personal experiences and real attachments with your branded account.

That's why you need to grow real Instagram followers for greater credibility and a stronger online presence.

So, if you can't buy followers, how do you grow and stand out among 25 million business accounts.

Well, the answer is simple - Learn all the strategies and practice them in your account.

Now Let's get started.

1. Post regularly (every day)

If you want to grow real Instagram followers then you have to post regularly. I had personally studied more than 25 Instagram profiles in January 2019 to understand how posting frequency affects followers growth and engagement rates.

I found that the more you post your content on a regular basis, the frequency of likes and followers of your account will increase with the rate of approx 5% to 10%.

The thing is by posting regularly you can grow your engagement rate better than by posting once or twice a week. 

If your posts are shared on a regular basis and picking up good engagement rate, then the algorithm of Instagram will definitely place your posts near the top of your followers' news feeds.

Also, regular posting can help you to find a position on the Explore page.

2. Give your audience what they expect from you (use Instagram Insight)

Content is king. Do a little research, There are many accounts on Instagram with almost all kind of niches.
So, If you want to defeat your competitors then you have to understand your followers. You have to post what your followers expect from you. Find out which type of posts your followers like the most.

How would you know what your followers like?
Instagram Insight provides the data for you to understand which posts your followers liked the most.

Steps to track your Insight

1. Goto your profile.
2. Tap on the three bar icon.
3. Tap on the Instagram Insights (bar chart) icon.
4. Tap on the content section.

Here you will see your top recent posts short by their impression. You can also figure out other factors that can boost your growth.
For example:

• Best timings for posting your niche contents.
• The activity stats like- Profile visits, website clicks, Reach and impression.
• Type of audience - their location, demography and their active timings.
• Complete insight of your promotions, if any.

Check out carefully and get ideas for your future posts.

So, Instagram insight is a free tool that helps you to grow real Instagram followers, use it as much as you can.

Recommended: How to post highly engaging contents on Instagram

3. Run a contests

You can easily grow on Instagram by hosting some cool contests. Create posts in which your followers would like to comment and tag someone. This is a great way to draw the attention of your followers and reach their circles.

You have to encourage your followers to take some actions with your posted contents like- like, comment, tag someone, share as a story and normal shares.

Example:

• Ask some question in the caption of your post.
• Photo caption contest:- Post your contents and ask your followers to post their captions in the comments.
• Tag a friend:- Ask users to tag their friends in the comment to win a prize.
• Share:- Ask your followers to share with their friends and family to create a valuable community.

4. Develop your own Instagram theme

As I said earlier, Instagram is a great place for brands of all shapes and sizes. So, You have to compete with many to grow real Instagram followers.

Develop your own Instagram style that can differentiate your unique contents. You can take ideas to develop your style but don't copy anyone.

If you developing your own unique theme, then people will naturally start to notice your username and maybe they would like to follow you. Give them something valuable to get fall in love with your account.

Once you've settled on a theme, try not to modify it. Stick to it and post consistently.

Recommended: How to Develop an Instagram theme?

5. Use quality hashtags

Hashtags:- A combination of letters, numbers, underscore and emoji preceded by the ( # ) symbol. (eg- #millionaireaddicted, #whatfacessay). Anyone who clicks on it will see a page with all posts tagged with it.

In 2019, hashtags are still an effective way to grow organically. Instagram has gone through several changes in the past year, including the algorithm of hashtags top posts and relevant contents on it.

Using relevant and targeted hashtags can increase your reach. Nowadays hashtags become more popular than many other specific accounts. People like to explore and follow trending hashtags so that they can run with the trend. So, use trending hashtags related to your contents.

Also, create a unique hashtag for your brand and ask your followers to use it.

Hashtags Tips and tricks.

• Use less popular hashtags for a chance to rank on the top section.
• Don't use irrelevant or banned hashtags.
• Use the right amount of hashtags average like 20 to 25.
• Use specific or niche hashtags.
• Save hashtags for future use.
• Consider using branded hashtags.
• Experiment with emoji hashtags.
• Search trending hashtags on explore page.

6. Use Instagram stories

An Instagram story is a feature that let users post photos and videos that vanishes after 24 hours.

If you've ever thought about using Instagram stories to grow real Instagram followers, now is the time!

Not only are Instagram stories famous and creative, but they're great for growing your engagement rates, building your brand awareness, and for beating the new Instagram algorithm.

Believe it or not, Instagram stories are rapidly growing in popularity as:-

• More than 400 million users use Instagram stories every single day.
• Fifty-seven percent of brand believe that stories name been "somewhat effective or very effective as a part of their social media strategies.

Use this cool feature to connect with your followers more effectively. Take your followers (BTSs)behind the scenes and show them the most interesting parts of your work. Create cool stories, ask some questions, use polls, and sometimes go for live sessions.

In short, connect deeply with your followers through Instagram stories.

Tips and tricks for using Instagram stories.

• Always use a location sticker for your stories to get local exposure.
• Use consistent Instagram stories template for your story posts.
• Use hashtags and location tags to reach non-followers.
• Avoid heavy GIFs to reduce story loading.

7. Link your Instagram account to your other Social Networks.

Grow real Instagram followers by cross Networking. Link your other social handles with Instagram and get some extra exposure from your existing audience.

Also, Instagram makes it simple to share your Instagram post to Facebook, Twiter, and Tumblr, which could be a great tactic for you to link your Instagram account.

You can also embed your posts and Instagram follows button in your blog and websites.

8. Collaborate with others

Think outside the box! Ask other Instagrammers in your similar Niche for the cross posts and shoutouts. 

Finding the right account to collaborate may be a big challenge, but by a clear vision can help you to collaborate more easily.

Not sure where to start?
Don't worry guys, It's not a big deal to start collaboration. But always check their Instagram engagement, quality of followers and number of followers.

Through cross-posting, you both guys able to provide value to your own audience and reach a new audience.

So, collaboration with other Instagrammers is another way to extend your reach and grow real Instagram followers.

9. Socialize

One thing you have to keep in mind that Instagram is still a social networking platform. You have to socialize with your followers.

The more you interact with your followers, the more they interact with your contents.

Be social! Engage your followers by liking and replying to their comments on your posts. Participate in massively popular conversations in the comment section or in the groups.

Also, use Instagram quick replies.

Instagram quick replies are the draft messages that you can create for commonly asked questions. So that you can quickly reply to your audiences.

How to use Instagram quick replies?

Steps to create quick replies.

1. Open your profile
2. Tap on three horizontal lines (icon) on the top-right corner.
3. Tap on the settings
4. Tap on the business
5. Tap on quick replies
6. Tap on the "+" button in the top-right corner to create a new quick reply.

Steps to use quick replies.

1. Goto your DMs and open a conversation.
2. Next, type the shortcut you created earlier. This should cause a blue Quick Replies button to appear in the message box.
3. Tap the button, the quick reply message you wrote will automatically appear.

10. Run Instagram Ads

Grow real Instagram followers by promotions. As you know, Facebook purchased Instagram in 2012. 

Instagram using Facebook Adwords Managers to manage ads on Instagram and Facebook.

You can promote your posts by connecting your Instagram account with your Facebook page.

Connect your Instagram account with your Facebook page and use Facebook Adwords to promote your posts on affordable rates.

Steps to promote posts on Instagram.

1. Goto your profile.
2. Tap on promotions.
3. Tap on create promotion.
4. Select your post to promote.
5. Tap on the arrow(icon) on the top right corner.
6. Select the audience type, budget, duration and then tap on create promotion.

Grow real Instagram followers [summary]

1. Post regularly to grow your engagement rate on a daily basis.
2. Use Instagram Insight to find out which type of contents your followers like the most.
3. Run contests to draw the attention of your followers and reach their real followers.
4. Develop your own Instagram theme that can easily differentiate your own unique contents.
5. Use quality hashtags to increase your reach in a similar type of Niches.
6. Use Instagram stories to connect with your followers more effectively.
7. Link your Instagram account to your other Social Networks to get some extra exposure from your existing fans.
8. Collaborate with others to double the audience exposure.
9. Be social to engage your followers with your posted contents.
10. Run Instagram ads to grow genuinely by Instagram itself.

Now, It's Time to take action.

As Instagram continues to grow and evolve as a marketing platform, it's more important than ever for businesses to build effective Instagram marketing strategies. And that means having a thorough understanding of what works and what doesn't.

It just takes a little effort when you start!

So, Be an action taker, take some actions. Figure out all the tips and create some meaningful strategies for your Instagram account. Also, share your own tips or tricks in the comment section that worked for you to grow your real Instagram followers.