That’s the ultimate goal, right? It’s a race to gain real Instagram followers, and do whatever is required of us for this mammoth task.
Yes, even today accounts with massive Instagram followers are deemed to be ‘credible’ in the audience’s mind. So, it becomes imperative to focus on building a community of legit followers on your account; be it a business, content-led, creative, or influential account – you are trusted if you have a huge following. Without a doubt, putting serious efforts to ensure you gain real Instagram followers, should be at the forefront of your strategy on this platform.
With over 1 billion monthly users, an ever-evolving algorithm, and plenty of interesting accounts, Instagram is a highly competitive place if you want to grow your account and get more Instagram followers. But fret not, you are at the right place to understand the right strategies and techniques to grow your follower base.
We are sharing ways to reach your target audience and gain real Instagram followers in the year 2021:
- It is all about the Instagram Reels
- Continue creating IGTV series
- Consistently add fresh content
- Micro-influencers are going to help
- Experiment with Instagram Live
Are you all set to jump into the details? We are ready to give you the down-low on each of the above-stated strategic tips. This will catalyze the growth of your Instagram account and you can immediately start implementing them in 2021.
1. It Is All About The Instagram Reels
We all have passed time watching TikTok videos that were highly addictive! But, Instagram did not want to lose out and hence launched Instagram Reels. And if you are not sharing Instagram Reels in 2021, you are surely missing out on a huge opportunity for your brand/business.
With Instagram choosing to put this feature at the forefront, there is a significant push to have users browse and share Reels more often. This gives you all readers a huge opportunity to piggyback on this feature and gain a relevant set of audiences. Much like TikTok videos, Instagram Reels have the chance to go seriously viral as instead of users seeing Reels from the accounts they follow, users will see Reels from all accounts. This is a major game-changer if it is reach you’re looking to maximise! Remember, Reels are most effective when posted at the time your targeted users are most active. Click here to know the best time to post for your handle!
Reels are found on their own separate tab present on individual profiles and also on the explore page section. Sharing a Reel is an incredible way to increase your reach, way beyond your ‘own’ followers. If Reels posted during the best Instagram posting time, then you are in for great traction.
Pro Tip:
Always stay current and jump on new feature opportunities, as Instagram wants you to use these features They’re sure to return increased engagement rates and reach as they tie in directly with Instagram’s algorithm.
2. Continue creating IGTV series
One of the top predictions for the year 2020 was that IGTV would become a vital part of Instagram – and cut to the year 2021, it does not look like it is changing anytime soon!
With the COVID-19 lockdowns, a large number of social media users turned to Instagram for consuming content on general information, news, education, and tons of entertainment as creators were on it. Thanks to the IGTV tab on profiles, it became easy to align relevant audiences for IGTV content.
When you start for IGTV, It is suggested to create a series instead of leaving one video on your profile, series is a creative way and is sure to connect with a larger set of audiences while staying in touch with the current.
If you have not created an IGTV channel yet, today is a great time to get in the game. Jot down what longer-form video your audience will be interested in and begin creating content around that, today!
Pro tip:
Video content is bound to get more traction on your feed – more engagement and eyes on your video could result in more Instagram followers! What are you waiting for?
3. Keep adding fresh content
While it becomes really difficult to constantly add new content, this is a necessary condition to grow your followers. Your existing followers will also want to keep seeing new content from you on your Instagram feed. Constantly generating new posting content is not impossible. There are a lot of platforms where you can get new ideas and inspiration. The best places to look are your competing handles. You can also use products like Predis.ai which can help you generate great Instagram posts with just small inputs from your end.
4. Micro-influencers are key if you want to gain real Instagram followers
One of the best and probably the easiest way to grow your follower base is to work with micro-influencers. It’s intuitive to be tempted by blue ticks and a large following on influencers’ accounts. However, those influencers may not be the best choice for your brand or business due to their exorbitant rates.
A lot of recent research and studies show that micro-influencers having Instagram followers between 10K to 100K followers offer a great balance between both reach and engagement rates.
All you have to do is – think of micro-influencers as household names in your community. They are going to work, all you have to do is – give it a shot!
Pro Tip:
Remember that micro-influencers will always go an extra mile for your collaboration. Help them to help yourself.
5. Experiment with Instagram Live
By now we are well aware that videos are the future of Instagram, and Instagram Live may be one of the best ways to use video content that is raw and real, to drive engagement and increase Instagram followers.
All our followers want to see is the real us. Until now, it was a genuine challenge showing the human side of a brand or business, but Live makes it easier. Instagram Live is essentially an unedited video stream for your followers to tune in and engage in the form of questions and comments in real-time. Live videos show up above the feed, next to Instagram Stories. Your followers also have the option to share your Instagram Live with their set of followers to join.
This was another very popular way of engaging during the whole shift to work from home. There are endless content opportunities that you can explore on Instagram Live videos. Schedule your live sessions according to the best Instagram posting time for a win-win situation.
Pro-Tip:
Host a flash sale in collaboration with a micro-influencer on your Instagram Live without intimating your followers in advance. Instagram will send a notification to your set of followers when you hit LIVE!
6. Engage with your followers
This seems like an obvious element of a brand’s Instagram marketing strategy, but it is often strangely overlooked. The one major aspect where social media communication trumps traditional ways of communicating with customers is the possibility of two-way communication. Your target audience will follow you not only to consume the content you push out but also to engage with you and make themselves heard. Fulfil this need by ensuring they have your ear and your support. Handles like those of Swiggy and Netflix India often incorporate tasteful humour in their engagements. This prompts people to comment on their posts more often, which in return leads to increased reach, tying in with the algorithm!
Some brands have a different take on engaging with the audience; they share user-generated content! Essentially, when their followers/customers make content that relates to their brand, they share it on their platforms. User-generated content is the ultimate way of showing your target audience that you appreciate them.
7. Use the hashtags that are right for YOU
If you are managing a new Instagram account, using a hashtag with extremely high search volume and popularity on your posts may not get your post much attention at all.
For example, the #photography page on Instagram has over 700 million posts, and being ranked as a top post for this kind of hashtag would be beyond a herculean task, even for a well-seasoned, popular account. Hence, although the number is attractive, (and could mean the hashtag has a lot of followers), you shouldn’t really bother with it since these followers are (likely) not going to be seeing your post anyway.
Instead, choose more focused hashtags. Sure, they have fewer followers, but at least these followers will be exponentially more likely to actually view your post.
If you don’t like to do Instagram keyword research manually and you’re also not willing to pay hundreds of bucks for those premium social media tools then we have brought the best alternative for you!
We have recently launched a free Instagram hashtag generator that conducts AI-based hashtag research that can increase your follower count in a few days.
Take baby steps like this to improve the performance of your account. A small increase in your reach and engagement scores could create an upward-spiralling trend of more interactions, followers, saves, shares etc.
8. Post regularly
We’ve talked endlessly on previous blogs, about posting regularly on Instagram and how important this is for organic reach.
It’s hard to overstate it, so we’re going to tell you again. Post regularly by all means!
In one realm, it keeps you on your feet, and constantly thinking about new, more creative ideas that will appeal to your audience.
In another realm, it will be a lot easier for you to gain real Instagram followers this way, since Instagram users will see a point in clicking the Follow button for an account that consistently delivers value, and good content.
However, most importantly, consistent posting agrees with Instagram’s organic reach while it is deciding on which posts show up for users or not. Regular posting is a positive indication to the algorithm that an Instagram account manager is committed to providing value and growing their reach/follower count. This way, it is more likely to push your posts and Reels above others to increase your reach.
Pro-tip:
To get into a posting schedule, start creating content calendars. As the name implies, a content calendar is essentially a pre-planned overview of any content you are going to be pushing out on your social media profile or blog, for a certain time period. For example, if you’re creating a content calendar for the month of June, you’re deciding what content you’ll be pushing out, and on what days of the month.
Understandably, it can take a bit of time to get used to the idea of content calendars and get into the habit of making one. But its a very simple way of ensuring you stay on track to deliver good content, regularly.
To know more about content calendars, check out this blog!
If you often face writer’s blocks (as we all do) or are confused about what content to push out, do check out Predis.ai’s automated Content Calendar. Just small inputs from your side, and this nifty tool will provide you a week’s worth of content ideas. And they’re all personalised by the power of AI, for your handle!
And that’s about it!
We really hope the above pointers help you up your IG game! And we understand that growing your Instagram account can often seem like a challenge, but if you follow the right strategy, and stick to basics (which, though often neglected, includes writing a killer bio) you are sure to get more Instagram followers.
Just remember, it is a combination of creative content, right targeting, promotion, and tons of handwork! Also remember, when you gain real Instagram followers, you’re just taking the first step in the process of developing a strong handle. An engaged audience matters too, and here’s how you can keep your engagement rates in the sky.
Tell us in the comments below if you have any other tips or tricks for growing your IG follower base, so we can project these to our followers as well. If you found this useful, don’t forget to subscribe to our social media accounts!
