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 gain more Instagram followers. But fret not, you are at the right place to understand the right strategies and techniques to grow your follower base.
20 Effective Strategies to Gain Real Instagram Followers Organically in 2024
Can’t wait to see your Instagram followers list blow up? Then scroll below as we list down 20 foolproof techniques to gain real Instagram followers authentically. This will catalyze the growth of your Instagram account and you can immediately start implementing them in 2024.
Take a pen and your favorite notebook and start taking notes.
1. It Is All About The Instagram Reels
We all have spent 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 2024, 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 the reach you’re looking to maximize! 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 are 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. Keep adding fresh content
While it becomes really difficult to constantly add new content, this is a necessary condition to gain real Instagram 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.
3. Micro-influencers are key if you want to gain real Instagram followers
One of the best and probably the easiest ways 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 the extra mile for your collaboration. Help them to help yourself.
4. Experiment With Instagram Live
By now we are well aware that videos are the future of Instagram, and IG Live may be one of the best ways to use video content that is raw and real, to drive engagement and gain real Instagram followers.
All our followers want to see is the real us. Until now, it was a genuine challenge to show 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!
5. 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. Fulfill this need by ensuring they have your ear and your support. Handles like those of Swiggy and Netflix often incorporate tasteful humor 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.
6. 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.
7. Craft Super Compelling Captions
Your Instagram post captions are much more important than you think.
You can have the best-shot pictures or the cutest carousels lined for posting on your profile. But if the caption fails to strike a chord with your followers, it all would be worth nothing!
In fact, it’s the same with Reels. If you do not fabricate a caption that literally urges the user to tap and engage with it, the chances of your Reel going viral would be pretty slim.
So, pay as much attention to the storytelling part of your post as you do the aesthetics. Take your own sweet time and come up with a caption that justifies the beauty of your content. Mind you—it should neither be too long nor too short. Just long enough to capture the essence of whatever photo/video you’re posting.
Don’t worry; you do not have to be a full-fledged writer to write such captions. Just be simple with the language, add emojis, and insert a few relevant keywords.
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 it’s 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 personalized by the power of AI, for your handle!
9. Collaborate With Influencers in Your Niche
The best way to create engagement and gain followers is to collaborate and partner with other creators who share the same interests and genres as you. It can be beneficial for both of the parties as it creates an exchange of followers.
Followers love to see their favorite creators collaborate and create content together. It builds the community and also excites new people to join. Collaborating is truly one of the best ways to gain Instagram followers organically.
You can always rely on Predis.ai to generate innovative ways and cool ideas for you to implement in your content and collaborations with fellow influencers.
10. Know How to Optimize Your Posts
Always know the importance of knowing how to optimize your posts and understand the algorithm. Instagram is always changing and new people are coming on this platform every day.
Try to understand your audience and what type of posts get more engagement and replicate that. Figure out the optimal content that encourages your audience to interact with your account and other websites if you have linked any.
Try to post visually striking and high-quality videos and photos. It might not feel necessary but it makes your content stand out and better than the rest.
11. Find the Right Time to Post
Even if you are posting the world’s best content but not doing it at the right time when your followers are the most active then it is all in vain.
Look for the time when your followers are the most active and try to post then. This increases engagement and allows new people to also check your content out.
You can always take advantage of Instagram Insight if you have a business or creator account. Try to keep your posting schedule in tune with that. Also, keep an eye out for the competitors and observe their posting schedules.
You can also post on both peak-time and low-time to target both kinds of time segments and reach out to all types of audiences.
12. Utilize User-Generated Content
The most effective way to gain Instagram followers is to make your current followers participate in creating content with your content. You can encourage them by hosting a contest or a giveaway.
This can be beneficial as your followers will be posting the content made by them all over Instagram and it will act like an advertisement for your account.
You can also post user-generated content which only encourages your followers to create more. It is overall a positive thing for your Instagram account.
13. Craft an Interesting Instagram Bio
The first thing a person sees when they open your account is your bio. Keep it neat and attractive. If it is too messy, it can make people less interested in you.
Try to use clear keywords that describe you, your business or your account properly without overdoing it. You can also add some cool emojis to make it a little unique, but don’t go ham on the emojis!
Adding a CTA (Call To Action) is a great way to showcase any website or other social media platforms and direct your followers there, ultimately boosting engagement.
14. Optimize Your Instagram Account
Try to make the most out of all the Instagram features you have on your account. Making an attractive bio is already a plus and also choose a profile photo that resonates with you and what you offer on your Instagram.
Even the right username can do wonders. So try to keep an appropriate username for your business. Add contact details on your bio so that companies and other businesses can reach out to you for sponsorship or partnerships.
Also, make sure your Instagram feed and stories are not a mess and have a coherent view. And even if you are posting candid and behind-the-scenes stuff, make sure the visual quality is there. It makes the content more appealing and enjoyable.
Make sure you are also engaging and communicating with your followers. You can do this by replying to comments and posting engaging stories that allow you to directly communicate with your audience. This builds a sense of community and makes the followers like you even more.
15. Avoid Faking Instagram Followers
It is difficult to build a following on Instagram especially when it is this saturated and full of competition. Do not try to cheat the system and know that if you do this thing right and by the rules you can easily gather a following.
Try to focus on your content and the quality of it. If you have good-quality content and an appealing feed, you will get followers organically. Try to use the latest and relevant hashtags and reach out to other content creators as well to collaborate.
Always make sure you are also communicating with your audience this only results in an increase in overall engagement and number of followers for you.
16. Showcase Your Instagram Everywhere You Can
You have to showcase your Instagram everywhere you can otherwise no matter what you do, it won’t be seen. Try to cross-promote your accounts on different social media.
If you have a YouTube, try to plug your Instagram there and vice versa. This can be also done for other platforms like Pinterest, Facebook, X(Twitter), TikTok, and many others.
You can show off your posts the type of content you have to offer on your Instagram and what your account is all about.
17. Attract Local Tourist by Using Geo-Tagging
One can also attract new followers by geo-tagging and getting into the feed of locals. You can do this by turning on the location setting on your phone and on your Instagram app.
Be respectful about the content you are posting and tagging the locals. Post things that are relevant to them and something that shows off your personality well.
You can also collaborate with local influencers and make content with them which can be helpful for both of you. As it exposes you to their followers and does the same for them.
18. Organize Your Top Stories As Highlights
Organizing your top stories as highlights can be a great way to showcase your branding and improve the overall appeal. It also elongates the lifespan of a good Instagram story.
It also makes your account more visible and showcases all the top things you have to present to your audience. You can make some of the highlights showcasing some behind-the-scenes.
These can act like a teaser for your account, presenting what you post and how your online persona is. Importantly, they can help with gaining more followers.
19. Keep an Eye on Your Competitors
It’s Instagram—which means it’s super competitive!
But rather than “running away from it,” why not “learn from it?”
Your competitors’ Instagram profiles can be a goldmine for you only if you know how to use them to your advantage. And well, we’re finally spilling the beans on that.
First off, KNOW your competitors. For instance, if you’re a beauty blogger, curate a list of famous faces in that niche that your audience interacts with.
Now, stroll through their followers list and follow each one of them. Chances are, you will get a follow-up since those users are already interested in engaging with beauty content.
And finally, here’s the golden tip—engage with your competitors too! Yes, they are your rivals, but connecting and interacting with them increases your chances of being noticed by their audience—and that goes a long way in generating organic followers.
20. Entice New Followers by Hosting Loop Giveaways
In the previous point, we emphasized engaging with your competitors. At this point, we shall discuss why.
Engaging with fellow creators in your niche also opens the door for hosting loop giveaways. These are similar to collaborations, where you get to team up with other creators to host a giveaway. To participate in such giveaways, users are required to follow the accounts of all the hosts, including you.
Now, you are always free to host giveaways on your own, too. But loop giveaways have two major advantages:
- They make your account visible to the followers of all the hosts involved in the giveaway.
- Even if your personal reach is low, you will gain new followers through your hosts.
Isn’t that fantastic?
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 hard work! Also remember, when you gain real Instagram followers, you’re just taking the first step in the process of developing a strong handle.
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!
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