Instagram has become the sweet spot of social media, hosting 13% of the world population and attracts all the brands and businesses, big to small, looking for exposure. Instagram is a free platform where anyone can grow with the right approach to the algorithm and grow their brands.
Instagram has garnered over ten times more engagement than Facebook, 54 times more than Pinterest and 84 times more than the Twitter platform. Brands all over look for interaction with their content to expand, grow and excel in the industry. The diverse nature of the platform makes it favourable. But, the algorithm keeps itself on the go and hence the secret sauce to master it.
There are both cost-free and paid campaigns used to get a head start to your journey on Instagram. While paid campaigns can be fruitful, they are for short term benefits, and in this race of long term goals, it is essential to take the path of organic reach. So today, let’s discuss 5 NO-COST tips to increase Instagram followers count.
1. Set clear goals
When it comes to Instagram, planning is one of the most crucial steps while diving into it. It is a platform for showcasing who you are, your values, and your offer. When drafting goals and social media strategies for your brand, be authentic and practical—draft achievable goals set in a specific time frame. Then, come back to them to tweak here and there whenever required.
While posting anything, be mindful that you are not preaching anything unless you are a preacher, of course. Be inclusive of the audience and listen before speaking. The ultimate goal of the whole venture is to build trust and meaningfully engage with the audience. Clear goals will help create a loyal customer base over time who are mouthpieces of your products and services.
2. Have visually consistent feed
Instagram is a visual savoury, and things only appeal to the users if your page and content are visually pleasing to look at. So you could use this visual marketing to your benefit and create a long-lasting memory in your minds.
Never shy away from mixing up a little; always play around with various content formats such as reels, videos, pictures, infographics, or simple animations could also do the trick. Another equally effective format is the stories section, which could help create a more engaged audience as you take them behind the scenes, exciting polls, or giveaways.
Having a visually consistent feed helps in generating a unique identity for your brand and helps in converting it into a strong brand with its twist to things and content.
3. Add Call to Action buttons (CTAs)
Be mindful of the path that a user could take on your page and guide them through. For example, as a user clicks on a post or a story, be sure to add a call to action button to know what to do further.
The official buttons provided by Instagram, such as Call Us or Contact Us makes sure that the user is converted into a new customer. In addition, it directly increases interactions rates and pushes the followers over into that buying cart purchase.
Call to action buttons make shareable content meaningful and help the brands secure a purchase.
4. Know your hashtags
Hashtags are one of the most powerful methods for reaching the targeted audience without even fearing the competition or competing for space on the explore page.
Thirty hashtags are the limit of Instagram on each post, so use all of it. Every hashtag increases your reach and improves engagement. Be mindful of using hashtags that are relevant to your post and brand. You could even create a unique brand hashtag that helps you sort out the user-generated content quickly.
Hashtags are the most innovative way of finding the correct exposure and targeting the audience of your niche. You can even start local with your hashtags if you have a physical business in the locality. Going local can win your hearts in the area and keep things personalized with the relevant audience.
Another ongoing local is partnering with micro-influencers thriving in the neighbourhood to keep things accurate and relevant to the niche audience. Influencers can help gain the extra edge with the trust quota and come out as reliable service providers.
5. Post consistently
Marketing and social media planning is the long term haul of your branding and creating a unique face in the niche. Hence, for this long term game, consistency is the key. When you are in doubt, post more often so that you never slip off the minds of the targeted audience.
Posting daily with relevant and reliable content is the key to success on the platform. In addition, the content you post should be able to engage the audience with your products or services meaningfully. For example, sharing their versions of your product or simply participating in the contest.
Users have valued quality content time by time; hence, draft content that is real, transparent and unique. Adding your fun element to any content is the twist that makes it unique. Moreover you can even buy real instagram likes for your posts.
Key takeaways
Keep the content simple, fun and add value to the life of your users. Find a problem that can be fixed by you or a query to be answered. Keep the balance right of the promotional and helpful content. Keep the tab on the ratio of 80/20 and be consistent but do not spam.