Build A Loyal Instagram Following With These Proven Tips

Does the radio silence after you post something on Instagram demotivate you? After all, there’s only too much satisfaction that you can get from a handful of comments and likes on your content.

When you put effort and time into the content, you want it to be seen by a larger audience. But how do you build this audience? More importantly, how do you ensure these people stay?

Below, we discuss some helpful tips to reach a wider audience on Instagram and win them over.

Tips for Instagram Growth

Getting followers on Instagram isn’t an overnight thing unless you go viral for something and Ellen invites you to her show. Most people have to take the longer route, waiting patiently for months to see the follower count grow.

Here are the best practices to follow when growing your Instagram account.

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Work On Your Bio

Your Instagram bio is to the audience what a resume is to the recruiters.

Although you only get 150 characters, you can use them to get a follow from a visitor. The bio tells visitors about you – what you do, who you are, and what your account will give them.

Make sure to include the following things in your Instagram bio:

• A description of your content – what you do

• Link to your website, blog, or shop

• Your introduction, pronouns, profession, title

• A call to action

When it comes to adding a link to your bio, you must be very selective since this is the only clickable link in your whole account. As a business, you should definitely add a link to your website or shop.

On the other hand, if you’re an individual, you might want to put a link to your blog or portfolio.

If you want to showcase multiple links, use a tool , like Shop Grid, to convert one link into a catalog.

Apart from links, brands should also add a hashtag that defines or represents their company. Putting a hashtag to the bio tells people they need to use that hashtag in their posts if they want to get your attention.

Also, when they tap on the hashtag, they can see all posts containing it.

Be Consistent

A social media analysis showed that businesses tend to post up to four times a week. While that also works, you should not be hesitant to post daily if you can generate good content at that rate.

If you post consistently, you’re likely to get more followers. The Instagram algorithm picks up posts that are regularly shared.

Therefore, if your posts get regular engagement, the followers will see them on the top of their feed.

But at the end of the day, quality still matters more than quantity. If you’re making irrelevant or unappealing content, posting even multiple times a day isn’t going to do you any good.

Instead, create content that resonates with the audience and keeps them interested. You don’t necessarily have to post daily but don’t disappear off the grid only to post a picture every second week.

Engage Through Captions

Instagram captions are an excellent way to make your posts rank in the search results and grab the readers’ attention. You can write up to 2200 characters in your Instagram caption.

However, that doesn’t mean every caption should be a blog post.

Depending on the post, the caption can merely be a pun with an emoji or a detailed backstory of the picture or video you’ve posted. Over the years, there has been an increase in the average number of characters used in the caption.

Back in 2016, the average number of characters used was 142. However, the number spiked to 405 characters in 2020, reflecting the audience’s interest in reading longer captions.

When writing captions, let your creative juices flow. Here are some fun ways to make your captions interesting:

• Ask a question. People are more likely to comment on such posts and you’ll successfully start a conversation this way.

• Ask for recommendations. You can put up a post asking people to recommend some good bookstores in the area or night cream for your skin type.

• Share personal stories. People love hearing personal anecdotes since these stories give them a peek into your life.

• Tag-a-friend Posts. You can also ask your followers to tag a friend in the comments. For instance, if you post a picture wearing a new, funky jumpsuit, tell the followers to tag a friend who’d rock this outfit. Respond to Comments

One of the best ways to build an audience that sticks with you is to engage with them. Make sure there’s always some sort of activity happening on your account. For instance, you can start a conversation by posting a picture or iGTV.

When people – followers or non-followers – comment on your posts, respond to them accordingly. If you’re a brand, answer people’s queries or respond to their appreciative comments with gratitude.

Engaging with your audience creates a good impression on the algorithm. Plus, it shows your potential audience that you’re open to conversations.

Besides interacting with the visitors on your account, also stay in touch with other people in your niche. For instance, if you’re a lifestyle influencer, comment on other influencers’ posts and remain active in your space.

Cross-Promote Your Instagram Account

If you have a considerable following on another social media platform, such as Facebook or Twitter, you can leverage that to build your Instagram audience.

Just as you’d promote your website or blog in your Instagram bio, you can also put a link to your Instagram account in your Facebook or Twitter bio. In this way, you’ll be directing the audience from one platform to another.

If someone has been following you on Twitter for a year, they’ll be happy to link with you on Instagram too.

Conclusion

The Instagram-verse is expanding, and if you want to be a part of it, you’ll have to make your content audience-centric. More importantly, you need to follow the Instagram algorithm guidelines to stay relevant.

The guide discusses different tips that you must follow to grow your Instagram account while keeping your current audience engaged.