Want to get followers on Instagram without following other people's accounts? This article guides you on the best ways just for that without the intimidations of following others.
When starting a new Instagram account, getting followers can be very frustrating and time-consuming. Given its popularity and widespread use across the web there's no doubt that Instagram has become one of the most powerful communication tools on the internet, but does this mean it can be used in your business?
If you significantly want to increase and create engagement within your Instagram community, then it is important to find the best method that fits your creativity and marketing needs. Getting followers on Instagram without following has the best solution to gain success through growing and manipulating your followers.
Know Your Target Audience
It doesn’t matter if you make the most amazing Instagram posts ever created, if you don’t know who your ideal follower is, that content won’t work for you. Knowing this information is crucial because it will help your Instagram strategy in so many ways.
That's because when you know who you are talking to, it makes it a lot easier for you. The first thing we want to consider is their age. This will have a big impact on the type of content they consume and the kind of language they respond to.
Next, where do they live? Are they based in a city or a suburban area? If so, what sort of content would be relevant for them? Finally, what are some of their main challenges in life and how can Instagram help them solve these problems?
Next, what do they do for work and how do they use Instagram? Are they using it primarily as a social network or are there other ways in which they can benefit from using it? For example, if someone sells products online then they might want to create an account that focuses on showing off their products rather than just posting about their personal life.
Learn from Your Competitors
Instagram is extremely competitive, with over 5 million businesses competing for attention. You're going to have to work hard to get noticed on Instagram. Moreso, when you intend to use this idea, you have to put your effort into it.
Here's how to go about it:
Identify and note other Instagram users that have the same interests or venture into similar niches as you. You, however, have to be sure any user you settle on is indeed into what you are into. You can validate their interests using hashtags.
Check through the users above and note 8 of them who have at least 500 users and whose demographics match with the people you admire. You also have to be sure they have a complete bio in their profile. A complete bio and at least 500 followers is a sign that the user is indeed active on the platform.
Examine four of the eight profiles, look through their posts, and find three photos of each user that you like. Then double-tap to express your gratitude.
Take a look at the other four profiles you've been following. Examine their content and find at least one post worthy of a comment. When you find it, leave a unique comment. Don't say something generic like “cool post!” This only works if your comment adds value; otherwise, you'll appear to be a bot.
Steps 2-4 should be repeated up to three times per day, preferably in the evening. Make use of hashtags to ensure you target the right accounts. The Follow Like Comment loop is what it's all about. Each loop should take no more than five minutes, so this tip should only take you 15 minutes each evening.
The unspoken advantage of this follow; comment loop is that you generate a lot of goodwill with other Instagram users. People will naturally respond in kind. And instead of simply following, they will respond with likes and comments. This means you'll get free exposure to their target audiences.
Post Consistently
You need to establish a presence on Instagram. If you show up one day, and then disappear for weeks or months at a time, you're not going to get followers (or at least not keep them if you manage to get some).
To keep people from getting with your posts, create a posting schedule and stick to it. For example, if you want to post twice per day, make sure that you do this every day. You start the mornings with motivational content and the evenings with entertainment content. You will see that by keeping up with your regular posting schedule, you will see a steady increase in your followers over time as long as you only share great content.
If you, however, don't have much time to create new content, you can at least make up for other days and post something on Tuesday and Thursday evenings. These are optimal times when most people are often online at home from work. We've discussed the best times to post on Instagram; you can click here for the guide.
This is important because it makes your profile look active and encourages people to trust that your content will be there when they come back. Posting regularly also gives people more opportunities to see your content and more chances of it being shared. If you want people to follow what you're doing, you must give them reasons to check out your feed regularly.
Personalize Your Content
The way you personalize your content depends on your goals. If you want to increase your follower count, make sure what you're posting is relevant to a wide audience and not just people who are already following you.
If you want to increase engagement, post content people will want to comment on or share. Provide enough information to pique their interest, but leave them wanting more by keeping some details vague. So, it's all about identifying the best style to make yourself recognizable.
Stay Engaged with Your Audiences
As you grow your Instagram account, you have to create a plan that encourages followers to stay engaged with your content. If you want to continue seeing growth on the app, you need to implement strategies that will get people to follow and engage with your page.
Running contests is one of these great ways to engage with your audience while also growing your follower count. You can incentivize people to follow your account by offering giveaways in exchange for a follow. Then, when the contest ends, choose one random winner from among your new followers. This is a great strategy because it gives people an incentive to interact with your brand, plus it's an easy way to gain exposure from those who don't win.
If you're not sure where to begin or what kind of content would work best for your business, try something like this:
Promotion by Other Platforms
One of the best ways to grow your Instagram account is by promoting it on other platforms where you already have an audience. Here's how to get started:
Facebook: around 1 billion people log in to Facebook every day. You could reach your target audience here with a post that links to your Instagram profile and encourages them to follow you there.
Email list: promote your Instagram account on your email newsletter to encourage subscribers to engage with you across multiple channels.
Blog: include an Instagram feed and profile link on your blog so readers can easily click through. If you're running a competition or giveaway, also include an Instagram-specific entry option to encourage more followers.
YouTube: drive traffic from your YouTube channel by including links in the description of all your videos, as well as in the video itself (if appropriate).
You, however, must remember to promote unique content on Instagram as well so that users will have a reason to follow you there. Luckily, with Instagram introducing new content and video features such as Stories, IGTV, and Reels, you have a fantastic opportunity to grow your following through creative content.
All hashtags are searchable on Instagram. So if you're trying to increase sales of your latest shoe design, for example, and your target customers are women who like wearing high heels, using a relevant hashtag will be a plus for you. You must know that most Instagram users will search for specific hashtags, whether they're looking for tips on how to care for their succulents or trying to find a new outfit to buy.
Instagram allows up to 30 hashtags per post, and many users go straight for the maximum. But it's best to pick a combination of popular and niche hashtags that have relevance to your business. The hashtags' strength is always about the quality, not the quantity. Unfortunately, if you aimed for the quantity you may attract bots that read straight hashtags like #likeforlike, or #followme.
Regular Review and Summary
Regular review and summary using Instagram Insights will help you reach your goals faster because it gives you an overview of what’s working well for your account.
Instagram Insights is an analytics tool that provides a broad range of data about your business account’s followers. Insights provide data about your followers, what type of content they like gender, age, location when they're online, and more. It can help you understand what content your audience engages with the most so you can create more of it in the future if needed!
Conclusion
While there are no absolute rules that can be followed to gain instant followers, these tips will hopefully give you some insight on how to get followers on Instagram without following. Remember, staying active on Instagram helps your account to grow organically because simply being active gets your content seen by the community and boosts it through the ranking system of the app.
