But first, let’s check out our service here to help you boost your social credibility and reach more people on Instagram.
1. Use hashtags to their full potential
One of the most essential ways to gain Instagram followers without following others is to use hashtags. It allows new people to engage and discover your content. For each post, you can have up to 30 hashtags to expand its exposure. However, choosing random hashtags won’t do the charm.
Exploring the most general hashtags that fit your Instagram concept is the best way to start with the hashtags and will bring you more followers. When you search #sports, #fitness, #organicfood, check out more other hashtags that are tagged in the posts. Then see what is trending at that time because when you use less generic hashtags, the opportunities of being discovered are way higher.
For example, Chris Hau is a successful seller on Sellfy and as an artist, his Instagram feed is well designed. However, even the best artwork needs a way to be discovered. This is the reason why Chris publishes his posts with a list of relevant hashtags that allow Instagram audiences to find his content. Then gain his Instagram followers.
Sometimes, you find it hard to come up with 30 relevant hashtags, so if a little spark of creativity is needed, you can try hashtag generators like All Hashtag, Instavast, and others. Although the tools are good, you should always handpick the hashtags you feel match your post the best so your content doesn’t come off as spam.
Hashtags are more than a one-way ticket to the ”explore” section. Be creative!
2. Join micro-communities
Because Instagram showed an option that allows you to follow hashtags, keeping up with micro-communities has become a breeze. You should stay in a loop, first find the hashtags that you’re gonna be working with and follow them. See the hashtag as a social group that you want to fit in and be noticed. Like other posts, comment and start conversations and attract attention.
Until you have dedicated followers, you can take this step further and make your micro-community. This is an example for you, @sorelleamore has created her hashtag – #AdvancedSelfie which has accumulated more than 40 thousand posts.
3. Interact with top influencers
What you should do is to expand your social networks. You need to find out your niche hashtags and communities.
Like, comment, ask questions and interact with the key players in the group who you have identified and see if you can make a mutually friendly relationship with them.
The thing that makes Instagram better than other social media platforms is that the competition doesn’t involve stealing a piece of a pie from another. It seems like you clone your pie and exchange it with others. So, establish friendship and promote each other’s content, do collaborations and organize mutual giveaways.
The great thing about Instagram (and other social media platforms) is that the competition does not involve stealing a piece of a pie from another. It’s like… cloning your pies and exchanging with them. Make friends and promote each other’s content, do collaborations and organize mutual giveaways.
Take a look at a well-executed mutual collaboration between @charlyjordan and @evanpaterakis.
4. Get the best out of Location tag
From the first look, you might think that the Location tag on Instagram is just for businesses or flashy teenagers who want to brag about where they had their dinner Every Instagram user can take advantage of it.
You can look at it as an ”extra hashtag slot” and use strategically picked locations or tag the place of the photo. Imagine a random person looking up the nearest Papa John’s and seeing your goofy smile and that controversial pineapple pizza on the table. That’s calling for a comment, or what?
@foodcoma_eats is an absolute winner when it comes to dominating the burger joint place tag top photo section. Check it out:
5. Follow people who like competing pages
Sometimes it’s impossible to be noticed without tapping on the shoulder. If your Instagram account is all about blueberry cupcakes, there is an opportunity that you could find some potential fans in the follower list of the chocolate cupcake account. Imagine all the people that would love to see your content on their feed, but will be missing out on it just because they haven’t stumbled on your account yet. Tap them on the shoulder – follow them!
This is what Richard Lazazzera, Instagram Marketing expert did:
6. Follow a large number of users
In the case that you’ve been using Instagram for a while, you have gotten lots of random Instagram followers or follow-request. You feel excited at first but the next 15 makes you feel annoyed, but then you started paying attention to what that account posts.
That’s because the follow/unfollow system has become a widely used and accepted the form of advertising. And it’s still a fairly successful one.
While the process is straightforward, Instagram has not publicly the information about the maximum hourly or daily amounts of follows allowed. It’s been speculated that different factors come in the play, such as account age, number of followers, overall engagement and potentially others.
However, it seems that 40 follows per hour is a safe amount for a new account, which can be gradually increased over time as the account ages and gains more followers.
A strategy that @boostthebold is using works pretty well based on the follow/follower ratio.
You don’t have to push yourself or risk your account by following the maximum amount of accounts allowed. Everybody will agree that 5000 follows and 64 followers don’t look that great, right? Keep it classy, increase the numbers gradually. Some stop following once they reach 10k followers on Instagram, others keep ongoing. The idea is to get your account snowballing first and let it develop itself later on.
7. Nail the captions
Storytelling, expressing feelings, providing a setting, giving the backstory will make the post more interesting. A gorgeous picture but doesn’t have a caption is still just a picture. A great caption is what turns a picture into a story and a memory. Captions will not increase your exposure. However, they will be one of the determining factors if the user is going to follow you or not. Make your page’s visitors turn into followers then gain more your Instagram followers by writing impressive post descriptions.
Sellfy seller @sorelleamore designs great captions to earn that like. Photos and captions go hand in hand.
8. Call to action
Since Instagram has changed the way posts appear on users’ timeline, follower engagement has become important. No user engagement means that Instagram puts your posts at the very end of the line.
On the other hand, if user engagement is high, your posts will be one of the first ones your followers will see. It’s Instagram’s way of giving users the content they are looking for.
Reduce power distance. The closer you are, the higher engagement on your posts. It doesn’t always have to be a call to buy or download something. You can ask a question, ask to like if they can relate, make them choose between options and let your followers know that you care for them and they have a say.
Look at how creative.cliche does it.
