6 Ways to Boost Your Instagram Following

Interact with Others

Instagram is a social media service, and like any form of social media, the best way to make use of the service is to be social and interact with other users. There is not any one formula for interacting with users, but commenting, liking, and following other users who you share common interests with you will often lead to reciprocity. For example say you really like hedgehogs, you might start searching Instagram for hedgehogs and the hashtag #hedgehog, as well as commenting on pictures and following the accounts of other hedgehog fans.

This will organically lead to interaction from other users who share your interests. Just be sure that you also have pictures posted that those users can relate to!

Post Frequently (without Being Too Annoying)

You should also be posting frequently, but avoid blowing up someone’s Instagram feed. For example a couple of posts a day to a couple of times a week is great depending on your target audience and the amount of time you want to be active on Instagram. If you’re trying to use Instagram for marketing, I would post multiple times a day to keep users engaged and aware of your brand.

However, you don’t want to overdo it and post so frequently that users get sick of you and unfollow you because they feel that they are bombarded with the sheer number of your posts.

Stick with a Common Theme

If you’re using Instagram for business, it’s critical that you stick with a common theme or message. For example if you’re a personal trainer, stick to posting pictures about working out and eating healthy. While a sunset picture of a hike or run is nice every now and then, you don’t want to deviate too much from your main theme and risk losing followers.

Use Hashtags

One of the best ways that I’ve seen to boost likes is to use specific hashtags. Oftentimes, users will search only for hashtags, and it’s a great way to get followers who are just cruising around Instagram who may not know anything about you at all. What hashtags you use will depend on what interests you have or what audience you’re trying to appeal to. You can research this by seeing what users you follow post.

Ask for Captions

Another great way to drive likes and comments is asking for a comment or caption about a specific photo. For example, if you post a funny cartoon, or even a picture of a text message, asking users to come up with something witty or funny is a great way to drive user involvement.

I love caption contests where companies or people will ask for the funniest comment, or name to a picture. It really brings out the creativity in your followers and drives a ton of involvement!

Run a Contest

Last but not least, run a contest. While you wouldn’t do this if you were just a user of Instagram, running a contest on Instagram and telling your users about it through your website and other social media platforms is a great way to gain Instagram fans. For example, giving away a book, gift card, or something else to a new follower is a great way to get users to spread the word about you.

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Until next time, I’m the Tech Talker, keeping technology simple!

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