How to Get More Followers on Instagram—Who are Actually Real

1. Optimize your Instagram account

First, you will need to optimize your Instagram account if you want to maximize your reach and visibility. Choose an Instagram username that aligns with the current name of your business or brand. Avoid using complex words or phrases that may be difficult to remember or spell. If possible, avoid using hyphens and numbers in your account name for SEO (search engine optimization) purposes.

Streamline all of your social media accounts to ensure the usernames are the same and all accounts showcase the same logo, color schemes, and official website links. Branding your Instagram account and all other social media accounts with the same name, logo, and color scheme can go a long way in attracting followers and leaving a positive impression on new visitors and potential followers.

2. Consistency is key

Whenever you are building an online presence, consistency is key. Consistently posting updates, sharing photos, and even uploading video media can help with gaining traction when using Instagram along with alternative social media platforms. If you want to connect to your audience, you can do so by committing to being consistent with useful information and content that your audience enjoys.

3. Create a schedule

Creating a schedule is another way to ensure you stay on track with social media updates while using Instagram. Updating your Instagram at least once daily is highly recommended. If you are having a busy day or updating on a weekend, you can update your Instagram anywhere between two and five times to keep your users interested and entertained. Set specific times to update your Instagram and stick to them. Research popular posting times on Instagram based on the market or niche you are targeting to optimize your posts and generate the most views.

While it is advisable to post numerous times each day during a busy day when using Instagram, it is also important to avoid oversharing or posting too much. Sharing too many posts and updates in a short period of time may appear spammy to users, which can result in a loss of followers.

4. Research competition

Cultivating a real and active following on Instagram and social media today requires an understanding of the audience you intend to reach. Spend time researching the current competition you have on Instagram as well as on alternative social media platforms. Get to know more about the current competition you have and how they effectively connect and communicate with their own audiences.

Research and study how your competition connects with users, what social media platforms they use, as well as the frequency in which they post updates. The more comfortable and familiar you become with the inner workings of your industry, the easier it will become for you to deploy a working social media marketing strategy of your own.

5. Follow industry leaders

Research your current competition as well as industry leaders that have thousands, if not millions, of followers in your niche. Follow industry leaders to gain valuable insights into how they attract new followers, the type of content they post, as well as the schedule they are using to share updates and new content.

6. Choose the right voice for your brand

Finding the right voice for your brand can make all of the difference when it comes to succeeding online. If you begin building a brand without a voice in mind, you may find it challenging to appeal to specific groups of individuals or particular demographics. A brand's voice can make or break its overall success, especially in highly competitive and saturated industries today.

When you are creating a voice for your brand, consider the audience you intend to reach. What age range, gender, and location do you intend to target with your online ads and Instagram account? What type of user will be interested in the content, information, products, or services you have to offer? Is it best to go with a corporate voice, or will that sound too robotic and disaffected to attract any real genuine followers? Is it better to choose a casual voice, or will that turn prospective customers and clients away from my business and brand online?

Asking yourself questions while brainstorming the voice for your brand can help you to determine which style of voice is more appropriate and why. Take time to research brand voices that are aligned with the type of brand image you desire for your own online presence with your Instagram account and other social media platforms.

7. Find your brand’s aesthetic

Your brand's aesthetic, or its visual appeal, should also be considered when developing your Instagram presence and creating social media accounts. When you think of top brands such as Starbucks, McDonald's, or Apple, you can likely immediately picture the brand's logos and/or color schemes in your mind's eye. Choosing your brand's aesthetic, color scheme, and visual presentation is an important step to cultivating a successful Instagram account and social media following.

8. Work with brand advocates, partners, and sponsors

From launching Instagram ads of your own to working with brand partners, advocates, and sponsors, there are plenty of opportunities to spread the word about your Instagram with a bit of brainstorming and creativity. If you are thinking of expanding your reach online and with the use of Instagram, you can do so by reaching out to brand advocates, sponsors, and partners to inquire about potential working opportunities. Developing partnerships and even guest-posting opportunities is a great way to promote one another using Instagram.

9. Skip bots and avoid fake Instagram followers

There are plenty of online resources and tools available for attracting and generating Instagram followers today. However, it is important to avoid these as much as possible, as many of them simply generate bots or cause bots to follow accounts. To avoid fake Instagram followers, stick to generating organic interest and followers from those who have a genuine interest in the type of content, products, or services you create and have available to offer.

10. Display your Instagram link everywhere

If you want to expand your online reach and viability, you can do so by displaying your Instagram link everywhere. Share your Instagram link in your own profiles and bios while also sharing your Instagram link in emails you send that are relative to your business. You can also share your Instagram link on other social media platforms as well as on your official website or blog itself.

11. Connect your Instagram with other social media platforms

Another way to streamline your social media attention is to connect your Instagram account with other social media platforms, such as Facebook, Snapchat, Pinterest, and even Twitter. Adding a link to your Instagram account to other social media pages that you have built and developed for your brand is one of the best ways to boost your brand's overall reach online. Sharing links to an official page or social media account on an existing platform will not only help to boost the search engine optimization of your website itself, but it will also help virtual spiders to crawl your social media and relative pages as well.

12. Include your Instagram links and connections on your official website

If you have an official website or blog for your brand, you should also include your Instagram links as well as other social media links on the official website itself. Implement your Instagram link into the navigation of your website in order for the link to appear each time a user browses a new page on your site, even if they leave the homepage. You can also incorporate your Instagram link into the header or footer of your website, depending on your website's layout or theme for similar results.

13. Content is still king

Content is still king, even if it is considered social media content. Regularly updating your website's blog, homepage, as well as your social media accounts is essential to attract more followers on Instagram and elsewhere online. When users feel as if they are always being provided with useful, fresh, and informative content, they are more likely to follow your account or visit your website again in the future.

If you are unsure of the type of content you should create, spend time researching popular and trending accounts as well as popular topics in your niche or market. You can also use various keyword research tools to determine which keywords and phrases in your target market are currently trending and driving the most traffic to social media accounts and official websites. Spend time researching popular hashtags and relevant keywords that are also currently trending on Instagram to ensure you are properly tagging all of your posts and updates before publishing them live.

14. Communicate and engage with your followers

If you want to attain true success online with your business and brand, you will need to communicate and engage with your followers. Whenever you receive a comment on your Instagram post, consider "liking" the response or even directly engaging with it by responding publicly with a comment. When new users see that your Instagram account actually responds to and engages with its audience, they will be much more interested in following your Instagram as well. Communicating and engaging with followers is also a great way to build trust and a positive reputation between your brand itself and your prospective customers or clients.

15. Ask questions

If you want to learn more about your audience and the users who currently follow your Instagram account or are interested in your updates, simply ask. Asking questions of your audience of followers is a great way to receive genuine and honest feedback. You can also ask questions to get to know more about the users who are interested in your brand and why they return to your page. By asking questions, you may also receive feedback that can be useful for future posts, updates, and even products or services you promote.

If possible, launch polls on your official website and include links to your Instagram page as well as other social media platforms you want to promote.

16. Host contests and giveaways

Hosting contests and giveaways is one of the quickest ways to attract attention when building and developing an online presence, regardless of the market or industry you are in. Hosting contests and giveaways with appropriate hashtags can also drastically increase the number of followers your Instagram account has and the amount of traffic your page receives.

By offering contests and giveaways with real prizes, you will attract new users and prospective followers who may otherwise have found your Instagram page or brand. It is important to keep in mind that hosting contests and giveaways for all users on Instagram does not always guarantee genuine followers, as contests and giveaways have the ability to attract a much wider audience that is not as focused or as targeted as the audience you intend to appeal to regularly.

You can choose to offer branded products as prizes to help increase brand awareness and visibility, even among your non-traditional audience.

17. Listen to feedback

One of the most important aspects of building a business or brand online today is the ability to listen to criticism and feedback from users and prospective customers or clients. Allowing your followers to share input and feedback can help significantly when it comes to making positive changes to your business model in the future. Feedback can help you to determine which path is appropriate to take based on the type of needs and demands your user base has and what they want to see from you in the future.

18. Implement changes as you grow

Once you become comfortable with receiving feedback from your followers and even your current customers, you can then begin to implement changes as you grow your business and how you operate it. Changes can be great for any business or brand, especially one that operates online and with the use of social media. Listening to the feedback you receive from loyal customers and followers is a way for you to find ways to improve how you operate your business and brand image online for the better.

19. Cross-post on various social media accounts to maximize your online reach

Cross-posting on various social media platforms can significantly impact your overall reach. When you create a social post that can be shared on multiple platforms, you can easily double, triple, or even quadruple the number of views you receive over time. Taking the time to cross-post on multiple social media accounts for your brand or business is highly recommended, especially if you are just getting started on Instagram or with social media accounts of your own.

If you do not want to take the time to cross-post manually on different social media accounts, you can also use various management suites and tools such as Hootsuite to help you get started. Automated solutions can drastically reduce the time required in order to maintain your online presence, especially with numerous social media accounts that require simultaneous updating.

20. Make interacting with your followers a priority

One of the most important aspects of running successful social media platforms is engagement and interactions with followers. Make interacting with your Instagram followers a top priority to help maintain the interest in your brand and to encourage others to spread the word about your business and brand and what it has to offer. The more engaged you are with your Instagram followers, the more likely users are to visit your website or browse the products and services you provide.

With an all-in-one solution such as Mailchimp, you can incorporate your Instagram links and posts directly into newsletters while utilizing Mailchimp's marketing tools to optimize each campaign you launch. Mailchimp's marketing platform is one of the best tools on the market today to help with building and expanding an online social media following.

Building a thriving Instagram following can open up doors to new sponsorship, partnership, and follower opportunities. With a thriving social media presence, maximize your online reach and ability to appeal to prospective followers and customers in any market or industry. Taking the time to familiarize yourself with social media platforms such as Instagram can have a significant impact on how much success you are able to achieve with your business and brand online.