- Only Post The Best Photos!
When you start out with a new Instagram account, you should take the time to gather 10 to 20 photos that you really like. These photos will be your base portfolio. You can use these photos to catch the attention of other Instagrammers which will start you on the path to more followers.
If you’ve been using Instagram as a convenient place to share photos on Foursquare, Twitter, and Facebook, you’ll need to change perspective and start posting more high-quality images. In fact, you may want to go through your previous photos and deleting the ones that you don’t want as part of your portfolio. You don’t want to be represented by your “not so pretty” past.
- Stop Spamming Us!
Even if you have 10 to 20 photos to start your portfolio, you don’t want to post them all at the same time. Try to spread them out over a few days. You don’t want to spam the users that are following you with a bunch of new images.
If you have tons of photos to share because you’re on a roll with your new iPhone always remember to only post the best. Review all of your photos before posting them and make sure they fit in with the rest of the images in your portfolio.
- Spread the Love
When it comes time to post your 2 to 4 images for the day, remember you don’t want to post them all at the same time. While it may be easy to get it all out the way while you’re on your lunch break, it’s not the best way to do it.
Instagram is a global social community. The busiest time of day for your American followers, certainly won’t be the same as the busiest time for your Asian followers.
Try to spread your posts out by at least 2 hours. By staggering your posts, you can begin to see the habits of your followers. You can even discover the best and worse times to post.
- Don’t Post When Your Followers are Sleeping
If you post during your followers’ active times, you’ll get more comments and likes in the shortest amount of time. That may be exactly what your photos need to push it onto the popular page.
As your follower base increases, the number of likes you get in a short period of time becomes less important. At that point, the number of followers you have can generate that same snowball effect.
- Geo-Tag Your Photos
Instagram offers their users the change to geo-tag where a photo was taken.
By tagging a location, you give other Instagrammers who live or are visiting that location the chance to view your photo. There’s a chance that a person will want to keep updated on that location and may follow you as a result.
- Sell Your Account
One of the easiest and quickest ways to gain followers is to share your Instagram account with people in your other social media sites.
You can blog, post, and tweet about your Instagram account to your other followers. This may lead some people to go your account to view your photos and start following you.
I use Instapress on my blog to showcase my latest Instagram postings.
- Start Following People
One of the best ways to get followers is to follow other people. The people you follow will notice you and may decide to check you out.
I try only to follow people who have great images or who take the time to interact with my followers and me with meaningful comments. Vibbi can be a good tool to help you do more of this and get more followers and people to follow.
- Leave Meaningful Comments and Feedback
While most people welcome comments like “Cool,” “Cute,” or “Nice,” they don’t really help you get noticed by others.
Instead, you should leave a comment that requires a reply. For example, you might say “I love the scenery, where is that?” or “Stunning image, which filter did you use to get that look?”
Many Instagrammers will take the time to answer you and will likely visit your portfolio. If you have good images, they are likely to become one of your followers.
- Be Active with the Right Audience
Don’t spend too much time on the Popular page. By the time a person has made it to the popular page, they’re well established and are less likely to follow you or check out your portfolio.
Instead, look for a “micro-community” within Instagram. #JJ community with @joshjohnson is one of the most popular. It’s made up of people like you, who want to find new followers and other folks to follow. You can tag all of your photos with #JJ and make sure to follow @joshjohnson’s 123 rule: For every one photo you post, comment on two and like three.
While looking for new followers, don’t forget to stay connected to your existing follower base. Watch your feed, leave meaningful feedback, thank people who have commented on your photos, and “like” photos from the people you’re following.
That’s all I have to share for the time being about increasing your Instagram followers. After all, I’m still learning myself. I hope to hear more about your experience on Instagram. So, feel free to leave a comment below.
Sudheer Kiran is a digital marketing consultant & co-founder of the digital marketing agency DigitalVow that offers digital marketing services to small and medium-sized enterprises. He is passionate on covering topics like marketing, startups and entrepreneurship.
