This Free Guide Shows You How!
If you are wondering how to get more followers on Instagram you’re in the right place, as not only have I got a free guide for you to show you exactly how to get them which you can grab right here, but I’m also going to be telling you how keep them once you’ve got them.
Having followers is still important although the game has changed since I first began marketing on social media and here’s why…
It used to be the case that the more followers you had the more people got to see your content – and that meant everyone went crazy to build huge audiences.
With more people using the platforms and more people having huge audiences it became almost impossible to get anything in front of your audience unless they were constantly liking and commenting on your posts – which they do far less often than you might think.
So algorithms had to be used to help control the feed and decide who got to see what and then this happened…
People’s reach fell off a cliff almost overnight. Where they used to get 1,000 views of their posts they were now getting 10 or 20 views – people got upset and angry, especially the marketers as their promotions were now reaching almost no one.
Many tried other means of marketing their goods and services but many more stuck with it and tried to figure out what the algorithms were looking for and how they decided who to show our content to.
This is the conclusion we came to (which is backed up by evidence but honestly, even the people who built the algorithms don’t really know how they work) so here’s our best guess and my advice to you if you want to build a solid audience and get more followers on Instagram.
How to get the right followers on Instagram
How to get more followers on Instagram – but the “right” followers
After many years of battling with the algorithms this is what we bloggers and online marketers have learned.
- The algorithms love content that engages
- The algorithms show your content to people who they feel will be most interested in it
- The algorithms show your content to those who’ve liked or commented on it previously
Now let’s look at each of those things in a little more detail so that you can build your audience and get more of the “right” kind of followers for your Instagram account.
First, engagement. When you put out a post and it gets lots of engagement the algorithms determine this to be a good post. They assume that because people are liking and commenting on it that the content must be good.
Of course this is not necessarily the case and some people comment because they disagree strongly with the content and feel they must speak up. But the algorithms have to have something to go on, and this, for now at least, seems to be what they look for.
This is roughly what happens when you publish a post.
The post is shown initially to members of your audience who have engaged with your content in the past and also it will be shown to a few random people who have shown an interest in similar content.
If it gets likes and comments it will be shown to more people across the platform.
If they like and comment on it it will be shown to even more people – and so on.
If, however, you publish a post and it doesn’t get much engagement, the post is unlikely to be shown to more than around 10% of your audience (and that’s if you’re lucky).
To get more engagement you need to get followers on Instagram that are interested in what you have to say. They are more likely to like or comment on something if it resonates with them or they feel it speaks to them directly about something that interests, concerns, excites or troubles them.
So, if you are going to get more followers on Instagram you need them to be people who are interested in what you are talking about in your content or selling in your offers.
In other words, you need to get ONLY your ideal customers to follow your Instagram account.
How to get ONLY your ideal customers to follow you on Instagram is explained in detail in the guide and even has screen shots of what you need to do and how to do it. Grab your copy right here.
Keeping your followers is key to growth
How to keep your audience once you’ve got them
Most platforms encourage you to keep following the people you connect with, but not so with Instagram!
Instagram actively encourages follow/unfollow practices because it limits the amount of people you can follow to 7,500.
Most people who use Instagram have figured out that the best way to get someone to follow you is to follow them. There is a very reciprocal approach on Instagram whereby if you follow someone, they are pretty likely to follow you back (it’s kind of etiquette for Instagram users).
So if you can only follow 7,500 people and let’s say 5,000 of those follow you back that’s it, that’s as big as your account can grow – quickly at least, of course you will still be able to grow your account by people sharing your content with others and them then following you because they like what they see.
There is also this thing on Instagram which suggests that if you have 2,000 followers but your are following 4,500 people your account is probably not that good as the only reason you have that many followers is because you yourself are following so many people.
Can you see the catch 22 here?
At some point you will have to start un-following people if you want to maintain your credibility and be taken seriously.
So how can you keep your followers once you have them?
Fail to plan, plan to fail
Create a great content strategy
The best way to keep followers is to keep giving them what they want.
Having content that speaks to them about things that interest them, inspire them, educate them, entertain them or supports them in some way is a sure fire way of keeping their attention.
Think of how you use social media. Would you un-follow someone who was keeping you entertained, educating you on a subject you are interested in or inspiring you to take action?
Your audience are just like you. As long as you keep giving them what they want they will stick around for more.
Having a strategy can help you do this. A strategy is simply a plan, something you follow to ensure your success.
Your strategy should include the following:
- The type of content you will share with your audience
- The format the content will take
- The subjects you will cover
- The action you want them to take after consuming the content
- The reason for the post
Let’s now examine each of those things and figure out how this can apply to your business.
Your content needs to connect
What content is good to share with your Instagram audience?
Instagram is a visual platform and this means people love a good image.
Think about how you can present your images so that your audience knows it’s you the second they see it on their feed. This could be by creating a simple template to put your images in. You can use tools such as Canva.com or Photoshop to do this.
Remember that many people are liking the image and not even reading the post, so it’s a good idea to include text in the image to get across an important point or to encourage a certain action such as clicking a link.
Videos are a great way to get your message across in a more personal way on Instagram and people feel more like they know you if they see you in videos.
Reels are huge on Instagram. These are short little video clips that can be anything from 15 seconds to over a minute long and they are given way more reach than anything else on the platform right now, which means more people will get to see your posts and more views = more leads = more sales.
The text in your post should do one of the following 5 things:
- Inform
- Inspire
- Educate
- Entertain
- Promote
Think about your ideal customer and what they would want to know about. Maybe use an industry statistic or a case study here
What do you think would inspire them? Think of what it is they are trying to achieve, what is their secret desire and what would inspire them to take the next step towards achieving it?
What do they need to learn? For example: if you are yoga teacher what would your audience need to know before they joined their first yoga class?
How can you entertain them? Think of funny gifs, YouTube videos, podcasts etc that you know they will relate to. Share the links to these things in your content.
You also need to remember that you are on social media to make sales and the only way you will do this is if you promote your goods and/or services. What can you use to entice them to leave you an email address or what offers can you run to encourage them to buy your product?
The more ways to reach your audience the better
What format should my content take?
We have already talked about images and videos but there are many ways to share your content.
Video – this is a great way for your audience to get to know you better and should be a part of your strategy.
Audio – many people are listening to podcasts now so you may want to include audio versions of your blogs and posts as part of your content strategy
Static – the good old fashioned static posts with an image and some text are still a popular way of sharing your ideas.
Gifs – these are always well received and are a fun way to get your message across
Reels – these short video clips are great for getting more reach on Instagram
Stories – these stick around for 24 hours then disappear but they are promoted to your audience so should be a part of your content strategy
What you eventually choose as your staple content format will be determined by what you audience likes. If you get more engagement from videos then use more videos, if your static posts do better then do more of those.
The point is that you need to appeal to as many people as possible so that you increase your reach and therefore your potential to make sales so the more ways you can share your content the better.
What subjects should I cover?
Think about the topics your audience are interested in. For example; my audience is interested in:
- How to get followers on Instagram
- How to create a social media strategy
- How to promote their business without having to spend all day on social media
- How to create content that encourages engagement
- How to increase their turnover
- How to generate a 2nd income stream for their business
- How to create a passive income
These are all topics I can cover in my content and I can create many different posts out of each one of those things I’ve mentioned above – do you know how many posts I’ve created on how to grow your audience on Instagram? Many
Having a call to action will help you grow more quickly
What do you want them to do next?
What action do you want your followers to take after consuming your content?
You may want them to join your Facebook group, visit your blog, buy a product or opt in for a lead magnet.
Each post should inspire and encourage them to take some kind of action and you should be viewing your social media as a way of growing your business.
If you have a Facebook group you may want them to join it so that you can get to know them better and they can get to know you better.
If you have a blog you may want them to visit it and subscribe to your newsletter.
If you have a lead magnet you should absolutely be encouraging them to sign up for it because then you have their email address and can keep in touch with them over a long period of time so that they don’t forget about you. It’s also a great way to build a relationship with them and people buy from those they know, like and trust.
Knowing why your posting will keep you focused on the results you want
What is the reason for your post?
Each post should have a reason. You should know why you are posting it and what you want the follower to do next. Posting for the sake of posting is not going to help you build your business.
Your post should be doing one of the five things mentioned earlier but it should be helping you to build your business, generate leads and increase your sales.
Before you create each post think about what you want it to say, how it fits into the five things above and how it’s going to help you build relationships, generate leads and increase sales.
Having a clear reason for your post will mean that you are more focused and this in turn will make you look more professional to your audience.
All you need to know, all in one place.
What’s in the free “how to get more followers on Instagram” guide?
- How to build an audience of engaged followers
- How to find your ideal customer on Instagram
- How to get them to follow you in the fastest way possible
- Plus how you can start to get Instagram working for you and generating leads in just 5 days!
How do I get my free copy of the guide?
Simply complete the form below to request your copy