Gaining followers on Instagram is the desire of nine out of ten users of the social network. A few simple actions can help increase the number of followers organically.
We’ve put together 9 tips that help you gain Instagram followers for free. And, of break, still collaborate to improve your engagement on the platform.
How to Gain Instagram Followers
Table of Contents
Reels
Reels is Instagram’s video creation and editing tool of up to 90 seconds. This content is displayed in your own feed, which can be accessed from the bottom menu of the social network app.
The platform’s algorithm favors the visualization of content of interest to users, who are exposed to profiles that follow and do not follow.
According to social media tools service Hootsuite, people spend about 20% of their time on Instagram watching Reels. Therefore, creating your own Reels is one of the main ways to interact and gain new followers today.
Create strategic content
Make sure you create content that is not only of quality, but also strategic. Easily shareable posts increase the chances of getting noticed and, consequently, of gaining new followers.
Memes of the moment, inspiring phrases, must-see tips, carousel with informative content are some of the formats that usually work well. But, of course, it is important that they are aligned with the proposal of your profile and the interest of your followers.
Use the right #hashtags
Using the right hashtags (#) makes it easier for your content to be found by those who search for it. Although Instagram allows up to 30 hashtags per post, there is no consensus among experts on the optimal amount.
The social network itself, in its @creators profile, suggests the use of 3 to 5 tags. It also states that using too many will not help distribute more of your content.
But social media management platform Later indicates the opposite. After analyzing more than 18 million posts, it found that a post’s reach rate increases by 11% when the number of hashtags changes from one to 30.
Therefore, the ideal is to test and understand which strategy works best for you. It is also worth following some important tips:
- Don’t choose generic hashtags, used by millions of people daily. With them, it is likely that your post will be lost among the others.
- Prefer popular hashtags in a specific niche. It’s easier to find with the hashtag #loveislove (50 million uses), in support of the LGBTQIAP+ cause, than just #love (2 billion uses), for example.
- Many influencers prefer to use hashtags in the first comment of the post. In addition to making the caption visually less polluted, the action allows you to take advantage of all the characters for the description of the content.
Perfect the caption
Make no mistake: Instagram isn’t just about photos and videos. What the user writes matters – and a lot. One of the criteria used by the social network to select the posts displayed in the results of keyword searches are the terms used in the caption.
Therefore, try to use the words of interest to your target audience, especially at the beginning of the text. Thus, it increases the chances of being found by the platform’s search tool.
In addition, subtitles allow you to expand the proximity to followers. It is possible to delve into the process of creating a project or product, cite curiosities or complement the information of the image.
Use the geolocation feature
Instagram’s geolocation feature allows you to indicate where you are or where the registration was made. Using this tool is another opportunity to increase the visibility of your profile.
After all, it is possible to make specific searches for locations in the app. In the result, only the publications that added the searched location to the post are displayed.
Thus, those who search for a city, neighborhood, square or commercial establishment can find your post, Reels and IGTV. All you have to do is mark the location in your posts.
Post every day
There is no consensus on the minimum or ideal amount of posts, but experts reinforce the importance of publishing content constantly.
Research from social media management service Tailwind shows that Instagram profiles that post daily gain followers four times faster than those that post once or less per week.
Although it is essential to post regularly, it is equally important to create relevant and quality content for your followers that generates engagement and shares. Don’t post just to make number, okay?
Choose a good username
The username is one of the ways people can find your profile on Instagram. Choose, preferably, a simple name that is easily understood and has less chance of typos.
If possible, include keywords, which indicate what type of content you produce. This increases the possibility of your profile being found by those who search for your terms of interest. Below, we’ve put together some examples:
- Makeup profiles: @makesbybrenda, @tatmake
- Revenue profiles: @receitasdeminuto, @receitasdepai, @culinaria_lowcarb
- Physical activity profiles: @emilyskyefit, @personalvictor, @corridaforte
If it’s a personal content profile, just your name might suffice. The list of the world’s most followed users shows the tendency to use first and last name, nickname or just the first name, when possible.
- Cristiano Ronaldo, football player (over 480 million followers): @cristiano
- Kylie Jenner, influencer and entrepreneur (over 370 million followers): @kyliejenner
- Lionel Messi, football player (over 360 million followers): @leomessi
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Make the most of Bio
The Instagram Bio is the place where you can describe, in up to 150 characters, what followers will find on your profile. Make the most of this space and, once again, don’t forget about keywords.
The Minute Recipes cooking profile is a good example of what to do. Only through Bio, the user understands that, there, he can learn to cook easy and economical recipes, in short and well-explained videos.
If your account is a business account, try to use all the available fields, in addition to the description field. Include the link to your website (if you have one) and enter contact options such as email or phone.
Find out the best time for you to post
Until recently, social media experts set the best days of the week and times to post on Instagram. Currently, the orientation has changed. The suggestion is that each creator understands the behavior of their own audience.
For this, you must post various content, at different times of the day. That is, publish photos, carousel of images, videos, stories, Reels and IGTV, in the morning, afternoon and evening.
This way, you can understand which format your audience is most interested in. And also on which days and times your followers are most active.
To help with this assessment, Instagram offers, for users of business accounts, a metrics tool called Insights. With it, you can analyze data such as engagement by post type, filtering the time interval.
It is also possible to know information about the range, impressions and saves. As well as the amount of comments, shares, likes, followers and interactions.
