NEVER GIVE UP

We’ve been talking lately about how exactly to boost your business marketing with Instagram. Contrary to what lots of people still believe, Instagram isn’t only a fun app where one can post food, holiday and family pics.

Instagram has turned into a powerful brand-building, audience-building and content-marketing tool for businesses. It has over 200 million active monthly members sharing 60 million images and 1.6 billion likes per day.

A note of caution: there are plenty of people on the market who promise to cultivate your Instagram followers by the thousands, but beware. Many of them use fake accounts developed by bots to inflate your numbers.

These kinds of followers have zero value. In fact, they can even be dangerous, attempting to steal your password or photos or infect you with a virus.

In line with the data security company Imperva, these bad bots take into account 28.9 per cent of bots on Instagram.

followers instagram The easiest method to build your Instagram followers is by being authentic to your brand as well as your audience.

Here are 3 tips to help you to get real Instagram followers:

Tell a tale with Hashtags

It’s great to use your organization name as a hashtag, but you need to think beyond that.

In order to use your Instagram posts to get followers, use other hashtags that tell the story of the image you’re sharing. You would like to start a conversation when you’re sharing posts for things like:

Events

Promotions

Contests

Product launches

A good example of a brandname would you this well is @Tostitos. They use the hashtag #GetTogetherAlready to encourage people to gather and share their chips, and also to use the hashtag when they share photos of these meetups.

Through the use of engaging, relevant hashtags, you may be discovered in Instagram searches and hopefully build up followers on Instagram.

Get Creative

Instagram is all about photos, so many people think of the caption as an afterthought.

Don’t neglect the image caption! You can generate engagement and promote sharing by using descriptive words that will engage, inspire and entertain your followers.

Here are some suggestions to help you build up followers on Instagram with your posts:

Use questions in your caption. Write your question at the start of the post in order that people see it first.

Get personal together with your post. Tell a story about yourself, or how your product helped or inspired another person.

Ask visitors to tag others. Asking visitors to tag three of their close friends or tagging someone they are grateful for brings other potential followers in to the equation.

A great example of a brandname that does personal posts well is the @NatGeo Instagram account.

They create breathtaking Instagram Stories with informative captions to educate the user on the plight of animals all over the world.

Remember with regards to using Instagram posts to get followers, it’s all about being authentic. Avoid questions atlanta divorce attorneys single post or tell a personal story that isn’t genuine.

Go Local

One of the best methods to build your Instagram followers is to get to know your neighbours!

Whether you’re creating Instagram ads or want to promote your event in a specific area, you can see what’s going on near you by visiting the search page and clicking on the Places tab.

Type in the location to start to see the geotagged posts for that area. Then visit relevant and recent tagged posts – not those of competing businesses, obviously – and leave a comment or even an emoji and follow the person if you like what you see. Hopefully, this is the start of an organic interaction.

For example, if you offer life coaching services, you can type in your location accompanied by “entrepreneurs.” Local entrepreneurs could be looking for more work and life balance or help with life goals or career challenges.

Similarly, in case you have a physical location that people have checked into on Instagram, comment on those posters’ pictures to ensure they’re alert to your Instagram presence, and then follow them.

These are the best methods to build Instagram followers the right way: no bots, no shortcuts, just tried and true ways to build relationships your audience and turn them into followers!

Susan Friesen, founder of the award-winning web development and digital marketing firm eVision Media, is a Web Specialist, Business & Marketing Consultant, and Social Media Advisor. She works together with entrepreneurs who struggle with having the lack of knowledge, skill and support needed to create their online business presence.