Whether you start with zero followers or already have over 10,000 magical followers. It’s not an overnight trip for anyone on Instagram. (Unless you buy followers, which we’ve already explained is a bad idea.)
Instagram is known for providing the highest level of engagement for businesses and brands, with an average of 2-7% of followers interacting with each post. But it’s not just dance memes and cute photos that will increase your company’s sales.
Follow over step by step to get your 1000 Instagram followers.
1. Complete your biography:
This may seem obvious, BUT you would be surprised how many people create an account and don’t fill out their bio or account information.
It is the first impression a potential new follower makes and the deciding factor in whether they follow your account or move on to the next one! Therefore, when creating your account, be sure to fill out ALL sections.
l Enter your first and last name. It should be your brand so that it is easily recognizable.
l Complete your biography. This should let people know what you offer.
l Use your logo as your profile photo (unless you are your own brand, in which case use your own photo)
l Enter your link– There are several strategies for this, use the one that works best for you.
2. Connect with friends and family:
When registering your new business account, check which of your relatives and friends are already on the platform and follow them! Search your contact list on Facebook or post on other social media platforms where you have an Instagram account.
When you follow one of your friends, they will receive a notification that you are following them, and hopefully, they will follow you too. Friends and family will be your first followers.
3. Be Consistent:
Where social media algorithms control who sees your content, the more consistent you are, the more likely your followers are to see your posts and non-followers will see them on the hashtags they follow.
Post regularly to your feed, stories, and reels. The more quality content you share, the more people will enjoy and engage with it. The more people interact with your post, the higher it will appear in your followers’ feeds.
By posting regularly, you are constantly on the radar of your followers and at the same time in the spotlight of your ideal customers. If you don’t post for a while, you will no longer appear in other people’s feeds, and even if you start posting again, you may lose connection with some of your followers (remember: not everyone sees not all posts; you view posts on different accounts with the most engagement).
Be consistent with your posts, even if they only appear a few times a week. Don’t try to run a marathon on the first day or you’ll burn out quickly.
4. Start a Conversation:
Determining the content is only the first step. Next, you’ll want to talk to your followers to give them more context about how your content adds value to them. The easy way? Ask them a question! Something simple, but an open question in the post. I LOVE asking questions and researching stories. Followers love interacting with them and it’s an easy way to start a conversation.
Your engagement may be low at first, but keep asking, then people will start responding and you’ll find out what appeals to them most.
One way to increase engagement is to interact with other accounts. In most cases, when you interact with someone else’s channel, that person will start following you and interacting with your content!
Remember: If you want to connect with someone, you can send them a private message to introduce yourself and tell them what you like about their content. Yes, it may take some time, but it’s a way to make real connections.
5. Use Hashtags:
Hashtags can help people find you. By using popular hashtags you can appear in search results and others will easily find you! Instagram allows you to add a maximum of 30 hashtags, so use as many as possible in all your posts. Look for hashtags that match the topic, industry, and company you’re posting about.
Any advice to avoid having to enter hashtags for every post? Find a list of 10-15 hashtags related to your business that you want to add regularly. Write them in a note or document and then copy and paste them into your IG post if necessary.
Using hashtags in your stories and videos can definitely help! Some of the ones I use regularly are: #Halifax #SocialMediaMarketing #SocialMediaConsultant #SmallBusiness #KASocialMedia
6. Using the coils:
The reels were mentioned above, but the Holy Moley reels are top-notch and are working great at the moment! Reels’ reach is crazy compared to everything else on Instagram.
This is not an official word from Instagram, but it seems that the algorithm is making a big difference these days and is currently giving more visibility to recordings and videos in general.
For a complete overview of the pros and cons of Reels, Stories, and more, check out my blog post here. Reel videos are 15-30 seconds of educational, thought-provoking, or entertaining entertainment. Many of my clients and students find that coils have a HUGE impact on their overall range.
7. Create educational or entertaining carousels:
Since Instagram only allows you to post a maximum of 10 photos per post, carousels are a great way to tell your story or host a mini-lesson on an educational topic without having to publish multiple posts on the same day.
The advantage of creating carousels over stories is that it makes it easier for followers to save and reshare your posts. These must be tagged or screenshotted along with your story to be shared and will also disappear after 24 hours. By having the information right in your feed, it’s easier to share and has a long shelf life once shared.
No matter what you create online as a small business/brand, make sure your posts provide value to your customers or prospects so that they want to click the follow button.
8. Remove fake accounts that follow you:
You might think that this won’t affect your account because it’s better to have a lot of followers than fewer, but resist that idea. Remember, more engagement = more reach, which can mean more new followers.
If your followers are fake, it means they are not engaging with your content, which reduces your reach and exposes you to potential new followers. Lower engagement tells the algorithm that your content has no value and therefore won’t be shown to potential new followers, which is ultimately the last thing you want.
I recently deleted over 1,000 followers that I no longer interact with or follow. So get into the habit of checking your followers and deleting fake accounts or accounts you no longer need. Just click “Delete.” Button. Fake accounts are usually quite obvious due to their name/follower name, lack of content, and usually the lack of a bio or photo.
Durability and Quality:
Overall, it is important to have a strategy or theme for your channel so that the overall aesthetic is appealing and inviting. We know that new followers or potential followers look at your last 9 posts (i.e. your grid) to determine whether or not they want to follow you. Can anyone tell me what you are doing or what to expect based on your last 9 posts?
Does the color palette match? Are they just selfies?
Is it everywhere already? Are you using the same font? Although it can be frustrating to slowly build an authentic audience on Instagram, know that you are not alone! It takes constant work to get even the first 1,000 followers.
But once you get your first $1,000, the next $1,000 will be easier! If you focus on continually creating high-quality content, you’ll be well on your way to reaching your first 1,000,000 followers.
