Getting Your First 1000 Instagram Followers
Today, Instagram is more than just another social networking site. It has become a tastemaker in itself.
Restaurant owners and cafes are evidently becoming bolder when it comes to their interiors, with the hopes of drawing more people in with their “insta-worthy” ambiance. This trend is proof that gaining online attention on a platform like Instagram can be good for business.
Gaining attention on social media doesn’t come easily to most up-and-coming brands. Often, they have a hard time gaining those first few followers that would give them a credible presence online.
Earning your first 1,000 followers on Instagram can be a challenge. Many brands don’t have the patience nor the time to wait on organic growth.
Luckily, we’ve collected a few tips that can help you gain those first few followers a lot faster. Find out how you can gain your first 1,000 Instagram followers without breaking a sweat below.
Find Someone Who Gets the Platform
Many brands have promising Instagram growth strategies but they usually fail at following through. They fail to put their strategy into action consistently because they usually don't have the manpower to solely focus on Instagram alone.
Small and independent brand owners usually wear many hats, from managing social media to taking care of all business operations. Having one person do all of the tasks may sound like a good way to save on overhead costs but that usually means things fall through the cracks at times.
This lack of focus makes it so difficult for some brands to gain a solid following on Instagram. If you feel like you have too much on your plate and you don’t have the time nor the energy to focus on Instagram, you should consider hiring a social media manager.
Colourpop is a popular independent cosmetics brand that’s native to Instagram. This company has focused on marketing their products on Instagram and Instagram alone. As a result of their efforts, they’ve become one of the most coveted and recognizable brands in beauty today.
A social media manager is someone who can dedicate all of their energy and time to finding ways to grow your credibility on Instagram. They can focus on organically and rapidly increasing your Instagram following as you take care of the more important aspects of your business.
Amp the Quality of Your Posts
Instagram is a tasteful platform that has high standards when it comes to content. If you want to start drawing a lot of people to your account, you need to publish high-quality posts.
You should be careful about publishing content on Instagram. Focus on producing quality content versus quantity because, at the end of the day, people on Instagram just want to see stunning photos.
Letterfolk is another independent brand on Instagram who focuses on posting captivating images. Through stunning visuals, they’re able to showcase what their product has to offer.
Instead of focusing on just your products or services, try to come up with posts that appeal to people’s emotions. Being more creative about how you position your brand will help you improve the quality of your content.
There are also a number of editing and photography tools you can use to polish your images and videos without spending a lot of money. You should take the time to find free and paid tools online that can help you amp the quality of your posts.
Use Hashtags to Your Advantage
Hashtags are powerful search phrases that do more than just create easy search indexes. They are your gateway to valuable data that can help you further strengthen your strategy and gain more followers.
Using relevant hashtags in your caption boosts your post’s visibility to highly-targeted users. You can also use hashtags to gain insight on what your target audience wants to see and what your competitors are doing.
No Your City is a popup brand on Instagram that posts eye-catching images of New York City. They curate the images using their signature hashtag #NoYourCity. Their hashtag not only strengthens their branding but helps them find user generated content.
Invest some of your energy in finding the right hashtags for your niche. Use them on all your posts and run a search on them to see what people are using them for.
Put Some Thought Into Your Captions
Some people and brands look at Instagram as just a photo sharing platform and, as a result, they fail to see the importance of crafting the perfect caption.
Captions are just as important as images. You need to use them to seal the deal and turn passers-by into loyal followers.
An effective visual marketing strategy is one that fully translates a brand message using various mediums.
The Coffee Bean may not be the most popular coffee shop on your block but they know how to craft the perfect caption that evokes a strong emotion. In our opinion, their captions are crafted just right to capture the attention of the large crowd of Starbucks-loving Instagram users.
If images alone are not giving you the traction you think you deserve, put some thought into your captions. Use text to add depth to your visual storytelling strategy.
Follow Other People
To gain followers on Instagram, you need to proactively reach out to your ideal followers by following them first.
When you follow Instagram users, they might return the favor and follow you back. By following other users, you're putting yourself on their immediate radar – you're making yourself more visible to a highly-targeted audience.
When following other users, be as selective as possible. New and unverified accounts on Instagram are only allowed to follow a maximum of 7,600 users, and this threshold only increases as your following grows.
Buy Followers
Instagram is a fast-paced social networking site. In order for brands like yourself to stay relevant on the platform, you need to grow your presence as quickly as possible.
One of the ways you can quickly grow your following is by purchasing high-quality Instagram followers from a reputable provider. A respectable amount of bought followers can give you a large amount of seemingly credible social proof that can help you draw in organic followers.
Only purchase Instagram followers from tried and tested providers to ensure you get your money’s worth. Trust only a provider that can offer you transparent warranties and responsive customer support.
Post Consistently
One of the keys to succeeding on Instagram is consistency. You have to stick to your strategy for as long as possible and as consistently as possible before you can expect to see results.
Alternative Apparel is a sustainable clothing brand that's committed to publishing at least one new post a day. By being a stickler to a schedule, they're able to stay relevant as a brand to their followers.
Be consistent with everything on Instagram, from your posting schedule to your brand persona. By being consistent, you’re improving your chances of being remembered by other users.
Invest in Engagement
Rather than treating Instagram as a photo sharing platform, you should begin looking at it as a community. Instagram is a platform where you can connect with loyal and potential customers on a more personal level.
If you’re new to Instagram, you can easily engage and respond to your followers without being overwhelmed. You should use the comment section to establish a more personal relationship with your followers.
The more you respond to your followers, the more credible and approachable you seem. Nurturing a positive and reliable image on Instagram can help you win over more followers in the long run.
Analyze & Boost Your Best Performing Content
If your current Instagram marketing strategy is exhausting you then you’re doing something wrong. Succeeding on Instagram is not about slaving over every post, it’s about wisely executing your strategy from start to finish.
Now that you have a few posts uploaded to your feed, you can begin analyzing which among them gets the most attention. You can take your best performing post and use it for your sponsored ads.
Instagram Ads allow you to reach out to highly-targeted users who are already interested in the type of content you produce. You can customize the filters and choose what specific type of users should see your posts.
Instagram Ads have different objectives to serve varying marketing goals. You can purchase an ad spot in order to boost the following aspects of your campaign:
- Brand awareness
- Reach
- Traffic (for clicks to your website or to the app store for your app)
- App installs
- Engagement (for post engagement only)
- Video views
- Conversions (for conversions on your website or in your app)
- Lead generation
Ads on Instagram operate much like the ads on Facebook. You will only be paying for ads that give you results. Fortune reported that the average CPM (cost-per-thousand-views) for an Instagram ad is roughly $6.70.
Given the amount of exposure Instagram ads have to offer, $6.70 is a small price to pay. By choosing high-reaching posts for your sponsored ads, you’re actually increasing your chances of attracting the right kind of users.
Sit Down and Strategize
Gaining your first 1,000 followers on Instagram can be a challenge but it’s not at all impossible. You just have to sit down with your team and rethink your strategy.
Brands like yourself need to learn how to adapt to what Instagram users want. You need to make good use of the data and tools that are available at your disposal to constantly innovate your current strategy.
If you’ve hit a slump on Instagram or you’re simply not getting the traction you think your brand deserves, rethink your strategy and apply some of the tips we’ve discussed today for better chances at success.
You can also increase your chances of attracting more followers at a rapid rate by purchasing high-quality Instagram followers from a reputable provider. Bought social signals give you seemingly credible social proof which can help draw organic users to your account.
Getting your first 1,000 Instagram followers doesn’t have to be time-consuming. You just have to strategize and streamline your current strategy to give you results at a much faster rate.
Date: August 3, 2017 / Categories: Guide, Marketing, / Author: Mariko
