People often believe that loading up their Instagram captions with hashtags is what’s going to expand the number of followers they have. While this can be one way to expand your following, it is definitely not enough to expand your following to where you probably want it to be. Hashtags indeed help people find your posts but usually don’t push people to follow unless they click on your page and instantly fall in love with your content. Here are 3 ways to expand your following on Instagram that works better than using hashtags.
Instagram Ads and Influencers
If you have the budget to run Instagram ads or hire an influencer, do it! These are fantastic approaches to expand your following. Instagram ads have the power to promote your posts on people’s feeds who are not even following you. When setting up an Instagram ad you choose your target audience which allows you to advertise your page to the people who are more likely to follow you.
Hiring an influencer is also a great approach because they typically have an abundant number of followers. If they make a post advertising your page, it is guaranteed that a lot of people will see that post.
Run an Instagram Giveaway
Another way to expand your number of followers is to run a giveaway. Set up a giveaway that lets someone win a cool prize or a free service. Then explain that in order for someone to win they have to tag a few friends in the comments and follow your account. Once they tag their friends, their friends will also be aware of the giveaway and enter to win themselves, resulting in a lot of engagement on your post and an abundance of new followers.
Post Often & Engage with Your Followers
It seems pretty obvious but honestly, some people just don’t provide enough posts or engage on their account as often as they should. When one doesn’t engage it doesn’t encourage their followers to engage either. Here are a few things you should make sure you’re doing to engage on Instagram:
- Post quality content that is relevant to your followers. Be entertaining, inspiring, and informative. This keeps your followers interested in your account.
- Engage on your Instagram story by putting up a poll or asking people a question.
- When people ask questions on your posts, answer quickly!
- Thank people for commenting on your posts. This lets people know you see their engagement and are appreciative of it.
- Don’t just engage with your own followers and profile, engage on other profiles too! This will get your name out more and help you build relationships with other profiles.