As social media has become more and more popular, it’s easy to get caught up in the numbers game. Instagram influencers with millions of followers must be doing something right, so more followers automatically equals more success, right? Having many followers means nothing if that audience isn’t genuinely interested in your brand. Low-quality followers with fake accounts or bots will inflate your numbers but won’t engage with your content or convert to customers. At best they have no impact, at worst they hurt your account.
Focus on creating high quality
Keep your target audience engaged with high-quality content. Find out what type of content your ideal customers enjoy. Beautiful imagery, behind-the-scenes footage, user-generated content, and humor all work, depending on your brand. Encourage engagement by asking questions, running contests, etc. Valuable, engaging content will organically attract real followers. Leverage relevant hashtags and geotags to get content in front of users who are likely to be interested. See what hashtags your competitors use and experiment to determine which perform best. Local businesses should geotag content to surface content to nearby users. But don’t over-tag or be irrelevant with tags, as this looks spammy. Quality over quantity matters with hashtags too.
Engage with your community
Don’t just post content into the void and expect growth. Actively engage with your followers and the broader community by commenting on others’ posts, responding to comments/DMs, asking questions in Stories and posts, etc. Be personable and build real connections. An engaged, loyal community that feels heard will drive more authentic growth. Micro-influencers are rising Instagrammers with smaller but highly engaged, targeted audiences. Partnering with multiple micro-influencers who genuinely love your brand and create custom content around it helps drive high-quality followers. Offer free products or discounts rather than cash to ensure authenticity. Giveaways and contests incentivize user-generated content and engage potential customers. Require users to follow you and tag friends to increase reach and lead to higher quality long-term followers compared to fake bot accounts. Ensure there are clear guidelines and cash prizes aren’t the only option.
Promote cross channel
Promote your Instagram content and account on other channels like emails, websites, and other social platforms. Adding Instagram follow or share icons, embedding Instagram posts into websites, and driving traffic between channels help expand your organic reach and surface your brand to new audiences.
buy instagram followers services like Famoid or growth hacking tactics promising overnight success might sound tempting, they undermine authentic engagement. Any followers, likes or comments generated inorganicly will be of poor quality with little interest in your brand. Worse, using bot services and inauthentic engagement tactics violates Instagram’s terms and could potentially risk account suspension if caught. Focus less on getting the highest follower count possible no matter what, and instead concentrate on nurturing genuine connections and community around your brand. Quality over quantity with Instagram followers leads to true influence and impact. Rather than obsessing over metrics, let your content and engagement speak for themselves.
