15 Tips to Get Instagram Followers for Your Business

Figuring out the best ways to get Instagram followers for your business can be extremely overwhelming and with the number of hacks and tools out there, it can be stressful to figure out the best strategies to implement for your business. 

Think of your Instagram profile as your virtual storefront; you want to make the best first impression possible. 

From Instagram growth services to hashtag strategies and Instagram advertisements, we’re laying out 15 tips to help you get Instagram followers for your business.  

Instagram Growth Service

Instagram may be saturated with accounts, but that doesn’t mean you can’t stand out and grow your following. 

Instagram growth services, like Kicksta, can help simplify the tedious process and market your business by attracting customers in your area. Instagram growth services use specific methods to grab the attention of potential customers. Kicksta likes posts on behalf of your business from people in your target audience, follows users in a specific area or comments on specific users posts to help you get Instagram followers organically. 

This type of service trumps others who purchase followers or likes because those type of programs will leave you with unengaged bot followers, instead of potential customers. 

Cross-Promote Branded Hashtags

You’ve created a dedicated hashtag for your company, but what’s the point if it’s not being shared, even while attending a trade show for instance?

Not only should you have it on your profile and posts, but also make sure to cross-promote by printing it on merchandise, print ads, and signage around the store. 

When customers, and thus followers, recognize your branded hashtag they’ll be more likely to search your profile and use the hashtags on their posts when applicable. This will drive followers from their page back to your business’ profile. 

Optimize Posts With a Hashtag Strategy 

Effectively using hashtags is crucial for building a brand and to get Instagram followers for your business. If you use relevant hashtags, your posts will reach a wider audience outside the people who already follow you or are familiar with your brand. 

This all sounds great, but how do you successfully implement a hashtag strategy? 

First, try and limit hashtags usage in the caption to two to three to avoid clutter. Instead, place the bulk of your hashtags in the first comment.

Additionally, refrain from using over-saturated hashtags like #like4like that will only attract low-quality followers. The end goal is to find hashtags your audience may already be using or searching to grab their attention. 

To achieve this, head to the Explore page on Instagram, search a hashtag relevant to your niche and find similar hashtags with less than one million posts, again to avoid over-saturated tags. 

Play around with different hashtags on every post to find which ones best suit your business. 

Make the Most of Your Bio

An Instagram bio is the first thing users see when they come across your profile. This can be one of the most useful tools to catch users’ eyes and give them a reason to follow your business. 

Fill your bio with actionable and informative items about your brand to let them know who you are, what you’re about, and why they should follow along. 

Lastly, don’t forget to show off your personality! If users are immediately drawn in by your bio they’ll want to hit the follow button and stick around. 

Influencer Marketing

If you haven’t started utilizing influencers to market your business then you’re missing out on a huge opportunity to get your name in front of potential new customers. 

There are many ways to reach out to influencers to create a brand deal like cold emails or dm’s, but our suggestion is a more organic approach, like turning on post notifications for influencers in your space and interacting with them frequently. 

Once you’ve built a relationship it is more likely the influencer will want to post about the business and want to work with you long term. Working with influencers puts your name in front of a new group of people and can bring in new followers. 

Showcase Your Unique Style

If you’re trying to grow a following, blending in is not going to cut it. Developing your own Instagram style and aesthetic is the best way to stand out in the sea of accounts. 

By creating unique and eye-catching visual content, users will have no choice but to tap the follow button. 

No need to hire a graphic designer in the beginning stages of growing your business. Using apps like Canva and A Color Story will aid in simplifying the graphic design aspect and keep your brand image cohesive.

Call to Actions

There’s a reason you have created an account on this platform! What action do you want users to take from your post? There are so many ways to get users to interact with your business that will in return get you, additional followers. 

Encourage followers to tag their friends in your posts, ask followers to like, share or repost your posts on their story, or use active language to persuade the audience to complete the desired action. Whatever your end goal is, creating a call to action will convince current followers to act and bring in new ones as well. 

Interact With Other Users

Creating and uploading content may seem like the most important part of maintaining your account, but don’t forget this is a social network. Neglecting to connect with the community will surely sabotage any effort to get Instagram followers. 

If your brand has more than one social media strategist running the account, consider developing a consistent brand voice, so followers find you credible, relatable and most importantly not robotic. Once you’ve nailed your voice, casually, but professionally, engage with different influencers, consumers and businesses in your niche. Stay consistent and the following will build with time. 

Utilizing Instagram Stories

Instagram stories offer a whole new opportunity to post on-the-fly, behind-the-scenes and unpolished content that’s visible for 24 hours if not highlighted. This feature allows you to showcase your brand’s personality. 

Aside from the light-hearted nature of stories, this feature is also an incredible marketing tool for businesses. Instagram story features like interactive polls, location tags and hashtags are only a few of the ways you can increase engagement. 

Including locations and hashtags within stories will make your posts visible to more users yielding the opportunity to gain new followers. 

Instagram Ads

Gone are the days of using Instagram solely as an editing app. Once Instagram implemented business accounts and the Ads feature driven from Facebook Ad Manager, the whole network began to change. 

To expose your business to new users, you’ll have to pay to play. Set aside a monthly budget for Instagram advertisements to ensure your account can keep up. 

 When running Ads create a custom audience to target users that are fans of a competitor, live in the desired neighborhood or would be interested in your business. If executed correctly, it’s a near guarantee your account will gain followers from the campaign. 

Use Other Platforms

Growing a following on Instagram is a crucial part of marketing your business, but have you ever considered exiting out of the app to gain followers? 

Sharing your Instagram content on other platforms like Facebook and Twitter can attract a new audience to your account. Linking your Instagram account to your website or in an email newsletter are other fantastic ways to drive traffic to your Instagram business account and get new followers. 

Host Giveaways

Instagram giveaways are limited-time promotions where brands give free product to one (or multiple) lucky entrants. There are a couple of primary reasons to consider running an Instagram giveaway on your business account. 

If the prize is great enough users should want to share your post and follow. If your content is high quality and shareable the post will drive social shares, increasing exposure. 

The ultimate goal is to gain followers which will be accomplished through the exposure and call to action to follow your account to be considered for the grand prize. 

Set a Regular Posting Schedule

Although Instagram is a mobile app and users tend to be on the network all the time, there are still optimal times to post to reach the greatest amount of people. This strategy will take some trial and error, but once nailed down will help your specific audience view your content. 

Applications like Later, Plannoly, and HopperHQ are extremely helpful for scheduling posts, so you aren’t forced to do it manually. Followers expect a certain level of presence from your business on Instagram. 

Retaining followers is challenging if you never post, so setting a regular posting schedule will entertain current followers and help your business gain new ones. 

Go Live

Instagram allows users to record and share live videos that disappear once filming stops. Due to the authentic, raw and unscripted nature of the Live Video feature, users are drawn to these videos. Since the initial launch, Instagram has added features to enable more engagement and interactions with viewers. 

Live video Q&As make users feel connected to the brand or business and thus will want inevitably follow to stay in the know. 

Apply For a Verification Badge

When an Instagram account is verified it holds more credibility. As of recently, users can apply for a blue checkmark instead of waiting for Instagram to issue it. This verification solidifies the legitimacy of the business and ensures users the business, brand or individual is who they claim to be in real life. 

Once you have this check, followers are rest assured the account is real and are more likely to follow your business account.