Social networks have already become an integral part of our lives. With its one billion visitors a day, without a doubt, Instagram is one of the media flagships. And a huge number of people want to know how to get more followers on Instagram.
In the early days, this problem was solved relatively easily. It was enough to buy likes and subscribers, and the account quickly gained weight.
But over time, we all, including engines, have become smarter. It is clear that dramatic boosts of subscribers accompanied by a mediocre content are apples and oranges. And when this happens, it becomes clear that free Instagram followers are actually not so free.
Such an undisguised purchase of a reputation in the media environment does a disservice today. This deters real subscribers and the reputation of the account is rapidly declining.
So, what to do? How to gain followers on Instagram today?
Here are 5 key recommendations.
INSTAGRAM FREQUENCY
Post timing
It is logical to assume that in order to increase your followers’ engagement, you need to be active. But how often and when?
Over the course of existence of social networks on the Internet, they have undergone a lot of research.
People always want to know how predictable moneymaking processes are, how to gain more subscribers on Instagram or Facebook.
Studies have shown that the optimal frequency of posting is 1-2 times a day. But with the optimal hours of the day the situation is not so simple. The peak of Instagram visits falls in the second half of the working day, which means 2-5 PM, but the activity is also risen at… 2 AM.
So if you are a late-bedder, this is your sweet spot.
Post life span
We can say that the lifetime of a post is 3 hours. 46% of all comments come in the first hour. The next couple of hours will bring you the rest of the comments. Thus, if your post has not gained popularity within the first three hours after publication, you should not expect a buzz after this period.
TAKE CARE OF YOUR CONTENT
Be interesting
Free Instagram followers comes organically. These are people interested in your content. They found you by themselves. But this does not mean at all that such free Instagram admirers come with absolutely no effort from your side.
Your efforts are needed. Valuable content consists of many ingredients. No one is interested in reading sermons on social networks. Therefore, if you wonder how to gain followers on a popular social medium such as Instagram, avoid mentoring. Instead, tell stories, share sincere feelings, and they will resonate with other people.
UGC
One of the success drivers for a page on the social network today is user-generated content (UGC). This is especially true for a young audience, the so-called millienals. Statistics showed that the level of trust of such an audience towards UGC is half as high as towards other forms of information. And the trust in content is the cornerstone of attracting more followers on any media, including Instagram.
Build your system in such a way that your users fill your posts with content. You will manage it, group and detect the main interesting material for publication.
Thus, the deliverers of your messages will be the people themselves, and this is more than an effective way to get a lot of free Instagram followers.
When you make your customers the main characters of your posts, you thereby please them, cherish their sense of self-importance and show them respect. And at the same time, you lend variety and additional colors to your content as a whole.
Before posting someone else’s content, even if it shows your brand’s product, be sure to get his/her explicit permission to do so. Just tagging the author will not be enough.
Or you can go even further and get even more user participation. Want to know how to attract more how to gain even more followers on Instagram? Launch a contest.
Use hashtags correctly
When you think about how to augment the number of your IG followers, take some actions to make it easier for people to find your page. Use hashtags.
Here are a few key points:
Extremely popular hashtags meet a fierce competition, and your post goes down rapidly.
An excessive amount of hashtags unmasks your craving to increase by any means the number of free Instagram followers and destroys your credibility. 91% of leading brands use 7 or less hashtags.
Shareable quotes 
A very effective way to fill your IG account with content and attract Instagrammers will be the placement of inspirational and catchy shareable quotes. You can find anywhere a phrase that evokes strong emotions, write it in an eye-catching style and get with such content some free Instagram admirers.
Convert free Instagram followers into email subscribers
Always keep in mind that in our time, virtually all mailboxes are full of spam. Even our grandmothers’ mail is overloaded with endless mailings from supermarkets. And they practically never read them.
Do not think that because you have interesting content, people are eager to receive letters from you. A priori, they aren’t. They do not want to subscribe to your newsletters. So, in order to overcome their unwillingness, you need to please them with something, to hand them something useful. This can be an interesting article, review or exclusive report. To do this, you will need to create a landing page on some available resource with a subscription form. And if users want to get this useful material, they will enter their email address.
Do not forget to use a compelling call to action. The user needs you to clearly explain what you want him to do. Therefore, if he has to press a button, then write “Click on the button”.
BRAND MANAGEMENT
Connect your Facebook and Instagram accounts
If you haven’t connected your Facebook and Instagram accounts yet, do it. 20% of all Instagram users have connected their pages to Facebook. Bring your Facebook follower audience to Instagram. You can do it by asking them to follow your IG in your Facebook status. Thus, your brand awareness will be expanded and more people will follow your Instagram page.
Cooperate with other IG accounts, especially with influencers
People inherently tend to trust authorities. This happens even if they do not know them personally and do not check their background. Very few of us will think twice before trusting another person’s opinion. Even fewer people will verify the information received from an influencer. Most of us simply subconsciously will immediately begin to trust the product mentioned by a celebrity or well-known person.
Therefore, feel free to cooperate with other accounts in order to promote your brand among your target audience. That’s how you can gain followers on Instagram. The efficiency of such a mentioning depends on the account’s reputation. The higher it is the more valuable the mentioning of your brand will be. But the higher is its cost. For the optimal cost-effect ratio, micro-influencers are also a good option. They are those whose accounts have from 5,000 to 50,000 followers.
Make your Instagram branding matter
If you use Instagram for commercial purposes, then one way or another, your account will be the show-window of your brand. In this regard, to attract free IG followers, you need to develop a coherent and comprehensive marketing strategy. Just like objects cannot be placed randomly in a show-window, there should be no chaos on your Instagram page. Provide information clearly; use bold colors, visual effects and infographics of which more below.
SMART VIZUALIZATION
Inserting GIFs is a great idea
GIFs always juice up the content and add some humor. There are many GIF resources on the web. But you can also make your own GIFs and animate your story using them. People love see various funny images and video, as if wonder how to get more followers on Instagram, here you go.
You can search for the best GIF-making tools for yourself. We recommend you the following few of them:
Giphy’s GIF Maker – for turning videos and YouTube links into GIFs
Gifmaker.me – for stitching together a series of images into a GIF
Licecap – for screenshot GIFs
Utilize all available Instagram video and ad formats
As an advertiser, you have three options to place your video on Instagram to promote your product. You have 60 seconds for a commercial, Carousel for several short videos or images, and well-known Stories. When you create a Story, don’t forget to insert a link to it.
Using of subtitles and closed captions for IG video is highly recommended as it helps you to attract free Instagram followers.
Use Instagram filters
Here are 10 of the most popular Instagram filters: Juno, Lark, Lo-Fi, X-Pro II, Clarendon, Gingham, Ludwig, Rise, Valencia, Mayfair.
Use emojis effectively
Keeping in mind that emojis are searchable and that they are more than 1700, it would be a pity not to use them to get free Instagram followers. Just think twice whether your type of business can allow this kind of images.
Infographics – concept visualizations
When thinking about how to gain extra followers on Instagram, let’s look to history and recall how people used to interact with each other. Drawings appeared much earlier than the text. We are genetically more predisposed to the perception of images than text. Therefore, if you add images to your posts, their success will increase by 25%.
TRAFFIC MANAGEMENT
Gide people from your Instagram account to visit your other platforms accounts
With a clickable link in your profile leading to your external blog or website, you can easily increase the traffic on those platforms. Don’t miss this opportunity to convert your loyal Instagram followers to your other accounts’ followers.
Use correct SEO strategy
Remember that Instagram can check your content and identify the correspondence of your handle to your overall IG message. If they do not combine together well, Instagram will not show your posts in Explore section.
Analyze and modify your Instagram content
Always learn and monitor your performance regarding your IG account promotion. Whether is a proper timing or good content, keep up with successful strategy and correct whatever needs to be corrected. When doing it on a regular basis, over a certain period of time, you will see a clear and understandable dynamics of your progress. This will give you additional ideas on how to gain followers on Instagram.
P.S.
To finish, we would like to emphasize that Instagram is a people-focused platform. Therefore, the socialization is the main purpose of any kind of activity performed by Instagramers. So, it’s like in our real life. We all like to receive compliments and approval from others. This desire is mirrored in our online life. Everyone wants to receive likes and positive comments, so do not skimp on feedback and get a positive response in return.
If your business is not limited to online platforms, and you have also brick-and-mortar stores, it will be useful for you to read how to increase foot traffic there.