Instagram is a great way to get more eyes on your brand. The social media network lets people post interesting photos with filters and captions to better catch the eye.
Success on the platform is determined by how many followers you get. One of the best ways to get more followers is to follow others and hope they return the favour, but is getting Instagram followers without following possible? Here are five tactics to do just that.
Post Regularly
The idea of posting regularly sounds obvious, but many people aren’t posting as much as they should. This lack of posting is one reason you could be having trouble building a loyal follower base. You have to post more to be noticed by more people. People check in on Instagram 24/7, so you need to have a busy profile to get their attention.
Old content is less likely to be found by people. People don’t search via hashtags as much as you might think. That’s something seen on Pinterest over Instagram. Recent posts get a lot more attention than older ones.
When you post can be important too. Tuesday and Thursday evenings appear to be the best times to make posts, but you should be posting every morning and evening. This will give you the best chance to connect with people as they get up in the morning, come home from work, and settle down in the evening.
Drive Traffic Through Your Website
The answer to getting Instagram followers without following could be your website. Just add a simple “Follow me on Instagram” button to your website to encourage people who visit the site to follow you on social media.
It might take some time for this tactic to pay off, but the further you spread your follow buttons – consider putting them in an email signature and Twitter bio too – the more people you’ll have following you.
Example of an Instagram follow button.
Target Your Efforts with the Follow, Like, Comment FLC Loop
The FLC loop is the most effective, but also most misunderstood, method of getting Instagram followers. The strategy won’t work overnight and will take some effort, but it pays off in the end.
Here’s how to take advantage of the “Follow, Like, Comment” strategy;
- Create a list of Instagram users, similar to you. Use hashtags to find relevant accounts or look at the accounts following influencers in your industry.
- Look through the list of accounts and find eight people that closely match the demographics of the people you want to follow you. Each person should also have at least 500 followers of their own and a complete bio, which are signs they are active and popular. While you will have to follow them, you shouldn’t expect them to follow you back. This method is about finding people who will supply you with material you can curate.
- Check through four of the eight profiles and find three photos of theirs you like. Double-tap them to “like” the picture and show your appreciation.
- Check through the other four accounts and find a photo worth commenting on. Post an original comment to those photos.
- Repeat steps 2 – 4 up to three times a day.
This is the FLC loop, and each loop should take about five minutes at the most, meaning you’ll have to spend around 15 minutes each day in all. The benefit of the FLC loop is that you get a lot of goodwill with other users. People will notice your account and start reciprocating with their own likes and comments, which gives you free exposure to their followers.
Mention Prominent Influencers
Mentioning influencers is similar to using FLC, but it takes an even more targeted approach. Collect a list of the biggest influencers relevant to your audience. How relevant an influencer is will depend on how often they use hashtags and make posts related to your niche. If you have a post that is relevant to the brand of an influencer, drop them a mention with their @username.
Mentioning influencers is also misused like the FLC loop. If you mention other people in a way that doesn’t make sense, then it makes you look bad and means people will avoid you. The same applies to make comments on high profile posts. Be sure that you are adding to the conversation. Quality is more important than quantity.
Run a Contest
A contest is a more involved way to get followers. You should wait until you’ve got a solid foundation before running a contest. Wait until you have at least 1,000 followers.
Also, avoid running too many contests. A contest once every three or four months is the limit.
Here’s how to run your next Instagram contest;
1. Choose a Prize
The prize should be something relevant to your brand that people will want. You can use gift cards if you aren’t sure of something specific.
2. Set Simple Rules
Create a post stating the rules of the contest. Participants should do something in particular, such as uploading certain pictures and using specific hashtags.
3. Create a Contest Hashtag
Monitor the contest hashtag. Make the hashtag unique so you can better track posts related to your competition.
4. Choose the Winner
Announce the winner and contact them via direct message to arrange how to send them the prize.
Some examples of good Instagram contests are;
- Asking people to like, share, or comment on posts
- Asking people to vote for a prize
- Asking people to tag friends
Contest hashtag example – source: Crowdbabble.com
Follow these methods, and you’re sure to get a bigger Instagram following, all without having to follow a bunch of people in the hopes they reciprocate.
Follow for a follow is good manners, but it can’t be your sole source of followers on Instagram. Connect to high-profile users, use hashtags appropriately, run some contests, and watch the followers roll in.