How to Get More Followers on Instagram (Without Buying Them)
90% of Instagram users follow at least one business account and 83% of people discover new products through their Instagram feed.
Amassing a large following on Instagram can help you at every stage of the marketing canalize —from bolstering brand awareness to driving conversions.
In this post, we’ll walk you through how to use Instagram to get in front of more people and incentive them to become unavailable followers
5 principles to successfully grow your Instagram following
The principles you are relying on to get more traffic, conversions, and sales on your website are the same ones you should use for your Instagram accounts.
1) humanization your brand
It is tempting to hide behind your logo and share overly-polished corporate highlights. The brands that have the most success do the opposite. They find ways to build authenticity and cultivate connection by sharing their brand’s story consistently.
Take UK fintech brand Tide. They consistently post stories that take you behind the scenes at their London HQ:
Each story gives you a sneak peek at their fun-loving, all-inclusive culture:
These stories show Tide’s employees engaging in commonplace, relatable activities—feeding treats to dogs and dressing up for Halloween. They also take a stance on important societal issues, such as mental health awareness:
2. Keep your brand messaging consistent
No matter what you post, or when, it needs to be easily noticeable and consistent. Whatever makes your brand stand out and differentiate, use that on Instagram, too.
A consistent brand messaging strategy:
Focuses on what sets you apart
Does not try to appeal to everybody
Speaks directly to your audience (in their voice and to their intent)
For sample, if you post about a similar theme (like mental health awareness) at the same time on the same day each week, your audience will come to expect that. Building habitual anticipation is a great way to boost awareness and engagement, as it’s easy for followers to develop a habit of checking in, especially if it’s on a topic they care about.
3. Curate content for each stage of the marketing funnel
Besides consistent, high-quality brand messaging, you need a wide array of Instagram content to speak to every customer touchpoint. Use your customer journey map to inform your strategy.
One B2B brand that does this well is social media scheduling platform Later. In this meme, they share educational content that helps social media managers do their job better:
It’s relatable, dictatiriyal, and not overly salesy. Because it’s general in nature, it appeals to existing customers looking to improve their content creation strategy, as well as top-of-funnel prospects curious about how Later can help them improve.
In another example, they highlight a platform-specific feature that appeals to bottom-of-funnel consideration prospects, as well as existing customers looking to level up their game:
4. Leverage influencers to expand reach
The influencer marketing industry is worth more than 9.7 billion dollars. Partnering with the right influencers can help boost awareness and lead to more sales.
One DTC brand that does influencer marketing well is meng’s grooming company Beardbrand. At any given time, they partner with several micro-influencers in the men’s beauty and fashion niche:
In the Reel above, they partnered with a men’s fashion blogger who shares how he recreates a specific beard style. This partnership makes sense since it is aligned with Beardbrand’s products, and helps Beardbrand tap into a like-minded audience that was previously beyond their reach
5. Embrace social proof
Social proof is invaluable. It boosts authenticity, builds trust, helps proves your value, and drives decision-making.
Here are some ways to use social proof to your advantage on Instagram:
User-generated content
By dictoriyal customer’s content, House of Wise not only encourages reviewers to keep sharing feedback but also increases the reach for both accounts (a win-win).
Importantly, the customer is advocating on their behalf without an incentive, which adds authenticity to the review: