How To Get More Instagram Followers In 2020 – 9 Tips To Organic Growth

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How To Get More Instagram Followers In 2020 – 9 Tips To Organic Growth

Are you new to Instagram?  Or have you been using it for a while to see the real value in it for your business?  Regardless of your reasoning as to WHY you are choosing Instagram, the number one question I get asked is how do you get followers so quickly?  With Instagram on the rise with over 200 million active users on it daily, it’s a great spot to start to grow your business!

Well, friend, I am here to share a few key tricks today.  How did I, in just UNDER two years, go from 0 followers to now over 16K?  Last year alone I gained 11K followers and this year I am on track to do the same.  And NO, not one of them is purchased… (ew.  Please don’t buy followers).  Here is my STEP BY STEP tips to get more Instagram followers, become more visible by furthering your reach and growing your engagement rate.

Where Do I Start To Get More Instagram Followers?

My biggest tip for where to even begin is figuring out your target audience aka your zone, your niche.  Are you a DIY’er?  A mom blogger?  Health and beauty?  Travel?

Figure out what kind of blog or brand you want to be and then start the real work.  Keep in mind that the more SPECIFIC you can get your niche the better.  This is because Instagram is SATURATED with similar bloggers and niches.  So try and find your “secret sauce” and be specific in it.  If you get stuck, check out some helpful tips on how to find your “shtick” here.

1. Pick A Theme

What kind of page do you want?  Are you a minimalist?  Do you like super bright vibey photos?  Are most of your pics going to be extremely neutral?   This will be key to your success when it comes to laying out your profile.  This leads me to my next tip and why you need to choose a theme for your page first.

2. Make An Eye Catching Bio 

In just a few words describe what your blog/page/ is all about!  How are you going to be serving your audience?  Where are you located?  Who are you?  People like to connect with like-minded individuals and also people in the same city.  So get specific!  And don’t forget a fantastic profile photo (refrain from logos if possible).  Here are some examples of great bio’s that tell people exactly what they will be getting:

Let’s start with Sarah from The Birds Papaya Podcast.  You land on her page and you immediately know who she is and what she is all about.  Look below that and check out one of my favs, Jenna Kutcher’s page.  You immediately know she is an empowering businesswoman and is a coach as well as a wife and mom.  Lastly, I added my profile so you can see a little about myself.  You learn right away that I am a frugal mom, life and travel blogger.  If you watch my stories you will get all sorts of tips and a few of the awards I have been nominated for that all have to do with being a mom and moms in business.

Learn How I shifted My Focus To Reels and 2X My Income 

3. Pick A Preset / Make A Preset

There are SO many fantastic presets out there.  Once you have picked a theme you will be able to pick the perfect preset for your style of photos – for instance, if you are going down the minimalist route, go to Etsy and search for a minimalist preset.

Then once you have a preset, every single photo you have on your Instagram page will look super beautiful and cohesive.  Haven’t you ever gone to an Instagram page and thought WOW that looks so incredible and beautiful?  It’s most likely because all there photos flow and are esthetically pleasing, right?  So that’s what your page will look like!

4. Start Connecting

Now that you have a theme, you know what your niche is, you have a few photos up and everything looks super cohesive, it is time to get connecting!  This is your KEY to growth.  Find a few pages that you are inspired by that are in the same niche.

Start liking, commenting, and saving their posts.  Show them your love and engage!  Then go check out who is following them or who they are following and start following the accounts that resonate with you and repeat the same steps.   Like, comment, save, ENGAGE!

Another tip is following trending hashtags.  For instance, in the mom blog scene, I follow #momsinbusiness.  Why?  Because this puts like-minded moms on my page that I might not follow yet that I want to start following.

It is really important to get your page set up BEFORE you start connecting because when someone finds you or sees you liking and commenting on their page, they WILL check you out.  You only have a few SECONDS to capture someone’s attention.  If your page isn’t quite up to par with the steps I mentioned above, it’s probably not cohesive, not engaging and ultimately you will lose the chance of gaining that follower.

Whereas when someone new comes to your page and you have this fantastic bio and really beautiful feed (even if it’s small), you’ve now captured them and most likely they will follow!

5. Slide Into Your Instagram Followers DM’s

Start sliding into like-minded individuals DM’s.  If you are into health and beauty and just stumbled upon someone’s page in the same niche that blew you away, DM them and introduce yourself and tell them that!!

Instagram LOVES when people DM you because the algorithm will then see you must have a special relationship and it starts treating it like they are close family/friend and if you are following each other, the algorithm will push their posts and your posts to the top of there page.  This will just continue to help build that relationship.

6. Build Relationships DON’T Buy Them 

You need to treat each follower like a friend or a potential client.  Would you buy a client?  I sure hope not!!  Do NOT be tempted to go to a site where you pay $30.00 to buy 7,000 followers.  It looks spammy, Instagram notices it as spam and it will ruin your page.  TRUST ME, it is SO noticeable when people do this because typically they have a large number of followers and only 20-30 likes per post.  It makes no sense.

What you need to do is get to know your crew.  Like I said before, introduce yourself to them in their DM’s, when you comment and like their posts and stories, really read what they are feeling and writing, try and relate, etc…

Do you know their name?  Or do you refer to them as their Instagram handle?  I remember challenging myself and thinking that if I did an Instagram live and only their Instagram handle pops up, would I be able to say “oh hi Sally!!”  or would I be saying ” oh hi @messybunmom?”

What seems more personal?  And now I am happy to say that the majority of the people I follow, I met in person and/or know their name and things about their life without having to even view their profile.  Why?  Because my followers become my friend.

7. GeoTag Everything 

Use your Geotag on all your posts!  Please don’t ever use your home address, be smart when doing this.  But for instance, I live in Vancouver BC, so I Geotag Vancouver on every post because then I can be found by other Vancouver people.  The same goes for your Instagram Stories!  Geotag in your stories so your Instagram stories can be viewed by different ones within your city.

8. Utilize Instagram Stories

Building a relationship with your Instagram following means they need to know more than just a static photo of who you are.  Show them some of you in real life.  Introduce yourself to your stories regularly so your new followers know who you are.  And just like your Instagram page, make your Instagram stories super appealing and pretty.  Don’t forget to use a few hashtags in your stories for extra exposure as well.

9. Create Shareable Content

The more content you create that other people find super amazing, inspiring, funny, etc… and want to share, the better.  Not only are they sharing your posts across their profile which enhances the chances of new people finding you and following you, but Instagram also sees this and the algorithm will boost your post.  This gives you even more chances to be found and perhaps show up on the explore page.

Get More Instagram Followers Today!

If you are enjoying these tips, I am so glad and I hope you’re excited to get to work!  But I have even MORE tips that will explode your Instagram followers right here!  Make sure to get your hands on my FREE e-book (it can be read in about 20 minutes) and get growing your page!

Have your own blog and want to take it to the next level?  Check out these super helpful tools:

Tailwind – Pinterest and Instagram scheduler

Grammarly  – The Worlds BEST grammar checker

Canva – Create stunning designs

Flodesk – The best email marketing platform

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XO, Asia