I don’t mean to scare you with this statement, far from it, but the techniques that used to work to get followers, with Instagram’s latest algorithm change (April 2022), no longer do.
In its desire to boost a “human” use and make connections real between users using the platform, Instagram has made profound changes that are affecting thousands of accounts.
Along with Facebook, Instagram is the star social network of the moment and has also become a very powerful personal branding and business tool for many people. So we are talking about very important changes.
These changes not only affect profiles; they also affect the posts they make (considerably affecting the organic reach of their posts).
But don’t worry: you’re in good hands. Instagram is one of the social networks I’ve worked on the most in recent months, and that has allowed me to gain knowledge with which I’ve grown my Instagram account at a rate of around 1,000 new followers every month.
Not that we are talking about “celebrity” statistics, but we are talking about real follower figures that for any online entrepreneur as I am myself, will be very good results.
The knowledge that has allowed me to achieve this is what I am going to share with you in this article so that you can put into practice the same, and in a simple way, with your own account to get more followers.
Although it is impossible to cover everything that can be done in a single post like this one, I assure you that by following just the techniques that I explain in this post you will already achieve important results with your account.
How to get real followers on Instagram for free
Undoubtedly, this is one of the questions that Instagram users ask the most: how to get followers on Instagram for free. It seems reasonable to me.
But few are those who understand that social networks stopped being free some time ago.
Let me explain.
Social networks themselves are free and Instagram is no exception. What happens is that, if we want to take full advantage of them (reach more people, have more interaction or, for example, sell products or services with them), we will have to allocate a small budget for marketing actions that will increase the number of followers, likes and comments.
Can’t you increase your followers on Instagram without paying?
Of course you can. Although I’ll tell you that, since Instagram made changes to its algorithm, it is becoming increasingly complicated.
Here are some of the key points to increase the reach of your publications and, as a result, reach more potential followers:
- What content generates more engagement on Instagram?
In this part, with your permission, I’m going to be a bit biased and go towards what I personally like the most on Instagram and that I think also fits better the reader profile of this blog: show brands (personal and corporate) a more human and private side of you.
Being able to do this will help you connect much more, both to your personal brand and to a company. And that also helps to make good content marketing strategies as they are already done in YouTube or in many blogs, for example.
You already know that Instagram is a 100% visual social network. Therefore, the content that works best here is the content that is close and attractive, both visually and for the message it conveys.
In my personal case, what I like the most are images with motivational and inspirational text.
Yes, it’s not “super original”, I know, but I’ve been doing it for a long time, it works for me, it’s the kind of positive message I like to send and it’s also very much in line with what my personal brand is and what I want it to continue to be.
In that sense, many photos are from my personal sphere and my day to day life: photos of me, of the places I visit, books and other things that have been sent to me and that have made me happy, professional situations like the backstage of a video recording session, etc.
I find it a perfect way to connect with my audience and to reconcile my human side with my personal brand side because it’s like a gateway to my “real life” where I involve the people who follow me also in my day to day life, something that, on the other hand, I know people like.
You don’t have to do exactly the same, maybe it doesn’t even fit in your case, but the philosophy of how to connect that is behind this is totally extrapolable to any case and I hope it serves as inspiration for your activity on Instagram.
- Using Hashtags on Instagram
Instagram allows you to place up to 30 hashtags in your posts to tag the content you are publishing.
By using hashtags you are not only indicating to other users what is the theme of the photos and videos you upload (that’s something obvious), but you will also manage to reach other profiles that don’t know you.
How? Since recent changes in Instagram, the application allows you to follow publications that are tagged under a hashtag.
This will mean that in your newsfeed (the section of the application where you will see the posts made by the accounts you follow) you will also see some posts that contain the hashtags you are following.
This, on the one hand, is one of the best ways to make yourself known to other users who are not yet following you and, on the other hand, to discover other accounts that publish content that interests you.
- Upload photos and videos to Instagram with Instagram Stories
As you know, video is a format that, when used well, is capable of generating a lot of engagement. Just like Facebook, Facebook Live allows you to generate a lot of engagement, on Instagram you can also use video to connect more with your followers.
In 2016, Instagram launched Instagram Stories, which first allowed users to upload photos, add filters, effects and layers, and form an Instagram “story” in slideshow format. In the same year, it expanded this functionality to upload videos as well.
- Use Instagram Reels and Instagram TV
As we saw with the previous example, the video format has much more engagement than images and both Reels and Instagram TV are the perfect format to create content in this format.
While Instagram Reels are short videos, up to 15 seconds, with Instagram TV you can upload hours-long content.
I recommend you use this format to show content that interests your audience but that you can’t show in other formats, such as stories or posts.
- The best time to post on Instagram
Another change that Instagram’s algorithm has made is to show posts without a chronological order.
In the past, the first photos that appeared in your newsfeed were the last ones posted by the people you follow. But that will no longer be the case.
As a general rule, from now on the publications that will appear first are those of the accounts with which you have more engagement.
Let me explain to you what engagement is (surely this explanation is not necessary for you, but I prefer to go straight to the point).
Engagement is the relationship you have with other Instagram accounts and is determined by the likes and comments you leave on their posts.
So Instagram wants to show you first those posts from accounts you interact with more frequently and then posts from accounts you may not interact with as much.
That said, you may think that the time of publication should not be so important, but the truth is that it is.
For this reason, it is ideal that you try to post at the times when most of your followers are connected.
