Whether you’re growing your own personal profile or working on a brand’s Instagram business account, growing its following is no easy task. But don’t be put off, as although it may take a lot of work, there are some handy tips available that I’m about to share with you.

1. Post consistently (at least once a day)

Don’t be tempted to flood Instagram in order to get more traction as this will most likely lead to unfollows rather than growth. Instead, focus on posting consistently just once or twice a day. By consistently showing up and posting daily, your followers will always know to expect your content.

2. Experiment with videos, live videos and stories

Although Instagram is predominantly known as a photo sharing network, video is steadily growing every day. With so many new ways to engage with your target audience, you can quickly grow your following by showing extra glimpses into your life (or your brand’s).

If you’re unsure on how to get stuck into stories, check out Buffer’s guide.

Extra content tips for stories:

• Delve into ‘behind the scenes’ video and photos

• Use GIFs and stickers to boost your stories

• Don’t forget to use hashtags, they matter here too

• Tag others where relevant

3. Do your (hashtag!) research

It may seem obvious to use #love, but when there’s millions upon millions of posts in that ‘category’ - because that’s what hashtags are really, they are categories for content - you’re never going to get seen. Instead, do your hashtag research and use a split amount of ‘high’ ‘medium’ and ‘low’ hashtags. Instead of #gym try something more niche, such as #fitnessgirl for example, and you’ll have a much higher chance of being seen.

I like to think of social media as a constantly-updated newspaper. If your post goes out and gets pushed down by millions of others in your topic area, who is ever going to read it?

Extra tips for hashtag research:

• Look into tools that work for you, such as Later.com and Flick. But at the end of the day, there’s nothing like good old organic research. Simply search in Instagram for your chosen hashtag and check out the ‘related hashtags’ before you start to niche it down.
  

4. Pay attention to your insights 

While you may not be able to gain access to your insights until you’re over the 100 follower mark, it won’t take long to get there. Once past this mini milestone, you can start to see where your followers are based, the split between male/female and more importantly, your best time to post. 

Now, this isn’t set in stone, so don’t be afraid to tweak your posting times according to what you find best. But this is a great place to start. 

Extra tips for insight research:

• When engaging with your followers, you might start to see a trend in when they are most active. Also, be sure to take note of time zones. I personally find a lot of my engagement comes overnight (UK time) when it may just be that followers and other Instagram users are just waking up!
  

5. Engage, engage, engage!

Yes, it really is important. Always engage 20-30 minutes before you post, both with the content you see in your feed and other posts within your niche. Sure, your best friend’s baby may be cute, but if she’s not your target audience, simply ‘like’ and keep going. If you’ve scheduled your post and it’s all ready to go, hop into the hashtags you’re about to use and engage with similar posts. Leave valuable comments - not just ‘this is cool’ - as well as direct messaging those you truly want to engage with.

This is all about community, so it has to be sincere. Use the person’s name when you leave a comment so they know you’re speaking directly to them, make a reference to their caption (so they know you’ve read it) and share it to you story if you see fit.

Extra tips for engaging:

• Don’t just post and run away. Engage before you post, during and after. Be ready to reply to comments, re-share stories and reply to direct messages. All of these things will help your following to grow.

Looking for more Instagram growth tips? Head over to @secondmindmarketing.