How To Get Instagram Followers Without Following
Let’s face it – If you have a business and you’re not making use of Instagram, then you’re missing out on a massive opportunity!
Big brands and corporations, small businesses, mom and pop shops now use Instagram to get their business in front of a broad audience hence; if you’re a business owner and you’re yet to join the train, then we think it’s time you begin considering Instagram for your business.
You might think – What’s so special about this platform?
From an outside perspective, you might term Instagram to be insignificant, but then did you know that there are over eight hundred million active users on the platform?
With this number of an engaged audience, don’t you think your business deserves to be on such a platform?
Now, apart from the number of its users, it’s also vital for you to know that on Instagram any business irrespective of its size has a potential for massive growth, especially when backed by a good marketing plan.
Also, through Instagram; you have the potential of getting new clients and making significant money off it.
This is something you do not want to miss!
Now, we assume that we’ve been able to convince you about this platform.
Perhaps, you already even have an Instagram Business Page, but then, maybe you’ve not been utilizing it well. No matter what your current situation may be, we understand.
It is crucial to know that on this platform, there’s something most businesses struggle with, and that’s the ability to grow their Instagram followers.
While trying to get new ways to grow your followers, you must have read so many articles or blog posts telling you what to do, and among most stated methods, you’d often come across the follow for follow Instagram method.
While this is an effective method to grow Instagram following, it is essential to know that it has its side effects such as a skewed ratios and limits if it comes to number of people you can follow daily.
There are situations when you want to avoid that.
Now, this brings us to one of the most frequently asked questions - How do I grow my Instagram account without following others?
If you’ve ever thought of this, then, it is important to know that there are other genuine ways you can get Instagram followers without following back and in this post, we will be telling you how to do this.
So, sit tight!
1. Define Your Marketing Goals
It is crucial to know that there are millions of businesses on Instagram.
Due to this, it is essential to understand your goals or what you intend to achieve even before you take your business to Instagram.
Perhaps, you want more brand reach, sales, access to new customers, or also to understand what your competitors are doing.
Irrespective of your objective – it is crucial to define your marketing goals. It will not only help you stay ahead of other businesses, but it will help you grow faster on the platform.
Your marketing plan should include your goals, how you intend to achieve them through the platform, your posting schedule, and so much more. It is vital to help keep you on track.
2. Make Your Page Discoverable & Attractive
You must have heard the saying that first impression matters. The same can be said for Instagram. At all times, you should always remember that Instagram is a visual platform.
It’s more pictures and videos than texts. Thus, with millions of visuals on the platform, it is essential for your page to stand-out.
In this case, this is where a ‘theme’ comes into play. Now, you might have visited certain pages and noticed a theme on a page.
Your theme could be the constant and unique arrangement of your page’s photo in a certain way or even the use of certain elements such as unique picture fonts or colors, specific type of pictures and so much more.
Nevertheless, having a theme is vital in helping your page look attractive.
Of course, if your page is highly attractive but undiscoverable then, your efforts might be in vain.
Hence, your page should be easily discovered by others.
It includes filling out your business bio, ensuring your page is public and not on private (for personal accounts) and that you have at least two niche hashtags in your bio (for business pages).
By doing this, you’re telling the Instagram algorithm what your business is about; hence, allowing it to recommend your account to those who are likely to follow you.
3. Use Well-Researched Hashtags
If you want to increase your Instagram followers without following back, then one trick to do this is by using well-researched hashtags.
You may have thought that these hashtags aren’t necessary; however, this could be your powerful weapon if done right.
Depending on your niche, we recommend that you search for at least 30 hashtags in your niche.
It should be a combination of hashtags that have a considerable number of posts attached to it and hashtags that may not have many posts attached to it (at least, 500-1000 posts should be attached to the hashtag you pick).
Now, once you’ve written your posts, put in your hashtags accordingly.
It will help your page appear to those who would likely be interested in your business or product. Note that whichever hashtag you pick, it should be relevant to your post.
Pro-tip: Similar to the way SEO Experts update their blog posts overtime to enhance it’s Google ranking, it is also crucial that you update your posts hashtags regularly. It could be by going to your old posts and adding new hashtags to help them rank higher and reach more people. The posts might be old, but it can still get you, new followers.
4. Geo-tag Your Photos
Did you know that people sometimes use the Instagram search bar to look for businesses in a specific location?
Most times, it is vital to geo-tag your business so that when a person looks for posts attached to that location, your posts can show up. Not many companies do this; hence, it could be beneficial for you.
So, next time when you post, ensure you add your location. Adding your location will help your post reach those around you, thus, bringing you new fans!
5. Make Good Use of IG Stories & IGTV
If you’ve not started using your Instagram story or Instagram TV, then you’re also missing out!
One cool way to get Instagram followers without following others is to utilize Instagram stories and IGTV.
This is because it helps connect with both your followers and people who may not even be following your page.
You could show behind-the-scene videos of your business or pretty much anything interesting about your business. Just think of your business unique selling point, turn into a visual that your potential audience would love and showcase it on your page’s Instagram story or IGTV. Trust us, it works!
6. Run a Contest or Giveaway
Who doesn’t like freebies?
Even a little kid, will happily do anything to get that gift you promised. The same goes for most people. To quickly get more Instagram followers without following others, you should consider running contests or doing free Instagram giveaways.
To do this, all you need to do is to offer an eye-catching incentive, give instructions such as ‘follow us, comment and like three of our posts you love and stand a chance to win XYZ gift’ and then set a deadline for the contest or giveaway.
By doing this, you’d get new followers without having to follow them back.
7. Collaborate with Others
Have you ever thought of collaborating with those who have a higher number of an active audience? Perhaps, it could even be micro-influencers or those with a huge number of followers.
Either way, collaborating with other people is an excellent way to increase your Instagram followers without following others.
One simple way to explode your Instagram following through collaboration is to use the Contest/Giveaway + Collaboration tactic.
This is whereby you collaborate with someone who has a higher number of an engaged audience in your niche and gets them to put up your contest or giveaway on their page.
By doing that, it piques the interest of the person’s audience to locate your page immediately and follow it to be a part of the contest or giveaway!
8. Encourage People to Take Action on Your Page
“If you love this post and you’d like to see more- kindly follow us and turn on your post notifications” – If you’re familiar with Instagram, you might have seen this in certain captions.
It is simply encouraging people to take action by following or liking your page.
No doubt, you wouldn’t want anyone to go through your feed or your picture without following you.
Hence, it doesn’t hurt to encourage those who visit your page to take action most especially for those who might not remember to follow your page.
So, by encouraging them to follow your page, you can quickly increase your Instagram followers without following others.
9. Post Frequently
This tip was saved for the last because it is perhaps the most important.
If you do everything to increase your Instagram followers and you fail to post frequently, then you’ve succeeded in wasting your time.
No one likes a page with an inconsistent posting schedule. No one would want to follow a page whose most recent post was last two months.
If you’re going to succeed on Instagram or grow your Instagram following, then posting frequently should be your mantra.
If you can post regularly, you’d not only increase your brand reach and Instagram following, but you’ll also get a loyal fan base.
10. Get a help of growth service
Sociello is a growth service that acts on your behalf and if you choose to - only like the content without following other profiles.
Liking Instagram posts (and additionally - view Instagram stories) is a great alternative to following and if executed well, can bring similar results.
Getting Instagram Followers Without Following: Final Thoughts
Conclusively, no matter what Instagram goals you may have, following the above tips are crucial in helping you increase your Instagram followers.
We know how annoying it could be when it feels like your follower count isn’t increasing; however, if you follow the above steps – we assure you that you’d hit your goal in no time!
So, go on there and explode your Instagram following!
Karen is a senior technical writer and copywriter here at GrowFollowing. Her area of expertize are social media apps and new media.