On the Internet, you can find numerous methods to increase followers with a few tricks. Often you read the tip to buy Instagram followers – but we would advise against that. Buying Instagram followers is a legal way to increase your number of subscribers, but they are not real users. The result: They don’t like or comment on your posts and will never buy a product from you. We’ll show you how you can really get more Instagram followers for free.
1. Choose a suitable profile picture
It sounds like an obvious tip at first, but the effect of this tip should not be underestimated. Your profile picture, be it a private account or a company account, should always be immediately recognized by other users. So choose an image that goes with the rest of your Instagram feed so that users know what to expect from your profile. If you have a company account, it is, of course, clear that you should use your good quality logo as your profile picture.
2. Use a unique name
The name of your account must also be immediately conclusive for the user. In the best case, your profile name is also your real name or the name of your company. So you can be sure that you will also be found in the Instagram search if a user enters your name and that you will get more Instagram followers for free. Your username, which can be set separately, should also be your real name or the name of your company.
3. Complete your biography
To complete the first impression of your profile, the biography of the account should also be filled out. This is located directly under your profile picture and is intended to tell users what to expect on your profile. It is therefore advisable to provide a short description with the most important terms. You can also use a location or a special hashtag for this. In any case, your website should be linked.
4. Use correct photos
The Instagram platform began with the sharing of photos – it is accordingly important to post high-quality images. They are the first thing the user sees and decide whether they look at other pictures of you.
For example, high quality means that the photos are not blurry and are well lit. Lots of people use Instagram to get inspiration, and your pictures should set a good example. It doesn’t really matter what topic you post pictures on. Topics are best suited for this, with which you can pick up on the latest trends. It is particularly important with your pictures that they attract the attention of the users. This is essential not to be drowned in the mass of pictures, especially if you want to catch up on the latest trends.
5. Use the story function
The Story feature on Instagram is now just as popular, if not more popular, than the regular picture posts. With this function, pictures and videos can be put together to form a slide show that is automatically deleted after 24 hours. On the one hand, this function is practical because it is still displayed above the normal picture feed and is, therefore, the first thing that catches your eye as soon as the app is opened. On the other hand, through Instagram Stories, you have the opportunity to give your Instagram followers a better look behind the scenes and thus present yourself more authentically. Because the story function only offers advantages, the videos and pictures are produced quickly and often viewed by users more often than normal picture posts. In addition to the normal pictures, they bring a nice extra range,
6. Use the subscribers of the competition to get more Instagram followers
Of course, it is always important to fill your own profile with new postings to gain new Instagram followers for free. However, there is also a great advantage in actively looking for new potential followers. Now you might be wondering where to find these new subscribers.
As is so often the case, the answer is: With the competition.
Look around on Instagram for successful channels that serve the same target group as you. Now click on the number of subscribers, and you have a huge list of people who have the potential to be interested in your product or your content. You should now interact with these people so that they will notice you. This can happen, for example, by liking or commenting on your posts. After all, everyone is happy about positive feedback.
7. Don’t neglect your own subscribers
Just as important, if not more important than interacting with other users, is contact with your own subscribers. Reply to comments or at least like them so your Instagram followers can see that you read the comments and are interested in them. This creates sympathy and binds users even more to you. This will also make it easier for you to get your products to people. You certainly prefer to buy products from someone you like and trust, right?
8. Stay true to your topic with the feed
Of course, it is tempting to add a little variety to your own Instagram feed. But if you deviate too much from your core topic with your pictures, you will lose subscribers rather than gain in the long run. The users landed on your Instagram account because they are interested in your topic. If you change this, these users might turn away from you. In addition, your feed should create a harmonious overall picture. So take a look at your profile: Are the pictures coordinated? Do the colors match? Do you have two very similar pictures next to each other? These are all just small things, but in the end, they can make the decisive difference whether a user stays on your profile.
9. Use the right hashtags
Instagram hashtags help users find the content that interests them most. So you can search for special topics with the help of hashtags and get the accounts showing the corresponding content.
Hashtags are very important to increase your reach and thus your Instagram followers for free. Unfortunately, not all hashtags work equally well on every image. There are, of course, popular hashtags that are searched for by many users, but pictures are often lost in the crowd as a result. So here, it makes sense to use the hashtags that best describe the picture and that are often searched for by your target group. So think carefully about which target group you want to reach and what interests they have to adapt your hashtags exactly to them. Tools like Likometer show you which hashtags are currently leading. You can also gain new Instagram followers without having to buy any.
10. Use your location
For every picture, Instagram gives you the option of adding a geo-tag to your location. You should use this, if possible, as well as a local hashtag. This is how you reach the people who are looking for content for a specific location. This is often the case when you are looking for insider tips in a particular city or want to get inspiration for your next vacation. So always like to share your tips with local hashtags to attract new subscribers for you.
11. Post content regularly
Even if it is particularly difficult initially, you will only be successful if you continuously stay on the ball. Like sport, you will only see visible results if you persevere and keep going for a while. You probably won’t get as many new Instagram followers every day as you would like. That can be very frustrating. Even so, you should post something new regularly. If you only publish a new post every few weeks, on the one hand, you will lose the interest of your subscribers. On the other hand, you will be rated poorly by the Instagram algorithm, and your pictures will accordingly be displayed less often.
12. Participate in challenges to get more Instagram followers
To promote networking with other accounts and draw attention to yourself, you should take part in Instagram challenges. With these, users post certain videos and pictures, for example, on a certain topic, use the same hashtag and encourage other users to do the same. This creates a great movement. You can come into contact with other users and will be found by people who are specifically looking for this challenge.
13. Don’t forget the caption
If you think that Instagram is all about pictures, then we have to disappoint you. The texts under the pictures are just as important as the pictures themselves, even if they are only perceived after the picture. The users like to read the captions, and they often respond to them in the form of comments. So it is worthwhile to put in a bit of work here and come up with a creative or exciting text. In fact, the Instagram algorithm will also reward you for the extra work. The more comments and likes your post has, the better it will be displayed.
14. Get in touch with direct messages
With the Direct Messages function, you can send private messages to a specific user so that others cannot read them. Here, you can, for example, write other accounts that serve the same target group as you and ask them about cooperation. However, you should always clearly state what you can do for the respective account. If this is not immediately clear, many people do not read the message to the end, and the chance is wasted.
15. Use other social networks
To increase your reach on Instagram and get more Instagram followers for free, you should also use other social networks for yourself. It is better to post videos on Youtube than on Instagram. Facebook is often used to share private details with others. On Instagram, pictures are in the foreground. So use other platforms that suit you or your company and refer users to your other accounts on every social network.
16. Use live videos
Just like Facebook, Instagram also offers the live video function. With this, you can let your users participate in events from your everyday life in real-time. For example, you can give them a glimpse behind the scenes of your company. Or at events that you organize as a company and thus make more advertising for the event. In general, private insights create greater authenticity and are often rewarded with more Instagram followers without buying them.
17. Cooperate with other users
Cooperating with other users is a great way to get more Instagram followers for free by showing yourself on another user’s profile. For example, you can take a photo together and mark each other on it. Or you can post pictures on the same topic at the same time and tag each other again.
Shoutouts are also a great way to increase your number of Instagram followers for free. However, these are no longer as effective in 2020 as they were, for example, in 2019 or earlier. In the case of a shoutout, you present another account to each other on your account. How many new followers you get through a shoutout depends not only on the number of followers on the other account but rather on how active the users are. On average, you can expect around three to six percent of users to follow the call and subscribe to your account. It is best to choose an account similar to your own in terms of content for cooperation. This increases the likelihood that users will follow the call.
18. Post content when your users are online
Not only is it important to post content regularly, but also to do it at the right time. If you have a business profile, Instagram offers you statistics to see when your followers are increasingly online. You should use this information and adjust the timing of your postings accordingly. This way, you can reach more people because the posts don’t get lost in the timeline that quickly.
19. Run competitions
Everyone likes competitions or when they receive something for free. You can also use this for yourself to get more followers on Instagram. As an entrepreneur, for example, you can raffle your own product or service. Or you cooperate with other profiles so that you can raffle something together. The condition of participation in the competition should be that all profiles must be followed.
Again, you should make sure that the product and the cooperation partner match your target group. Otherwise, too many other users may be attracted who have nothing to do with the topic and are gone after the competition. In the case of competitions, you must also familiarize yourself with Instagram’s guidelines. Here, Instagram provides some guidelines that you as a user must adhere to.
20. Attend offline events
As great as the opportunities for networking in the online world are, offline events still offer great opportunities to exchange ideas with others. There is still nothing like meeting and exchanging ideas with other users in person. Classic networking can therefore also be very valuable for Instagram collaborations. For this purpose, there are numerous blogger events or influencer meetings in larger cities where you can meet many people from the same industry.
At some events, however, you have to be invited by the organizers. This requires an already good number of followers. Therefore, these events are more suitable for people who want to continue expanding their existing followers. Or you can ask your Instagram blogger friends if they can take you to an event.
Conclusion: good things take time
Of course, a rapidly growing profile on Instagram is exactly what you want to achieve. But purchased followers or bots, which make your account appear “big” at first glance, hinder second glance. Because behind it, there are “dead” followers who neither react to your posts nor have a positive effect on your reach. So move away from bought followers and grow as organically as possible – even if this path takes more time. If you follow the tips we have given you here, you should automatically get more Instagram followers.
