Periodically, we read some news of drastic drops in followers and followings by accounts on Instagram. The reasons may be related to cleaning up ‘fakes’, inactive users and bots. Sometimes it is simply a matter of technical problems. In any case, every time, the drops are reported by users with no small amount of concern.

The concern of users stimulates a question: how important are the numbers on Instagram?

The secret, in our opinion, is a wise balance between quantity and quality with a clear predominance of the second.

And after clearly defining what the goal of our growth is – it goes without saying that if the goal is simply to get lots of followers without being clear about what to communicate, none of these strategies will be effective – we will carefully outline a similar editorial plan of macro themes and content, followed by the concrete production of the same. Not forgetting in this regard to verify, by monitoring and analyzing, the quality and perception of our work on followers.

But let’s go in order and see five tips on how to get followed on Instagram (and increase authentic engagement).

How to get followed on Instagram: Follow/unfollow and 5 other tips to try

The first thing that comes to mind as soon as we start talking about how to get followed on Instagram and it grows is the practice of follow/unfollow. What are we talking about? It is a strategy whereby (manually or automatically thanks to a bot) we follow a series of accounts whose follow we remove if, within a certain time they have not reciprocated.

Although this is a tactic sometimes looked upon with suspicion it is very effective. Under certain conditions.

We should, first of all, go after only accounts that are truly interested in our proposal. Users who, if they follow us, will interact with our posts and thus ensure real growth of our account. One trick? Start with profiles that look like ours and start following their followers.

It is also good not to overdo it: overuse of the follow/unfollow could lead Instagram to penalize you.

Curate your profile by defining its identity

Any effective communication strategy starts with some basic questions, and this also applies to Instagram. Who you are, what you want to communicate and why precisely on this channel are just three elements that cannot be ignored and that contribute to the definition of one’s identity.

And, once you have identified the goal of an account’s growth, you can translate these answers into aesthetic consistency as well. But this does not mean that all photos should be standardized, in fact quite the opposite.

Your posts should always be beautiful, original and consistent. Better if they are also bright and low-saturated. To do this we can, for example, choose to apply the same filter to all photographs, or always shoot from the same point of view. What is now well established is that a profile characterized by photographs linked to each other from the aesthetic point of view likes more and has more chances for growth.

Using hashtags effectively

Carefully choosing hashtags to go with our post can help get your photograph or video seen by as many people as possible.

The selection must be careful and consistent with your goals. For example, if your target audience is Italian, the advice is to prefer hashtags in the Italian language or very popular in the area you are interested in.

Also, best to avoid overly generic hashtags such as #love, #instagood, #photooftheday. In these cases the competition is so high that the chances of your own photo emerging are minimal.

More effective is a more careful selection of words or themes that reflect well the message we want to give and medium size hashtags (no more than 5 million posts). This increases the chances that the posts will be noticed and the profile will grow.

Publish content consistently

Like all social media, Instagram takes its time. If you are hoping to see the number of followers rise overnight without lifting a finger, you are not reading the right article. To create an active community and real growth, it takes time.

You need to dedicate yourself to posting every day, posting at least one photograph and having stories help us maintain engagement when we don’t have as much content to fix on the profile.

This is helpful to solidify the relationship with followers who, as they become more loyal and active, will help the profile grow.

Comments and hearts to interact with others

Just keeping in mind that Instagram is, first and foremost, a community of photography enthusiasts will help you understand why the algorithm rewards those who are most active in their relationship with others as well.

Liking your favorite posts will help you grow by attracting the attention of the authors of these posts, but not only that. Commenting – spontaneously – will increase your visibility and allow you to make yourself known, even with a little thought, elsewhere

A small step to bring users to one’s profile who might actually like it. Interesting, in this regard, had been the ‘I want an honest like’ initiative of Instagram-guru @grace_theamazing. From time to time he asks his followers who wish to do so to comment on one of his posts, as long as they also take a turn on other people’s accounts by liking or leaving a comment on their favourite photo of that user.

Not only photos: enhance the word as well

Finally, the texts. Yes, Instagram is a visual social, but words always play a key role. First of all, where do we find space to be able to write? Starting with our username, continuing in the bio and, finally, in all the captions of photographs.

There are those who choose the path of long and articulate caption, those who prefer them very short and concise. There is no universal answer, but it depends on your target audience. So experiment by trying to tell why you took a photograph, or by accompanying the shot with a simple evocative title.

The important thing is to always keep in mind that words should also be used strategically because they can help raise the quality of your account. And, consequently, it is a tool to get more followers on Instagram.

Growing is, therefore, a careful combination of strategy, research, consistency and quality. All key ingredients to achieve any goal in communication. Do you have more questions about how to grow on Instagram? Leave them for us in the comments!