Instagram is one of the best platforms to attract audiences. Here are 7 tips to get your first 1,000 followers on Instagram. Instagram is now one of the most popular social networks with a reach of 40% among US adults. This makes it a platform to invest time and effort in, but it can be difficult to gain an audience. Instagram remains one of the best platforms to grow your followers. It has over a billion users worldwide and 71% of US businesses use the social media platform. And did you know that Instagram can generate more than four times as many interactions as Facebook? It goes without saying that Instagram is the place for starting entrepreneurs and content creators.
If you search on Google, you can easily find tips to also get a lot of Instagram views and likes. However, most of these tricks work for larger accounts they’re more difficult if you only have a few hundred followers. Reaching the first 1,000 followers on a social media platform is usually the hardest part because people are less interested in small accounts.
Account change into a business profile
While technically the only way forward is with a personal profile, we recommend converting your account to an Instagram business profile or creating a new profile. This gives you access to Instagram Insights, which you can use to understand how fast your followers are growing and how well your strategy is working. Even if you’re considering becoming a freelance content creator, you should still consider managing your account as if it were a business. Follow these steps to convert your private account to a business account:
- Go to your profile on Instagram.
- Tap the hamburger menu button in the top right corner.
- In the pop-up window, tap Settings.
- Press Account.
- Tap Switch to work account at the bottom.
You then have the option to fully switch to a professional account or to stay with a professional account.
Find relevant hashtags
Check out their hashtags and pay attention to which ones they use. Then find another account like theirs with similar followers and do the same. If the account is large, hashtags may not be displayed. Check out the first comment below the post as some people posted it there.
If you still don’t see hashtags, keep scrolling until you’re at the top of the feed. If they are organic, they will probably be used regularly someday. Copy and paste all hashtags into a Google Doc or email.
Connect to your network
As mentioned above, getting those first few hundred followers is often the hardest part of building a following on social media. So why not start following your friends, family, colleagues, and just about everyone you know? They will likely follow you and hopefully recommend you to their friends. Also, check your Facebook and contact list and make sure you’ve used all your connections.
Depending on the Instagram feed you manage, it’s also worth reaching out to local businesses or something similar. Of course, this article is not only about how to get Instagram followers for your business but also what you should pay attention to. By tagging them, commenting on their posts, and sharing their content, we encourage you to do the same!
Follow best photography and editing practices.
Instagram relies on the quality of your posts. Terribly. Your Twitter followers can forgive a few bad tweets, but a bad Instagram photo is an absolute no-no. Fortunately, you don’t have to take a photography course to become a good Instagram poster, nor do you need weeks of practice before you can get started. However, you should familiarize yourself with basic photography tips and photo editing apps.
Edit photos before posting
Instagram has some basic editing features, but they are often not enough to really make the images stand out. Most of your photos will need to go through at least one or two photo editing apps on your phone before you can access them on Instagram. Some options are:
- Canvas
- Photoshop Express
- VSCO camera
Find your audience
When creating an account, try to describe your ideal target group. The goal is for you to benefit from their profiles and audience. Respond to their messages. Follow their followers and interact with them. Be there! You need to grab your audience’s attention and engage with them before they want to follow you and engage with your content. Leave thoughtful comments while participating in posts. Don’t try to cut corners by automating your answers through a third-party system. I told you it was going to be a big job and I really meant it.
You get what you wear. If you leave spam comments, don’t expect genuine engagement/interest in your content. Why should anyone care about your news if you don’t care about them? Once a mutual friend published an unfortunate story about a deceased relative. Someone used automatic comments and commented, “Great.”
Create video content
Video content typically gets 34% more engagement than content with static images. This shows that you want to include video content in your content strategy. There are tons of video options to choose from on Instagram these days. Enclose:
- Instagram roles. Reels are short pieces of content that can be up to 90 seconds long, such as TikTok videos. They’re a great way for creators to engage their audience.
- Increase Instagram Stories views. These are visible for 24 hours and can be based on video or photos. If you choose a video, each of your story posts can be up to 60 seconds long.
- Instagram Live. The best time to use Instagram Live is when you want to be more open and personal. This is an effective way to show viewers what goes on behind the scenes and can last up to four hours, although educational and instructional content is an advantage.
