As you most likely already know, individuals and businesses can use Instagram to increase the reach of their brand. Companies, in particular, can use it to give their brand a human touch, recruit future employees, present their products and corporate culture, nurture customers, and find new business opportunities.
But there's a catch: You need to be famous to gain a massive following on Instagram.
For the average person or company, building your community of followers daily takes a lot of time and care.
Luckily, some tips and tricks can help you or your business get 1,000 followers on Instagram in no time. The most important thing is to invest the time and effort correctly - we will show you how to do this in this article.
Maybe you're thinking: Couldn't you get the ball rolling by pulling out your credit card and buying a few followers?
Well, bought followers are either of poor quality or fake profiles - so apart from artificially increasing the number of followers, they serve no purpose at all. Don't expect meaningful interactions with these followers.
How to get your first (real) 1,000 followers on Instagram
It comes down to the real followers you earn yourself. Because they like your photos, they click on the links in your profile, find out about you and your company, share your pictures, and do business with you in the future. In this post, we will show you how to get exactly such followers check now.
1) Create and optimize your Instagram profile.
First things first: Set up your Instagram profile so that it looks good and shows followers who you are. Could you give them a good reason to follow you?
How it works? First, your username should be recognizable and easy to find - e.g., B., your company's name. If your company name is already in use, try to include the company name in the first part of your username anyway. This makes your profile easier to find when people search for your business.
Include your full company name in the options under the Name section - tap the gear icon on iOS devices or the three dots on Android devices. When searching, The full name will appear under your profile picture and username.
2) Assign a staff member to create content.
Only one or two people should be responsible for your Instagram account. The same goes for all your other social media accounts as well. If possible, hire an employee who already has a private Instagram profile and is, therefore, well-versed in the platform - it is important that this employee also knows all the useful functions Instagram offers.
Many people want a say in what is posted if you work for a large company. In this case, it may be beneficial to establish guidelines or create a guide for requesting contributions. This allows you to explain to your collaborators how, when, and why they can suggest a contribution and specify what types of contributions are welcome.
3) Brush up on your photography and editing skills.
On Instagram, the quality of the post is important. Very important. Your Twitter followers might forgive you for a few bad tweets, but a bad photo on Instagram is a no-go. Don't worry; you don't need to take a photography class to post well on Instagram — and you don't need weeks of practice to do it, either. It would help if you only learned the basics of photography and photo editing apps.
photography skills
Since Instagram is a mobile app, you will probably take many of your Instagram photos with your mobile device. Not only is that okay, it's expected. While some brands take professional photos for their Instagram accounts, the majority use smartphones, and that's what Instagram is for.
The most important points are:
Focus on just one subject.
Use negative space.
Find interesting prospects.
Look for symmetry.
Capture small details.
Make your followers laugh.
photo editing skills
There are only a few basic editing features on Instagram itself. There are often more to get the best out of a photo. You should edit most of your photos with at least one or two other apps on your smartphone before opening them on Instagram for the first time.
4) Start posting regularly on Instagram.
Understood! Now that you've created and optimized your profile hired someone to manage it, and know a thing or two about mobile photography and photo editing, it's time to start posting.
It's a good idea to have a certain number of good posts already - maybe around 15 - on your profile before you start interacting with people and work down this list. When users then visit your profile, they don't just see a few isolated photos but a whole screen full of them. That way, they know to expect great posts here regularly.
Before posting on Instagram, download this social media content planning template and plan your posts. Over time, you should build up a stock of photos that you can refer to in times of need, e.g., B. at the weekend or on vacation.
When planning your posts, you should always keep your audience in mind, especially regarding the timing and frequency of your posts - for example, if your audience is in a different time zone.
Because Instagram is primarily a mobile app, many users use it 24/7—many people are more active before and after work than during the workday. Some companies have successfully published posts on Wednesdays at 2:00 a.m., 5:00 p.m., and 7:00 p.m.. Try these times to see if they fit your target audience.
5) Collect valuable content.
While ideally, only one or two people manage your account, those two people can't be everywhere simultaneously or take photos at all times. For example, what about the great evening the engineers spent at the sushi restaurant? Or that event your sales manager spoke at last week? There is a wide range of content that you can post on Instagram. You need more than one person to keep track of everything.
The solution? Create a system to collect photos and content from members of your team. There are several possibilities for that. One of them is a special email address where your colleagues can send photos, short videos, memes, time-lapse recordings, etc.
Incidentally, it is easier to sort this content if the respective senders provide their emails with a clear subject. It might not be the most elegant way to collect photos, but it's the easiest for the people who send you photos - and the easier it is to send content, the more content you get.
If your team shares a Box or Dropbox account, you can create a folder where members can automatically put photos and videos. This requires a few more steps for the people sending you content, and they may not all have this app on their smartphones.