So, regardless of whether Instagram is the newest or shiniest social media platform, it\u2019s still a very worthwhile place to grow a following. To help you do so, we\u2019ve compiled a list of practical ways to grow your following organically (because real followers are the best kind!)<\/p>\n
Let\u2019s take a look.<\/p>\n
How to grow your Instagram following organically<\/h2>\n1. Show up consistently<\/h3>\n
When looking at your overall marketing strategy, maintaining a consistent social media presence is one of the best ways to support organic growth. Think about the message it sends your Instagram followers if you post and engage with them regularly rather than going hot and then unexpectedly cold. Meaningful relationships between brands and followers require consistency and thoughtful content (more on the latter later).<\/p>\n
It might be helpful to use a content calendar and plan your posts ahead of time. And in terms of how often you should be posting, here\u2019s what the data from our 2023 Social Media Industry Benchmark Report<\/a> tells us about Instagram:<\/p>\n You have just a few seconds from the time someone first visits your Instagram page to make an impression and incentivize them to look deeper into your brand. From just glancing at your Instagram profile, people should be able to identify who you are and what you\u2019re all about.<\/p>\n Your Instagram bio<\/a> should include a concise description of what you do, a link to your website, and use relevant keywords to increase your chances of being discovered. Many brands use emojis or bullet points to break up the information and make it easier to read. Try to keep your handle (Instagram username) and profile picture as simple as possible so as not to add any distractions.<\/p>\n Social media analytics can shed light on who your audience is and what they like to see so you can meet them where they are. It\u2019s like using a GPS to get from point A to point B instead of wandering around aimlessly and hoping for better results.<\/p>\n A good place to start is by identifying the content that typically performs best in terms of engagement (Rival IQ defines engagement as the measurable interaction on a social media post, such as likes, comments, shares, and saves) and looking for patterns among things such as:<\/p>\n If you\u2019re ready to harness the power of data to grow your Instagram following organically, the next best step could be getting started with a social media analytics tool. Might we suggest our very own Rival IQ<\/a>?<\/p>\n \n \n Start analyzing your Instagram performance with Rival IQ. <\/p>Get my free trial <\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n<\/span><\/p>\n Remember when we said consistency is key to growing your Instagram following? That doesn\u2019t mean you need to churn out new feed content every day.<\/p>\n Instagram Stories is where you can get up close and personal with followers. You can give them a behind-the-scenes look at your brand, touch on timely topics, drive traffic to your website or launches with links, use interactive stickers<\/a> to get feedback, and so much more. For a visibility push, use relevant hashtags and tag your tag your location.<\/p>\n One brand that really knows how to leverage the power of Stories is James Madison University<\/a>, the standout D1 school on Instagram for our 2023 Higher Education Social Media Engagement Report<\/a>.\u00a0 They use Stories to answer questions from students, give insight into daily life on campus, and generally foster a sense of community for their Instagram followers. Then, they create Story highlights so new followers can quickly immerse themselves in JMU culture.<\/p>\n Competition breeds innovation and, in the case of social media benchmarking, helps you identify practical areas for improvement, especially if there are extreme performance disparities. Let\u2019s say your competitor has a significantly larger following and an engagement rate you don\u2019t come close to. It would be in your best interest to reflect on why that is, reassess your own content strategy, and move forward accordingly.<\/p>\n If you want to see how your brand compares to your competitors (like, right now), you can run a free head-to-head report<\/a> and get instant analysis on several key metrics.<\/p>\n\n
2. Optimize your profile<\/h3>\n
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<\/p>\n3. Use analytics to understand your target audience<\/h3>\n
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\n 4. Get active on Stories<\/h3>\n
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<\/p>\n5. Use competitive benchmarking<\/h3>\n