Instagram is much more than the main source for latte art. Instagram has over a billion monthly active users – yes, a billion with a “b”. While the majority of its users are in the United States, the company has a huge global presence, with large user bases in India, Brazil, Indonesia, and Russia.

Instagram is also young and hip: around 60% of the platform is under 30 years old. Young people are increasingly using it. B2C brands can make an impact on Instagram.

What is Instagram Marketing?

With Instagram marketing, companies connect with their target audience through photos and videos. Over the last few years, Instagram has become a great tool for brands looking to showcase their company culture to users and promote their products and services in new and exciting ways.

This often attracts new Instagram audiences and potential talent while strengthening brand loyalty and brand identity.

Instagram offers free user insights into business profiles so you can track views and interactions on your stories and posts, and view demographic information such as gender, age, location, and activity times.

Instagram allows you to implement key marketing strategies in a variety of creative ways that reflect your brand, including influencer marketing, advertising, giveaways, and more.

Instagram marketing is ideal for businesses looking to gain massive views, increase sales, build brand loyalty, and position themselves as an influential industry leader.

08 Ways to Get Instagram Followers

Although Instagram is popular among people all over the world, many marketers are not as familiar with it as Facebook, Twitter, or even LinkedIn. This can cause culture shock as you develop an Instagram marketing strategy that works for you.

The basis of success lies in active, attentive, and loyal followers.

How to get more Instagram followers for your business:

1. Promote your Instagram on other networks

Most people use multiple social media platforms, so you can always start by telling your followers about your new Instagram account. If they like your content, they'll likely add you, and that gives you two (or more) opportunities to get your message across to them.

Your Instagram business account should also be linked to Facebook so that you can continue to share your Instagram posts on your Facebook Page and give Facebook users a taste of what they can expect from your new Instagram feed.

2. Use popular hashtags. Just like Twitter

Instagram is also based on hashtags. Using the right hashtags at the right time will make your posts easier to find. Of course, you should always check the meaning before using a tag and make sure you only use tags that fit your brand identity.

3. Keep an eye on hashtags (even if they aren't very popular)

Instagram focuses even more on comments than other platforms. If you want your followers to interact with you, it's a good idea to take the first step.

Follow hashtags in your niche, even if they don't drive much daily traffic, and comment on relevant images to build a relationship. If you run a local business, make sure the hashtags you choose are geographically targeted to your area.

4. Spice it up with video content

Video content is extremely important on Facebook and Twitter. Don't miss it on Instagram too!

On Instagram, engagement with videos is growing faster than with photos. The truth is that people can't get enough of short, original, and engaging videos.

Don't forget to post not only recorded videos but also Instagram Live at least once a week. Nothing says “authenticity” like live video: grainy smartphone footage can be far more popular than a polished, professional video, especially on a site full of twenty-somethings.

Plus, going live on Instagram gives you pride of place in your followers' feeds until you're done with everything. You still have the option to share the replay later with anyone who missed it.

5. Optimize your brand’s website

Your Instagram brand page is the public face of your business and a lot is going on here.

Your brand page is your chance to introduce yourself to the Insta world and drive traffic to your website. This is one of the rare cases where a direct link to your homepage is the best option, but a landing page specifically targeted to Instagram users can be even more effective.

To complete your brand page, you'll need your brand username, a full bio, profile photo, and captions. You should also add key contact options like Call, Email, and Get Directions. These appear as clickable buttons on your profile.

Too many Instagram pages remain unfinished after creation or are abandoned by companies, clogging the internet with spam. Don't be that person.

6. Post regularly and stick with it

When adding Instagram to your social media strategy, remember that this is a big commitment: brands should aim to post at least once a day. Once you have a visual content workflow and pipeline in place, you can increase the number of posts to two or three per day to be more competitive.

Instagram needs eye-catching images to draw attention to your post. So unless you have a photography business, you'll likely never reach the 8-10 posts per day that you could on a platform like Twitter.

Even more important is the timing of your messages. So check out the best times to post on Instagram. No matter how much daily fasting you decide to do, work at the same level.

7. Follow + Like + Comment (FLC)

This simple formula can help you gain a lot of followers quickly, but that's not all.

The quickest way to grow your audience is to start with your closest competitor's followers. The local your business is, the more efficient it is.

Connect directly with these followers by following them, liking their photos, and leaving a comment. You can also repeat this process on different days until you see the answer.

Preliminary research on the topic shows that it is surprisingly effective when done with a personal touch. It may be that out of 100 contacts, almost a third follow you.

In the case of social media, this is a shocking response rate. Chase him!

8. Go crazy with influencer marketing

There's nothing new in influencer marketing, but Instagram is currently at home on the internet.

Instagram influencers are the rock stars of the social media world. Because their subscribers are highly engaged, they can send active, purchase-ready visitors directly to your home.

To start influencer marketing on Instagram, all you need to do is find great accounts in your niche. Typically, it takes at least 20,000 users to create a buzz.

Of course, many influencers have 200,000 or more.

Then contact the account holder directly (more experienced influencers provide a contact email address in their profile) and ask about sponsored post pricing.

Sponsored posts are generally inexpensive. Many young, aspiring influencers will also be interested in exchanging a product sample for a sponsored post. This can be a good choice if you are looking for an in-depth review that informs users about what you have to offer.