How To Grow Your Instagram Account …. Organically!

Instagram. Ugh, I have such a love/hate relationship with Instagram. I used to absolutely love it, however, once Facebook took over and changed our home feeds from chronological order to their algorithm, it’s been difficult for many of us to grow our page.

I am often asked by newcomers how to grow your Instagram following. Honestly, you’re coming in at a difficult time. Before the algorithm switch, Bruce Wayne’s account would grow by the thousands within a week or two. Since the switch, I’m lucky if I can grow a thousand in 2 months. But, I don’t want that to deter you from starting your account. If you are thinking of starting an account or just recently started one, keep it going! You will meet amazing like-minded people that you would have not otherwise have met.

How to Grow Your Instagram Following …..

CONTENT. CONTENT. CONTENT.

This is the most efficient way you will grow your following. To produce good content, you have to know your audience. For instance, my account is a dog account. If I’m posting about beauty products that is a bit conflicting for your audience. Know what genre you are in and stay in that lane. That doesn’t meant that you can’t occasionally post something different, just don’t make it a habit. If people are following your account for cute pictures of your dog, they really don’t care what you are eating for dinner.

ENGAGEMENT.

Some would argue that this is more important than content and you know what? They aren’t wrong. You should be engaging with your audience. There will be days and times that you can’t engage on every post as much as you would like, but overall, you should be responding to questions and comments. Think about it. If you kept telling someone how pretty they looked and you never got a simple “thank you” in return, that could turn you off.

DO NOT FOLLOW AND UNFOLLOW.

This happens a lot and it is very frustrating! It is also a good way of getting blocked by an account. You may not think that the owner of account is seeing how many times you follow their account, only to unfollow the next day, but trust me, they do. We, Instagrammers, refer to this as “fishing for followers”. If you follow an account, take a look at their page before you do. Make sure you want to see their daily content, then stay a while and post some comments.

COMMENT.

A great way to get noticed is by leaving funny or clever comments on big accounts. There are many people that love reading the comments under an account’s post, so if you say something that is funny or clever, there’s a good chance that they may click on your profile, then give you a follow. I would suggest doing this on very large accounts such as @instagram, @dogsofinstagram, @theellenshow, etc. You may even bring in some followers that aren’t fellow dog accounts.

BE CONSISTENT.

Yes, there is such a thing as over-posting. If you post multiple times a day, that is off putting for many people. If you like to post multiple times a day, Twitter would be a good social media channel for you to do so. Instagram has a different feel than Twitter. Personally, for me, the sweet spot for me has been to post on Instagram twice a day. I post once in the morning and once again in the evening. At times, I will switch it up and post mid-day and at night. With the new algorithm, you will notice your engagement and followers decrease if you only post once a week.

Overall, I’m going to tell you something you do not want to hear….. It’s quality over quantity when it comes to followers. I know that is easy to say and if you have a small account, you do not feel that way, but I promise you that you will agree after a few months. You will meet amazing people and the numbers will begin to mean less and less.

Fellow IG pups we met through Instagram: @therealpablochihuahua; @_darling_clementine; and @bmorebrunothebulldog

If you have any suggestions, Bruce Wayne is all ears .… literally. 😉