If you want to improve your social media presence, you need to start with Instagram. It’s the most popular photo-sharing app in the world and has more than 500 million daily users! Being active on Instagram is an incredible opportunity to market yourself and build brand awareness.
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When you first start on Instagram, you don’t want to aim too high. After some weeks of getting to know the Instagram platform, I suggest you should try to reach at least 1,000 followers before trying anything else. This How-To guide will show you how to use a few clever techniques, and some secret Instagram hacks to help you get your followers for the first time.
1. Optimize Your Bio
Among the first things users notice when they visit your profile on Instagram is your bio. It is your first tool to get people interested in following you and what you have to say.
The best thing about Instagram is that there is no limit on how many characters you can use in your bio. This implies that there is a ton of room for creativity.
Here are some tips for optimizing your Instagram bio:
- Use the space wisely – You can fit up to 2,200 characters in your biofield, but you shouldn’t use them all at once. Keep things short and sweet by using hashtags and punctuation sparingly.
- Be funny – Being funny will help people remember who you are and what you have to offer them as an influencer or business owner on Instagram. Humor goes a long way toward making connections with new followers, so don’t be afraid to use it in your bio!
- Use relevant keywords – Integrate keywords that people might search for in their bio (e.g., photographer, food blogger). This way, they’ll see that you’re relevant to their interests and follow up with a follow request.
2. Use Hashtags and Geo Tags in Your Posts and Stories
Hashtags are terms or phrases preceded by a hash symbol (#), like this: #instagood, #selfie, or #fashionista. You can integrate hashtags into your posts in the caption or comment section of the post. Hashtags can also be added to your stories by tapping the sticker icon in the top right corner of your screen when posting a story.
Location or Geotags, on the other hand, let other users know where a photo was taken by including landmarks or cities in the caption field when uploading a photo to Instagram. A common mistake is putting the name of a state or city instead of its actual location. For example, if you live in San Francisco, don’t just say “San Francisco” — add something like “San Francisco, CA” instead so that people looking for California photos will find yours first.
3. Buy Followers to kickstart your Instagram.
Buying Instagram followers is a common way to kickstart your Instagram account. When you buy a large number of followers, it increases your credibility and makes people more likely to follow you.
Many websites offer this service, but we recommend using Qubeviews. This website has been around for years and offers guaranteed service. When you buy Instagram followers from Qubeviews, they will be real people who follow your account and engage with it.
This is especially useful if your account is new and has little engagement. Buying followers will make other users think that your account is more relevant than it is. In this case, all those fake followers might help you gain real ones.
4. Connect Your Instagram Profile to Your Other Social Media Accounts
To get 1,000 Instagram followers for the first time, you need to connect your Instagram profile to your other social media accounts. You see, when you connect your Instagram profile to Twitter or Facebook, it also shows up on their platform.
So if you connect your Twitter account to your Instagram profile, when people go to your Twitter feed, they’ll see that you have an active Instagram account. As a result, they are more likely to follow you on Instagram!
This is an excellent way of getting new followers because people want to connect with others on social media who they can relate to or find interesting. If they see similar interests between the two profiles, they’re far more likely to follow both profiles.
5. Host a contest or giveaway on your Instagram profile
Running a contest or giveaway on your Instagram profile is one of the best ways to get more followers and likes. You can let people enter your contest by following you, like a photo, or reposting your post.
Running a contest on Instagram is easy, but you should be careful with how you run it. You want to ensure that everyone who participates will have a good experience and not feel like they are wasting their time. Here are some pointers for hosting a successful Instagram contest or giveaway:
- Make sure your contest has rules and regulations, so everyone knows what they’re getting into. This will help prevent people from complaining about the outcome or being disqualified because they didn’t follow all of the rules.
- Offer something valuable to your audience. For example, if you sell gifts, then maybe give away a housewarming gift to one lucky winner. The prize should be something that is relevant to your business and audience. Be sure not to offer anything too expensive or difficult to ship internationally.
- Post an image with details on how to enter in the caption below so that people can easily figure out how to enter and how much time they have until the end date (ex: “Enter now by following these steps”).
- If you’re looking for more than just likes and comments on photos, include other requirements like following certain accounts, tagging certain accounts in photos, etc.
Overall
Having followers on Instagram can help boost your brand’s awareness, increase engagement with current and potential customers, and potentially lead to more sales. However, getting those first 1,000 Instagram followers takes time, so if you’re a brand new business or a startup that has just launched, it’s important to start early. And if you want those first followers to kickstart your Instagram, be sure to use these tips on how to get your 1000 Instagram followers for the first time!