Here are 3 main strategies to grow an Instagram account. Each of them can be used separately, but to really grow sustainably it’s better to use all 3 tools in combination.
So you have created your Instagram account, you have at least 12 posts on it. And you think about how you can grow it. Three strategies, mentioned in this article, are focused specifically on growth- not on content. So I hope your content is interesting and adds value.
1.Follow/unfollow strategy
Probably the easiest way to grow your account. You can do it yourself – manually, taking into account all the limitations on Instagram, to avoid the banning of your account. Or you can use a bot. Instagram has blocked most of them, but there are still some bots which Instagram cannot identify.
Following/unfollowing accounts is one of the best strategies to grow your account, especially in the beginning. It’s a free tool to grow the awareness of your brand. That’s how I grew the @hellomonaco account when it was created.
The idea is that you target your potential customers, not just random accounts.
Quite often marketers consider this strategy not ethical. But first, that is how it has always been done (before it was easy to find a bot that would do it for you- now Instagram has much stricter rules about bots and can ban your account if you use a spammy one)
Second, you are free to keep really interesting accounts or those that engage with your content and unfollow those that do not give you any value. Although as a brand you would like to keep the number of your followers bigger than the number of accounts you follow – this ratio increases the trustworthiness of your account.
This strategy is good to grow your account to 1500-2000 followers. After it, your content should do the work. Ideally.
2.Engage on other accounts
Choose 10-20 accounts where you can find your potential audience and 10-20 hashtags. The accounts should be with good or high engagement rates, with not more than 20 000 followers. The engagement rate of 1%-5% is what you would look for. And you can check the engagement rate here. As for the hashtags, they should be specific – try to avoid both: very popular or spammy and very narrow hashtags. Follow those accounts and like, comment, send reactions to stories on them as often as you can daily. Or at least 1 comment on each account, 3 likes, stories’ reactions. Do the same with the posts you find on hashtags you choose. In order to grow your account, you will need to take these actions consistently.
When you use the strategies mentioned above, keep in mind all the limits on Instagram. If you overdo things, your account can be banned.
Instagram limits in 2021:
Instagram follow
-About 10 (7-13) follows per hour are allowed during your awake time span, which will lead to a maximum of 100-150 follows per day;
Instagram Likes
-When liking posts, make sure you are liking posts from the accounts you follow, otherwise, you are increasing the chance of getting banned. The best practice would be to like 3 posts of each new account you follow, which will result in a total number of 300-400 likes per day;
Instagram Comments
Commenting is restricted to 2-5 comments per hour (20-30 per day);
Instagram Direct Message (DMs)
You can send 2-5 messages per hour.
3. Paid advertising
And the last strategy but not least is paid ads of your posts or stories. Compared to any other types of ads (Googs Ads, print), Instagram advertising is still very affordable: the budgets can be minimal – from 5 euros per day. And with smart targeting Instagram ads can be very effective in increasing the awareness of your account. If you do it consistently and each month you allocate some budget to it, you really can grow your account.
Little hack about ads: when you create ads, keep in mind that for the cold audience you have first to advertise the benefit they can get. Advertising your services or products if you are not an established brand is a waste of money.
If you have more questions about growing your Instagram account, please contact me.