Social networks move the world. One of the most successful and most powerful social networks of all time is Instagram, where a record 400 million accounts log in every day. Some people manage to earn good money thanks to Instagram, but to do so they need a large enough base of followers. Would you also like thousands of fans on your account? We will share 19 tips for a successful Instagram.
It is worth mentioning that Instagram is no newcomer to the online world. Becoming successful on Instagram and gaining hundreds or thousands of followers is no longer quite so easy, but it is not impossible either. The competition is fierce, and millions of people around the world have their own Instagram account.
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How to get followers on Instagram
Even today, though, Instagram accounts that catch people’s attention still gain thousands of followers. To stand out like a goldfish in a sea of thousands of other fish, you need something extra: wit, personal charm, good content, interesting information, added value. Instagram has also become a good platform for promoting companies and entrepreneurs. You can earn money on Instagram, sell products, promote an online shop and run all kinds of businesses.
The driving force is your followers. How can you make sure your profile is interesting enough for people to click the magic FOLLOW button?
Tip 1, good photos are the basis of Instagram
That goes without saying, right? After all, Instagram was created as a platform for posting photos and building your own galleries. Good photos are therefore essential, and without them thousands of fans will not be waiting for you. You do not necessarily need the best DSLR camera on the market to take beautiful photos (although you can use one). A good phone is perfectly enough for taking natural, clean photos.
To learn to take good photos, you need to know at least the basic rules of photography. Several courses have been created on this subject. You can attend some of them in person, and others are available online as video courses. You can also read countless articles on how to take good photos.
Tip 2, choose a theme for your Instagram
Everyone has different interests. Some people love travelling, others cook, others are passionate about sport, so what about you? Choose a theme for your Instagram and stick to it. It is not a good idea to turn your account into a mix of every topic that comes to mind. A photo from Paris, next to it a cute puppy and then yesterday’s amazing dinner? That is not the way to go.
The theme should be as close to your heart as possible, and you should enjoy it. Only then will the content of your Instagram entertain both you and your followers. Jumping from one thing to another can confuse your followers. When someone starts following you for beautiful travel photos and tips on great destinations, they are usually not interested in how many squats you did at the gym today, and vice versa. Think about what you want to focus on in your Instagram account and choose one, or at most three themes that will complement each other and combine well.
Tip 3, include yourself in your photos
A photo on Instagram is more appealing if there are people in it. Even with topics where people might not seem to fit, it is a good idea to include at least part of yourself.
Let’s take an example. You have chosen cooking as the theme for your Instagram and want to share recipes and beautiful-looking dishes with people. Yes, great idea. If you can work not only on taste (which your loved ones will appreciate more than people on social media) but also on the visual side of food, you are halfway there.
How about posing when you photograph a full plate? You do not have to be fully visible. Even hands holding a bowl have something extra that will attract your future followers.
Tip 4, a coordinated gallery feed
As already mentioned, Instagram is essentially your photo gallery. For a successful Instagram, the so-called feed of your gallery is important. It is not about a single photo but about the overall impression an ordinary user gets when looking at your profile.
For a beautiful, consistent Instagram feed, follow these basic rules:
- use the same (or very similar) filters and other edits on your photos
- unless you have chosen black and white, alternate the colours in your photos regularly and tastefully
- alternate different types of photos (selfies, full-body shots from a distance, photos without people, …)
- play with your gallery so that it catches the eye at first glance and is original
You can also try various effects created by the order in which you post photos. For example, alternating two colours in your photos creates a chessboard pattern on your profile. Or you can keep your feed to shades of a single colour. Colourful profiles are more interesting to the eye, but your feed must not turn into overdone kitsch. Five selfies in a row followed by three nature photos is not exactly the road to follower paradise either.
A great app that will help you coordinate your feed is, for example, Preview, which works on both computer and phone. You can upload the photos you want to post on your Instagram into the app, and it creates a gallery that looks just like your profile feed. You can move the photos around so you can see how individual photos will look next to each other (and above each other too!) and change their order.
Tip 5, fill in your bio
When someone wanders onto your profile, it is a good idea to have it properly filled in. In your bio you can write basic information about yourself and add your favourite quote or a line from a film. Avoid the boring czech girl and czech boy, 21 years old and so on. Be original, give your bio an idea and keep it short.
If you have a blog, a website or a YouTube channel, do not be afraid to add a link to it. People can then click through (or get there another way, as Instagram does not support hyperlinks that take visitors elsewhere) to your other corners of the internet, find out more about you and follow you because they were attracted by something else that perhaps did not fit into your Instagram bio.
Tip 6, leave a comment
Commenting well and at the right time can bring new fans to your Instagram. Rely on wit and originality in your comments, which dozens of people will read and then click on your profile. After that, all it “takes” is for them to like your profile too, and the follow button will get plenty of use.
However, you need to comment at the right time: be among the first. Almost nobody sees comment number 5273. It is also a good idea to comment on posts that match the theme of your profile. Do not spam and avoid cheap comments (LOL, emojis only and so on). Your comment should be relevant, witty and high quality so that it also attracts potential new followers.
Tip 7, use a consistent photo format
Right at the start of building your profile, it is a good idea to decide which photo format you will use. The obvious choice is the square, which Instagram was created for, but you can also use rectangles. Some people create interesting effects with rectangular photos by leaving thicker white borders on two sides, so the photo actually becomes a square.
Whatever you decide, keep the photo format consistent. Instagram has since adjusted how photo formats work, so you can also post a rectangular photo without disrupting your square feed. When posting a photo, just tap the two small arrows in the bottom right corner. The photo will be posted as a rectangle but cropped to a square on your profile, which is useful for photos of tall buildings, for example.
Tip 8, do not be afraid of stories
Besides photos, you can also post daily stories on Instagram, known as Instastories or simply stories. If you want more followers, do not be afraid to reach out to them through Instastories, which disappear after 24 hours.
There are many features you can use: polls, GIFs, Boomerangs and so on. There really are plenty of options. People have grown very fond of these stories and watch them regularly. Reach your audience right here and add, for example, the steps for making that delicious dish you will then photograph for your profile.
Tip 9, do you know the swipe left?
Have you tried the swipe left yet? It simply means adding several photos to one post, so that swiping your finger to the left shows the next photo.
Adding several photos to one post is useful if you want to share, for example, several photos from one trip, concert or event, but at the same time do not want to spam Instagram by posting several photos a day (which we do not recommend). Using the swipe and creating a photo carousel like this is definitely the better choice.
One more small bonus tip: All the photos should still be of good quality, and put the best one first. You can also use this to tell a story through photos.
Tip 10, do not be afraid to add a thought
You do not have to post only photos and stories without much meaning on Instagram. You can give your photos a whole new dimension by adding a thought to the caption. There is quite a lot of space for writing, so make use of it.
You can polish your caption to perfection. Again, originality and wit play a role here. You can add your opinions, advice and tips, recipes (whether for a great meal or a successful life) or valuable information. Your followers will then grow fond of you, not only for something nice to look at, but also for something interesting to read.
Tip 11, don’t buy followers
In today’s world you can buy almost anything, including followers on Instagram. Our only advice is this: don’t do it. If you build up thousands of followers by paying various websites and other people’s profiles, nobody will actually follow your content anyway.
You can tell, for example, from the number of likes or the number of views on your stories. These paid followers are just dead profiles, practically controlled by a bot, with no real person behind them. So you may have 5,000 followers, but your posts will reach 250 real people who were following you before.
Tip 12, share other people’s profiles
There is, however, a way to increase your number of followers with the help of other people on Instagram. Try (most often in your stories) sharing your favourite profiles, tagging them and adding, for example, how they inspire you. Smaller profiles are often happy to return the favour, and suddenly your followers keep growing and growing.
Bigger and more famous profiles also sometimes share profiles with a small number of followers, but it doesn’t happen as often. Your profile has to catch their attention enough that they’re happy to recommend you to their own followers, for example thanks to a beautiful feed, high-quality photos or interesting thoughts that you post.
Tip 13, post regularly and with quality
Do you really want to increase the reach of your Instagram account so that in the future it might even earn you some money? Then prepare a stock of high-quality photos.
Your followers need to be constantly aware of you. Post your photos regularly and often, but don’t overdo it. The saying everything in moderation applies here more than anywhere else. Your photos and content must still keep their quality. We recommend posting one photo every one to two days, so that you keep your Instagram filled with content and gain new followers without spamming your existing ones.
Tip 14, filters are still in
Although you might think that filters were something we used at the very start of Instagram and are no longer trendy today, that isn’t the case. People just use subtler, less noticeable filters than before. When editing photos, remember that less is sometimes more, so be careful and don’t go overboard with extravagant filters. Unless you want to make fun of yourself, which is a different matter.
Tip 15, hashtags (when and how to use them?)
A hashtag is a keyword marked with the hash symbol “#”. These keywords can be put to good use to increase your number of followers, provided you use them correctly.
Some people would cram absolutely everything into their hashtags, even things that don’t appear in the photo. That’s not really the purpose of a hashtag, though. Use hashtags that don’t have tens of thousands of photos under them, as your photo will get lost in such a flood. Ideally, use new, emerging hashtags that have potential. You can also try creating your own new hashtag as your brand.
Tip 16, don’t copy others (they already exist)
Originality has been mentioned several times already. That’s because it could be called the key to success. You can bet on humour and create funny posts, or turn your Instagram into a trainer’s profile that motivates people to exercise.
Whichever path you choose, don’t copy other successful profiles just to get the same number of followers. You probably won’t succeed anyway, and fans tend to be loyal to their favourite influencers. Taking inspiration is healthy, but squeeze a piece of yourself and your own ideas into your profile.
Tip 17, apps for a better Instagram
You can also improve your Instagram with the help of several apps. We already mentioned one of them in tip 4. Of course, there are many such apps and more appear every day.
There is at least one app you should definitely know about, though. It’s called Snapseed and it’s available for both Android and iOS. In this app you can edit photos either using preset filters, or you can play around with the edits yourself. It lets you nicely bring out the light and adjust the atmosphere of the photo, the brightness, the contrast and so on. Another great tool is the brush, which lets you edit just part of a photo.
Another big advantage of the app is that you can create and save your own filter, which you can then use for all your photos to get a consistent feed.
Tip 18, business vs. personal Instagram
Another question you need to ask yourself when setting up and using Instagram is whether you want a personal or a business profile. Each has its pros and cons. Instagram’s business mode is the obvious choice for presenting a company, but influencers usually use it too.
One of its advantages is, for example, the option to add a swipe up (a link in stories that can be opened by swiping up on the screen), which lets you link to products and other websites. This isn’t possible with a personal profile, but business profiles get less support and organic reach from Instagram.
The setting can be changed while you are using Instagram, so you can start with a personal profile and switch it to a business one. What’s more, once a personal profile reaches 10,000 followers, it can also add a swipe up.
Tip 19, be patient
No success comes straight away. Instagram is no different. Be patient and have a plan that you will stick to for longer than a few weeks. Statistics show that 95% of people on Instagram don’t succeed, and the vast majority of them fail because of impatience. Thousands of followers don’t arrive within a few weeks, but after several months or even years of effort and posting high-quality content. Persevere, and your efforts will bear the fruit you want in the form of hundreds and thousands of followers.
Did we forget anything? Does a different Instagram strategy work for you? Share your opinions, advice and tips with us in the comments.
