Growing Your Instagram Following

You have your Instagram account set up and the first few posts under your
belt. You’re following a few people and have even gotten your first few
Instagram followers. You’re ready to start growing your Instagram
following and turning this into a steady new funnel of visitors,
subscribers, and customers for your business. Here are a few things you
can do to start growing your Instagram following.
Share Your Instagram Account With Your Current Audience
Start by reaching out to your existing subscribers and customers. Send
them a quick email inviting them to follow you on Instagram. You can also
add a little sidebar widget that shows your most recent images and links
to your profile. Going forward, continue to share your social media
profiles, including the Instagram one from time to time.
If you’re wondering why you would want to promote it to your existing
audience, there are two good reasons why want to do this. The first is
that it gives you one more point of contact with your prospects. You get
one more chance to share your story and make your pitch. The second is
that their friends and followers may come across your posts. Leverage the
social part of social media including Instagram by getting your existing
followers to share who you are and what you are about with their circle
of influence.
Cross Link Social Media Profiles
Speaking of sharing and growing your audience, here’s another idea. Cross
link your social media profiles. Connect your Instagram account to your
Facebook account, so people will be notified on Facebook that you are
also active on Instagram. Share your Instagram profile on other social
media sites like LinkedIn or Google+ so people can find you. Pin your
Instagram images to get more exposure and continually grow your traffic
and your followers.
Use Hash Tags And Encourage Followers To Do The Same
Hashtags are a great way for Instagram users to find new content, and
more importantly to find you. Do a little homework and see what popular
hashtags are out there that you can start using. Come up with one or two
of your own that represent your brand or your product and start using
that as well. Encourage your followers to tag you and use your hashtag.
You can even run a contest that requires people to follow you, tag you,
and use a specific hashtag to be eligible to win a prize. It’s a great way to
grow your following quickly, and if you make your product the prize, you
get a lot of exposure for it that hopefully translates into a lot of extra
sales.
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Look Into Paid Advertising
Since Instagram is now part of Facebook, it is easy to grow your reach and
get in front of more people that make up your target audience through
Facebook Ads. Once you figure out a way to make paid advertising work
and recoup your investment, it’s easy to have a steady stream of new
followers coming in who will, in turn, become subscribers and customers.