Instagram Followers – Top 10 Tips to supercharge your profile

Updated 13th August 2015.

I thought I would share just how I get more Instagram followers simply by getting people to fall in love my profile and pictures on Instagram!

I love Instagram, but sometimes gaining new Instagram followers is quite difficult. However if you apply the following top 10 tips I use personally to your Instagram. You should be well on your way to being an Instagram social media flower in no time at all.

Firstly, don’t just follow people for the sake of following. You want to gain real followers who will really enjoy your pictures and follow your online image story so to speak.

You want your followers to have the same or at least similar interests to yourself. If you are using Instagram to drive traffic to your site, then concentrating on people or groups in your niche is a must. However, you might also want to try using Instagram growth services. There are lots of these around nowadays, which exemplifies their popularity. Essentially, they are companies that boost your Instagram account by increasing your number of followers. To help you to decide which service provider to use, you might want to read this review of Social Boost.

Using the below tips for gaining real Instagram followers will help you with your own account and get you up and running in no time at all.

Top 10 rules for gaining real Instagram followers

No 1 – Get yourself a Bio!

Creating a memorable Instragram Bio can help people decided whether to follow you or not. When potential new followers browse your Instagram feed they love to know a little about you. This can encourage more follower and likes of your images.

Do not be shy! Put a little bit of yourself out there and see what happens. I know I personally get around 30 to 40 new followers a week since I changed how my Instagram profile looks and what information I provide to potential new followers.

The below image is my personal U, me and the kids Instagram profile image below. As you can see I have around 900 followers. I now have around 2700 and it’s increasing on a daily basis. You can see my current followers on instagram at umeandthekids.

• What to add to your Instagram bio?

In your Bio you could include something similar to mine. Keep it short and sweet. You only get 150 characters which is just 10 more characters than twitter. So, I have found that bullet pointing your interests and telling people where your from really helps keep your profile to the point.

Add emoticons at the begining of each Interest in your profile description. Personally, I think this makes your profile look a little more fun and appealing.

No 2 – Get a meaningful Instagram profile picture!

The profile picture can be seriously important when people come across your brand/profile by using a #hashtag search. They will immediately click on the most interesting profile photos they see in the list. In turn the profile picture can help people figure out what types of photographs your Instagram account will offer them.

If you are a blogger this can assist you and your brand gaining the right types of interested followers.

If you have a bland profile pictures on Instagram now try adding something a little fun or something that tells you what to expect from your brand.

You could do this now before reading the rest of this article.

No 3 – Shortened URL’S

Using a web-based platform like https://bitly.com or goo.gl url shortners in your bio. Shortening your urls makes the url more manageable according to mashable.

Instagram only allows one link in your profile so making it shorter seems to make clicking on the link more appealing. Not only that but you can track how many visitors you have received to your site as a result of an image upload. This is one great aspect of using url shortners because they predominantly track how many people have clicked the shortened url.

• Generally you would add a short description like “READ THE FULL ARTICLE. LINK IN PROFILE DESCRIPTION” or you may take and image of food. You could then add “FULL RECIPE IN MY PROFILE.”
• Using these types of comments in your text tells your followers there is a story or more related information behind your most recent image.

I know this seems to be a little bit of a long winded approach, but it can be worth it once you have built up a good amount of real Insagram followers. They are more likely to click the links!

No4 – Use Hashtags on Instagram

Hashtags on Instagram are a key part of exactly how you search on Instagram itself. Adding a hashtag to each post targets the people you would like to follow your account. You could try using a hashtag generator to search for the best most relevant hashtags for your photo.

Some of my favourite hashtags are as follows.

• #lifestyle
• #beauty
• #parenting
• #fashion

I would also recommend using an app on your mobile phone called tagsforlikes. I personally use this and it works a treat. The app actually helps you find the right hashtags to use when uploading an image. However, dont exceed the limit of tags per post which is 30 according to Instagram help. It’s also worth noting that any video or photo exceeding that limit just will not post until you have reduced the number of tags.

The use of hashtags can really get you some exposure so take your time and choose the right ones. I have looked into the exact amount of tas on Instagram there actually is and apparently there are too many to actually count according to Quora. So, you should be able to find something to suit your Instagram needs.

No5 –  Quality Content is the key on Instagram

I have fallen foul of this before. Firstly, don’t upload to many images each day your followers will get bored with this! I generally upload an image once or twice at very most per day. Save your image for the next day if you want to share it with your insta community.

Each image I upload I try to make look quirky and appealing to others. Sometimes they fail miserably and sometimes I get over 1oo likes. Ok, admittedly, the hashtags actually help but my followers give me likes too.

Personally I have found that the following types of images seem to help increase likes and gain real Instagram followers.

• Collage’s
• Captions
• Quotes
• Food
• collectables.
• Fitness related images also work a treat.

Try to make your images unique. This will give you the edge over anyone else that might be promoting their Instagram account in the same way.

Below is one of my favourite fun images that seemed to get me a great deal of likes. I was actually promoting healthy eating and I thought why not take a cherry shot!

No6 – Always have a Public profile

Instragram is full of people who are a little nosey. I am no different! ha… I love to look at accounts, even the ones I don’t follow.

Having your profile set to private may suit your needs but if you are wanting to gain followers it’s like having dirty windows. No one who wants to follow you can see what’s inside your lovely home… hence why would they follow your account unless they know you!

You can learn how to adjust your settings, changing Instagram from private to public using synonym detailed guide.

It’s easy to complete and can really assist you when you want to gain new followers. Instagram is a visual form of social media and people want to see your images even if they follow or not.

No7 – Follow others on Instagram.

Make sure you follow others on Instagram. They may well follow back. Follow influencers in your chosen niche and follow their followers. People will follow back if they like what you have to offer. You can check who follows back using apps and online services which are free but have their limits unless you purchase add-ons and subscriptions.

• Unfollowgram
• Followers (Apple Devices)
• Unfollowers (Google devices) Includes twitter.

Personally, I think these are great for monitoring who follows you back and in some cases they even tell you the top engagers which is a real bonus because you can comment on their images too. It’s worth noting that these apps all pretty much do them same and there are tons out there so it’s worth having a look around.

No8 – Comment on Instagram

When you follower other people on Instagram, try to comment on their images. This gives you exposure and also connects you to the person who is uploading the image.

Their followers will see your comment and this could gain you new followers. If you use Instagram silently, you can expect people to engage with your profile.

Remember although people can have thousands of followers and I can guarantee you that most will not receive too many comments. This is a great way of making you and your account stand out.

I suppose the main thing to remember here is “It’s better to have 100 great followers than it is to have a 1000 that do not engage”.

• Here is a tip… Just @ the account in your comment and this will show up in their notifications. i.e @umeandthekids and I will be able to see your latest images if you think it’s going to be of interest to me.

No9 – Instagram Likes

If you like an image “LIKE IT” which is real simple. When people like my images I do often look at their profile and if it fits I will follow them. They may also follow back.

Instagram allows you to like up to 350 images per hour. This is to stop spammy people just liking everyone’s pictures to influence their own followers numbers.

Instagram is a fast paced social tool which allows you to actually engage quite quickly with someones image. If you like something take the time to comment and show your appreciation for the image.

Someone, just like yourself has put a lot of thought into each photo they upload. It will make their day if that image gets plenty of comments and likes.

No10: High Quality & Relevant Images

Try your best not to add grainy images if you can help it to Instagram. To get the very best out of your phone try these simple techniques by popular photography to get the best out of your smart phone.

Taking a little extra time over your image and getting the best out of your mobile can really improve your likes and gain you real followers who love your images.

Once you have taken the photo you can either use the built-in Instagram filters or use an app like Aviary by Adobe which I prefer due to the amount of control it gives over an image.

You can also find 7 great applications on postplanner which all seem to have pretty good ratings. I can’t say I have tried any others than Aviary but that just because I am happy with the app.

The benefits of using these apps are…

• Your images look more appealing.
• You can control brightness and contrast.
• You can add text and so much more…

I used my app to create the images above… You can see just why I love them for editing purposes.

Conclusion…

Using all of the above techniques will most certainly gain you followers fast. Stay relevant to your chosen topic and in no time at all you will boast a larger instagram following!

I hope the above information may have helped some of you Instagram lovers out there. I would love to hear what tips and tricks you use to gain new Instagram followers.