How to keep followers on Instagram

This article will guide you through 5 tips on how to keep followers on Instagram.  Maintaining engaged followers is a conflict many users struggle with and it can be a burden, especially when you’re trying to market your business.  As far as social media marketing is concerned, few channels are as impactful for driving revenue as Instagram.

Instagram is an incredible tool for keeping people connected. Sure, Facebook and Twitter can lend a helping hand with this, but Instagram is the top tool for digital marketers looking to make a name for their respective brands. 

The key to how to keep followers on Instagram is to get them engaged in your content.  Yup, there’s that e-word again: “engagement.” No matter if you’re new to Instagram marketing or hopped on the image-driven bandwagon way back in 2010, before long, you too will see the importance of keeping your followers on Instagram from jumping ship.

So, how does a business go about making this kind of interaction happen? Unfortunately, most of the articles and blog posts we’ve read online say the same thing—like, comment, message, post high-quality content, etc. But, where are the real Instagram Marketing Tips? 

Yes, these are great methods for keeping followers from unfollowing you and taking their attention elsewhere, but surely there’s more here than meets the eye. Good news—there very much is. If you’re concerned about how to keep followers on Instagram and engagement, look no further than the tips below:

Growth Hacking

Wild haircut? Check. Five o’clock shadow? Of course. Extraterrestrial attire? You better believe it. Though strange to some, at least on the surface, these are the most apparent aspects of London-based growth hacker Vincent Dignan. Yes, growth hacking is all out of the ordinary, but as one of the youngest, most accomplished growth hackers on the planet, when he speaks, entrepreneurs listen.

Fortunately, here at Kicksta, we recently had the opportunity to sit down with growth hacking’s most off-the-wall genius. Though sporadic at times, Vincent’s words were nothing but pure digital marketing gold. 

Make CTAs Clear, Concise and Apparent

Cut the head games and get to the point—the best way to build a band of highly involved followers is to come out and straight up tell them what you’d like them to do. This can be included in a post’s caption copy or even better, as part of an image.

Whether it be a “Double Tap” or “Tag a Friend” post, using one of those “high-quality” images Instagram marketers are always talking about to hook followers is a technique worthy of your time and energy. Don’t flood your feed with these, but every now and again, queue one up.

You’ve Heard It Before—Use Hashtags Wisely

Yes, this is one of those normal, run-of-the-mill strategies we were trying to avoid with this post, but using hashtags is simply too important of a method to leave out in the cold. For each post you publish, the more hashtags, the better.

In fact, a recent study conducted by Buffer Social found that posts with at least 11 hashtags tend to receive the most user attention. Use industry-relevant hashtags, but don’t be afraid to branch out, considering local, industry-relevant, holiday and even-specific hashtags also perform well.

Scratch Another Brand’s Back for a Shout-Out

You’ve heard the old adage, right? “You scratch my back, I’ll scratch yours.” Psychologically speaking, this is a real thing—the Law of Reciprocity. When you go out of your way to do something kind for another person, said person can’t help but return the favor—it’s in our DNA.

Use this knowledge to your advantage on Instagram. Ever seen the “S4S” acronym before? This stands for “shout-out for shout-out.” Basically, like-minded accounts with similar audiences will promote each other’s work in an effort to strengthen their social reach capabilities.

How To Keep Followers on Instagram Intrigued Through Different Caption Lengths

This is a weird one, isn’t it? After all, isn’t the go-to copywriting rule that less is almost always more? You’re right—but the keyword there is “almost.” Listen, Instagram is visual—more often than not, it’s all about images and video snippets.

That said, don’t underestimate the power of words—they’re important for a reason. If you have a story to tell, use Instagram’s 2,000-character caption limit. Seeing as how most of your post captions will be short and sweet, when you push long-form copy, people will likely take notice.

Venture Outside of Instagram for Content Promotion

Linking your Facebook Page to automatically share Instagram posts can help you cross-promote your material on other platforms while also making sure that your Facebook audience sees it. 

To publish teasers straight to Facebook and Twitter and encourage people to visit your Instagram page for more, use Instagram Stories. Share teaser material on LinkedIn and Twitter to entice fans to check out the complete Instagram post. 

For lengthier videos, use IGTV; cross-post them on YouTube to draw in a new viewership. To attract new followers who are interested in your subject, pin your Instagram photographs to Pinterest. 

Post expert material on LinkedIn to build your profile and expand your Instagram following. Include Instagram posts by embedding them or providing a link to your profile in blogs and email newsletters. 

If you want to know how to keep your Instagram followers engaged, work with influencers for shoutouts or collaborative content, and host competitions that demand cross-platform participation. To get the most interaction on every platform while keeping your brand voice constant, tweak content a little bit.

Pick your jaw up off the floor and hear us out on this one—once you’ve loaded your Instagram account with some top-notch content, take to other social networks like Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and even Snapchat to further solidify your Instagram audience.

It’s one thing to share your Instagram handle or account URL on each of the aforementioned channels—this works, and if you’re not doing it, you should be. But next, go above and beyond the call of duty, using Instagram post screenshots to cross-promote content, as well.

Conclusion

In our very digital day and age, consumer competition is more fierce than it’s ever been before.  How to keep followers on Instagram requires more than the basic tools of engagement in your work belt—you’ll need the tried-and-true tactics we use here at Kicksta to help our customers.

Fortunately, what’s found above are a few of our favourites. But enough about us—where is your head at with all of this? Using Instagram, Facebook or Twitter, reach out and let us know what you’re thinking. Simply put, we’re more than happy to help out in any way possible. Talk soon!