Want to grow Instagram followers in 2019? You are in the right place!

But first, why grow from 0 to 10k followers?

Here is why. Currently, there are over one billion active Instagram users, and these are not poverty-stricken persons but people with reliable purchasing power. And over 90% of global brands use Instagram for marketing.

What does this mean? You need lots of followers and engagement to stay among the top tier class of businesses.

Today, we’ve compiled nine tips to help you grow Instagram followers from 0 to 10k.

Let’s dig in!

1.      It starts with a converting business profile

When a prospective customer stumbles upon your profile, the first thing they see is your bio. And as they say, you only have less than five seconds to make the first impression. As such, you should aim to create a compelling bio.

The bio should clearly tell your audience who you are and what services you offer. It should contain a link to your website, a quality profile picture, and keywords that match your niche. Here, you can use bullets or a mixture of emojis that convey the same message.

2.      Share engaging content

Sharing engaging content is a sure way to grow Instagram followers. Compelling posts drive people to share, comment, and like your content. And in return, you get more click-through rates and conversion increases tenfold.

Ensure that the content resonates with your target audience. Likewise, your visuals should be compelling. Remember, Instagram is more of a visual platform. There should be a constant color theme in your photos. People will identify your content at a glance.

So, how do you create engaging content? You should ask questions, use captions, respond to comments, and use relevant hashtags.

3.      Incorporate relevant hashtags

Another way to grow from 0 to 10k followers is to use relevant, popular, and branded hashtags. To get the most relevant ones, use the search tab on you Instagram, and search for hashtags related to your niche. We’d recommend tracking all the hashtags on a spreadsheet so that you can invest in the highest quality hashtags.

The best part? Hashtags make your content more discoverable not only by your Instagram followers but also by prospective customers. However, do not go overboard. Stay on the green zone, at least 10-15 hashtags per post is ideal.

Finally, branded hashtags make your business stand out since it is unique to your business. Ask your followers to use it when they interact with your products.

4.      Do not forget to craft compelling captions

Captions allow you to tell stories about your brand and customer experiences. Besides, they will enable you to humanize your brand by adding humor and using emojis. As such, creating captions that are engaging is paramount if you want to grow Instagram followers from 0-10k followers.

You should ask questions, use a call to action, and spice it up with inspirational quotes. Do not forget to keep it short and sweet. Most users are not into IG for long paragraphs. If you, however, need to use paragraphs, divide your captions into small digestible sections. You can refer to our Instagram Caption Ideas for Marketers guide for more.

5.      Shamelessly take advantage of Instagram Stories

Instagram Stories can help you grow your Instagram followers within a brief period. Why? Users are more attracted to short snappy stories rather than lengthy content. They are a fun and easy way to get the attention of your followers.

Besides, Instagram populates stories in your followers’ feeds and at the top of the homepage. Currently, more than 500 million accounts use stories, and those that get the highest views are from brands. Get creative. Show behind the seasons, incorporate music, questions, emojis, and GIFs.

6.      Do not overlook to geo-tag  

Adding a location tag to your posts allows you to grow your audience from 0 to 10k followers. How? When a person searches for that location, your posts will pop up, and they are more likely to follow you. If your business has a physical office, ensure that you tag it. Also, tell your customers to do the same.

This works best for well-known Instagrammable locations. The best part? Posts that are geo tagged attract 79% more engagement compared to conventional posts.

7.      Post at the most ideal time

Most Instagram followers want to predict your posting hours. Such that, whenever they visit your profile, they’ll find fresh content. How do you know when to post? By utilizing listening tools. These are analytics tools that tell you which time of day your ideal audience is most active.

You should test various times and measure results. In the end, settle for the time when engagement is high. Use tools such as Iconosquare, ForSight, Brandwatch Analytics, and many more. Once you know when to post, it’s time to…

8.      Schedule your posts

Could be when your audience is most active is the time you are engaged in other businesses. Don’t worry; you can always schedule your posts in advance. This allows you to allocate specific time to come up with well thought after and compelling content rather than stare at a blank screen.

Luckily there are many free and paid tools. They include:

·        Loomly

·        Promo Republic

·        Hootsuite – most used

·        Buffer

·        Sprout Social

You can visit individual sites to view their plans.

9.      Be consistent

Finally, you should be consistent when it comes to posting. Luckily, you have scheduling tools that will help you employ consistency. Otherwise, your Instagram account will suffer a slow death.

How to grow on Instagram: Conclusion

While there are other ways to grow an Instagram audience from 0 to 10k followers such as buying followers, the above nine tips are the best ways to grow Instagram followers organically.

Besides, you can also use influencers, collaborate, use Instagram ads, and run contests to grow gradually.Now, since you know what to do to get the much-needed followers, it’s time to get the ball rolling. Try any of the tips and let us know which works for you.

By Eddy

Eddy is the editorial columnist in Business Fundas, and oversees partner relationships. He posts articles of partners on various topics related to strategy, marketing, supply chain, technology management, social media, e-business, finance, economics and operations management. The articles posted are copyrighted under a Creative Commons unported license 4.0. To contact him, please direct your emails to [email protected].