We know that being famous equates to having an incredibly large Instagram following. That’s just the way it works in today’s world. But I bet you’re wondering how some lesser-known people also manage to have hundreds, thousands and sometimes even millions of Instagram followers.

It is true that some of these people will have paid for some of their following. There are many apps and websites that encourage businesses to buy fake Instagram followers to help boost their following. But you need to ask yourself whether this is going to be good for your business in the long run? The answer is no.

You need real followers who are going to take an active interest in your brand. When you have real followers, they are going to genuinely engage with your content rather than be just an extra number on your followers list. This also means they are more likely to share and promote your brand to their followers giving you free exposure.

Without a doubt, the best way to grow your Instagram following is by doing it organically. This might seem difficult right now, but once you know the insider secrets for organic Instagram growth, you will never look back.

Be clear on your brand

To attract your target audience, it is important to be clear on what your brand is. What is your unique style and personality? If you are clear on your brand that means that everyone else will be clear on your brand and therefore know what they are investing their time and potentially their money into.

Your style and personality should be reflected in the pictures you post, the captions you pair them with and the hashtags you choose to use.

Have a look at your competition. Which profiles are the most successful in terms of how many followers they have and the level of engagement they receive? Are they clear on what their brand is? Is their style and personality obvious to you? Use this research to inform your own profile.

Know how to use hashtags to your advantage

Hashtags should also be in keeping with your own personal brand. If you are a fitness brand, then you should only use hashtags that relate to all things fitness. If you are a beauty brand, then you should only use hashtags that relate to all things beauty. If you use hashtags that are not relevant to your brand you will confuse your audience and you will be less likely to gain followers.

You should also use a mix of hashtags that are unique to you (such as your company name or the name of products that you sell) alongside some more popular hashtags that will help give you exposure to a wider audience.

There is no use in doing only one of these things. If you only post unique hashtags no one will be able to find you. But if you only use popular hashtags then you run the risk of getting lost in the thousands of people that are using the same ones.

Regularly engage with your target audience

To grow your profile organically it is important that you regularly engage with your target audience. You can do this by following similar businesses to your own and interacting on their page with their audiences. Hopefully this will then encourage them to follow your profile.

Take some time out to like people’s posts and comments and try to engage in conversation with them. Audiences love to feel important and this is one way in which you can do that.

You could also consider sharing your competitors’ content with your following in the hopes that they will share yours with their following. That way you are potentially doubling your resources.

Get shoutouts from influencers

The people who have the most insider knowledge are the Instagram influencers. These are the people who are most popular in their field which results in them having an abundance of followers.

By partnering and collaborating with influencers you end up with quick and easy access to their audience, which can only be a good thing for your business.

But you need to make sure you are partnering with like-minded people. There would be no use in collaborating with someone who promotes hair care products if what you want to promote is cars. This would be counterproductive as the majority of their followers are following them based on their knowledge of hair care products so would probably have no interest in your page about cars.