A Beginner's Guide to Get More Instagram Followers

As social media—particularly Instagram—becomes a keen focus in our day-to-day lives, there is an overriding need to establish an aesthetic that makes you stand out in a crowd. 

Possessing a clever algorithm, with over a billion monthly users, Instagram has fast-become the platform to grow your brand and boost your following. No matter how you manage to do it, in the end, it all boils down to the number displayed on top (a triple digit, at the least). And, if you believe your social media presence isn't quite as robust, it may be time to brush up some skills. 

While there are a dozen ways to make the number rocket—not to mention, the 'fake followers' hack—an authentic route does exist, as well. Archit Agarwal, a food blogger and marketing professional at The Mavericks, tells you how you can drive profitable traffic to your page, build an engaged audience, and provide a platform for should-be-had conversations. 

"When we develop social media strategies for brands, we focus on a stakeholder-led approach to platform communication. This involves building content for each social media platform, specific to the audience that exists on it. Similarly, content creators today, are required to do the same. With each digital platform and its ever-changing policies on content consumption, it’s imperative that creators constantly and consistently share content across multiple channels, in order to retain a share of voice, even if the platform becomes unpopular or gets banned," explains Archit. 

 

Here are a few ways to get the ball rolling!

 

1) Create a Content Repository

 

Begin by establishing a platform of your own, which acts as a reservoir for everything you create. This will help center your content and allow for a funnel strategy—where you can measure the impact your content has on the audience, as compared to how the algorithm on a platform chooses to promote it. "As a content creator myself, I use a blog as a repository for all the recipes I make, and use my Instagram and YouTube as amplification channels to funnel more traffic to the blog. This, in turn, allows me to collect accurate data regarding my audience, for instance, a list of high value followers who can then be monetized far more effectively through email marketing, or otherwise. This strategy is often referred to as the 'omni-channel approach'.

 

2) Shoot Long Format Content

 

Irrespective of your niche—be it fashion or food—collect as much content as possible. Submerge yourself in to the deets and don’t make content just for 'reels'. This allows for many smaller, 'snackible' pieces of content to be made along with the master video. Stand-up comics, for instance, upload the chunk of their content on YouTube—as their primary content repository—and make use of amplification tools such as Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter, by releasing snippets of the longer version present on YouTube. Hence, a diverse set of audience can consume the content.

 

3) Explore New Formats of Content

 

"In a recent conversation with the Instagram team, the digital experts suggested diversifying the kind of content you make—stories, reels, static images, and IGTV—all need to be a part of your content strategy, with short format content having a greater cadence," explains Archit. A sample content calendar: 10-15 stories daily, 4-5 reels a week, 10-15 static or carousel posts a month, and 1 IGTV video a month. Making use of all that the platform has to offer vastly increases your reach and helps you gauge what exactly is attracting your audience.

 

4) Build a First Mover Advantage

 

With the influx of apps hitting the market, it’s important to make your presence felt in ones that you believe have the greatest potential to grow. From Moj to Taka Tak, there are an abundance of platforms that have cropped up since the demise of TikTok. Most of these platforms boast of a hefty audience, and are perfect for literary content. "At present, audio content is on my radar—both Apple and Spotify have made significant investments in their podcasting platforms this year. Clubhouse is a new app you can experiment with, although available to iOS users only, for the time being.

 

5) Define a Goal With Your Content

 

While jumping on the viral trend bandwagon and creating reels works to an extent, it’s all very transactional. To build a long-term relationship with your followers, you must have a clearly defined goal on your mind—as to what you want your audience to feel, do, or learn from the content that you put out. For instance, according to Archit, his goal is to educate his audience about home-cooking and how attainable making your own food can be. This grounds and defines the kind of content he can make, and motivates his audience to revisit his platform.