ByWould you like to learn how to get more followers on Instagram?
If you want to use Instagram to promote your business, you have to get some followers—but how do you do that?
Here’s a good place to start: Whether you currently have 5 followers or 1k followers on Instagram, it’s always a good idea to look at what the most popular Instagrammers are posting. Take a look at what content they are providing – is it for experts or more beginner photography or another topic.
Ask yourself why they’re popular. What are they doing that draws followers? How can you follow their lead? The answers to these questions show you what Instgrammers already want to see. So with that in mind, here’s a look at some well-followed users and what they’re posting—use this insight to form your own photo posts to get more Instagram followers…
1. Celebrities:
True, you can’t exactly become a celebrity to up your Instagram influence, but the fact that people like to follow the famous is worth pointing out. From Justin Bieber to Taylor Swift, the ten most popular Instagram accounts, besides Instagram itself, are all from celebrities. What does this reveal for you? Being popular off Instagram makes it easier to be popular on it. To some extent, building your presence offline affects how well you can build it online.
2. Beautiful Pictures:
It only makes sense that a visually oriented network would thrive on stunning images: people like to look at beautiful things. Just look at blogger Hannah Queen’s Instagram account and its 43K+ followers for proof. From National Geographic to Nike, brands are taking advantage of this reality by posting eye-catching images that are easy for followers to enjoy. What can you learn from this? Even if you’re not a professional photographer, you’ll do better on Instagram when you post the most attractive images you can. Aim for crisp, clear, magazine-worthy pictures that pop.
For a few more photo-taking tips, consider the following:
a) Use your phone’s camera first: Rather than taking your photo directly in Instagram, take it on the phone’s camera in order to give you better control. According to The Shake, “You will find that the native camera takes better pictures, responds more quickly and is better capable of making adjustments for lighting. You are far more likely to get a clear picture that is in focus and is how you want it to look than by using the Instagram camera.”
b) Use an editing app: It’s hard to think of a more popular phone app than VSCO, which gives users options to crop, brighten, change contrast, add filters, and more. Tweak your photos before posting them to Instagram. And for inspiration, check out all the photos already tagged with #VSCO.
c) Shoot Objects against Plain Backgrounds: Many photographers follow this trick on Instagram—shoot something against a white, black, or other color background. Take Amanda Jane Jones, for example, a designer with over 36,000 followers. Her recent Instagram photo with a plain background behind hands holding popsicles garnered over 3,000 likes.
d) Back up: With over 57,000 followers, photographer Tim Robison is definitely an Instagrammer to watch. One of his signature moves is taking simple, bold photos from farther away, like a basket of limes or a bowl of grapefruit.
e) Make the Most of Light: When you want to take better pictures, stick to natural light. Instagram users from photographer Zak Shelhamer to Scott Rankin understand this well.
3. Ideas:
What do Forever 21, Bon Appetit, and blogger A Beautiful Mess all have in common? At least when it comes to Instagram, each one of them is a source of inspiration for fans. Whether it’s through outfit inspiration, nods to good restaurants, or decorating ideas, these Instagrammers know fans like to be inspired. What can you take away from this for your own Instagram use? Make your content useful to your followers in a way that’s relevant to your brand.
4. Motivational Content:
Take a tip from fitness brand Lululemon and post Instagram images and quotes that offer motivation to fans.
Whether in a mountaintop shot with the caption “Disrupt your daily routine” or a barren winter image with the words “Choose your own adventure,” Lululemon’s pictures typically pair beautiful sights with motivational words.
Final Thoughts
Even beyond the Instagram ideas posted above, you can always draw new inspiration by looking at what’s working for others. So who are some of your favorite Instagrammers to follow? Ask yourself why you like to follow them. Odds are, answering that question will reveal even more tips for improving your feed and making it more useful to followers.
How do you get more Instagram followers? What photos do you like most on Instagram? Please leave your comments below.
About Shanna Mallon
Shanna Mallon is a writer for Straight North, an Internet marketing agency providing SEO, web development, and other online marketing services, with headquarters in Chicago. Follow Straight North on Twitter and Facebook.
