Employ the proper hashtags
By putting hashtags on your photos, you’re allowing other Instagram users to find your pictures – and consequently, your profile – effortlessly.
Your goal on Instagram is to engage your current audience regularly while also growing your number of real followers.
Easy enough of a goal when you use the most popular hashtags to your favor, huh?
Filters
The Instagram community answers to some photo filter better than others. Using these favored filters can have quite a positive effect on your position.
Post at the right times
Another one of the amazing things Instagram has on its side is the use of tools that tell the users the public’s response to their content and at what moment the audience is the most responsive for that matter. With this data to your disposal, you can schedule your post for the time when they’ll be the most seen by your already existing followers.
Use geotags for local visibility
Apart from hashtags, you can also make your Instagram posts and Stories to gain more prominence by tagging your location, either the city you’re in or the site where the photo or video was taken.
Classify your Stories into Highlights
Since Stories have a 24-hour lifecycle, Highlights can be used to give them a second-life and invite others to follow you so they don’t miss out on the upcoming Stories.
Ask for more followers
Hey, if YouTubers can do so at the end of their videos, why can’t you? Am I right?
Jump on trends
When the chance comes, associating your content with trending topics or hashtags can increase discoverability and commitment.
Be consistent with your posts
Truth be told, most of your followers won’t follow you for what you posted in the past but for the promise of what you’ll post in the future. The public is attracted to the consistency of your activity and if they are interested in your content, they’ll want to see more of it in the future.
It’s some sort of exchange: they hit the Follow button and you give them photos.
Use the Instagram tools at your disposal
There are hundreds of Instagram tools out there that can assist you in your Instagram approach, but there are three main ones to aid you to build your audience and involve with them over time:
IconoSquare: Info, analytics, and insights into your account and followers.
Later: Schedules and automatically publishes your Instagram posts from your computer or mobile device.
Webstagram: Find the best hashtags for your posts and people for your sponsored posts.
Closely monitor your following over time
Keep a close eye on the rate at which you’re Instagram situation is fluctuating, how much followers are you gaining and engaged they are in general.
Social Blade is a nice free tool for examining the development of your following (or your competitors’), providing you with the numbers of how many followers came and leftover time and on specific days.