Instagram is a hot platform to be on for retailers, bloggers and brands that want to make a big impact visually. So it’s not surprising to me at all that you’d want to grow your Instagram follower base and wow the pants off of your audience. I, too, have been working hard at mine and it has paid off! Here are five methods that work to build Instagram followers.

These are the ones that I have used and have worked for me. Sure, there are others that even bigger accounts than me (ahem, Gary Vaynerchuk) have recommended doing but frankly, I’m not a fan of messaging 250+ people a day asking people to follow or repost my picture while spamming until Instagram shuts me down. Just not my style. But hey – maybe that’s your thing and you want to follow that advice. Like Gary says, sometimes what has kept people from success is making that cold call.

1. One of the big things that I’ve done is create a consistent theme – people have come to expect my posts to be blue, grey and white in color. They know I post my blog titles there and the occasional behind-the-scenes picture. Tomorrow, I’m actually going to start a 3-tier chain design which is pretty exciting and it’ll look really pleasing to the eye. I know for a fact that people will come back to view my account as a whole just to look at the grid. (I know this because I do the same to other accounts I truly admire).
2. I’ve been following/unfollowing accounts to the maximum allowance every single day. I only do this strategically for accounts that I’d like to interact with. I don’t have this automated in a random sense. I have a certain hashtag I use and have my Sendible account autofollow, like and unfollow for me. I also follow up to make sure that someone is not abusing the hashtag in case the system auto-liked something I definitely would not “like” on my own.
3. Posting daily. Lately I’ve just been posting 1-2 times a day. With my new 3-tier chain I’ll be posting 3 times a day just to make sure my chain tiers up nicely and completes the row. It’s essential that you stay active on Instagram and show your very best photos. I remember listening to a Gary Vee show and he was saying that people are shocked that the new generation takes 15 minutes to get an Instagram picture right and if they don’t get enough likes they’ll do it over. The elder generation doesn’t understand all this. I think there are extreme scenarios to this… but the main point is that yeah – if you’re representing or being paid to represent or wear a brand you have to put in the time to get the photos right. Plan them. Make sure they jive well next to each other. Don’t miss a day.
4. Using 30 hashtags with each and every single post has netted me quite the increase this past month. I used to use 8-11 of them, but instead chose to go with some major subjects, and then niche hashtags. I insert my hashtags into the first comment section, like a good little Instagrammer should do.
5. I interact with my followers, thank them, and post comments on other accounts, as well. I’ve taken the social aspect of Instagram pretty seriously, and if you do the same, you’ll find that your followers will not be so fleeting. We all love attention and being complimented on our photos – it’s natural to want to communicate and share.

Here’s my Instagram account, so you can see what I’m up to. Check back in about 4 days and you’ll see my 3-tier chain design in full effect in all its glory. Meanwhile, put my tips above to use and get moving! Instagram is a great place to be if you’re in the market to sell your goods or represent a brand!