How to Get Instagram Followers Without Following Everyone

I love Instagram because it’s a highly engaging platform and getting new followers is a seamless process.

Instagram is the most powerful social media platform and will continue to be the powerhouse for top influencers for years to come.

People have scrapped Facebook, Snapchat, and Twitter and opted for Instagram.

Why?

It’s simply one of the most engaging platforms for newcomers as well as large influencers.

Getting followers is easy if you know what you’re doing.

Most people will tell you to follow others in your industry in the hopes that they follow you back, but there are other ways to gain new followers too.

In this article I will show you exactly how Instagram is supposed to be used so you can maximize your “presence” and gain lots of new followers without following everyone else.

#1 Post Quality Content

Quality content is one of the most important things when it comes to growing an organic following.

Organic simply means people naturally find your account whether that be from a referral, suggestion, or a share.

Basically you need high quality content that’s engaging.

You can’t post a picture that looks likes it taken using a potato or a phone from the 1970s.

The online world is a competitive space as it is, you need to use all the tricks in the book to stand out, and one of the best ways to do that is with nothing but the best content.

Take the time to get the lighting right, the right angles, etc.

A good rule of thumb is to use natural lighting. Face towards the light before taking your photo. The natural glow will brighten up your face or whatever it is you’re trying to photograph.

#2 Post Consistently

Consistency is key, I can’t stress that enough.

You need to be posting at least 4x a week to get your posts in front of others and reap the new likes, comments and shares.

This is especially true when you’re just starting out.

No one likes a dead page, people like following others that are active, not those that haven’t posted in the last couple of months.

That’s a surefire way to lose followers and not gain new ones.

#3 Engage

Engagement is another big factor that can make you stand out and grow your following naturally.

Engage with your audience as much as you can.

This is a hidden gem that most people underestimate.

It does require a little effort on your part but pays off big time if you keep at it.

Make sure you like every comment on your post and reply to them (only if you’re just starting out and not getting much comments yet).

This shows that you’re active on your page and the community, and more people will be willing to comment on your posts in the future.

#4 Follow, Like and Comment

Don’t mistake this with following everyone you see.

This is not the old trick in the book that everyone else uses.

You want to establish yourself as an active Instagram user and authority figure in your niche.

You can do this by following no more than 5 people and liking 3 – 5 of their pictures.

The second part of this strategy is to follow another 3 – 5 people and giving them a comment.

Your comment should be genuine and unique, not something generic like “nice post”.

Keep in mind that these people you follow should be in your niche and have the same demographics as you do.

However, you don’t want to spam this. You only want to do it about 3 times a day with 5 – 10 people each time.

In total you’ll be following around 20 – 30 people a day with incredibly high engagement and becoming an authority figure which is the end goal after all.

#5 Run a Contest

I love contests. It gets people excited and increase likes, comments and shares dramatically, inevitably boosting your follower count into overdrive.

I only recommend this if you have over 1000 followers.

If you don’t have 1000 followers yet, keep posting high quality content, posting regularly and commenting on other influencer posts.

Before you know it you will hit 1000 and can run a milestone giveaway contest.

Hubspot explains how to run a successful giveaway.

#6 Use Instagram Stories and IGTV

There’s a reason why Instagram flat-out stole stories from its rival Snapchat, because they are incredibly effective.

You should be posting at least 4x per week on your Instagram story to keep you in your audiences mind and not be forgotten.

IGTV is another banger, putting you in front of other people that might be interested in your content, getting a free follow that you wouldn’t have had before.

#7 Use the Geo-Tag Feature

Geo-tagging is one of my favorite methods to get new followers without doing anything.

Basically, people will search up businesses, an event, a location, a city, etc, on the gram and if you use the geo-tag feature, your post will show up.

This is a literal goldmine that not many people use, so you can use it to your advantage and gain many new followers.

#8 Use Hashtags

Hashtags aren’t my favorite way to gain new followers, but they shouldn’t be ignored either.

If you’re going to use hashtags, I highly recommend using tags that have less than 100,000 posts.

This way you’ll stand out and hopefully gain some new followers when people click on “recent”.

In saying that, I have definitely gained new likes and follows from people searching hashtags, so it’s not something to ignore completely.

Just know that most of your efforts should go into posting high quality content on a consistent basis, otherwise this method won’t land you many new followers.

#9 Mention Top Influencers

Mention top influencers in your niche, but it needs to be relevant.

For example, if you’re wearing a piece of merch you bought from a high-profile account, simply mention them with @username.

You’ll show up under the “tagged” section on their page and sometimes they might even give you a shout out, giving you even more exposure to your page.

Bonus Tip – Become the Best Version of You

I can’t stress this enough, you will gain many followers by being you and not being someone you’re not.

Whatever you’re on Instagram for, make sure you’re constantly improving yourself and putting your best foot forward.

There are so many fakes on Instagram that it’s hard to know what’s real anymore.

People follow others for them, not because of how many followers they have, not because of the amount of money they have, not because of the things they show, or the amount of clout they have.

It’s a simple fact that we follow people we like, regardless of what they’re doing or the things they have.

We like personalities and people for who they are.

Even if you do fake it til’ you make it, eventually you’ll be seen as a fake and called out for it.

And the ones that were loyal to you will simply move on.

So don’t be afraid to be yourself and become the best version of you.

As long as you do that you will become successful on the good ol’ gram.

[Related: Is it too late to start Instagram?]

Well I thank you for taking the time to read this article. Please let me know in the comments below what you did to get lots of followers.

Cheers.