Why are Instagram Followers Not Increasing, and how to Grow them Organically

I. Introduction

Instagram is a platform where people showcase their lives in the form of content comprising pictures and videos. It has grown into a vast platform where businesses showcase their brands, start new ventures, and reach their business goals. With over one billion monthly active users, this platform has become an inseparable part of people’s lives as they spend a lot of time on social media.

It allows the audience to view the content, get attracted, and follow your account. The Instagram profile helps capture the goal that the brand vouches for. Instagram is a powerful tool to help businesses prosper and grow by leaps and bounds. The followers get influenced by the visuals. The main aim for any Instagrammer is to get more and more followers as they help you connect well with the target audience. It increases brand awareness and also drives more organic traffic to your website. Brands also buy Instagram views, followers, and likes for initial success, but it is important to adopt organic methods to gain long-term success.

II. Reasons Why Instagram Followers Not Increasing

As Instagram is growing at a great pace, brands are keen to build their presence here, but it’s not easy to grow your following organically. Here are some common reasons why your Instagram audience is not increasing.

1. Account is not engaging

It is a common issue that you are not quick enough to respond to comments. The followers may not like the fact that you do not interact with them. Instagram is a platform to showcase a visual story. You must also devote your time and energy to responding to what your audience wants to know.

2. Not posting consistently

It is another possibility that you are not lining up the content and are not consistent with the postings. You need to be focused on creating more good quality content, schedule it out, and keep posting regularly for consistency.

3. You do not prefer to interact with similar accounts

It is very important that you keep interacting with Instagram accounts that are also functioning in a similar niche. This facilitates collaborations and builds organic business relationships. You must not live in a bubble.

4. Not using Instagram’s features or stories to its optimum potential

Posting images is awesome, but you must also keep focusing on using innovative features like stories, IGTV videos, and reels to catch hold of amazing opportunities. Your content will not expand, and your profile will look boring if you do not use these features.

5. Boring content

Content is what drives organic followers to your profile. Even if your page is popular, you need to post high-quality content continuously. The content must relate to your personality and showcase what the brand stands for. It must always add some value and tell your story.

6. You’re not being authentic

Being authentic and portraying your real self is always important on this platform. People wish to follow only the real side of you. Always remain true to your personality; otherwise, you will not gain any followers.  

7. You are over-promoting

You must have come across ad blockers because the audience does not want to see too much of anything. They might block your marketing content. You need to stop over-promoting the content.

8. Your profile is not optimized

Another common problem is that you just focus on posting the content but do not worry about the profile picture, bio, and aesthetics of the page. It leaves a bad impression on the visitors to your page. They will never continue browsing if the account is not optimized.

III. Tips for Growing Instagram Followers Organically Social marketing objectives-

Instagram lets you draft a great social marketing objective for the brand. Gaining followers is majorly dependent on the business goals that need to be clearly chalked out and some compelling visuals that portray a story that relates to the needs of the audience. Some tips for growing your Instagram followers organically are:

• Define your target audience-

Instagram content reaches millions of people globally. It will help if you focus on your target audience. The answer to who is the one impacted by your brand? Where do they live? How old are they? How much time do they spend on Instagram? etc. will define the content that will be delivered. This will make the content relatable, and you will gain more followers for your account.

• Aesthetics of the account-

The Instagram grid must look aesthetic, and the consistent visual posting needs to narrate a story. The posts are a depiction of your brand to the people who find it relatable. Putting up feed consistently helps build trust and gain organic followers.

• Use proper keywords-

Before people start following you, they will have to find you on Instagram. Your handle’s name must gel with other social media usernames so that people can find and follow you easily.

• Relevant Hashtags-

Using hashtags thoughtfully help people to reach the brand easily. This is one of the easy ways to get followers for free. Clicking on hashtags will help people see your feed and then follow your content.

• Great profile and bio needs to be written-

Mostly the people who visit your profile are non-followers. If your profile and bio are convincing, they will become your genuine followers. If your profile is unclear, incomplete, or not appealing to them, they will not follow your account.

• Quality of content-

This is one critical point. The followers on Instagram would stick to your profile or follow your account if the content is inspiring and relatable. Great content encourages people to like, share, and comment on your posts. This also helps to spread positive word of mouth and gain new followers.

• Pin top comments-

This new feature helps you pin up to the top three comments on your post. These positive comments also feature on the top and create more engagement when people see the positive feedback.

• Share your account in other communications-

You must share the Instagram account on your website; put it in your e-mail signature and other newsletters. This increases your reach and lets people know about your handle. Offline marketing materials like business cards, packing slips, posters, etc., must also carry your handle name.

• Tag relevant users-

You can tag people who are featured in your posts. These tags must include your existing customers, suppliers, colleagues, employees, other relevant businesses, or anyone who appears in the photo. This encourages them to share your post in their stories or feeds, and the sharing of content helps you connect with people who would not have come across your profile otherwise.

• Follow relevant accounts-

You must also start following accounts that are relevant to your business. When you follow someone, there is a good chance that they will also check out your posts, and if the content is compelling enough, they will start following you in return.

• Instagram communities-

Like other social media networks, Instagram also has various communities that you can be a part of. You must like, comment, and share the content of credible users of these communities. People see these comments and check out your profile if they find it intriguing.

• Work with influencers-

You can collaborate with influencers or other brands to market your brand. People gain trust in your brand if the influencers talk about it. Once they talk about your product, people tend to visit your profile, and if they find it relatable, they will surely start following your page.

• Use interactive features-

To promote your page and gain more followers, you may use interactive features like creating a poll, chat stickers, or indulge in a question-answer session with the audience. This helps people engage more and get to know your brand.

• Create an IGTV series-

IGTV videos may last for up to an hour. You can take up a series of topics that are very interesting and relatable to people. The audience would watch your IGTV series and follow your account and stay glued to the next video.

• Schedule your posts and stories-

You must try and test the best time to post on your feed. You must also have posts ready well in advance to plan to create excellent content and captions that people like. This helps you gain genuine subscribers.

• Contests and giveaways-

Encouraging people to get involved by asking them to follow your account and tag their friends to be eligible for a giveaway helps a lot to gain new followers. The tagged friends also see your profile and choose to follow the page. This is an effective way to build trust with new followers.

IV. Conclusion

These tips can help you gain more organic followers on Instagram. Remember that Instagram is a great way to connect and interact with your followers. You need to be honest with them and develop a connection or bond to be cherished for life. It is essential to leverage the engagement received by increasing the follower base. Instagram will change your life if you remain loyal and real to your audience. Stay honest, and Keep posting!