Unless you’re a famous rockstar, you were probably just looking at your Instagram profile, wondering how you can increase your followers from hundreds to thousands, to… millions?

Reaching those thresholds isn’t as difficult as you might think. Many people want more followers and likes on Instagram, so what can you do? This guide shows how to grow your Instagram following.

How to Grow Your Instagram Following

There are many different ways to grow your Instagram followers, but these 5 steps are tried and true. You may already be doing some of these steps, but honing these skills on this social media platform is essential.

1. Post Regularly and Share Quality Content

To put it simply, post content and post it regularly. When you post with consistency, you will show up in your audience’s feeds, which naturally leads to more likes and followers.

Be sure to produce quality content. This doesn’t mean every photo needs to be taken by a professional photographer. However, people are more likely to engage with an interesting, clear picture over a grainy photo with bad lighting.

Posting at the appropriate time is also key. According to Later.com, lunchtime (11 am-1 pm) and evenings (7 pm-9 pm) are the best times to post, as these are when people are most likely to be browsing social media.

2. Use Appropriate Hashtags

Hashtags are the easiest way to reach new followers. Placing the appropriate hashtag on a post (or the comments of a post) can expose your content to a much wider audience.

The quality of hashtags is far more important than the quantity. You’re allowed to use up to thirty hashtags, but the more you use, the more your post looks like spam. Many marketers say to use 5 or 6 appropriate hashtags per post.

Be sure the hashtags you are using are appropriate to your content. If you’re business selling lighting, you don’t want to post a picture of a lamp but hashtag “CatsofInstagram”.

You can now follow hashtags, so if you are using a relevant hashtag, you will show up in people’s feeds who follow that hashtag. Hashtags also work with Instagram Stories. Your story will show up in the story of the hashtag you used, presenting it to a new audience.

3. Get Familiar With Instagram Stories

Because the average video engagement is surpassing the engagement of images, Instagram stories is one of the hottest trends on the platform. Stories deliver message-driven content in an easily consumable way. People will sometimes skip over text, but a video will hook their attention.

There is an option to load your story highlights at the top of your profile. If a new follower visits your page, they can get a feel for what your Instagram is all about by watching the stories you’ve highlighted.

4. Be Social

First and foremost, Instagram is a social network. The whole idea is to be social and interact with others. Try to find others who share relatable content as you and start building a smaller, close-knit network of friends.

Leaving meaningful comments on their posts will naturally result in reciprocation of engagement. By building solid relationships, you may stop thinking of them as followers, but peers and friends instead. When you have a supportive community, promoting yourself and your brand comes easier.

5. Use Calls-to-Action

Getting followers to interact with a post can be challenging, and sometimes you need to prompt them to do so. Create a relatable post then ask people to complete a simple action, such as liking or tagging someone.

For example, you could post a photo of your dog’s face with the caption, “Roscoe is feelin’ cute today. Double-tap his nose if you feel the same!” This is a great way to increase Instagram likes on your post.

Let’s Get Your Presence Established on Instagram

You will be surprised at how easy it is to grow your Instagram following by using these 5 simple steps. The first step may be the toughest, but don’t overthink it. If you like your post, other people will like it too.

Making your post visible to a wider audience is the key. For further help on how to grow your Instagram following and to quickly increase your Instagram likes, check out the section on Instagram!