Growing a following on Instagram can sometimes (or all the time) feel like the bane of our existence and a constant struggle. But with the proper planning and a solid strategy you can focus on ways to grow your Instagram efficiently.

I started taking Instagram seriously one year ago and rapidly grew with the help of these simple tips. There are many more advanced ways too which I’ll be discussing on my YouTube in a Part II series very soon (subscribe here)!

Here are 12 ways to rapidly grow your Instagram in 2020. P.S. Bookmark this page for future reference!

1. Prioritize Current Followers

First things first, stay true to and prioritize the followers you already have. You want to make sure you retain your current followers before chasing after new ones. If not you’ll be losing followers as fast as you gain them keeping you at a plateau. So how do you keep your A1 Day 1 followers happy? Engage with their posts, ask their opinions, support their business ventures, and stay true to your niche.

2. Craft a Clear Bio

Before you put your efforts into attracting new visitors, first take the time to audit your own page. Is your message and what you offer clear? Reality is, people will judge your Instagram within the first few seconds of visiting so you want to start with a strong bio. Take mine for example, you immediately know where I live, what my niches are, what I do, what my message is. Straightforward, no guessing required.

3. Organize Your Feed

The best way to plan out your content ahead of time is to use Instagram planning apps like Preview or Planoly. An aesthetically pleasing feed is much more likely to get followers than a cluttered, unorganized one. Taking the time to properly curate your feed will immediately take you from amateur to pro. It also helps you stay true to your color palette when editing and to see what shots you need to add in for variety.

4. Stay on Topic

Though it may be hard to put yourself into a box, picking a niche is important. Instagram growth comes from building a community of people with similar interests. When it comes to marketing and strategy you want to target a specific group with specific interests. Say you start posting super cars so car enthusiasts begin to follow you, but then next week you start posting food and vegan recipes, then the next week you post skin care products. People are going to unfollow because you’re all over the place. If you have a wide (yet similar) variety of interests, you most likely fit into the Lifestyle niche and should make that clear in your bio. If you want to veer off into a completely different niche that your current audience wouldn’t be interested in, I suggest creating a separate Instagram or posting that content on different platform like YouTube or Pinterest.

5. Write Authentic Captions

If you watched my Q&A on YouTube, you know I found super long captions to be excessive. However, now I find them to be pretty necessary for attracting new followers and retaining current. People bond with people, they connect with relatable stories, and they stay for value. So when crafting captions, aim to entertain, inspire or teach. Bonus Tip: When writing long paragraph captions you don’t want overwhelm your reader so I suggest using a caption breaker like this one. With shorter paragraphs, your audience is more likely to read, consume and comment.

6. Use a Call to Action

Ask and you shall receive. You know how every YouTuber starts their video with “like, comment and subscribe,” well the same applies to Instagram. Say you’re writing an informative caption like “5 Tips for Better Skin.” Next add “share this post” and end with a call-to-action such as “comment your favorite skin care product below.” People are more likely to do as you say when they want to be supportive or voice their opinion. This will help get your post more engagement and more exposure.

7. Respond to Your Comments

PSA: Liking the comment does not count as a response. Anyone can like and keep scrolling so you should feel more honored when people take the time to comment on your posts, especially when it’s a thought out response not just heart faces. I make sure to respond to every comment for these six reasons:

1. It’s polite

2. I genuinely appreciate every. single. comment.

3. You’re connecting with that person, building a relationship, and saying I see and value you

4. When you respond they’ll be more likely to comment on your future posts

5. New potential followers can see you’re a nice person that cares

6. It doubles your number of comments which increases your engagement rate

Bonus Tip: Personalize your response with the name of the person (i.e. “Thank you so much Susan!”) It may feel a little strange if you don’t actually know the person but it creates a connection like you do.

8. Be Social

I always see the saying “it’s social media, so be social,” and it’s true. Instagram is more enjoyable when you lift others up and support them with likes, comments, follows, story engagement, etc. Plus as you regularly engage with others, Instagram will share more of your posts with those you interact with. At the end of the day you want to network and build relationships with your audience, that’s how you rapidly grow your Instagram.

9. Geotag

This is an easy one to reach to a new people. Simply tag your location when you post so your content shows up under that city or place. Like with hashtags, the smaller the location the bigger the chance of making it to “Top Posts.” For example, if you went Frank’s Coffee Shop and tagged your location you would have a higher chance of reaching Top Posts compared to tagging a broad location like Florida.

10. Tag Repost Pages

Be sure to utilize the 20 tags you’re allowed on posts for a chance to be featured on brand pages. Regular exposure on a large scale is necessary to rapidly grow your Instagram. I recommend you compile a hefty list of pages to tag and keep on rotation. An easy way to do this is to check what repost pages others use in your niche. Of course the smaller the page the better chance you have of getting featured, so aim for smaller brands and local places.

11. Post More Videos

“Video is King.” In the age of Tik Tok and now Reels, video is only getting bigger. On top of that, people want to see your Instagram Stories, IGTV series, IG Live, and in-feed videos. The more you use Instagram’s features the more they will prioritize your content. If you don’t know where to start, here’s a breakdown of content possibilities:

Instagram stories: Share daily life, behind-the-scenes and favorite products

IG Live: Teach a topic or skill (i.e. workout or recipe)

In-feed video: BTS of photo shoots, previews to promote your YouTube, travel snippets

IGTV – Workout routines, travel vlogs, how-to videos

Reels: Study trends and apply them to fashion, home, humor, food, travel, tutorials, or anything really, sky’s the limit.

12. Create Engaging Stories

When planning your story strategy you want to share a journey and keep people up-to-date on what you’re doing. For example, you’re buying a new car so you hop on stories, show some face, bring your audience along to the dealership, take videos of the cars you’re deciding on, and use the poll feature to show you value their opinion. My favorite creative story apps are Unfold, StoryLuxe, and Mojo.

Now that you know how to grow your Instagram, check out more of my Instagram tips and blogs here!