Instagram has become the most popular social network since its inception in 2010, and it continues to grow by leaps and bounds. With this exponential growth, you might be surprised to learn that organic reach on Instagram has actually dropped significantly over the past few years.
On top of that, your followers can only see your Instagram posts if they are logged into their own account! Fortunately, there are plenty of ways you can get organic likes and views on Instagram if you know where to look and what to do. Here are 10 secrets that will help you get more organic likes on Instagram!
1) Use unique hashtags
If you want your photos to reach a wider audience, you need to use relevant and original hashtags. There are thousands of people using Instagram on a daily basis, which means that if you don’t find a way to stand out from all of these users, your content will probably get lost in their feed.
This is why it’s extremely important for your brand to use unique hashtags that are related to your content but will also allow other users to discover it. If someone is interested in what you have to offer, they will check out more pictures through your profile and eventually like one of them.
Try not to choose too many different tags; if possible, stick with just two or three original ones, since most popular images contain no more than eight different tags.
2) Choose relevant, popular hashtags
One of the easiest ways to get more likes and followers on Instagram is to use hashtags that are relevant to your business. Not only will hashtags help you grow your audience and customer base, but they’ll also show up in all of your posts’ descriptions.
As a result, you can drive traffic and boost sales by promoting certain products through them. Of course, using popular hashtags comes with some risk: The last thing you want is for spam accounts or competitors to hijack them! With that said, it’s not unreasonable for small businesses like yours (even those just starting out) to make use of popular hashtags. This means researching which terms are trending among your target market and keeping an eye on what other similar companies are doing with their posts.
3) Tag influencers in posts that they like
If you’re trying to grow your account, it can be helpful to tag someone influential in your niche when you post something that they like. For example, if I were an entrepreneur and I wanted to gain more followers for my account, tagging Buffer co-founder Leo Widrich (who has 226K followers) might get his attention.
At first glance he might not notice that one of his friends tagged him—but when he sees tons of likes on a picture or one of his posts from someone who’s tagging him, it will start to stand out. But remember: don’t reach out too quickly or you might come off as needy! This tactic works best after a few months or even a year or two.
4) Add location tags to posts
When you upload a photo to Instagram, make sure you add location tags. Every time you click on a geo-tagged post, it will take you to a page that shows more photos from that area. This simple trick could be what takes your account from having just a few followers to getting hundreds of new followers every day.
If your photos are good enough, they might even start showing up in other users’ feeds (they will show up on their home page if they follow you back). It’s one of those posts that goes relatively unnoticed when posted at first, but over time can generate quite a bit of additional traffic.
5) Make your profile bio clear and appealing
Your bio should let people know what you’re all about. It should also include a call to action, such as asking people to like your photos or follow you on your journey. When in doubt, less is more: include only your first name and a URL for people to learn more about you.
On average, there are around 120 characters allowed for a user’s bio description. This is plenty of space—just make sure it’s not too much! (Remember: we want them to click through and explore). A good bio can be an invaluable tool that really lets you stand out from other accounts out there – use it wisely!
6) Share interesting content
The most important thing you can do to get organic likes and followers on Instagram is to post interesting content. There are no shortcuts here. If your photos aren’t worth sharing, then people won’t care about them enough to share them. In other words, posts that don’t have your audience’s attention won’t generate likes or shares!
7) Enable Instagram Stories
The newest feature from Snapchat’s parent company, Instagram Stories provides a way for users to record moments and share them with their followers. The best part about it is that it’s very easy to use and doesn’t require any video editing experience.
Simply tap on Your Story in your profile, select up to 10 photos or videos (15 seconds or less) from your phone, choose an optional filter, add a caption if you like and voila! Your content will be available to view by anyone who follows you for 24 hours.
Just make sure not to post anything too personal since everything on your story is public—and potentially searchable.
8) Update your profile regularly
Use a tool like Gramfeed to schedule your posts and then set it to post every day so you’re constantly sharing new content. By switching up your posting style (like we discussed above), you’ll reach a broader audience and stay active on social media.
If you use hashtags, adding them to your profile will help people find you if they see your posts in their newsfeed! If you don’t have time for that, connect with influencers who might share your content with their followers – it costs nothing but will get your name out there.
And lastly, remember that social media is not all about likes: use it as an engagement channel too! Engage with others by asking questions or replying to comments on threads relevant to what you do.
9) Like other profiles on a regular basis
While you’re waiting for your followers to grow organically, it’s a good idea to follow other profiles. When they see that you followed them, they’re more likely to return that follow.
In addition, if they have a similar audience to yours, those new followers could be interested in your brand and content—but don’t stop there! If someone follows you because you followed them first, make sure that person sees great content in their feed.
Check out some of their posts and leave relevant comments on their pics. If people like what they see from you, then check back soon for organic likes and follows!
10) Engage with users who are following you
Following is simple, but interacting is hard. It’s pretty easy to just follow a ton of users and see what kind of content they’re sharing on their account. But, if you want to truly make an impact on your account and get more likes, you need to engage with people.
For example, comment on a couple photos every day and then return to that person’s profile later in the week and like one of their pictures. As your engagement grows, so will your following! This helps you interact more organically with more people while maintaining personal connections.
Instead of having 500 followers that barely even look at your photos (and whose photos you don’t even care about), you’ll have 100 friends who actually like what you share—and they’ll reciprocate.
