A Simple Guide to Getting Your First 10K Followers on Instagram

Wondering how to get your first 10K followers on Instagram? It’s not easy, but there are some simple things you can do to beat the instagram algorithm and grow to the 10k followers mark.

I’m not going to lie and tell you I grew to 10k followers on instagram in 60 days or even in one year. It took a few years for me to grow to this point, but I’ve been able to gain real, organic Instagram followers with the strategies I’m laying out in this post.

If you’re looking to grow your Instagram followers with REAL strategies and engaged followers, this is the guide for you!

Why 10k Followers on Instagram is a Great Goal

Swipe Up Feature

One of the main reasons I wanted to reach 10k Instagram followers was because of the swipe up feature! This was so important to me, especially as a blogger. If you’re a blogger or an online brand or business who has products to link to, the swipe up feature can make a huge difference to your business! 

The ‘swipe up’ feature allows your followers to go directly to the link you share (whether it leads to a blog post or a product). Instead of having to put the link in your bio and telling people to go to your profile to click it, the ‘swipe up’ feature offers a quick and easy way to get your content or product seen!

Brand Deals

It’s totally possible to get brand deals on Instagram before the 10K mark. I’ve done it multiple times, but I’ve also heard from Insta-experts that 10K is the number a lot of brands look. 

You’ll probably hear different things from different sources, but Julie Solomon from the Influencer podcast mentioned it in one of her episodes, and she’s one of the most knowledgeable experts in the influencer industry, so I’m taking her word for it!

If you’re interested in starting to work with brands for paid opportunities on Instagram, 10K followers is a great goal to have! 

How to Get More Followers on Instagram

If your goal is to grow your Instagram account to 10K followers, I’m breaking it down in 8 simple steps! From creating an Instagram theme to getting into video and upping your Instagram Stories game, these are the best tips to grow your Instagram!

Create an Instagram Theme/Aesthetic 

Having an Instagram aesthetic and creating a theme is so important to attract people to your feed. Instagram is a visual platform and people want to follow accounts that are either: Inspire them, entertain them or teach them.

There are the “meme” accounts and humorous accounts that are purely meant for entertainment. There are also accounts that teach you something, such as accounts about certain humanitarian movements. These don’t necessarily need to be aesthetically appealing. However, if you want to provide inspiration (whether it’s lifestyle, fashion, home decor, your city, etc.), a beautiful Instagram theme is really important.

My favourite Instagram accounts are bright and airy, colourful and inspire me on a daily basis. Check out my post on how to theme your Instagram below to see some of my favourite accounts!

Related Post: How to Create an Instagram Theme

Post to Instagram Consistently

The Instagram algorithm really favours accounts that post often and consistently. I would aim for posting one to three photos a day, but once minimum. The more active you are, the better, but you also don’t want to be too spammy and post a bunch of photos at a time.

If someone follows you it’s because they love your content and want to be kept updated on your life, so if you leave them hanging for too long and don’t post for days on end, you’re more likely to lose followers. It’s important to keep your followers engaged, and posting consistently is one of the ways to do this, as well as organically grow your Instagram following.

Post Instagram Videos

There’s no denying it – video is the way of the future, and if you can implement it into your Instagram feed, you’re sure to gain more followers. While Instagram started as a photo-sharing platform, it continuously updates its features to allow its users to create video content, which means that’s what people are looking for.

Video is one of the best types of ways to engage your followers! You can do live video on Instagram, Instagram stories or upload videos to your Instagram feed. According to Buffer, the average engagement for Instagram videos is growing faster than the average engagement for photos. This is huge, as engagement is so important on the platform, especially if you want to start working with brands on Instagram!

Use Relevant Hashtags

Hashtags are highly underestimated. If you use them correctly, hashtags can open you up to a whole new audience on Instagram, which in turn can skyrocket your followers.

Hashtag research is key to Instagram growth. If you can find the hashtags your audience is looking for, you’re sure to get in front of new eyes that are looking for accounts like yours! A mix of broad and specific hashtags, as well as hashtags targeted towards your niche, have worked best for me.

Make sure you’re not using hashtags that have nothing to do with your photo. Not only are you going to attract the wrong audience, you’re wasting your own time with hashtags that won’t help grow your Instagram account.

Add hashtags to the notes section on your phone so you don’t have to write them out every time you post a photo. You can switch them up because your photo content will change and you always want to be reaching a new audience, but I have a few different hashtag groupings in my notes section so I can easily copy and paste and just change a few things when I post a new photo!

Comment and Reply to Comments 

Followers are important on Instagram, but do you know what else is CRAZY important? Engagement! Engagement is calculated by adding up the number of likes and comments on a single photo and dividing it by the number of followers you have.

This is why REAL followers are so important. If you have 10K followers and are getting 50 likes and 1 comment on your photos, that’s a super low engagement rate, and if you’re looking to partner with brands, they can tell something is off.

One of the best ways to increase engagement on Instagram? Find accounts in your niche and leave meaningful comment on their photos. When you comment on someone’s photo, it means that more than likely they’ll come over and comment on your photos!

I usually spend about half an hour to an hour a day comment on other peoples’ photos.

And when people comment on your photos, make sure to reply! The more you reply, the more you’ll start to create community. You may find that the same people come back to comment on your photos and follow you! Commenting is such a great way to increase your following and engagement!

Up Your Instagram Stories Game

If you’re not using Instagram Stories, you’re missing out on growing your followers and engagement. Did you know it’s not only your followers who can watch your stories? If you use hashtags and location tags in your Stories, you’re able to reach a bigger audience that way too!

Like I mentioned in the ‘hashtags’ section above, make sure the hashtags you use in your Instagram Stories are relevant to the story so people searching that hashtag will find you! Instagram users also like to search locations to find things to do (whether they’re traveling or locals looking for new spots).

Create Quality Content

One of the best things to do when trying to grow on Instagram is put your head down, stay in your own lane, and create amazing, quality content. Getting wrapped up in what others are doing can lead you to a downward spiral of comparison.

Focus on creating content you love and are proud of. Make sure your photos are on brand, aesthetically pleasing, and high quality. There’s nothing worse than going to an Instagram feed and seeing blurry, out of focus photos. Creating quality content is so important on Instagram! 

I like to choose one or two days a week to go out and shoot content. Batching your content this way ensures you always have photos to post. Don’t worry about having to take a photo every day. Choose a few days to go out and shoot a bunch of content so you have them at the ready!

Related Post: 16 Photo Ideas for Instagram (For When You’re Stuck on What to Post)

Take Editing Seriously

Photo editing is a pretty much a must if you want to grow on Instagram. Leave the Instagram filters to your Instagram-unsavvy mom; if you really want to up your Instagram game, you have to take photo editing seriously.

Editing can completely TRANSFORM your photos. Sometimes I take a photo that I think will never work on my feed, but once I add a few edits it transforms into something beautiful. Editing tools and editing apps are magic!

I’ve recently started using Adobe Lightroom and it’s a life-changer. If you want to get serious about photo editing, I highly suggest investing in Lightroom! They have a photography package (which is really all you need if you want to edit your instagram photos) for just $9.99 USD a month! 

Instagram can be a tough social media platform to crack, but you’re sure to grow your followers with these tips! Try them out and watch your follower count grow!

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