People who successfully grew their Instagram followers went through one of the three routes:
Route #1: Publish content that people love, engage with them regularly, promote it like crazy and after 3 years, you have a chance to get together a good following.
Route #2: They started 10 years ago when there was no competition and now telling you how easy it was.
Route #3: Become a celebrity, sports star or famous actor. Then it’s very easy to get a massive following. But if you’re reading this article, you’re probably not one of them, right? 🙂
All of these routes suck. Don’t you think?
Fortunately, I’ve been learning and trying a lot of different strategies for the last 12 months.
And I can assure you; there are other ways, quicker ways, easier ways.
I’m going to show you three strategies (two of them are a little underground and unknown) that will help you get momentum and hundreds of targeted followers quickly.
Want to get the hashtag strategy that brings me 11,000 impressions per post?
Get The Ultimate Instagram Hashtags Cheatsheet
Download now!Get The Ultimate Instagram Hashtags Cheatsheet
Attract the right people to your profile using Hashtags on Instagram
100% Privacy. We will never spam you.
100% Privacy. We will never spam you.
Let’s dive in.
1) Host an Instagram Contest
Hosting a successful Instagram contest can quickly expand your reach and can help you create awareness which will grab your potential followers (customers) attention. This technique is effective especially for those who are using Instagram for business to engage new followers.
I remember when Liam Austin decided to host Instagram Success Summit and created an Instagram account for the summit at the same time.
At first, he hosted a contest and gave away one premium copy of that summit.
He had around one hundred followers at that moment…
…
Three days later, his account was followed by more than a thousand people.
…
Highly engaged people!
They were checking his profile many times per day simply because they were curious if they’re the winners of the giveaway or not.
Results like this are fantastic!
But…
Why am I telling you this y?
Most people suppose that you must have thousands of followers to get meaningful results from a giveaway.
That can’t be further from the true.
To host a successful Instagram giveaway, we just have to follow the proven plan, and great results will come.
Here are the six steps to follow:
1) Plan objectives and goals
Before you start with your contest, be sure to have a clear goal in mind.
The more specific your goal is, the better chance you achieve that goal!
It can be something like:
- Increase your followers by 10%
- Get mentions from at least 150 people
- Get 100 people to subscribe to your e-mail newsletter
Don’t forget to decide the time-frame of your contest, and if you want to invest in ads, think what’s your budget.
2) Choose a contest type
There are many kinds of Instagram contests; I’m going to cover three that are most common.
- Like to Win contests
In this kind of contest, all you need is to follow an account and like a certain photo and you’re automatically included in the contest.
Pros:
- It’s very easy to set up, just post an update with instructions and it’s done
- ‘Like to win’ contest is one of the easiest ways to increase the reach of your account
Cons:
- Participants don’t have to spend too much time on your account and get to know your brand better.
- The relationship between you and your participants isn’t as high as you would like.
- Email entry contest
This is my favorite and most effective for building an audience outside of Instagram.
As you probably heard, an email list is the most important business asset.
Getting more e-mail subscribers should be your #1 priority.
The process is simple:
- Create an email capture page (landing page) and put a link into your IG bio
- Create an image representing the contest
- Tell people that if they want to enter the contest, they must click the link and opt-in to your newsletter
Pros:
- You are not building just your follower base, but your email list as well.
- One Email subscriber is much more valuable than one Instagram follower
Cons:
- Sometimes it can be hard to get people to leave Instagram and give you their email address
- Fewer people will participate
Bonus tip: You can mix these contests. For example, to enter the contest, participants must enter your email list, follow your Instagram, like your latest update, etc…
- Hashtag User-generated content
For a hashtag generated contest, create a specific hashtag only for this contest. It should be something short and memorable.
Whoever wants to participate must post an update (photo or video) with your hashtag.
Pros:
- This type of contest creates an emotional connection between you and your followers.
- The reach of hashtag specific contest is much bigger because the participants must post photos on their account = their friends and followers see it as well.
Cons:
It is not easy to get a lot of people to participate in this contest.
3) Find the perfect hashtags
Choosing the right hashtag is the difference between contest that brings you hundreds, maybe thousands of followers and completely unsuccessful contest.
The hashtag should be:
- short!
- memorable
- relevant
- rare
If your contest has a specific time frame (I hope it does!), use suitable hashtag only for this contest.
4) Choose an award
Finding the right award can be tricky, we want to choose a prize that attracts our ideal customer.
If you are a food blogger, offer as a prize some kind of book, video course, list of recipes, etc…
If you’re selling T-shirts, offer different kinds of clothes.
The biggest mistake people are making is to offer I-pad and similar things…
Everyone wants to win I-pad, but when the contest is over – they forget about you and never come back.
They were just interested in the contest, not in your brand.
5) Create terms and conditions
Every time you create a competition with a prize; you should follow legal guidelines.
Creating terms and condition page is highly recommended.
Here you can find some of the things that should be included:
- The name of the contest
- When the contest starts and ends
- How can people enter the contest
- Guidelines on how the winner will be chosen
- Be specific on the prize you will be given out
6) Promote, promote, and promote!
Now you have got the idea of your first giveaway (contest), it’s time to get the word out and promote your contest like crazy.
- Let people know about your contest on other Social networks like Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat, etc.
- Write a blog post about the giveaway with detailed information.
- Send an email to your email list.
- If you have an efficient budget, set up an ad.
- Write a post about your contest on relevant forums and community sites.
And the last step is to monitor the results.
How many subscribers did you get?
How many likes?
How many followers did you get during the contest?
These numbers will tell you what went great, wrong, what mistakes you made…
Learn from it and do it better next time.
Want to get the hashtag strategy that brings me 11,000 impressions per post?
Get The Ultimate Instagram Hashtags Cheatsheet
Download now!Get The Ultimate Instagram Hashtags Cheatsheet
Attract the right people to your profile using Hashtags on Instagram
100% Privacy. We will never spam you.
100% Privacy. We will never spam you.
Action steps:
- Find 10 potential partners for S4S
- Find one similar account with 200k+ followers and buy a shoutout from them
- Leave a comment below this post with your username and then contact me on Instagram through direct message (@weekhack) and I’ll put you in a few engagement groups.
- Sign up for Telegram app (free) and let me know your telegram username in the comments or shoot me an email
- Host your first Instagram contest
Nice Tips. I want to join an engagement group. Humbird Media is my IG name.
Done! I just added you inside a few those groups.
Very good article! Can you add me too?
My IG nickname is ______maverick______
Thank you!
Great hacks! I’d like to join an engagement group. My IG is socialpineapple.rocks
Glad you like the article! Check your direct messages on Instagram, you are now in a few of those groups.
My username is @ebitaril I know this might be so long but I really hope you reply. Thank you for the information though.
@frogwatches love this
Done!
Great sir I will love to join in engagement group my IG id is physiqueengineer1
Would love to join an engagement group. My IG name is @frann_man
Thanks for the awesome tips and tricks! I’d love to join an engagement group as well. @charmfril
@backtoyourrootz would love to learn more in the groups.
LOVE THIS ARTICLE! Excellent, simple advice. I’d love to join some engagement groups as well. My Instagram name is @Kelownagal. How do we go about joining groups with Telegram? Thanks for sharing these awesome tips!
Great tips, thank you for sharing, I would like to join an engagement group. My IG is amongeconejo
Awesome advice..I would love to join some engagement groups.. IG – @prayerklinic
Thank you for sharing these little-known tips. I’d love to be part of a engagement group! @texomafamily Thanks!
Love this! I’d like join some groups. Been doing pods, but not as effective as shoutouts. Thanks! My accounts are @zumbidovida and @pashmco
My best, ❤️
Amazing article man! Would appreciate if you can put me in one of
an engagement group. My username is @MaddyTeaches ! Thanks a lot 🙂
Thanks for the tips…would love to join some engagement groups.. IG :
@diaryofgoodmen
Great ideas! Would like to be added to a group! @scoolmax on Instagram!
Er yes, so why do we need Instagram at all ? Many businesses think this a waste of time as no demographics exist for conversion rates. if you are coca cola its great for branding as they have a lot of time or money to throw at it. for business the man hours involved are just not worth the conversion rate of 1 in every 40,000. prove that the conversion rate can be seen to be better !!
I love IG & find your in depth tips awesome.
I’m on IG as @denise_edelstein & would really appreciate being in some relevant IG engagement groups. I help heart-centred women who want more than working in the corporate world. They want to step up & have their own online business, doing what they love & making a difference in the world.
Thanks so much. ?
I am starting using Instagram for my business. I will surely utilize your tricks and advices for my business marketing. Really appreciate it..!!
Hi. I would love to join an engagement group. @inspirationalmedium
Great article! Especially the tip about engagement groups…My IG name is @heathaddison.
Nice article. I would like to join some engagement groups pls. @byteswag
Hi my IF username is @JayneyGoddard and I would love to be in one of your groups. Thank you for sharing this wonderful advice!
Awesome tips…saved for ACTION! My Instagram is kmgr70 ad would love to participate in the groups! Thanks
Hello Katie, you are in!
Thank you for outlining these core steps! They’re very useful! One question I have is, with most automation tools being shut down recently, which IG tools are still effective (and safe) to use? My IG handle is @myauthenticromania. Please add me to your groups. Thanks!
You’re in!
tosinibimiluyi is my IG handle. Kindly add me to your groups
Great article ! IG @li3nsolutions
Great stuff.. would like to join the engagement group. @travel_paparazzi
Thank you so much for sharing an amazing tips. I would also love to join an engagement groups @sliceoffreshness . Thank you Renata
Thanks for your awesome tips and tricks for instagram. I would like to join an engagement group. My username is @thetravellingtote.
Thanks Sneha
Awesome tips man!! I would love to participate in the group! My handle is @gadgetmomo
Thanks for the tips! Definitely interested in exploring the use of engagement groups. @ajourneyeast_
Would love to join some engagement groups.. IG – @teashirtlondon
Great information @bravahut to join groups
Definitely interested in exploring the use of engagement groups. @webneoo
Thanks for tips! thought they were really good. I’m interested in joining engagement groups. @allrestaurantmarketing
Great info ! IG @cuteandbroke
Interesting
My ig handle is @chakraborty.ananya and i would like tobe added to instagram engagement group
Wow that was amazing! I’ve been in a airport for 7 hours now studying social media, I learned more in this one email. It’s crazy you are the only person who I have subcribed to get emails from, it just felt real. I’m going to set up so many video completions on my days off this winter season, where I record about 100 people randomly and give them my business card and tell them I’ll put togher a video of the 50 best turns in a one min video, hit me up for the link. Top three turns get a beanie or a t shirt. Thank you for giving me this brain wave. Would also love to be part of the groups jasonleftwrightleft snowsport sessions. Thank you keep up the great work Jan!
Jason, that’s music to my ears.
@thetravelbrief
Thanks!
Great post!
IG: @tonydubravec
Telegram: Tony Dubravec
Hi! Great post – really enjoyed the understanding more of the process. My instagram is @fundera. Would love to be a part of any groups specific to marketing, small business, entrepreneurs. Thanks!
this article was so helpful! thankyou for sharing your knowledge, it would be awesome to join any of the groups you mentioned!
IG: @overcombs
Telegram: Over Combs
Thankyou!!
Appreciate the article gelreat insight.
Instagram handle sani_bas
This post was really awesome.. Thank you… I would like to join the telegram group…. Username is Towlue..thank you
Great advice! Leaving you with our IG handle : @glamxcosmetics
I love the idea of IG Engagement Groups! Here is our IG handle: @jjshotme
Thanks so much for this article, it’s brilliant. Would love if you could to be added.
IG: @meloandmarl
Hi! My Instagram username is @TassieTeaches. I would love to be a part of some engagement groups!
Hey! Really liked the blog post, looking to apply some of these techniques shortly to grow my Instagram following. It would be great if i could get involve with your engagement groups – @surfingforbeginners
Hi Jan, Great post, and I’m also interested in the engagement groups
@shortwork
Would LOVE to be included.
@eanddpizzacompany
@pizza_boss_27x
Thanks for sharing these tips on instagram marketing. These are very useful to get traffic from instagram.
would like to be included @iamdansshop
Great tips. I’d like to join an engagement group. My Instagram handle is @inabox.de
Thank you
Direct, concise, and useful. Thank you. @MrGheller
Great piece, love it
Amazing content and tips, definitely interested in those Telegram rounds groups! My Telegram username is @kadstravels
Thanks!
@baubleheadhairjewelry sending you a DM!
Great tips thanks!
@jasmine.btea ???
Lifesaver! @movidazen
@genevieve.r.w – Thank you for this post!! I have to reread it because there was so much info!
Nice tips, I would love to join the engagement groups
Telegram: mariam_yaser
Instagram: @the_wandering_compass
@podhubstudio
Great information,add to the engagement group.
@dipoluyomi25
@everkleenes
I’d like to join engagement groups. My IG is @franciscogomes.apl
Thank you for the tips! I have sent you a message on ig. My IG is @theartisancraftcompany
@neekwithdakinks – please add me to engagement groups. Thank you
Thank you for all the tips! Would like to join tje engangementgroups. My username is @studioeleonorean
Nice article! I would love to be part of some relevant engagement groups. Could you add me to some? My IG account is @goodfoodprettyplaces 🙂 Thanks in advance!
Hi! Thanks for your great tips, I just discovered your website :0 I’d love to be part of engagement groups, my account is @Grow_some_green
thank you!
Claire
Please put me in those groups. I am @goku1080ti
Nice useful tips, thank you. I want to join some groups. My IG account is lc_bitar
Hey, would love to be included !
My ig login is @ growvivid
I want more engagement my Instagram name is cutiewithabootae92 add me
Great article with lots of useful tips! Would love to be included in engagement groups. My username is: @ichigocake_draws
please add me too @bitselsa
Such a great article!
Please add me to some groups @savva.ink
Thanks so much xx
I have an engagement pod group. DM and follow @setupedia to be part of the +15 users
Great tips! My IG handle is @smitascookery. Do check it out and would love your feedback
You have very good tips. Thank you for them. My IG handle is __themysterygirl__