So you want to get more followers on your art on Instagram, eh?
One of the first things you need to be aware of is the threat of purely chasing higher numbers.
You want to make sure that everything you are doing is targeted so you are gaining followers that are right for you.
That are more likely to purchase from you and and actually love your artwork, rather than a casual people who are kind of “meh” about your work.
Those people are kind of useless, to be completely honest. They’re never going to end up purchasing from you, and the chance that they’ll even engage with you is going to be pretty low.
So you always want to make sure that your efforts are targeted so you can get in front of the people who are right for you.
With that little disclaimer out of the way, let’s jump into some tactics so you can actually get more followers on Instagram!
1. Hashtags
One of the best ways to do this that is completely free, and if you set up a system for it it will be super easy, is hashtags.
Hashtags are basically tags that you attach to your posts that categorize them. They’re not defined categories by any means, you can create any hashtag you want.
The way these are used is you add hashtags to your posts that are related to your post, and people can type into the search function to find certain hashtags.
If you have an account where you post photos of your adorable corgi puppy, and if you hashtag your posts #corgipuppy, there are going to be hundreds, and thousands, and hundreds of thousands of people that can follow that hashtag and see your posts. By following hashtags you can actually see great posts from people you don’t follow because of the hashtags they used.
This is also a great way to get discovered. Hashtags are one of the best ways to be able to get more followers on Instagram.
When I first implemented my Hashtag System I quite literally saw 10x the reach overnight.
Yeah, it’s that dramatic. And it has only gone up from there.
2. Posting Consistently
There is something in Instagram (and all social media, really) that dictates what people see in their feed. Feeds are no longer chronological, they are now considered a “smart feed”.
Instagram achieves this “smart feed” by using an algorithm – a crazy formula that trends user interactions so it can put together a big picture of what the users want to see.
In theory, the algorithm should then be able to deliver you content that you will like.
From the algorithm’s perspective, its primary goal is to keep you on the app for as long as possible. And the reason for this is because of ads.
People and businesses can pay for ad space on Instagram, – that’s why when you scroll through your feed you will stumble across Sponsored posts – ads!
In theory, the longer you spend on the app, the greater the chance of you purchasing something. That is why the algorithm wants you to stay on the app as long as possible, and it does this by feeding you the content that you like.
So if you post consistently – whether this be once a week, once a day, or whatever you can manage – the algorithm is going to view this as a good thing.
It’s going to be more likely to deliver your content to your followers. Your followers can’t engage with your post unless they see it, so it all fits into the big picture.
When your reach goes up (as in your posts getting in front of more eyes), more people can actually engage with your work. When people engage with your work, the algorithm is going to look at that and say “Oh look, this is a hot post! It must be good content, let’s show it to more people”, and then the reach will skyrocket.
You’ll get more eyes on your artwork, and more likely it will be the RIGHT eyes on your art.
Eyes belonging to current followers, but also new followers.
So the more consistent you are, the more you will see a constant flow of followers flooding onto your account.
3. Make Sure Your Posts Are Worthy of Engagement
Engagement is a wonderful thing, because it allows the algorithm to show your art to more people.
By showing it to more people, you’re going to find more people that love your work and want to follow you, potentially turning into customers.
So in a nutshell, you want to get people to spend as much time as possible on your post, engaging with you.
The best way to do this is to make sure you are writing captions that are super compelling. The longer people spend reading your captions, the more easily they are going to start forming a bond with you from their perspective, and then the algorithm is also going to look at that and say “Hot post alert! Show everyone!”
And it is again going to deliver your content to more people, which will lead to more followers.
Engagement outside of being a statistic is also very important thing when it comes to relationship building.
And one of the biggest mindset shifts that people end up going through as they begin to build their online business (and yes, your art is a business!) is that once you shift your focus from just chasing numbers to building relationships, everything changes.
For the better.
Engagement is going to turn those casual audience members into fans, and those fans into customers. Those customers will then turn into repeat customers, the types of people that will shout your praise from the hilltops.
Which will bring in even more dedicated fans, and customers.
Want to take an even bigger flying leap towards your (inevitable) success as an artist?
Watch my FREE masterclass training, Scale Your Art Sales.
It’s the online class for beginner artists that are filled with a fiery creative passion, and want to grow an audience online that actually want to BUY their artwork