13 Ways to Help You Get 10k Followers on Instagram

To get 10k followers on Instagram is a significant milestone that opens doors to enhanced visibility, engagement, and opportunities for individuals and businesses alike. However, achieving this milestone can be difficult without a proper roadmap. We have listed down some proven strategies that can help you get 10k followers on Instagram in just 3 months. In this comprehensive guide, we will explore actionable strategies, plans, pro tips, and proven techniques to help you know how to get 10k followers on Instagram.

1. Choose Your Niche

If your posts cover a wide range of topics without a clear focus, it can be challenging to build a dedicated audience. Specializing in a specific niche allows you to tailor your content, making it more appealing to a targeted audience.

Steps to identify your niche:

• Research and identify a niche aligning with your interests, skills, and potential audience.
• Consider the competition within the niche and find a unique angle or perspective.

Pro Tip: Ensure your chosen niche has broad appeal to attract a sizable audience.

2. Know Your Audience

“Do you know your target audience? If not, you must analyze and understand your audience because targeting the right set of people is the key. If your goal is to reach 10k followers on Instagram, ensure that these 10k are your target audience, resonating with your content.

Follow these quick tips to identify your target audience:

• Use Instagram Insights to gather data on your current followers.
• Conduct surveys or polls to understand preferences and interests.
• Analyze the demographics, locations, and behaviors of your audience

Pro Tip: Create a detailed user persona for your brand, guiding your target audience based on demographics, interests, behavior, or locations.

3. Instagram Profile Optimization

The starting point is to maintain the basic hygiene of your Instagram page. Ensure everything falls in the right place, and you’re all set!

Things you should consider for profile optimization:

• Use a high-resolution and recognizable profile picture, preferably of yourself or a logo.
• Craft a concise and engaging bio that communicates your niche and personality.
• Include a call-to-action or highlight your Unique Selling Proposition (USP) to encourage followers.

Pro Tip: Create the first 5 Instagram highlights about your brand, covering topics like who you are, why to choose you, services/products, customer testimonials, and new launches/offers/discounts.

4. Instagram Content Strategy

What makes people stop scrolling past your content? According to MIT neuroscientists, the human brain can identify images seen for as little as 13 milliseconds. In less than a second, a person decides whether or not you’re worth their time. That means you need to stand out.

Here are some important steps to start with:

• Plan the top 5 content pillars around which you will be planning the content of your page
• Ensure that your content reflects your brand identity and resonates with your target audience. 
• Plan an Instagram content calendar to maintain consistency in your posting. 
• Diversify your content by using a mix of static images, videos, carousel posts, and Instagram Stories.

Pro Tip: Consistency is key to get 10k followers on IG. Plan a calendar at least 15 days in advance for timely and consistent posts.

5. Instagram Aesthetic

Make sure you have an identity; people should be able to remember and differentiate you! Being consistent not just in content but also in brand aesthetics makes people interact with you more, increasing brand recall.

Here are a few ways to create an Instagram aesthetic that stands out:

• Maintain a consistent aesthetic theme for brand identity. 
• Use the color theme, elements, and fonts, as per your brand guidelines.

Pro tip: Keep things simple to maintain consistency. Always choose the best quality images and videos because, never forget, once Instagram was all about putting aesthetically pleasing pictures!

6. Instagram Engagement

Simply posting daily content won’t solely get 10k followers on Instagram; you need to go the extra mile to make that happen sooner! Always keep your audience entertained! Social media is for socializing, so keep it like one!

 Here are a few ways you can engage with your audience: 

• Respond to comments with genuine and thoughtful replies.
• Interact with posts from your followers and others in your niche.
• Host Q&A sessions, polls, or challenges to encourage active engagement.

Pro Tip: You must create an Instagram Story that make sense with or without the user’s audio turned on. A HubSpot survey reveals that only 29% of people who watch Instagram Stories say they “always” watch with the sound on. You can use captions/subtitles to ensure you communicate your message for either scenario!

7. Instagram SEO (Search Engine Optimization):

Instagram SEO is the most neglected aspect of social media! However, the power it holds is beyond our expectations. The algorithm counts everything, literally everything! And, SEO will play a major role for you to get 10k followers on Instagram.

Here are the best SEO practices for Instagram:

• Research and use relevant and trending hashtags in your posts. 
• Geotag your posts to increase visibility for local audiences. 
• Craft captions with keywords related to your niche to enhance searchability.

Pro Tip: Your Instagram bio must have the keyword; it will help you in searchability!

8. Instagram Posting Time

Similar to how a doctor prescribes specific times for medication to establish a routine for better healing, determining optimal posting times on social media creates a pattern that enhances engagement and visibility. Consistent posting at strategic times helps your audience anticipate and interact with your content regularly, fostering a more effective and efficient online presence. Just as the body benefits from a prescribed routine for medication, a well-timed social media strategy can boost your online impact.

Tips to test the best timings for you: 

• Experiment with different timings to identify when your page’s audience is most active. Use Instagram Insights to analyze the performance of posts at different times of the day and days of the week. 
• Consider time zones to cater to a global audience if applicable.

Pro Tip: Always post half an hour before and half an hour after your active times. This trick is tested and works! Give it a try!

9. Instagram Giveaways

Who doesn’t want to win something for free? This universal appeal makes giveaways an effective strategy for boosting the growth of followers and increasing the engagement rate on your Instagram account.

Steps to a successful giveaway:

• Pre-plan your giveaways strategically to ensure maximum participation. 
• Collaborate with other big accounts to boost the reach of the giveaway. 
• Communicate do’s, don’ts, entry requirements, and deadlines well.

Pro Tip: Partner with other accounts and launch a collaborative giveaway for an even bigger reach. This exposes your profile to their followers too, maximizing the chances of gaining more participation and engagement. Here’s one example of a brand-brand collaboration: 

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A post shared by The Messy Corner™️ (@themessycornerr)

10. Implement Influencer Marketing Strategies

Influencer marketing is one of the best ways to interact with people in today’s digital era due to its ability to build trust, leverage relatability, reach diverse audiences, and adapt to the dynamic nature of social media trends. Brands that take influencer marketing very seriously have the ability to establish meaningful connections and boost brand loyalty in this ever-changing digital landscape.

Tips for influencer Collab’s:

• Research and collaborate with influencers in your niche.
• If you don’t have a budget for paid collaboration with big influencers/celebrities, go for barter collaborations. 
• Influencer marketing can significantly result in boosting your follower’s number.

Pro Tip: Always choose quality over quantity. Collaborate with a few influencers, but choose the ones who can genuinely expose your brand to an authentic audience and can bring genuine engagement. Always ask for the last 30 days’ insights screenshots or screen recordings to assess authenticity of the influencers. Don’t get caught in the bot following and engagement trap!!

11. Instagram Page Shout-Outs

Shout-outs provide an opportunity for users to cross-promote each other, exposing their content or profiles to a wider audience. This mutual promotion can lead to increased visibility and followers for both parties.

Strategy for Shout-Outs:

• Research accounts with a similar audience for shout-out opportunities. 
• Use shout-outs to introduce your content to a new audience.
• Ask the pages to feature your content on their story, or feed, or even go for a collaborative reel.

Pro Tip: Always include a Call-to-Action (CTA) in your content when sharing with pages for reposting. Encourage their audience to follow your page for more engaging content. Boost your chances of success by providing them with your best-performing content, ensuring you make a strong first impression and increase the likelihood of gaining valuable results.

12. Cross-Promote Your Instagram

Drive the traffic to your Instagram by promoting your page on your website!

A few ways to cross-promote include:

• Embed Instagram images from your page in your newsletter
• Embed Instagram images from your page in your blog posts
• Add a link to your Instagram in your email signature
• Add your Instagram handle to the bio of your other social media sites
• Link your Instagram to your Twitter and Facebook so that it posts on all three sites

Pro Tip: Extend your reach by joining relevant social media groups or communities and sharing your Instagram content there. Ensure the content aligns with the group’s interests, sparking interest and attracting potential followers who share your passions. Remember, it’s about connecting with like-minded individuals!

13. Analysis and Improvement

Social media dynamics change, and what works today might not work tomorrow. Therefore, trying different approaches helps to understand what resonates best with your audience.

Steps to do analysis:

• Weekly review your Instagram Insights to track KPIs such as reach, engagement, and follower growth.
• Analyze the performance of individual posts and gain insights into the audience’s popular content preferences
• Adjust your content strategy based on the analysis and observations, and experiment with different approaches to optimize results.

Pro Tip: If a certain type of post is doing great, don’t be shy – copy and paste it!! Yes, replicate the format, style, or content theme that’s working well to consistently deliver what your audience loves. It’s like having a winning recipe – why change it?

Conclusion

To get 10k followers on Instagram requires a patient and strategic approach. A well-planned strategy can lead you to this milestone sooner than you think. At 10x Loud, we have the expertise to deliver results for various brands. If you’re seeking similar growth, connect with us for a tailored Instagram strategy designed just for you.