Getting to that 10,000-follower count on Instagram is a huge milestone that every profile or business looks forward to. It’s a mark that shows the credibility and engagement on a page which is key to growing in the social media era. In fact, many recognize the 10k follower count mark as the beginning of the avalanche effect. Let’s discuss how to go about getting these 10,000 followers in a week organically to kickstart your Instagram fame.

Growing in the meta of social media:

Social media today is very different compared to what it used to be. Nowadays, the most important thing social media platforms want is more watch time and more engagement. Instagram for instance wants the users to stay on the platform as much as possible and it rewards not only users who stay on the platform, but also content creators who promote more watch time.

So, what does this all mean? Well, if you’re someone who wants to grow on Instagram, your goal is to keep the viewers on your page and hence on Instagram as much as possible. Another important variable to look at is the new features. Instagram continues to pump out features on the app to the point that some of them became the main focus of the app. For instance, reels used to be a small option on the explore button and it’s not the mid-center button on Instagram and the place that everyone spends their time the most.

Understanding that the audience is where the money’s at is going to get you to that 10k followers in one week. Making content is no longer about you (like it used to be), it’s about the audience.

The key to growing your Instagram following fast:

So now that we understand that audience is where it’s all at, where do we go from here? The first thing to do is answer these three fundamental questions- who, what, and why.

-Who your audience is where you have to start. Knowing the type of person to target in your content allows you to connect with them and understand their problems.

-What your audience needs is also an important thing to understand. Are your viewers there to make more money? Learn a skill? Be entertained? Be inspired? These are all questions you need to ask yourself to grow.

-Why your audience is there is also going to determine the quality of the followers and viewers you have. Are you there for fulfilment, inspiration, or to make money?

Ten steps to grow your Instagram following:

Optimize for mobile:

This one speaks for itself. The rule states that you should always go where the customer is. The vast overwhelming majority of people on Instagram are on their phones scrolling away.

Highest impact-lowest effort:

One of the best ways to ensure that you get the ROI is to first start with the lowest effort strategies that have the biggest impact. Do not go down the route of editing a 10-minute video with lots of flashy graphics without first doing the most simple and basic video. If you ever spent any time on social media in the past few years, you’ll see that some of the most popular videos and posts are the simplest to make.

AIDA:

This is one of the most effective ways to get a lot of followers on Instagram. AIDI stands for attention, interest, desire, and action. You first start with grabbing the viewer’s attention to at least get them to stay on your content for the next step. Interest is where you keep them hooked and give them a reason to stay and trigger the desire phase to make them want to imagine their life-changing. The closing of AIDA is with action where you inspire the viewers to do something.

The point of AIDA is to lead the viewers into the last stage by using all of the A-I-D-A steps. For instance, a carousel post on Instagram can start with something eye-catching and mysterious for the very first slide. The next few slides are where you present the interest in a smooth flowing manner that leads them into the next slide. Finally, you finish with desire and action which can be CTA.

Consistency and volume:

Today’s strategy on Instagram is quite simple: create as much meaningful content as possible that can grab the attention of viewers and followers. The way you do this is by being consistent with how often and how much you post. You can no longer get away with one post every week since you’ll just disappear and become irrelevant.  Therefore, posting twice per day at least on a daily basis is going to be key. Look at your analytics and see when your engagement is at the highest.

Stories:

One of the best ways to grow your Instagram is by posting stories on a daily basis. Because these stories are not going to go into your main account, they can be low effort and easy to make. The benefit of stories is that they can be used to show your personal side as well as to tell the followers and viewers that you’re always active.

Give them a reason to stay:

It’s important to not only grab the attention of potential followers but also maintain it. You want the viewer to have a reason to follow you and the way you do this is by giving them helpful content. However, you cannot give them everything all at once. If they already have what they want, why would they follow you to get more content from you? You need to keep them hooked and engaged to the point where they have to follow you so they can get the same ROI you created in AIDA.

Engage:

Successful Instagram profiles always respond to comments on every single post. In fact, some go as far as spending two hours per day replying to comments. This is an important metric to use to your advantage which will boost your profile in the algorithm.

Experiment and identity:

You should always experiment with different niches and audiences to see where you fit best. Try different posts for different sets of audiences and see where your engagement is at the highest and which posts tend to give you more followers. Once you know your target niche and audience, then go all-in on it and become a part of that community.

Use hashtags:

One of the best tools you have access to is hashtags. Instagram added a feature where viewers can follow hashtags. If you can rank high in some of those hashtags, then you’re exposing yourself to potentially tens of millions of viewers at once. Learn which hashtags to use by watching your competition and seeing which hashtags have the best performance.

Use reels:

Instagram is in direct competition with TikTok which is why they are trying their best to make Instagram reels popular. If you can add more reels in addition to posts, then you’ll be more relevant and add a ton of engagement to your content.