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Are you looking to grow Instagram followers organically? Have a business or dream of being a content creator? Well, we're here to tell you that although It's not easy, it is definitely worth it!

We started our Instagram page 4 years ago, and sure have learned a lot along the way.. That's why we're here to help you build your Instagram, make a desirable feed, and get brands to want to work with you!

So let's jump right in. Here are 17 ways to up your Instagram game, and t0 grow Instagram followers organically.

Grow Instagram Followers Organically Step #1: Define Your Niche

This is one of the most important things when it comes to starting to build your Instagram. 

When people visit your page, they should easily be able to identify what it is all about. Whether it be cooking, traveling, or fitness, your followers need to understand why they are there. 

Even further, the more "niched down" you are, the more likely you are to attract a loyal audience. For example, someone who focuses on traveling to nation

al parks, is more likely to get a better following than someone who travels the whole world.

Choosing your Niche

Don't know exactly what you want your page to be about? It's okay to cross into a few niches here and there. For example, we are a couple that focuses on travel, but also include a side of staying in shape, and helping the environment.

The most important thing is that you choose something you are passionate about. Don't choose something just because you think it will get a large audience, because in the end you won't be able to provide as much value, or won't love what you are posting about.

Grow Instagram Followers Organically Step #2: Add an Eye-Catching Profile Photo

When it comes down to it, it's what's on the inside that matters, right? Well, unfortunately with Instagram, first impression is everything.

Make sure that you have a profile photo that is clear, and can be easily seen at a quick glance. Try to avoid using a photo that has a lot of background noise, or that you can't see yourself. Having your face is also very helpful, as it helps your audience know the face behind the account.

Grow Instagram Followers Organically Step #3: Create a Relevant Bio

Your bio is basically like your resume! You have to fit your best assets in just a few words, so it's important to choose wisely.

Creating a Bio Name

For your name you should put what best describes you. For example, in ours we used to have Danni and Fede, and now have travel couple.

This is because when someone sees your profile they can identify you with a name, or what you do best. A lot of creators use this space to put where they are based, this way they are easily searchable by brands.

As we don't particularly have a base, we put where we are at the moment. So right now, we are in Brazil, so we have that location as the bold part of our bio.

Inputting Your Bio Info

Here is where you can really shine! Briefly explain as best you can what your profile will be offering to others! For example: "I help small business owners" or "Helping you reach your fitness goals" are two good things that someone could put in their profile to show how they can serve their audience.

Use emojis. It sounds silly, but people are visual, and icons can help ease the eyes, and make things pop that are important.

Creating a Link in Bio

Add your website. If you don't have one that's okay! And if you happen to have multiple pages you'd like to direct people to, then you can create a LinkTree. This is when you add all of your links on one landing page, so that people can easily reach your different links.

Adding a link to your bio is also leverage for making money when it comes to brands. You can add links as temporarily as you'd like, so you can offer to put a company's link in your bio for a certain rate. We usually do this for 24 hours at a time.

Grow Instagram Followers Organically Step #4: Connect With Like-Minded People

One of the best ways to actually create a community, is to go and find accounts just like your own! (or what you aspire your page to be like). Instagram is like a search engine, so type in words that are in your niche, and you will find accounts with similar styles to your own.

Go ahead and follow a bunch of people that you genuinely find interesting. Make sure not to follow more than 50 accounts in a day, as it is marked as spammy, and your account could potentially get action blocked.

Following like-minded people will not only help you grow Instagram followers organically, but will also give you connections around the world, and in your desired industry.

Grow Instagram Followers Organically Step #5: Engage!

We can't stress this enough- engagement is everything! Unfortunately, there is no way around it. Instagram rewards those that stay on the app, and the only way for your content to get pushed to be shown, is for you to engage with other accounts as well.

Can't you just wait for a video to go viral? The answer is no. Going viral may get you a ton of followers at once, but the truth is that you will only get peoples attention for that moment. If you don't continue to engage, Instagram won't even show your content to them after that. And what's the. point of posting if you're not going to be seen by your followers?

How much should you engage? Well we will tell you that we saw our most growth when we spent a good 4 hours a day engaging. This doesn't mean you have to spend half your day on Instagram necessarily, but you will definitely have to put in the time if you want to grow Instagram followers organically.

Grow Instagram Followers Organically Step #6: Use Hashtags Correctly

Hashtags are one of the most complex and confusing parts of Instagram. Everyone thinks they have the answer, but the truth is that no one really knows!

You can use up to 30 hashtags, but apparently Instagram doesn't like when you use all 30, or when you use the same hashtags all the time. How true this is, is hard to say. Recently though (beginning of 2023) the app did announce that they prefer hashtags in the post, rather than in the comment section.

Choosing the Right Hashtags

On our end, the most important thing is to make sure you are using the right hashtags. So avoid any of the generic hashtags like "#like4like" or "#instaoftheday". These are super spammy, and will by no means get you the right type of following.

Use hashtags that are relevant and not so basic. For example, if a hashtag has 1 million uses, it feels like you'll get more exposure right? Wrong. Actually, if you use a super saturated hashtag, most likely your post won't make it to the explore page at all.

On the other hand, don't use hashtags that have under 100 posts, because if no one searches your hashtag, then you also won't get seen. We suggest going in the 1-15k range. This also depends how big your account is of course. The more followers you have, the more basic your hashtags can become to reach more people.

Grow Instagram Followers Organically Step #7: Create Captivating Content

Now this is truly the best way to grow Instagram followers organically, as well as keep your current followers.

The attention span of humans if shockingly low, and if you don't attract your audience's attention right away, then Instagram will notice that, and will stop pushing your content to those that don't follow you.

Get creative and try to show your skills. Don't just take a photo on your phone and upload it. Go on Lightroom, and edit it to make it more captivating, use unique angles, and tell a story with every picture or video that you post.

Grow Instagram Followers Organically Step #8: Establish Your Style

There is no right or wrong style when it comes to photography and videography. However, it's important to choose a style and stick to it.

Your style will help people identify that it's your account, and will become a signature. Whether it be warm and vintage, and edgy and dark, play with an editing style and try to stick close to it. Establishing a style will be a key step to build your Instagram to what you want it to be.

Using Presets

One way to ensure that your pictures stick with the same style, is to use presets. These are like makeup for your photos, and let you edit with just one click! Of course presets won't perfectly fit every photo, but they are a great starting point.

Edit a photo how you like and you can save it in Lightroom as your own preset. Start each photo with using one of your presets, and then you can adjust the brightness, vibrance, or other aspects to perfect the image to your liking,

Editing can surely be a lot of work, that's why we've got you covered! We've created three different sets of Lightroom Presets. Our "Life in Color" preset collection which creates beautifully vibrant photos, our "City Lights" preset collection, which is perfect for bringing those night photos to life, and our "Into the Wild" preset collection which specifically targets different landscapes from around the world.

Grow Instagram Followers Organically Step #9: Develop a Visually Appealing Feed

It sounds crazy, but someone could post the same exact posts in a different order, and their account could appear as less interesting.

Like we said earlier, attraction is everything with Instagram. If someone sees an amazing post by you, but then clicks on your page and it doesn't have the same attraction, you could risk not gaining that account as a follower.

Our feed is predicted sometimes weeks in advance, and we play around with when we are going to post something for when it is going to look more appealing. For this process we use the app "Feed Preview", being able to move around the icons to our liking. Check below to see how we purposely intend to make a more visually appealing feed.

Grow Instagram Followers Organically Step #10: Coordinate Your Look

We do a lot of planning on a day out for shooting. Each outfit is picked purposefully, and sometimes we even bring multiple changes of clothes!

Matching Your Environment

We always work to either match the background, or to pick a color where we will pop. We also coordinate matching each other.

Now this doesn't always mean wearing the same exact color all the time, but just wearing things that will compliment one another. For example, if Danni is wearing a beautiful beige dress, Fede wouldn't wear a bright green jogging outfit. It just wouldn't look right.

We also work to fit the vibe of the place. So if we are going to a modern area with a sleek design, we will choose outfits to fit that vibe.

Choosing Your Style

Danni always wears dramatic dresses and flowy skirts, as this is part of our style for the way we photograph. That doesn't mean you have to do the same! Choose a style that you are comfortable with, and make it work for the spot you are photographing.

When in doubt, bring one change of clothes in case your feeling a different vibe when you get to the spot you are going to photograph.

Grow Instagram Followers Organically Step #11: Create Emotion With Your Content

They say "a picture's worth a thousand words", and this couldn't be more relevant when creating content to build your Instagram, and to grow Instagram followers organically.

You want your photo or video to tell a story, and connect with people. Whether it's creating a moody vibe, or a fun and playful one, it should be obvious what you are trying to emulate.

Let your personality show, and have fun with it. One thing that we do it put on interval shooting, and have the camera continue to shoot every second for 20-30 shots. We interact with each other naturally, so that you can see the love and energy in our shots.

Grow Instagram Followers Organically Step #12: Develop Valuable Captions

You may have the most beautiful photos in the world, but if you don't have anything of value to write about it, then you could potentially be missing out on a lot of followers.

We always try to create value with every post we do- whether it be travel tips (we post every one every Tuesday), or lists of recommended places. Think of how you can provide value for your audience, so that they will look forward to your content, or better yet- share it!

The more people share your content, the more Instagram pushes it to the Explore Page, giving you more chances to be seen by new accounts.

Grow Instagram Followers Organically Step #13: Make Use Of the Different Instagram Features

Instagram used to just be a photo sharing app. Those were the good old days, right? Well the app is shifting heavily towards video, and while we can't say we're so happy about it, we have to adapt.

There are so many different features on Instagram, and trust us when we tell you that they LOVE when you actually use them. Upload daily stories, create carousel posts, post reels, update story highlights, and use guides!

Reels were definitely the easiest way to grow Instagram followers organically in 2022, but now they are also saying that captivating photos can have the same reach, so don't only stick to one type of content!

Instagram Guides

We can't stress how much we love guides. They allow you to basically share certain content all in one area. This is a feature we use a ton, and wish more creators used. It makes your content super user friendly if you use it the right way.

We usually create guides for certain locations, or categories like photography or health. Here are some of our guides that you can see as examples.

Grow Instagram Followers Organically Step #14: Plan to Create

You can't call yourself a content creator if you aren't actually actively trying to create.

Plan where you want to go, what you are going to wear, and maybe even how you want to frame your photo. The more you plan, the happier you will be, and the less time you will waste while creating your content.

Think of clips you can do for a reel in advance, so that you can get your photos and videos out of the way. Then get to fully enjoy the place your'e at, without stressing about the content you're planning on creating.

Grow Instagram Followers Organically Step #15: Create Batch Content

A lot of people think that to have a lot of content, you need to be constantly traveling or doing wild and crazy things.

The truth is, that you could spend one day creating content for an entire month! Some days we sit home all day working, and others we will go out and have 50 different pictures. We always change up our outfits and environments in between, so it actually appears we have much more going on.

Think in advance of a day you want to create batch content. You can shoot in multiple locations near each other, taking a variety of photos and videos. Go through and pick your selection to edit and then you can keep them on the side for when you need to find something to post.

Ways to Build Your Instagram #16: Stay Away From Spammy Activity

We can't stress this enough- keep it organic! When we first started we received tons of messages about how we were able to grow Instagram followers organically, and if we had bought our followers. This is a huge no-no. Instagram is smarter than you think, and hiring bots to get you follows is like putting a huge red flag on your account.

A lot of people also try the follow-unfollow technique. This is when you follow a bunch of accounts in hopes that they'll follow you back, and then you unfollow them. Trust us, this will only hurt you in the long run, and will definitely not help you build your Instagram account in the right way. You should have people following you because they want to follow you, not because you agreed to randomly follow each other.

Engagement groups are another one that may be enticing. This used to be a great way to grow, and to meet new accounts. However, Instagram usually picks up on these, and it's not a good look. Plus, you'll end up finding yourself engaging with accounts you might not even care about, which really takes the fun out of things.

Finally, it is super important to steer clear of messages of big accounts trying to get you to pay for exposure on their page. Trust us, getting posted on someones page won't make a huge difference, and it is only selling your work short. People should always pay you for your work, or there should be a mutually beneficial exchange. Never pay for exposure, or allow 0pages to post your photos or videos for free. This is only hurting content creators, and letting big companies get free content.

Grow Instagram Followers Organically Step #17: Keep Yourself Safe

Even if you follow all the rules in the book, you could find yourself getting hacked. Let us tell you- making a living off of social media, this is nightmare! Imagine working so hard to grow Instagram followers organically, just to have it all taken away in the blink of an eye?

Make sure that you have a strong password, and that it isn't the same as any of your others. Avoid clicking unknown links. Never use third party apps to log in, or give your information to anyone.

We also receive a ton of emails saying that we have violated an Instagram copyright, or that we qualify for a blue tick on Instagram. We get them daily, and they are all hackers. Instagram will never email you to log in through a link, so make sure to not fall for these scams.

Well, there you have it! Now you are 17 steps to grow Instagram followers organically and to build your dream account. We hope that this helps you creating your dream life as a content creator, or helps you promote your business ventures.

If you have any questions, comments, or concerns, just leave them down below, or simply reach out to us on our Instagram account.

Happy creating!

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