Be it celebrities or influencers, be it startups or full grown businesses - the whole world is Instagram savvy and this is no overstatement! But, people simply do not use Instagram to connect with each other and follow influential people; they themselves become influential. With this social media platform, long gone are the days when being popular was limited to celebrities or business tycoons.

Today, no matter who you are, if you have something worthwhile to say or share, you can be famous on Instagram. People on Instagram share photos and videos from any and all niches, starting from travel, food and fashion to tech, politics, opinions and whatnot. Today, anyone can come onboard Instagram to build their own personal brands, increase their digital presence and even make money out of it.

If there is one thing that can make you successful on Instagram, it is your audience. The more Instagram followers you have, the more is your visibility on the platform. But also remember that, automated bot followers with empty profiles are as good as no followers at all. The ideal way to climb the Instagram ladder is to increase engagement from your audience, no matter how small they are at first.

The purpose should be to pique interstate and retain your existing followers for a long term. The following are some of the tested, organic ways to increase engagement on Instagram accounts that are authentic and proven to show increased interaction:

Tell Stories -

Social media users come on Instagram not to see the strictly corporate version of a brand, but to engage with them at a more personalized level. As someone trying to increase engagement on Instagram, remember that if you simply throw marketing gimmicks at your audience, chances are that they are going to turn their backs on your brand.

Instead, people today need to build connections and you can do that by telling stories about your brand. When people feel an intimate connection to your content, they are much more likely to buy it and even share it with their circles. Tell people about who you are as a brand, what are your values and what is your vision for the future.

Use narrative and witty captions, post user generated content, build a community, initiate conversations and encourage your audience to participate in them. As mentioned, people come to Instagram to watch, connect and socialize. If you give them stories that they connect with, then you are good to go.

Collaborate with Influencers -

If you want to increase engagement on Instagram, the most effective and in fact, a tested way to do so, is by partnering with Instagram influencers who have a considerable following on Instagram.

Depending on how many followers you have, you can approach similar influencers with the same followers size as yours. More and more people follow Instagram accounts based on the recommendations that they see in their feed from the influential people whom they follow, for the simple reason that they trust them.

When users see that your content is being followed and shared by other real life people, it automatically builds up authenticity and credibility. Therefore, the best way to organically increase your engagement without the need to buy Instagram followers through third party services, is to collaborate with influencers.

Investing in Influencer marketing can reap fruitful results provided you are setting out clear goals and a targeted strategy in line with your preferred niche of expertise. Pro Tip: Always make the affiliation feel as natural as possible to get the best out of influencer collaboration.

Leverage Instagram’s Free Features -

With Instagram’s unique features such as Instagram Live, Reels, Stories, IGTV and so on, there is no limitation to how creative you can get on the platform. Instagram Stories appear at the top of the Instagram homepage which means that when your followers log in to the app, the Stories will be the first that they will have access to.

Similarly, Instagram Reels are short video clips of 15 seconds, set to background music that the users can record and share as Instagram Stories, and on the all new Reels Tab on their Instagram profiles.

With these free features to back you up, you can leverage the power of Instagram to increase engagement on the platform. You can post customer testimonials, DIY videos, host Q and A sessions with Instagram Live, insider sneak peeks, create product teasers, announce sales or discounts, post a funny meme and so much more. This is a proven way to engage your followers on Instagram, if you are consistent and have great content to put across.

Post Consistently and Regularly -

Want more engagement on Instagram? Then, the only key to that is consistency. Posting regularly on your Instagram profile is important if you wish to grow your following online and build engagement.

Moreover, the frequency of putting up a post should more or less, remain the same - be it daily, weekly or monthly basis, whatever suits your convenience. Neither do you want to stuff your followers’ feed on a single day and then disappear for months, nor do you want them to think that you have packed your bags on Instagram.

The idea is to be regular and consistent with post content, so that when your users have something to look forward to when they come to your account, you give them your content. When a social media user sees posts by the same Instagram account consistently, they will naturally be intrigued to check and follow the content you offer and may even become an active follower and organic promoters of your brand.

Tag People, Brands, Celebrities and Locations -

This is one of the most effective ways to get Instagram followers and keep them engaged by increasing your visibility on the platform. When you tag influential people, celebrities, established brands and popular locations in your Instagram post, you are actually making your post and in turn, your account visible to the millions of people who are already following those people, celebrities, brands and locations. Plus, when established Instagram pages give your brand a shoutout, it creates an impression of authenticity and popularity among the audience and then, they are more likely to follow you.

To get a mention or shoutout from celebrities or influential accounts on Instagram, you can dig through for the brands that regularly or even occasionally feature their customers or other businesses on Instagram.

Then, you can pick out the celebrity accounts or brands that have a similar audience to your target audience or one, that is at least somewhat related to your niche. This inevitably gives your Instagram account more social exposure and online visibility and thereby, more organic followers and engagement, that will be better than even the best site to buy Instagram followers can deliver.

With Instagram, there are endless possibilities to build your own little community of people who are interested in your content. All you have to do is be innovative and keep them engaged. So try out these most effective and tested ways to increase engagement on Instagram and kickstart your journey of becoming popular on the platform. Wait no more and get started and we are sure that you will see the results that count!