How to get 10k followers on Instagram

Gaining 10k followers on Instagram is a milestone many aspiring influencers and brands strive for, but achieving it requires more than just luck. It’s about leveraging strategic content creation, engaging with your audience, and utilizing the platform’s features to your advantage. In this guide, how to get 10k followers on Instagram, we’ll delve into proven social media marketing tactics and actionable steps.

These 10 steps to grow your following will help you reach that coveted 10k follower mark on Instagram, turning your profile into a magnet for growth and engagement.

From mastering the art of content creation to leveraging Instagram’s features and engaging with your audience, these actionable tips will provide you with the tools you need to elevate your presence and attract a loyal following. Here’s how to get started:

1. Create high quality, visually captivating content

Think about what makes you stop scrolling when you’re on Instagram. Eye catching, gorgeous, funny, captivating content, right? If the photo quality is poor, blurry, someone is cut out of the frame or it just looks messy, you’ll scroll on by that profile. 

You want your content to stop the scroll. It’s a tall order because we all know how easy it is to keep on scrolling. How do you get people to stop on your profile? What sort of pictures or content will make people do that?

Will they stop and follow because you’ve caught their attention with a photo that leaves them guessing what will happen next? Are you a yoga teacher and in a wildly difficult, challenging yoga pose? Did you post a photo of a margarita that makes you thirsty as soon as you look at it? Is it a reel of an undervisited, stunning, National Park in their state?

Tips for Producing Stunning Instagram Photos and Videos

• Ensure your camera settings are on the best settings and that you have high quality equipment
• Use multiple cameras for different angles
• Use multiple tripods for different angles, frames & to stablize the cameras
• Shoot during the golden hour. Use natural light whenever possible 
• If you’re in the frame, build a repertoire of poses and your best angles. 
• Pay attention to your wardrobe, jewelry and make up choices – what’s on brand for you? What aligns with your brand colors, vibe and aesthetic?

2. Collaborate with others to expand your content reach

As I write this, there’s a feature on Instagram to add collaborators to your post. This means the content will populate across your Instagram feed and that of your collaborator(s). Using this feature is a fantastic way to get in front of new people. 

My clients use this feature in different ways. Sometimes with sponsored content, they collaborate with the brand partner. In those cases, it’s often a requirement of the collaboration. Other times they will use the collaboration feature with organic content, collaborating with the small businesses tagged in the post or perhaps other Influencers. 

Effective Strategies for Partnering with Influencers and Brands

• Identify optimal partners by their niche, location and following 
• Have a really clear proposal on why you should partner with each other. What’s the point for then?
• Co-create content together, plan trips and visits to destinations together
• Share each other content thru reposting to your Instagram stories, comment and engage with each piece of content

3. Maintain a Consistent Posting Schedule: Aim for 3-4 Posts Per Week

There’s a few reasons that regular posting on Instagram is a key part of your path to 10k followers. First and foremost, it shows your audience that you are engaging on the platform and committed to creating content. It also teaches them to keep returning to your profile for tips, entertainment or insights. 

Posting regularly allows you to remain visible to your audience by feeding regular content to the algorithm. Consistent posting keeps you top of mind with your followers! You’ll also have a greater chance of appearing in the explore tab of Instagram.

When you post regularly on Instagram, it allows you opportunities to tell stories, to get deeper into your content perhaps with a series or sequence of videos. 

Regular posting on Instagram also keeps the content fresh for anyone who is new to your page AND for people who have been following you for ages. It allows you to stay relevant with what’s trending on Instagram. 

Whether you’re a foodie, fashionista, or lifestyle influencer, you’re going to need plan out your content. (For example, you wouldn’t post about chunky knit sweaters or hearty stews in July, right?) Map out what your potential content will be for the next 3 months. Even if it changes in the moment because of an emerging trend or new idea, having the plan in place means you’ll always have content to post even if your creative well is running dry.

My favorite reason to post regularly is that you’ll get more data about what content is resonating with your followers & what content is bringing in new followers.

4. Maximize Reach with Strategic Hashtags and SEO Optimization

Harnessing the power of SEO and strategic hashtags will help get your content in front of new eyeballs, expanding the reach of your posts. Research hashtags that align with your content and niche using tools like Hashtagify, All Hashtag, or Instagram’s search function. 

Combine widely-used hashtags with more niche-specific ones to reach a broad audience while targeting specific groups. Personally I always try and use hashtags that have 10,000 uses or under, otherwise I feel like my content will be lost in the overuse of a particular hashtag. Creating and promoting your own branded hashtags can also encourage user-generated content and foster a community around your brand. All my content goes up with #jbvagency, which now has over 1,000 uses!

Don’t forget to leverage hashtags in Instagram Stories and Instagram Reels, adding them directly or through stickers to increase discoverability. Reels, in particular, have high engagement rates, and using relevant hashtags can help your videos reach a larger audience.

Engaging with hashtag communities is also important. Don’t only use them on your content but also comment on others who use the same hashtag. Participate in conversations under your target hashtags by liking, commenting, and sharing. This builds relationships and increases your visibility within those communities. Follow relevant hashtags to stay updated on trends, join conversations, and find inspiration for content ideas.

5. Add location tags in your content for more visibility 

Tagging a location in your content is a very key and often overlooked important step on the path to 10k Instagram followers. Tagging a location increases your discoverability in searches. In turn, this helps you get new followers.   Posts with a location tag will often show up in the explore page.

Tagging a location also helps you build up your community and be recognized as a local figure. I live in Denver Colorado and there are particular Instagram accounts I follow because I know these people give great local recommendations for coffee shops, restaurants and things to do. 

Tagging a location on Instagram enhances discoverability, connects you with a targeted local audience, increases reach and impressions, builds community, showcases authentic experiences, improves engagement metrics, promotes events and venues, and provides SEO benefits. These factors combined can significantly contribute to growing your followers to 10k organically.

6. Boost engagement and build community by replying to comments

Responding to comments on your Instagram posts is a crucial strategy for building your following to 10k. When you engage with your audience by replying to their comments, you show that you value their input and appreciate their engagement. This fosters a sense of community and loyalty among your followers, making them more likely to interact with your future content. 

Additionally, increased engagement on your posts signals to Instagram’s algorithm that your content is valuable and relevant, potentially boosting its visibility on the Explore page and in followers’ feeds. 

Responding to comments also encourages further interaction, as users are more likely to continue engaging with a responsive account. This interaction not only strengthens your relationship with existing followers but also attracts new ones who see an active and engaging profile. Ultimately, actively engaging with your audience through comments is a crucial way to build 10k followers on Instagram as it helps your content be shown to more people via the Instagram algorithm, people love that personal connection so they’re more likely to pay attention to your content and keep coming back for more. 

7. Boost engagement with automated chat tools like Many Chat

If you’re not yet familar, ManyChat allows you to create automated responses, send personalized messages, and manage interactions efficiently, ensuring that no comment or direct message goes unnoticed. You can set it up so that whenever you post a reel or photo on Instagram, mention a word for people to post in the comments, Many Chat will trigger a reply for you. This could be sending out a recipe link, registration link for an upcoming webinar or a blog post. 

What I love about Many Chat is that not only will it DM the person who commented the link you want but it will also reply to their comment. All of this activity shows the Instagram algorithm activity which in turns tell the platform to show your content to more people.

Using Many Chat helps you maintain consistent communication with your audience which in turn enhances the user experience. This makes followers feel valued and more likely to engage with your content regularly.

8. Leverage your analytics to drive growth on Instagram

Knowledge is power right? So do NOT overlook all the knowledge that is at your fingertips with your Instagram analytics. When was the last time you looked at your content metrics?  By regularly looking at your metrics such as likes, comments, shares, saves, and follower growth, you can see patterns and trends that indicate which posts are performing well and why. 

What pieces of content was your most shared in the past 3 months? Most saved pieces of content in the past 3 months?

Then take this information to tailor your content strategy to focus on what your audience finds most engaging, increasing the likelihood of attracting and retaining followers. If it ain’t broke, why fix it? But first you have to find out what’s working or not. 

Your Instagram metrics can reveal the best times to post, the effectiveness of your hashtags, and the demographics of your audience, enabling you to optimize your posting schedule and target your content more precisely. 

Understanding these data points helps you make informed decisions, improve your content quality, and enhance overall engagement, all of which are essential for accelerating your growth to 10k followers on Instagram

9. Embrace creative thinking to boost your Instagram growth

I don’t need to tell you that Instagram is a crowded platform. There’s a lot of competition to stand out in your niche. Being creative with your content captures people’s attention and differentiates you from other accounts. This will make your profile more memorable and appealing to potential followers. 

Think about the people you like to follow and check out every time you open the app. They’ve done something different to stand out and capture your attention. Do they have really insanely good transitions? Stunning photos? Wild, weird recipes (that actually look good)?

By experimenting with unique visual styles, engaging storytelling, and interactive features such as polls and quizzes, you can create a more dynamic and engaging feed. This not only attracts a broader audience but also encourages existing followers to engage more deeply with your content.

10. Post your in feed content to your Instagram stories, save it and post a comment on your own post

I can’t say enough about this tip to help you grow your following on Instagram to 10k followers. I’ve been doing it for months now and have noticed an uptick in following and engagement on my Instagram feed. 

You have to be your #1 cheerleader, by liking your content and commenting on it. To me, there is nothing worse than going to someone’s post and it’s got zero activity. Show the platform (and the algorithm) that your content is worth showing to others by engaging with it yourself. 

Sharing your feed posts to your stories increases their visibility. Not all your followers may see your feed posts due to Instagram’s algorithm, but many are more likely to view your stories. This cross-promotion ensures that your content reaches a wider audience, enhancing engagement and visibility. (And don’t forget to use those hashtags!)

Writing a comment on your own post, especially something engaging or prompting a discussion, can kickstart conversations. Comments increase engagement metrics, which signals to Instagram’s algorithm that your content is worth promoting more broadly. It also encourages your followers to join the conversation, further boosting interaction and reach.

Whenever I comment on my own posts and share to Instagram stories, I get good engagement in the comments. 

These actions combined not only increase the likelihood of your content being seen by a larger audience but also foster higher engagement rates which helps you grow you following on Instagram to 10k followers. 

Now that you’ve read this article, I think you’d be interested to read about How to get noticed by brands.

Pro tip : If you’ve loved this article, sign up for my weekly newsletter HERE. It’s full of industry insights, brand negotiation tips and scripts, events I’m attending, perspective on how to grow your Influencer business and more. I keep it pretty scrappy and real – would love you to join us over there! CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP.