How I Got 5,000 Instagram Followers in 6 Months

I’ll tell y’all right now that I started my modest fashion Instagram page (Happy Hemlines) just to “see how it went.” I have a super supportive husband, who believed in me, and that’s where it started. I decided to start a business Instagram separate from my personal account, which has both advantages and disadvantages. One of those disadvantages being that I started with ZERO followers. In less than a month, I had 1000 followers, but I honestly expected it to slow down after that since I felt like everyone who knew me (& was supportive) was already following me. I wasn’t even sure exactly what I wanted to do with my page, but 7 months later, I’ve got at least a little bit of an idea. 🤣

I’m not a pro by ANY means, but I’ve gotten a lot of messages from girls asking me where to start, so I thought I’d write it out here! ☺️

Let’s get this out of the way first: I’ve never bought any followers, and I honestly don’t even know how to do that. However, I would advise against it. When it comes to Instagram, you want quality over quantity. The last thing you want is a bunch of followers that won’t interact with you. And I want to say this in the most gentle way possible, but you can usually look at a page and tell if the followers are authentic. That being said, let’s move on to the good stuff.

My Best Tips for Growing Your Insta Fast:

• Announce Your New Page—If you started a ‘business’ page, you’ll want to announce it on your personal page & your other forms of social media. Honestly, don’t expect tons of people to follow along. Not everyone will be supportive, but that’s okay! Give them the chance to be if they want to be 🤷🏼‍♀️ Maybe 1/3 of my personal page followers actually followed my business page, but this is where you start.

•Find Your Community– These are the people who have similar pages. These are the supporters. The commenters. The ones who give you tips. The ones who share your page. You’ll be able to recognize them pretty quickly. Find them & start building friendships. (For me, this was @thismodestlife, @hannahlashay, @happily_elizabeth, @myhappystyledlife, @modestmomof2, @_fashionablymodest_, & a handful of others)

• Find the Pros– You probably already knew who these people were before you even started your page. These are the well-known people in your “category”. These are the people you want to “be when you grow up” 😉 Follow them. They may not follow back but keep commenting & showing them love. They’ll notice your support + their followers will notice your name in the comments & may check out your page too. (For me, these were @courtneytoliver, @savvyskirtgirl, & @_mariahbrianne)

• Interact, Interact, Interact– Reply to all of the comments on your pictures (unless they sound like crazy stalkers, then you’re probably excused 🤪) I set aside a time to reply to comments. Right before I reply to a person’s comment, I try to go to their page (if they’re not private) and like or comment on at least one of their pictures. People appreciate that, and usually this encourages them to continue interacting with you!

• Get Featured– Find pages that feature pages similar to yours. These people give you exposure and can get you a lot of new followers—especially when you’re just starting out & a lot of people haven’t heard of you yet (for me, this was @churchchicfashionista -they’re so good about reposting)

• Don’t Make It a Competition– If you’re a small business, support other small businesses. They are your community. If you support them, 9/10 times they’ll support you too! Don’t compare yourself to someone else who “started after you but has more followers.” (I speak from experience 😅) There’s no need to get discouraged. Just keep on doing your best!

• Find Your Target Audience– For me, this was easy. I mostly looked for people who dressed modestly. Interact with them! Let them know about your page.

• Get Personal – People want to be able to put a face to the name. Introduce yourself. Let them know you’re real. Show them your fun side. Post videos to your story. Your followers want to be able to relate to you.

• Aesthetic is Key– Find an editing program, pick a preset, & stick with it. This is another place those pros come in—go check out their feeds. They all edit differently, but they’re always consistent.

• Post Consistently– but don’t just post to post. If a picture isn’t as high quality as the rest, don’t post it. When it comes to this, I’m still learning. I’m trying to wade my way through finding the right look for my Instagram + only posting what I know my audience will respond to.

• Use Hashtags— but not a million. Try to use a variety of hashtags with each post, but make sure they actually relate to your post!

•Use What You’ve Got & Make it Good– It’s okay if every picture isn’t in a different location. It’s okay if you don’t have a fancy camera. It’s okay if you can only ‘afford’ the free version of Lightroom. Just do the very best you can with what you’ve got. At first, I really stressed myself out trying to go into town and take pictures in all the cutesy places. If you can do that, that’s awesome. Nowadays most of my pictures are in my yard, because we live way out in the country & I have to take advantage of my son’s nap time. 🤷🏼‍♀️ But y’all, a good edit goes a LONGGG way.

In all actuality, you can create an Instagram page and just sit on it if you want. Some people may discover you by accident, but you probably won’t get many results. If you want to grow quickly, you’re going to need to work. Get your name out there. Interact. The best way to be remembered is by just going out of your way to be nice!

Did you find this post helpful? Do you have any tips to add? Comment below to let me know!

Happy Growing!

➕ Katie ➕