What’s Working on Instagram Nowadays? A New Thing Called “Follower Circles”

Reddit isn’t just a massive, global community of people wasting spending time browsing the Internet. Sure, that happens quite a bit, but it’s also a reliable and hyper-niche feeding ground for news, information, entertainment, and interesting people across the world. In r/marketing, Redditor KLNMSoftly asked the question below.

“What’s working on Instagram now? I’ve seen on Reddit and other forums how some people are growing accounts to 100k+ and I’m wondering how they do it! The ‘standard’ advice is always engage (like/comment), post regularly and use hashtags. That can’t be all it is. I’ve experimented with auto-likes and comment bots a year ago, but I’ve heard too many horror stories to risk doing it now. So does anyone have any insight into how people are growing these accounts now? I’ve noticed that a lot of them are luxury/women, so is it just the niche?”

Thanks to some marketing-minded Redditors in the r/marketing community, there were some insightful responses that are worth looking into if you or your business is looking to grow an Instagram following, or just engage with more users around your product, service, or industry.

One of the responses mentioned “Follower Circles” on Instagram. Essentially, it’s a “share for share” agreement that Instagrammers coordinate, similar to YouTube creators starring in each others’ videos, or syndication partnerships with editorial content.

There’s a new thing called “Follower Circles”

“My wife is a fashion blogger and apparently they do this ‘follower circle’ thing,” responded Redditor ImaGampo. “Basically, each of them takes turns linking to another blogger who links to another who links to another… and on and on. I’m really not sure how it works, but I know it’s a highly coordinated effort that’s all timed out. And apparently it works.”

And yes, apparently it does work. It’s part of the equation to how one Instagrammer gained 39,000 followers with $0 marketing budget, and if you’re not forming strategic partnerships with other Instagram users, accounts, and influencers, you’re most likely making one (or several) of the 8 Mistakes We Make On Instagram.

Instagram is a unique social network for businesses and brands

It’s highly visual, mobile first, used by people of all ages, and when compared to Facebook, Twitter, and even LinkedIn, it’s straightforward from a “growing your following” perspective. Instagram can just about be boiled down into two aspects: 1) a raw feed of photos and videos from the accounts you follow (mixed with the occasional advertisement), and 2) discoverability through hashtags, locations, and the “Search” tab.

Whether you join “Follower Circles” mentioned above, use relevant hashtags in the comments of your posts, or post special offers and giveaways, the simplicity of Instagram allows users to grow their community in rather straightforward ways. It’s not like Facebook where always-changing algorithms, boosting posts, and ad re-targeting are only tiny ingredients of the overall recipe.

One of the reasons that Instagram is loved by so many people is because it’s clean, simple, and users know that every post will appear in their timeline at one point or another. Keep this in mind when creating Instagram content, and explore how “Follower Circles” may be the right fit for your brand.

Click here for the original, full Reddit thread.