Can you build a bot-free Instagram strategy?

Last night Instagress, one of the most popular apps for automating Instagram interactions, closed down. The closure has sent Instragress users into a panic wondering how they will keep up their Instagram growth strategies and followers without it.

So what should you do if you’ve been hit by Instagress closing?

You could sign up with one of the many other automation apps that offer similar Instagram growth opportunities. Or you could take this opportunity to review how you use Instagram and opt for authenticity over automation.

For those of us with smaller Instagram audiences the Instagress purge is a welcome bit of house-keeping that means not only will we be subjected to fewer nonsense comments and uninterested followers, but that there is now more room on the platform for us to enjoy and interact with the users and content that we truly appreciate.

With more space and less spam it’s a great time to review your Instagram strategy to help maximise the reach of your content, as well as enjoying a less cluttered experience on your feed.

Here are our 5 tips to grow your Instagram following without bots…

1. Follow feeds you love – authenticity is key and having a feed full of images that inspire you will motivate you to comment and interact.  Search and follow the people that inspire you and your audience – look for the leaders, influencers and other users who inspire you.
2. Comment generously and authentically – we all like a compliment, so make sure your comments are relevant to the Instagram post and build the conversation.
3. Use your hashtags – when you comment on the posts you love click on the hashtags to find more people in that niche and start interacting with them. Don’t forget to include those same hashtags in your future posts so other Instagrammers can find you.
4. Some apps can be helpful – we use Crowdfire and Followers+ to help us spot trends and opportunities in our Instagram feed and inform how we develop our strategy.
5. Don’t get swayed by big numbers – like the tortoise and the hare, it is better to go slow and steady and get your Instagram strategy right. You don’t need 100,000s followers to create an impact, even just a couple of hundred engaged followers are more than enough to make a difference to your business. And it’s a lot more fun too!

If you’re still not convinced about dropping the bots, think about how you feel when you phone a company and get the automated voice bot – wouldn’t you rather be talking to a person? I know I would.