How I Gained 1K Real & Fun IG Followers

Are you a newbie blogger just like me? Or stuck in a rut with your Instagram? If so, keep reading!

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So like I said, I’m a complete newb to the current blog world. I used to dabble in a personal journal type blog back in the day that I shared with friends and family, but that’s about it. I started this blog on April 14th and quickly realized that I needed social media. Because, duh, everything is powered by social media. So a couple of days later, I set up different social media accounts for my blog.

I have a personal Instagram that I’ve used the last few years and it’s my favorite app, so I decided to focus on growing that following. I mean I had 0 followers, I only had one direction to go at that point, right? On the real though, I work full-time and have two kids, so I wasn’t glued to my phone all day, every day. And weekends were pretty much ‘hands-off’ social media days too. I didn’t have any one strategy and honestly it changed as I learned new things. But it totally worked and I saved my notes!

So here I am to share with you how I gained 1,000+ REAL & FUN Instagram followers in just ONE MONTH!

Know your Niche

When I first set up the account, I started to follow lifestyle & mom bloggers and browsed their followers as well. I continued to follow the accounts that I enjoyed viewing and also tried to pick up tips on types of pictures that get a lot of ‘likes’ and engagement and good posting times for my niche.

Join Facebook Groups

The power of social media is, of course, in numbers. Literally. And combining the use of different social media outlets is a huge way to gain exposure and more followers. I came across several Blog and Instagram related groups on Facebook. I stuck to the private ones specific to my niche that are moderately sized (50 to 2,000 members). I avoided the public or large groups because there were so many spam accounts and I was focused on real, engaged followers and accounts I could also follow back. My top two resources were Chrystie at Living for Naptime and Teri & Liz at Instarevealed. I found them via special Facebook groups. They provide great information that actually works and works well for both increasing followers, as well as engagement.

Share 1-3 Photos a Day 

I try to share at least one picture a day, some days I post 2-3 spaced out throughout the day and at times that are friendly to my niche. I don’t have much content built up, but I am looking for quality over quantity as I try to manage an overall theme to my Instagram. I think the 1-3 posts keeps followers engaged and interested for the long haul!

Use Pic Editors/Filters

I mostly use my iPhone 6 for my Instagram photos. I don’t have an Instagram husband or a professional photog friend. I do have a DSLR so sometimes I use that for my outfit posts or pictures of the kids. But, I’m a complete and total amateur. I use VSCO and the manual editor on Instagram (not the preset filters) to brighten up my photos most of the time. But I’m still learning as I go. I mostly take pictures throughout my day and post what I think other moms and lifestyle bloggers can relate to; pictures of my kids, food, flowers, and coffee have been well received for obvious reasons.

Use Hashtags, All the Hashtags

I read a couple of articles that said don’t use too many hashtags, but in my experience when you’re trying to grow, it’s one of the most effective ways to cast a wider net of exposure across the Instagram platform.

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I was able to save them in my Notes app on Instagram and format them so that they wouldn’t clutter up my comments section for followers. Using hashtags and the right hashtags has helped me get featured on some bigger accounts like UnitedinMotherhood & Mamaswithstyle.

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Engage, Engage, Engage!

This has been the biggest aid in gaining real followers that interact with me and are interested in my feed and blog! I try to follow my favorite accounts and comment on their posts regularly as well as reaching out to them via Direct Message for collaborations like Follow Fridays, Chat Loops, etc. I’ve met so many sweet, sweet women! They engage with you and helps cast visibility to your Instagram too. I aim for good engagement and that combined with using the right hash tags has landed me in the Top Posts section a few times, which is like free advertising from Instagram to your feed!

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Honestly though the best part is the friendship! I’ve already had a coffee date with a local IG friend and she is the best!

Use Apps

There’s tons of free apps these days to help automate some of the tasks related to growing your Instagram audience. In the beginning I was using InstaTrack to see my Follower and Unfollower activity. I downloaded CrowdFire the last week at Chrystie’s recommendation.

I also used Likestagram, which is a web-based app, for a few weeks. It automates likes by your settings (accounts, hashtags, etc.). It saves times for accounts you want to give likes to outside of your feed. And then sometimes you get those users to check out your account and if they like what they see, they’ll follow you!

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And that’s it! Those are the different ways I grew my brand new Instagram to over 1,000+ Real & Fun Instagram followers since starting my Instagram April 16th . If you’ve picked up anything from my tips, try it, and let me know how it works out for you! And follow me if you’d like over at Simply Every on Instagram! Thanks for reading!

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hello & welcome!

I’m JeeYoung – Consultant, Content Creator, Chaos Coordinator. I’m a work at home mom to 3 boys in Metro Detroit.

This is a snippet of all the things that make us smile through our chaotic days. I’m so happy you stopped by!

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  1. I am a newbie too in this blog world, so these tips are extremely helpful. Thank you!

    Posted 5.19.16
    • JeeYoung wrote:

      Thank you so much! Welcome to the blog world and I’m so happy the tips are useful for you!

      Posted 5.19.16
  2. glenda wrote:

    Yey i’m part of the 1000+ real and fun instagram followers hahaha. Thanks a lot for sharing ???? i’ve been really struggling growing my following that i wanted to give up ???????? many people follow to unfollow it’s frustrating to find real ones for engagement ????????

    ❤ from http://www.expatpetite.blogspot.com

    Posted 5.19.16
    • JeeYoung wrote:

      aww don’t give up! and thank you for following! Hope the tips help!!

      Posted 5.19.16
  3. I’m a newbie as well, and I have already signed up for two of the groups you mentioned – thank you!!!

    Posted 5.19.16
    • JeeYoung wrote:

      They’re both GREAT resources, you won’t regret it!

      Posted 5.19.16
  4. Katie wrote:

    Engagement really is KEY!

    Posted 5.19.16
    • JeeYoung wrote:

      Yes! It’s the fun part for me as well, so it’s a win!

      Posted 5.19.16
  5. I’m a newbie on Instagram, so these are very helpful tips for me. You are so right about needing social media to grow your blog. Social media helps to get the word out. How else will new people find us?

    Posted 5.19.16
    • JeeYoung wrote:

      I’m so glad you find my tips helpful! Social media is KEY!!

      Posted 5.19.16
  6. Lauren wrote:

    Awesome tips!! I dont use very many hashtags, i need to step those up!

    Posted 5.19.16
    • JeeYoung wrote:

      Yes, hashtags are so so useful in getting exposure!

      Posted 5.20.16
  7. Corina wrote:

    Thank you JeeYoung! This is seriously helpful! I downloaded the Crowdfire app and it’s fantastic.

    Posted 5.19.16
    • JeeYoung wrote:

      It does make it easier! I did find out though that third party apps will no longer be working starting in June, so keep that in mind!

      Posted 5.20.16
  8. Diedre wrote:

    I didn’t know about Likestagram. Great post! I love interacting with other mom bloggers via Instagram too 🙂

    Posted 5.19.16
    • JeeYoung wrote:

      I’ve stopped using it as it goes against Instagram policy as well as won’t be working shortly with the new Instagram algorithm. I love interacting with other mom bloggers, like you! 😉

      Posted 5.19.16
  9. Such a great post JeeYoung! Thank you for helpful tips, I’ll definitely try them out!

    As always, love reading your posts 🙂

    -Maddie

    Posted 5.19.16
    • JeeYoung wrote:

      thanks so much Maddie, I hope you find them useful!

      Posted 5.19.16
  10. Shann wrote:

    Such great tips! That is awesome that you gained so many followers in just a month. I need to work on my Instagram, so I’ll be using a lot of these. Thank you!

    Posted 5.19.16
    • JeeYoung wrote:

      Thanks so much Shann! I hope they work out for you too!

      Posted 5.20.16
    • JeeYoung wrote:

      Thanks Shann! I hope they work for you too!!

      Posted 5.20.16
  11. Jessica wrote:

    Great tips! Thank you for sharing!

    Posted 5.19.16
    • JeeYoung wrote:

      Thanks for reading Jessica!

      Posted 5.19.16
  12. This is so fantastic, friend! I am in awe of your focus and success! I’ve got a pen and I’m taking notes on all of these strategies. xoxo

    Posted 5.19.16
    • JeeYoung wrote:

      Thanks so much sweet friend, I hope it works for you!

      Posted 5.19.16
  13. Great ideas! I participated in a loop giveaway last week that got me almost 400 followers but around 50 have already unfollowed. 🙁 Still hoping the others will engage!

    Posted 5.19.16
    • JeeYoung wrote:

      Yea, I’ve avoided loop giveways since I’m not a fan of them as a follower. But, I’ve had friends who’ve had success with them. Hope you can snag a few ideas too!

      Posted 5.20.16
  14. This is pretty inspiring! I’m going to start using the same tactics, hopefully I’m as successful!

    Posted 5.19.16
    • JeeYoung wrote:

      Yes, please try and let me know! I’m sure you will grow your following in no time!

      Posted 5.20.16
  15. Neely Moldovan wrote:

    Facebook groups are for sure helpful! Great tips!

    Posted 5.19.16
    • JeeYoung wrote:

      Yes, Facebook groups are so helpful!

      Posted 5.20.16
  16. Stacy wrote:

    Love all of these tips! Wishing you continued success!

    Posted 5.19.16
  17. Thanks so much for the tips!

    Posted 5.19.16
    • JeeYoung wrote:

      I hope it helps, thanks for reading!

      Posted 5.20.16
  18. Sally wrote:

    Girl, you’re such an inspiration. I need to get my bootay in gear and figure out what I am doing. 🙂 Yay for all your success!

    Posted 5.19.16
    • JeeYoung wrote:

      thanks friend! instagram cram session coming soon! 😉

      Posted 5.20.16
  19. Jenny wrote:

    This is awesome! I have really been working on engaging a lot this month and have been seeing a lot of new followers because of it. Definitely nowhere near 1k but still. Great work!

    xoxo, Jenny

    Posted 5.20.16
    • JeeYoung wrote:

      That’s amazing Jenny! Engagement is definitely where it’s at!

      Posted 5.20.16
  20. That’s incredible…good for you! I’m saving this post to implement later…I really need to work on my hashtags, and obviously I would love to get more engagement.

    Emma | http://www.creativexplorations.com

    Posted 5.20.16
    • JeeYoung wrote:

      I hope it comes in handy! Thanks so much Emma!

      Posted 5.20.16
  21. These are great tips! I can’t wait til this summer when I can work on really nailing down correct hashtags! Thank you!!

    Posted 5.20.16
    • JeeYoung wrote:

      Yes, the right hashtags have gotten my account a lot of exposure!

      Posted 5.20.16
  22. These are great tips. I’m definitely pinning them. Be careful with Crowdfire. I started with that, and grew my account to over 5000 followers, but my feed is absolutely trashed now. It’s stolen the joy out of Instagram for me. For the past month, I’ve be weeding out all the ItWorks profiles and other junk profiles. I want to keep searching the hashtags to find the right tags for me. I’ll probably use a few of yours, but not being a mom yet, I can’t use all of them 😉

    Posted 5.20.16
    • JeeYoung wrote:

      Thanks! I actually only use crowdfire to view who’s unfollowed me. I follow manually! And all of these 3rd party apps will no longer work starting next month!

      Posted 5.20.16
  23. Perri wrote:

    Thank you so much for the tips.. definitely looking into some of these!!!

    -Perri
    @pearsplease
    http://www.princeandthepear.com

    Posted 5.20.16
    • JeeYoung wrote:

      I hope it works for you Perri! Thanks for reading!

      Posted 5.20.16
  24. Lucy wrote:

    I love this. Totally going to put these tips to use and may have to keep referring back! Thank you so much for the tips!

    Posted 5.24.16
  25. I love this post and these tips!! I am working to build by Beautycounter business, and really appreciate your tips and advice! Thanks for sharing!

    Posted 5.31.16
  26. Susannah wrote:

    These are great tips! Super helpful since I’m working to grow my instagram! <3

    Posted 6.11.16
    • JeeYoung wrote:

      I hope the tips help you Susannah!

      Posted 6.13.16
  27. Great tips, thank you so much. I am new to blogging and instagram so this has been really helpful in working out exactly what to focus on. Thanks so much! 🙂

    Posted 6.21.16
    • JeeYoung wrote:

      I hope they work for you too!

      Posted 6.21.16
  28. Thank you so much for sharing your tips! It is hard navigating the ever changing social media waters.

    Posted 8.1.16
  29. Amanda wrote:

    Oh wow, congrats!! That’s so amazing! I went and downloaded Crowdfire – hoping it helps me out a bit with monitoring my IG and Twitter, I can get so overwhelmed with all the different social media outlets out there. xD

    Posted 8.3.16
  30. Jenna wrote:

    These tips are fab. Thanks. I am trying to build my IG account right now. I was sort of reluctant to jump on the bandwagon but it was time. Pinning for when I work on my account. 🙂

    Posted 8.11.16
  31. Payton wrote:

    I started using hashtags barely two days ago and have already seen my stats jump! It’s awesome! Thanks for these tips! And going to try these new hashtags!

    Posted 3.3.17

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