Instagram is a powerful tool for any beauty professional to connect with their clients, showcase their work, attract new clients and promote new services and products online. As the algorithms for Instagram are constantly evolving, new tricks arise for how to gain traction, engagement and followers. However, one thing never changes - the more followers you have, the greater reach and impact your account will have on the wide world of Instagram. (@glory_hair_studio) When you have more followers on Instagram, you have a better follower to following ratio, which makes your account look more attractive, desirable and interesting to potential new followers. Generally, people are more drawn to following accounts that have more followers than accounts they follow (aka who have a better follower to following ratio). Although it may not always be true, audiences assume that more followers and popularity means a more interesting account. So, our goal here is to improve your follower score to make that ratio look good and your account look enticing to potential new followers. Here are 5 tricks to grow your Instagram following in no time: Tip # 1: Follow and Engage with Like-Minded Accounts On Instagram, the best way to connect with clients, friends, family, peers, new customers and like-minded accounts is to follow them first. When you follow an account, the person (or organization) receives a notification. Often, this is enough for the person to be intrigued and follow you back, or at the very least, give your account a peek, maybe even like a few photos or make a comment. (@ashleylantzhair) Any activity is good activity because any actions taken will improve your account's visibility on Instagram. Any likes, follows or comments you receive from a specific account make you more likely to show up on that account’s feed, making your account accessible for engagement. Typically, about 20% of the people that you begin to follow will follow you back. Yes, this can get tedious, but we promise, it’s worth it. Those huge accounts you see with tens or hundreds of thousands of followers - they have done this successfully for years. Start With Your Inner Circle The best way to find accounts that are likely to follow you back is to begin with friends and family - aka members of your inner circle. These are the people that know and love you, so if you are not already connected. This is your "low hanging fruit." Following your friends and family will ensure you start to build a steady foundation to grow your following. Follow Your Outer Circle Once you have followed your friends and family, begin to follow as many of your clients, industry peers and relevant acquaintances as possible. These people form your outer circle and your career-related followers. It is good to follow them after your friends and family because they will see that you already have a following and are therefore more likely to follow you back. Follow Like-Minded Accounts Now that you have maxed out your follows for accounts that you know personally, it’s time to engage with accounts that you are less familiar with. In order to attract like-minded followers that will actually engage with your content, promotions and services, you will need to find the right accounts to follow. Identify some accounts that are similar to yours in brand, vibe and industry, but have a larger following than you - think 5k to 10k+ followers - influencer level. These should be accounts that have the same target audience that you are trying to reach. For example, if you are a hairdresser, it would be a good idea to follow a semi-famous hairdresser in your field that shares one of your favorite techniques. Or if you are a makeup artist, it’s a good idea to follow your favorite makeup companies’ accounts. Once you have identified your peers, competitors and like-minded accounts, the idea is that you want their following to come follow you. Here are a few ways to make this happen: 1. Engage with the account by following, liking and commenting on posts and even reposting content that you love to your story, while properly crediting them via tags. This will hopefully attract their attention and get them to engage back with you. There is a chance these interactions will then show up in the feeds of their followers, causing their followers to check out your account and potentially follow you. 2. Click the “Followers” tab on their account. You want their audience and here they are - listed and accessible for you to dive into. The best thing to do is begin following and engaging with these accounts. 3. Make sure to never follow any fake accounts as this will lower your engagement rates. The best way to spot a fake account is that they often do not have a profile photo. Do not follow an account that does not have a profile photo - you do not want any fake followers! If the majorit