5 Ways to get noticed on Instagram organically

It might feel increasingly difficult to get noticed on Instagram these days, particularly if you’re starting from zero and don’t have the budget or desire to run ads. But if you use your time wisely and have a bit of know-how, it’s still perfectly possible to build a brand on Instagram from the ground up, totally organically. In this article, we’re exploring 5 ways to help you grow a brand on Instagram, without spending a penny.

1. Like content from other accounts

It used to be really simple to find and like content quickly by sorting hashtag searches by most recent. Since Instagram removed this feature, it has become much more difficult to find and like content from profiles that will notice your interactions. However, it’s not impossible; it just requires a bit more time and exploration.

Here are some key principles when looking for content to interact with…

Focus on small accounts

When you like content which is drowning in interaction, your like is akin to a drop in the ocean - barely distinguishable from the others. However, when you like content from accounts with small audiences, it’s much more likely that your engagement will get noticed, which can positively impact your brand presence. When small profiles get new likes on their content, they’re more likely to explore the origin of that like by venturing onto your social media profile and exploring your content.

Hone in on your target audience

It’s worthwhile making sure you interact with content from users who are likely to resonate with your brand. By interacting with accounts who are interested in content or brands similar to your own, you can make sure your efforts aren’t wasted on users who are unlikely to appreciate your content.

Inject authenticity into your strategic interactions

By truly viewing content, thinking before interacting and only liking content that you genuinely appreciate and enjoy, you can maintain your brand’s integrity. Remember, the things you like will reflect somewhat on your brand. You don’t want to be interacting with content that doesn’t resonate with your brand ethos, as this can invite the wrong audience to engage with your profile and potentially shine an unflattering light on your brand too. Interacting isn’t purely about grifting; it’s about becoming integrated in the community, building genuine relationships and attracting a target audience you’d be proud to call your customers.

How to implement this strategy

Start by looking for a few accounts owned by your competitors or members of the same community. If you’re not sure where to find them, search for keywords in your niche. You could search for the industry you’re in, relevant trends that make sense to your niche or popular hashtags that your target audience is likely to engage with.

Once you’ve found a few profiles from brands that are similar to your own, head to their followers. Select each account one-by-one and check out the content on each profile. Remember to look for small accounts and only like content that makes sense for your brand. Avoid mass-liking or spamming as this comes across as disingenuous or as if a bot might be behind the interactions.

You could also head to a brand in your niche, head to their content, then click on the comments section. From here you can find and like content from users who have actively engaged with the content you’re viewing. This is an effective way to invite views on your profile from people who are likely to engage with content they love, which is especially effective if you’ve found users who embody your ideal target audience.

2. Like comments on other brands’ content

As with the previous point, aiming to get into notification tabs is a strong way to get noticed from small accounts, and this can help build your audience organically. A second way to get into notification tabs is to like comments. Anyone can like anyone else’s public comments on posts on Instagram, and users are notified when you do this.

Using the principles in the previous point, head to posts from relevant accounts and open up the comments sections. Next, read and hit the heart icon next to comments you genuinely appreciate.

3. Comment on comments

Go a step further and get involved in the conversation. By commenting on comments, not only do you get in users’ notification tabs; you give them something extra to notice and respond to. This extra level of engagement is difficult to ignore as it feels as though it requires attention and potentially a response. It's not simply a like, but something to read.

To make the most of this tactic: view the content, read each comment and respond thoughtfully. This will solidify you as a member of the community and make your comments worth noticing.

4. Share other people’s posts to your Stories

When you share content from another account to your Instagram Stories, it notifies the original creator as a mention. This mention is located at the top of a notification tab, putting it in prime position to get noticed. You could also tag the account separately to make sure the account owner gets wind of your appreciation of their post.

Dissimilarly to likes and comments, it feels more authentic to limit the number of posts you share to your Instagram Stories as these are shared on your profile, but that doesn’t mean it can’t act as another part of your growth strategy. Remember, posts that are shared publicly to your Instagram Stories are viewable to your followers as well as other accounts, so only share posts that you want your brand to be associated with.

5. Create reels

There’s no two ways about it - reels get more views. I recently tested this theory by creating a brand new Instagram profile from scratch. After posting photo posts, carousels and a reel, it was clear that the reel gained significantly more views - over double the amount of views on all the other organic content shared.

To access your views graph broken into content types, as well as a whole host of in-depth analytical graphs across your social media accounts, head to Minter.io now.