You’re bored. You grab your phone. What is the first app you open? Odds are if you’re a millennial, or if your target market is, you’ll open Instagram. Instagram, with all it’s controversy, is the social media platform of today.

While Instagram has all the bells and whistles, every marketer struggles with the bottom line: gaining more Instagram followers. It’s a common struggle, so don’t fret. We break down the ways to increase your Instagram devotees.

Strategy

Before you hit that post button, ask yourself these questions: What is the strategy? What am I trying to accomplish with this post? Is this the best post for that goal? Is my call to action appropriate?

If you can’t answer these questions, you don’t have a strategy. Answer these questions and build your story.

Content

There is a saying: content is king. This might seem obvious, but the more you have a content theme dialed in, the more followers will flood in.

What is the look and feel of your brand? Is it more photography? Is your brand best represented by cartoons? How does the brand talk on social media? How do you visually represent that?

How will you “talk” to audiences in captions? Are the captions question-based? Do you use emojis? Is your content receptive to hashtags? Will you use locations as in the geo-location tagging?

Before you hire a photographer or engage with a graphic designer, create a mood board of your brand.

Fuel the Fire

While we don’t doubt your strategy and content will be killer, any brand’s strategy can use a little fuel. Say hello to contests and sweepstakes.

A little incentive never hurt anybody. Do you have extra product to give away? Can you offer a prize in exchange for followers? Any one of a kind experiences that a brand advocate would do anything for?

How can a contest or sweepstakes be created around these rewards? This is the power of your strategy.

You’re not bored anymore, are you? Are you ready to gain more and more Instagram followers? Ready, set, post.