1.  Use hashtags like #FF (Follow Friday), #instafollow, #l4l (Like for like), #tagforlikes and #followback as they are known to help increase followers.  

2. Like hundreds of random pictures from people in your target audience. For every 100 likes on random pictures, you are likely to receive 6.1 more followers.   

3. Post photos at 2 am or 5 pm as researches claim it to be the most effective times to post. 

4. Promote your Instagram account on your other social media accounts and profiles. 

5. Use calls to action in your photo captions. Get your followers engaged by asking them to take further action. 

6. Schedule and publish your Instagram posts. Posting consistently is key to growing your follower count over time. 

7. Post photos of things that are blue. Some research suggests these get 24% more likes than photos that are orange or red. 

8. Photos that have 65-85% light get 24% more likes than those that are less than 45% light. 

9. Images posted mid-week receive slightly more engagement than those posted on other days. 

10. Use faces in your photos as images with faces received 35% more likes than those without it. 

11. Post on Sundays as Sundays see the fewest images posted. Thus posting on Sunday will get your images more visibility.