UPDATED 2023

The first thing that most people do when performing a background check on a brand is to check its Instagram page. Checking Instagram is a huge part of the modern-day consumer’s vetting process and it plays a huge role in determining whether or not someone will end up buying from that brand.

That is exactly why I decided to do this experiment in the first place. I committed to using an Instagram bot for the next year at our agency, as a marketing test.

So… what happened?

The great thing about Instagram Automation is that it’s incredibly easy to get started with it, and all you have to do is sign up, choose your targets and watch everything grow automatically.

However, in order to ensure success, you need to interact with your Instagram followers, use the right hashtags and get involved in all the right conversations. This process obviously requires a huge time commitment because you’ll be communicating with people from all over the world.

Now, there are two ways to minimize the amount of time it takes to grow and maintain your brand’s Instagram account:

• You can either hire a full-time Instagram Marketing Assistant, or;
• Better yet, you can use Instagram automation tools

In this article, we’re going to explore the second alternative because it’s by far the most
convenient and cost-effective one.

Best Instagram Automation Tools

1. UpGrow

UpGrow is the best Instagram automation platform on the market and it’s known for deploying experienced social media managers to develop and manage your brand page from scratch.

A lot of their clients have been able to gain real Instagram followers, and grow their accounts organically because of the tried and tested methods that UpGrow uses to increase followers and drive engagement.

This means no more having to buy likes and comments, and at the end of the day, you’ll have genuine followers that follow your Instagram page because they like your vision and want to support your brand.

2. Hootsuite

Hootsuite functions as a sort of virtual assistant that effectively manages all of the important activities on your Instagram account.

This includes publishing posts and managing engagement automatically. You can also use the
bulk upload feature to curate and schedule the posts ahead of time so that they
get uploaded at the right times throughout the day.

There are also other convenient features like the post preview tool which allows you to develop your posts and see what they’re going to look like when they go live.

3. Iconosquare

Iconosquare is an advanced social media management service that will help you grow your Instagram account organically, and using it usually leads to significantly improved engagement.

It’s definitely not about getting fake likes and followers, so you can rest assured that you’ll be gaining valuable supporters. Plus it’s a service that’s trusted and widely used by social media professionals as well, so you can rest assured that it really does deliver.

The best part is that you can use Iconosquare to manage all of your other social media accounts as well.

4. Buffer

Buffer is another versatile tool which has the ability to manage all of your social media channels automatically such as Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, and Pinterest.

It’s important to note here that this platform has been specifically optimized for laptops and desktops that run on the Windows operating system specifically.

They also offer a 14-day trial period so that you can use the service for free before you commit to the paid option. This will really speed up the process of managing your accounts.

5. GramGrowth

GramGrowth is the most popular Instagram growth service authority – think of it as the Trustpilot of Instagram services. Finding the best Instagram Bot for your account needs is essential and that’s what GramGrowth helps you with.

Based on the results, the best Instagram Bots to use in 2021 are HKAgency and Kicksta.

Make sure you opt for a growth services that puts your account’s safety and growth at the center. The most common issue when finding the best Instagram growth service in 2023 was the concerns around uncompliant bots that appeared over night. Obviously those put their user’s accounts at risk and caused numerous suspensions – Yikes!

Also watch out for coordinated review networks (or blogs) that cross-promote the same services in an attempt to get you to pay for the Instagram bots they actually own. At the end of the day you really get what you pay for, so don’t sacrifice the growth results and account safety for a few bucks.

Instagram Automation Tool Types

Instagram automation tools are different types of tools that businesses use to automate the activities that drive growth and engagement on Instagram. This means you’ll still have time to focus on your business activities while knowing that your Instagram account is completely taken care of.

Some of the best automation tools include:

1. Instagram Bots

Instagram bots will keep track of follows and unfollows, as well as likes and comments, in the
same way that an Instagram assistant would.

It’s important to note here that there are different Instagram bots available that offer different degrees of convenience. For example, some bots will perform additional tasks such as liking, commenting and following users that are relevant to your content, by keeping track of the right hashtags, usernames, and locations. This will help you expose more relevant Instagram users to your account every day, some of which might even follow your account and visit your website to make a purchase if they like what they see.

• Schedule Posts

Another important consideration to make when you want to increase your rate of engagement on Instagram is to be mindful of the times during which you post on the account. That’s because posting at certain “high traffic” times on Instagram increases your chances of higher engagement. AI-Powered Growth tools can help you pre-schedule posts so that they automatically go live during those opportune times without you having to log in and post manually.

• Auto Direct Messages

Certain automation tools are also able to send welcome messages to new followers, activate events and even introduce new products to your followers automatically.

Conclusion

Running a modern-day business requires more than just managing operations, developing new products or engaging in traditional promotional activities. You also have to maintain a strong online presence, especially on Instagram.

A lack of presence on Instagram or discovering a poorly managed account is a sign of unprofessionalism and usually sends the customer looking elsewhere. Well, if you’re one of those brands that only post once in a while and you don’t engage with your audience on a regular basis, then you might be losing out on a lot of potential sales.

This is a time-consuming endeavor and since most entrepreneurs feel like they don’t have enough hours in the day already, it’s good to know that there are convenient tools that one can use to decrease the workload.

Instagram bots can significantly boost your ability to grow your Instagram account faster while gaining followers and likes. It’s also way more cost-effective than hiring a social media assistant and yet it gives you the edge you need to compete in the ever-changing digital marketing landscape.