How to gain followers on instagram without paying

8 Ways to (Authentically!) Get Instagram Followers in 2022

Wondering how to get Instagram followers — without paying for bots or other spam tactics?

While it’s not as easy as it once was, getting more followers on Instagram is still possible…you just have to know the right tactics! Let’s dive right in.

Post Consistently
Make a Strong First Impression
Create Instagram Reels
Nail Your Caption Strategy
Partner with Like-minded Brands and Creators
Promote Your Instagram Account on Your Website or Newsletter
Actively Engage with Your Community
Learn From Your Analytics

#1: Post Consistently

There’s no denying the importance of consistency on Instagram.

By posting regularly, you’re essentially letting your followers know what to expect from you — whether it’s daily Instagram Stories, a bi-weekly Reel, or a few feed posts a week.

Posting more consistently can also help with your Instagram engagement. When your followers expect you to post, they’re more likely to interact and engage with your content.

That being said, keeping a consistent posting schedule isn’t always easy. When you’re juggling content creation, alongside other business duties, it can be time-consuming to manually post every single day.

For a quick solution, you could use a scheduling tool, like Later. With Later, you can easily schedule your photos, videos, carousel posts, and more with just a few clicks:

By planning and scheduling your Instagram posts in advance, you can get content out even when you’re super busy. It’s a massive time-saver!

TIP: Experiment with a posting frequency and see how your community responds. If you see an increase of followers and engagement from posting daily (or every other day) — do that!

Ready to plan and schedule your content in advance? Later makes it easy — get started today for free!

#2: Make A Strong First Impression

According to researchers, within the first 7 seconds of meeting you, people will have a solid impression of who you are — and it can be even shorter online.

With that in mind, your Instagram bio and feed can seriously influence whether someone taps “follow.”

The first step is to have an Instagram bio that clearly explains what your brand does and who it’s for (aka your target audience).

If you have character space, you can also include your values or a fun tidbit about yourself to differentiate you from competitors in your industry.

Once you have a bio you’re happy with, creating a cohesive feed (or Instagram aesthetic) can help make a great first impression to anyone who finds your profile.

Does it follow some sort of pattern like entrepreneur Jasmine Williams? Or is it a mix of product and lifestyle shots like agency Studio Sophomore?

Whatever you decide, it’s important to be consistent. Having a feed that reflects your brand and is appealing to your target audience can be a surefire way to get them to follow you.

For more tips on making a good first impression, bookmark this post: How to Create the Perfect Instagram Bio.

#3: Create Instagram Reels

Instagram Reels are a fun and creative way to get new followers on Instagram.

Why? They have incredible reach (you can get thousands of views) and if your account is public, they’re discoverable via the Reels tab.

There are plenty of ways to use Instagram Reels for your business — we’ve seen tips and tricks, how-to videos, behind-the-scenes content, and more.

And as Instagram recently announced that it’s no longer just “a photo-sharing app”, it’s a good idea to start incorporating more video content in your strategy.

If you’re in need of some Reels inspiration, check out this blog post: 15 Instagram Reels Ideas.

#4: Nail Your Caption Strategy

Are your captions hookworthy with strong call-to-actions (CTAs)?

Having an effective caption strategy can help you increase engagement and get more Instagram followers.

Instagram educator Elise Darma recommends the following formula for creating engaging captions: headline, setup, share, bridge, and CTA.

For the headline, lead with something thought-provoking or exciting — what’s going to capture their attention right away? Instagram only shows the first 1-2 lines of your caption in the feed, so make it count.

For the setup, you’ll want to pull them in further. What’s the context they need to know?

Next, you’re going to share what you really want to say to your followers, whether it’s a story, answering FAQs, or a how-to tip. This is the “value” part of your caption, so feel free to use as much space as you need.

Then, use one or two bridge sentences to reiterate why your followers should care and what’s in it for them.

And finally, finish with a strong CTA. This can be as simple as leaving a comment on the post or clicking the link in your bio.

Want more help writing captions that convert? Check out our Ultimate Guide to Writing Good Instagram Captions.

#5: Partner with Like-minded Brands and Creators

The power of a collaboration or a co-marketing campaign for your business is huge — it’s quickly becoming one of the most popular ways to get Instagram followers.

Teaming up with like-minded businesses and brands will introduce your profile to a new and engaged audience.

And even better: co-marketing campaigns don’t have to be complicated or costly!

What’s more important is who you partner with. You want to make sure that you have a mutually beneficial partnership that will benefit both of your audiences.

TIP: Use Instagram's Collabs feature to co-author a feed post or Reel across two accounts!

#6: Promote Your Instagram Account on Your Website or Newsletter

Promoting your account on your website is another great way to get Instagram followers — and it’s also easy to do.

From plugins to code embeds, there are dozens of options when it comes to responsively embedding your Instagram feed on your website so it looks great on any device.

Many website builders even offer templates that come with customizable options for embedding your feed.

Similarly, if you have an engaged newsletter audience, you can encourage them to follow you on Instagram too for another way to connect — similar to what we do at Later:

One of the most effective ways to grow on Instagram? Engage with your community!

According to Sarah Nicole Landry, interacting and engaging with other accounts is incredibly important:

“In an 8-hour workday, I commit 4 hours every single day to community engagement. This includes commenting, replying to DMs, commenting on other people’s posts, replying on my own, and going and actively engaging on other pages similar to mine.”

Sarah’s commitment to engaging with her community, coupled with creating authentic content, has allowed her to grow from 70K to over 1.7M followers in under two years.

“As you engage, the relationship with your community will grow stronger. And, when you have people truly who trust you and believe in what you’re saying, that’s when you’ll begin to see a greater ROI”, Sarah explains.

If you don’t have four hours to spend engaging on Instagram, be sure to check and answer your Instagram comments and DMs every day or every few days.

What’s important is that you incorporate this tip in a way that’s sustainable for you and your business.

TIP: Use Later’s Conversations feature to keep track of all your Instagram comments. You can reply from your computer instead of your phone, and even view your conversation history with a commenter.

#8: Learn From Your Analytics

If you want to get new Instagram followers, taking a look at your analytics is a great place to start.

With analytics, you’ll be able to understand what type of content your community engages with most, where they live, and when they’re most active.

This level of insight is important for creating a content strategy that’ll increase your followers — without it, you’re essentially working in the dark.

Alongside Instagram’s native analytics, Later’s Instagram Analytics feature gives you a visual overview of how your posts and stories are performing – all in an easy-to-use dashboard.

You’ll find all of the must-have analytics from Instagram in a digestible format, as well as several extra data points — including your best time to post (available on all paid plans).

With over 1B monthly active users on Instagram, it’s no surprise that getting more Instagram followers is a big priority for most businesses and creators.

However, quality is more important than quantity.

A smaller, more engaged community who loves your products and content is better than a large community who barely interacts with your posts.

As you grow, remember to nurture the relationships with your current followers to help strengthen brand trust and loyalty. And welcome your new followers with open arms!

Ready to get more Instagram followers? Sign up for a Later account and start visually planning and scheduling your content — for free.

How To Get More Followers on Instagram [5 Simple Steps]

Starting fresh on social or just trying to build your online brand? You’re probably wondering how to get more followers on Instagram.

And no, we don’t mean buying followers or using bots. Those tricks might boost your follower count for a short time, but they won’t do you any favors long-term.

That’s because the only truly valuable Instagram followers are real people who care about and engage with your brand.

Check out our in-depth guide to learn how to grow Instagram followers organically.

Step 1. Lay the groundwork

Step 2. Create great content

Step 3. Make yourself findable

Step 4. Engage with your community

Step 5. Keep learning

Bonus: Download a free checklist that reveals the exact steps a fitness influencer used to grow from 0 to 600,000+ followers on Instagram with no budget and no expensive gear.

How to get more Instagram followers for free

No time to read the whole guide? Check out the video below for what you need to grow on Instagram this year:

Otherwise, it’s time to roll up your sleeves and get to work.

Step 1. Lay the groundwork

Have a thoughtful Instagram marketing strategy

If you want to be effective on social, you need a clear plan.

Getting more Instagram followers is a great starter goal. But followers alone won’t create a successful Instagram account. Your goal needs to be part of a larger plan that connects to your business strategy and social marketing objectives.

Think about the reasons why you want more Instagram followers. What do you really hope to accomplish? Maybe you want to:

increase brand awareness
boost product sales
drive traffic to your website.

Staying focused on these business-oriented goals will help keep your Instagram account consistent. It will help you tell a compelling brand story that appeals to new profile visitors and helps build (and keep) a loyal following.

Define your target audience

Ask yourself some questions about who you’re trying to reach:

Where do they live?
What do they do for work?
When and how do they use Instagram?
What are their pain points and challenges?

The answers to these questions will help you craft content to connect with the people on Instagram who are most likely to give you a follow.

They will also help you consistently deliver content that will keep your audience engaged for the long run.

Create a consistent brand story and aesthetic

Maybe you want to show off how your product is made. Or humanize your brand by sharing an employee’s perspective. An aspirational brand might showcase the lifestyle or achievements of your customers.

No matter what you’re going for, it’s important to maintain a consistent brand voice, personality and look.

Your posts should be easily recognizable at a glance. Think of your Instagram grid as one cohesive unit. You can always use Instagram Stories to share content that doesn’t quite fit with the look and feel of your main feed.

Your products don’t have to look the same, either. You can use styling to give your grid a consistent look and feel, like @themillerswifecustomcookies does:

Source: @themillerswifecustomcookies on Instagram

Use keywords to appear in searches

Before people can follow you on Instagram, they have to find you. But not all text on Instagram is searchable. Only two fields on Instagram contribute to search results: name and username.

Your username is your Instagram handle. It should be consistent with the handle you use on other social networks since this also makes it easier for people to find you. Use your brand name or a variation of your name that people are likely to use when searching for your brand.

Your name can be anything you like, up to 30 characters. You don’t want to keyword-stuff, but including your most relevant keyword in the name field can make you easier to find.

For example, travel writer Claudia Laroye (@itsclaudiatravels) includes the keyphrase “travel writer” in her Instagram name. Now, she’s more likely to be found by people looking for travel content or writers.

Source: @itsclaudiatravels on Instagram

Optimize your Instagram bio and profile

Two-thirds of Instagram business profile visits are from non-followers. If your bio and profile convince them to click the follow button, those visitors may become followers.

Your profile includes your name and username fields (mentioned above), your website and your bio.

Your bio can be up to 150 characters, so make the most of it. Convey your brand identity and show new visitors why they should follow you. What kind of content can they expect?

This bio from @abstractaerialart sums up the account’s purpose and promise in a quick, easy-to-digest way:

Source: @abstractaerialart on Instagram

If you have a professional account (business or Creator), you can include extra info in your profile, like your contact information, type of business, and location.

Step 2. Create great content

Design a gorgeous Instagram grid

Sure, this might seem obvious, but it’s critical when thinking about getting followers on Instagram. Every post on your Instagram grid must be high-quality and visually engaging.

When new users visit your profile, the content should make them want to see more (and click Follow).

Give commercial photographer @nelsonmouellic a round of applause for this visual feat.

Write compelling, long captions

Instagram is a visual social media platform, but great Instagram captions help you get more reach and engagement.

Here are some key strategies to keep in mind:

Put the most important words up front. If the caption is more than 125 characters long, users must tap “more” to see the whole thing. Make the most of those first words to inspire that extra tap.
Ask a question. This makes it easy for your audience to leave a comment. That increased engagement will help make your account visible to more people.
Use emoji. Emoji add a bit of variety and can make your caption more enticing. Just make sure you use those emoji correctly!
Try different caption lengths. Our data shows that long captions are more likely to improve engagement, but ultra-short captions can also be very effective when the visuals speak for themselves.

Will Tang of Going Awesome Places posts great photos with detailed captions that tell the story behind the shot. His Insta bio calls him a “creator of ridiculously detailed itineraries and guides.” That means this caption approach is very on-brand.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Will | Going Awesome Places (@goingawesomeplaces)

Post content that’s meant to be re-shared

Your audience wants to engage with content that’s useful and inspiring. So when planning your posts, think about types of content that other people might like to share.

People love sharing infographics. Feed that desire by supplying your followers with your expert insights. If someone embeds your Instagram posts in their blog, you’re exposed to a whole new audience of potential followers.

People can also re-share your posts in their Instagram Stories. These posts are clickable, so anyone who wants to know more can click through to your original post. It’s another easy way to expand your reach to new audiences and potential new followers.

For example, here’s how a Hootsuite post about LinkedIn demographics looks when shared to my Instagram Story.

Embrace Instagram Stories

If you want more Instagram followers, you need to use Instagram Stories. Half a billion Instagram accounts use Stories every day, and 45% of the most-viewed Stories are from businesses.

People who use Stories are highly engaged. Plus, you can use the hashtag and location features in your stories to expose them to people who do not already follow you.

Make the most of Stories highlights

Put a lot of effort into an Instagram Story and not quite ready to say goodbye after 24 hours? Pinned Stories highlights are a great way to introduce your brand to people who visit your profile. So pack those highlights with great info and content to show new visitors why they should follow you.

Don’t forget to customize the cover photos on your highlights, too. Supplement company Vega keeps things on-brand and plant-friendly with their custom green highlights.

Source: Vega on Instagram

Post consistently

Your existing followers want to see content from you. That’s why they followed you in the first place. So give them what they want!

When users interact with your posts, those engagements tell Instagram’s algorithm that your content is valuable. Those interactions will then boost your reach. So giving your existing followers something great to interact with can help bring in new Instagram followers.

How often should you post? According to our analysis, between 3-7 times per week.

Post at the right time

Instagram uses an algorithm, not a chronological feed. But timing is still important to the algorithm.

Hootsuite’s social team found that the best time to post on Instagram is between 8 AM -12 PM PST or 4-5 PM PST on weekdays.

But your audience might have different habits than ours. A tool like Hootsuite Analytics can show you the best time to post for your audience based on past engagement, impressions or traffic.

Source: Hootsuite Analytics

Try Hootsuite for free. You can cancel anytime.

Start testing various times and measuring results. For example, if you’re a retail brand, you might want to test posting during lunch

Schedule your posts and stories

What if the best time to post to your account is 3 AM? (Hey, it happens.) Use a desktop-based Instagram tool like Hootsuite to schedule and publish directly to Instagram.

Scheduling your Instagram posts in advance allows you to plan a cohesive grid that tells an overarching story. It also allows you to dedicate time to creating excellent captions rather than trying to come up with something witty on the fly.

You can also use Hootsuite to schedule Instagram Stories and Reels.

Step 3. Make yourself findable

Use relevant hashtags to reach new users

Sadly, the text of your Instagram posts isn’t searchable. But your hashtags are. Using hashtags thoughtfully can be a good way to get followers on Instagram for free. You can even create your own branded hashtags.

Relevant hashtags can help people find your content. Instagram users can even follow hashtags. That means your hashtagged content may appear in the feeds of people who do not yet follow your account.

You can include up to 30 hashtags in an Instagram post, but don’t go overboard. Instead, do some experimenting to learn how many hashtags work best for your particular account.

Avoid hashtag gimmicks such as #likeforlike, #tagsforlikes, or #followme. These may give you a temporary boost in followers. But those people aren’t interested in what makes you and your content special. They’re not going to help you build a meaningful, engaged audience on Instagram.

Instead, focus on using highly targeted hashtags specific to your photo, product, or business, like stylist Dee Campling does in this #wfh shot.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Dee Campling (@deecampling)

Tag your location

If the location of your post or Story is clear, it’s worth adding a location tag. It’s another easy way for people to find your content on Instagram.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Instagram’s @Creators (@creators)

If your business has a physical location, tag it and encourage customers to do the same. Users can then click on that location and see all photos and Stories posted from your store, restaurant, or office.

For example, here’s what you get when you search for the location of Van Wonderen Stroopwafels in Amsterdam:

Source: Instagram

If you’re posting from a conference or event, adding your location can help you connect with other attendees. This will expose your account to a highly relevant group of new potential Instagram followers.

Tag relevant users

It’s easy to tag Instagram users featured in your photos. Just use an @-mention in your caption or Instagram’s tagging functionality within the post.

Users are notified when they’re tagged, so tags encourage them to engage with and share the post. Your post will also appear on the Tagged tab of their Instagram profile.

You can also tag users in your Instagram Stories. Then, they can post shared content to their own Story with just a couple of taps. If they do so, their viewers can click through to your account.

Be careful, though. Tagging someone just to get their attention isn’t a great idea. Instead, only tag users featured in your photo or relevant to your post’s content.

Some potentially relevant users to tag might include:

Customers
Suppliers
Other relevant businesses
Colleagues or employees
Someone who taught you a skill or told you about something you share in the post
Anyone who appears in the photo

Encourage others to tag you

Another way to introduce your Instagram account to a new audience is to ask other Instagram users to tag you. When they tag you in a post, their audience sees your handle and can click on it if they want to learn more.

Your bio is a great place to ask people to tag you on Instagram.

For example, Visit the USA asks Instagrammers to tag them for a chance to be featured on their account.

Source: @visittheusa on Instagram

Cross-promote your Instagram account on other networks

If you want to get followers on Instagram for free, you need to make it easy for people to find you.

Your Instagram profile should be easily discoverable. If you’ve already built a following on another social network, let those fans know about your Instagram account.

Share a link to your Instagram profile and give your existing social followers a reason to check it out. (Like an Instagram-exclusive coupon code, event, or contest.)

When BlogHer hosted Jameela Jamil for an Instagram Live, they made sure to promote it on their Facebook Page as well.

If you’re just starting your Instagram account, make sure to post some content before you promote the account elsewhere. Aim for a minimum of 12 posts.

You could also highlight some of your best Instagram posts on your other social channels. Consider boosting these posts with paid advertising so your other social followers can find and follow you on Instagram.

Embed Instagram posts in your blog

You’ve already seen some embedded Instagram posts in this blog. These clickable posts allow users to head directly to the relevant post or Instagram profile.

Embedding your own Instagram posts in your blog is an easy way to share your content and drive traffic to your profile. Every new visitor to your Instagram profile is a potential new follower.

For example, say Hootsuite wanted to announce our mascot’s makeover. Sure, we could share a few pictures of Owly’s new look.

But we could also embed an Instagram post, like this:

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Hootsuite 🦉 (@hootsuite)

Any time you’re sharing visual content like photos, charts, or infographics in your blog, there’s an opportunity to embed an Instagram post with that content instead.

Share your Instagram account in other communications

Think beyond your social channels when sharing your Instagram account.

You can link to your Instagram account on your website, in your email signature, and in your online newsletters. The link doesn’t have to be big, either. You can use a small Instagram icon.

If you’re promoting a new Instagram account, a quick email blast is a great way to get free Instagram followers fast.

And don’t forget about your offline materials. You can include your Instagram handle on coasters, posters, packing slips, business cards, or packaging. It’s a simple way to drive more free Instagram followers to your account.

Use Instagram QR codes

Your Instagram QR code is a scannable code that allows other Instagram users to follow you instantly. It’s another easy way to promote your account on physical materials like packing slips, signage, and product packaging.

Your QR code is also a great way to get new followers in real time at networking events and conferences. People you connect with in person can scan your code to follow you without having to type out your handle. Try printing it out and tucking it into your namebadge holder for easy access.

Find your Instagram QR code by tapping on the three lines icon at the top right of your Instagram profile and selecting QR Code .

Try to get featured

Feature accounts are Instagram accounts that curate and re-share content based on a hashtag or tagging. Some of these accounts have a huge following. If they share one of your posts (along with your handle), they can send a new stream of Instagram followers your way.

There’s a feature account for just about every niche and interest on Instagram, so start exploring.

For example, @damngoodstitch features embroidery posts. The account has more than 180,000 followers.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by DamnGoodStitch (@damngoodstitch)

Aim for the Explore page

The Explore page is what you see when you click on the magnifying glass icon at the bottom of the Instagram app. According to Instagram itself, this is where “you can find photos and videos that you might like from accounts you don’t yet follow.”

Half of Instagram accounts visit Explore every month. That’s a huge opportunity for brands looking to grow their audience.

Ending up on the Explore tab isn’t easy. Luckily, we’ve got an entire article dedicated to helping you get there.

You can also pay to get into the Explore feed by selecting Explore as an ad placement.

Bonus: Download a free checklist that reveals the exact steps a fitness influencer used to grow from 0 to 600,000+ followers on Instagram with no budget and no expensive gear.

Get the free guide right now!

Source: Instagram

Step 4. Engage with your community

Follow relevant accounts

You should only tag people in an Instagram post when the content is directly relevant to them. But you can follow anyone you like. And when you follow a user on Instagram, there’s a good chance they will check out your feed and consider following you back.

Social listening is great for finding conversations and influential users (a.k.a. influencers) to follow.

Instagram’s “Suggestions For You” section is also a handy resource for finding relevant accounts to follow. These suggestions show up in your Instagram feed between posts, in between Stories, or on the right side of the screen on a computer.

Just remember not to follow too many other accounts too fast. Your follower ratio, or the number of people who follow you compared to how many you follow, is important for credibility.

And don’t follow people just to get their attention, only to unfollow after they follow you back. This is kind of a jerk move and will hurt your Instagram reputation.

Engage with existing communities

Like all social media networks, Instagram is about the communities built within it. So make sure you’re participating in those spaces.

Get involved by liking, commenting on, and sharing content from other credible users in your community. Avoid generic comments (like “Awesome post!”) that look like they come from bots.

Engaging with other posts helps draw attention (and potential new followers) in two ways:

People get notifications when you like and comment on their posts. They may check out your profile to return the favor.
If others find your comments thoughtful or intriguing, they may check out your profile.

Work with influencers in your niche

Here’s an important stat for anyone thinking about how to get more followers on Instagram: 60% of consumers say they’d follow a brand on Instagram after seeing it promoted by an influencer they trust.

If you’re not working with influencers now, then you should definitely consider it. Luckily, we’ve got a whole guide on Influencer marketing to help you out.

Collaborate with other brands

Don’t be afraid to reach out to other brands to see if there’s a way that you can work together on Instagram. The right kind of collaboration could help everyone involved get more Instagram followers.

Think about businesses you already collaborate with in other ways. Maybe you’re connected in a local business improvement association or shopping area. How could you work together on Instagram?

One common option is to host a contest featuring products from multiple companies, like Rocky Mountain Soap Company did with Annika Mang of @borntobeadventurous.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Rocky Mountain Soap Company (@rockymountainsoapco)

Try an Instagram Live collaboration

Live video keeps getting more popular, and Instagram is a great place to take advantage of the trend. Users are notified when an account they follow starts broadcasting live, so a live video really grabs attention.

To get your Live video in front of a new audience, use the “Go live with a friend” option to co-host a live video with someone else in your industry. Ask the other person to host a Live video, then invite you as a guest. The two of you will appear in a split screen, introducing you to all of their followers.

For example, Design Emergency hosts a weekly Instagram Live to interview key figures in the design world.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Design Emergency (@design.emergency)

Likewise, Wine Spectator‘s Straight Talk series features interviews with industry insiders.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Wine Spectator Magazine (@wine_spectator)

Use interactivity features in Stories

Instagram Stories offer plenty of interactive features to engage users, like poll, question, and chat stickers. These stickers are a simple, low-stakes way for your audience to engage with your content.

Polling stickers increased three-second video views in 90% of Instagram’s beta campaigns for this feature.

Source: Instagram

If users come across your Story from a hashtag or location page, they can engage right away. It’s a great way to make them want to learn more about your brand by giving you a follow.

Pin your best comments

One of Instagram’s little-known features is the ability to pin up to three comments for each post.

Today we’re rolling out pinned comments everywhere. 📌

That means you can a pin a few comments to the top of your feed post and better manage the conversation. pic.twitter.com/iPCMJVLxMh

— Instagram (@instagram) July 7, 2020

There are a couple of ways you can use this feature as part of your plan to get more followers on Instagram.

Use pinned comments to extend your caption beyond 2,200 characters by continuing the story in the comments. This lets you take on more detailed and in-depth storytelling, which may be a fit for some accounts.
Pin your favorite comments from other users, especially if they are creating a lot of engagement.

This feature can help you manage the conversation on your posts and create more opportunities for engagement.

Step 5. Keep learning

Create an AR filter

AR filters for Instagram Stories are photo effects Instagrammers can use to modify photos taken through their mobile phone’s front and back cameras.

Those posts with puppy ears? Those are done with an AR (Augmented Reality) filter. Those “which [vegetable/pizza/emoji/etc.] are you?” posts? Yup, those use AR filters too.

Any Instagram user can now create an AR filter. The filters you create live in their own section of your Instagram profile.

Source: @paigepiskin on Instagram

If your filter is not promotional or branded, it will also appear in the Instagram Stories effects gallery, where any Instagrammer can find it.

How does creating an AR filter help you get more Instagram followers? Your account name appears in the top left corner whenever anyone uses your AR filter. It’s clickable and can drive more new visitors to your profile.

Source: @gucci on Instagram

Run contests

Contests on Instagram are a great way to help you get more followers. Just make sure your entry process involves asking people to follow you and comment on one of your photos by tagging a friend.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Hotel Casa Amsterdam (@hotelcasa_amsterdam)

Tagged friends will also see your post and may choose to follow your account as well.

Encouraging user-generated content as part of your contest can also help you reach more people. People will learn about your profile from posts their friends create. This is an effective way to build trust with new followers and get more eyeballs to your page.

Consider advertising on Instagram

Okay, this isn’t exactly a way to get free Instagram followers. But Instagram ads can be a powerful way to reach new followers fast by getting your content in front of people who would otherwise not see it.

And unlike buying followers, using Instagram ads is a totally legitimate and effective way to get more Instagram followers quickly with a small investment.

Target your audience by location, demographics, and even key behaviors and interests. You can also create a lookalike audience based on the people who already interact with your business.

Besides the feed, you can advertise in Instagram Stories and the Explore feed. For all the details on creating and posting an Instagram ad campaign, check out our detailed Instagram ads guide.

Learn from Instagram Insights

Instagram analytics tools will give you data on impressions for each post, along with reach, engagement, top posts, and more. You can also find demographic information about your followers, including gender, age, and location.

Regularly reviewing this data can help you identify areas where you can adjust your strategy to hel p you get more followers on Instagram.< >

Keep an eye on what time of day your followers use Instagram, so you can post when people are most likely to see and engage with your content. Data nerds who want to go deeper may want to consider a social media management tool like Hootsuite. These tools can show you the best times to post based on impressions, engagement, and traffic. They’ll also give you a bunch of other helpful performance metrics, like your follower growth rate.

Get more Instagram followers using Hootsuite. Schedule content for the most optimal times, streamline engagement, track your performance, and more—all from a single, easy-to-use dashboard. Try it for free.

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5 ways to get followers on Instagram that won't get you banned

ComputerPhoto: Rudy and Peter from pixabay

Despite the emergence of new interesting projects in the field of social networks and content platforms (Pinterest, Tik Tok and others), Facebook still remains a monopolist and dictates its own rules. One of them reads something like this: pay. Without paying for advertising, the posts of commercial pages get into the feeds of only 17% of Facebook users who are subscribers to these pages. The picture is about the same on Instagram. Cheating subscribers with the help of special software is not something that is not welcome here, it is generally completely prohibited. So it turns out that anyone who wants to turn their account into a popular blog has to either pay or look for ways around. Let's talk about what options exist.

Targeted advertising

The only official type of promotion on Instagram is advertising through Ads Manager, which is located on the Facebook platform. It's paid and not cheap if you don't know how to target. In addition, you cannot attract subscribers with the help of advertising, you can only acquaint users of the social network with the information that you offer. Subscribe or not, they decide for themselves.

To save on advertising, use the following settings:

Choose an audience of people far from big cities, there are fewer advertising offers, which means that the auction CPC will be cheaper.
Use clear and understandable creatives to attract subscribers, encourage them to subscribe to you by broadcasting the values of the blog.
If your blog is thematic, look for an audience of those who will like it, and they are more likely to subscribe to it.

In general, this is not the most budget option to get real followers on Instagram, for example, but you will not get banned for it.

Activity chats and like-times

Among shareware promotion methods, activity chats are especially popular. They are started in Instagram itself and beyond, for example, in Telegram. What are these chats? As a rule, they are created by users who want to promote their blogs. To do this, they are looking for aspiring bloggers with the same goal. The task is to help each other with promotion.

It's simple. You join such an activity chat and constantly receive tasks - who to like, who to comment on the post, who to subscribe to. In exchange, you can ask them to do the same for your blog.

Like-times is an activity that allows you to get likes in order to go to the "Interesting" tab and get subscribers indirectly, through content promotion. The mechanics are the same: you like others, in exchange they like you. It is worth remembering that this is not a cheat on Instagram subscribers for money, so unsubscribing cannot be avoided. How to make sure that the cheat was without unsubscribes?

Partnerships with bloggers as a way to get followers on Instagram

By joining chats for support, you can find like-minded bloggers with whom you intersect audience. For example, you have an Instagram blog about life in Iceland, and the chat consists of authors of blogs about life in New Zealand, Argentina and Japan. You can team up with them and promote a whole network of “our” bloggers abroad in such a way as to exchange subscribers who are interested in the topic of living in other countries. The big plus of this method is that it's free.

Giveaways and contests on Instagram

Together with friends found through partnerships with bloggers and support chats, you can launch a giveaway - a general contest with valuable prizes, according to which everyone who wants to participate in the draw must subscribe to all the organizers of the giveaway. As a rule, in giveaways, big prizes provided by sponsors are raffled among the participants, whose main task is to subscribe.

You can attract followers in a more interesting way: to conduct a draw on your own behalf. This is a cheaper way than a giveaway to get followers on Instagram. Then the prize may not be particularly valuable, but in the conditions - the task is to subscribe only to your profile, and no one else.

Cheat on Instagram through applications and websites

Here is another way for which you will not get banned. However, it is important to choose the right one who will really help, and for this you need to order promotion only by live users, and not by bots. All promotion actions on Instagram using this method are carried out using a link that you place as a task on a resource where performers and customers of promotion in social networks by native methods meet. In real time, Instagram users subscribed to platform tasks for promotion will go to your profile and quickly perform the required actions.

What Instagram promotion methods do you use?

As an advertisement

what you need to know before going to the dark side - Dark site of marketing

According to statistics, most Instagram users pay attention first of all to the number of followers of a brand page before they subscribe to it themselves. This pattern is called social proof, or social proof - the presence of a large number of followers is not only proof of the popularity of the brand, but also a signal of its approval from the audience. Therefore, when creating a business page, marketers have to solve a difficult task - to look for the first subscribers. The most common solution to this problem is to buy followers on Instagram by buying bots or autofollowing.

In this article, we will analyze possible ways to get followers on Instagram, and consider the experiment of Hootsuite, which proved by its own example that buying bots to promote a page on Instagram is ineffective.

Instagram followers: the main ways to cheat

There are only 2 ways to get followers on Instagram.

Honest, he's strategic. You set a goal, share good content and the attention of the audience is in your hands. And the second is to use the dark side of marketing - to buy subscribers. That is, bots.

Everyone has long known that brands, celebrities, influencers and even politicians have been adding fake followers on social media. Why do they do it? It's all about perception. Suppose: you bought bots, thereby getting tens of thousands of subscribers. Real people will "like" your page, as the popularity of an Instagram account is judged by the number of its followers.

To begin with, it is worth defining the key difference: promoting a page on Instagram using an automation service and buying bots are far from the same thing.

Instagram follower apps like and comment on posts on your behalf, thereby drawing attention to your profile. You need to specify the user profile you plan to follow based on location, hashtag usage, interests, gender, and more. It is also possible to set criteria after which the bot stops following the account of someone who has not become your subscriber.

Buying Instagram followers is even easier: find an exchange, pay for the service and voila - an explosive growth of the audience. It's cheap, costing about three dollars for every 100 subscribers. But, in most cases, these are bots and zombie accounts (inactive, hacked accounts).

There are also more expensive options that charge upwards of $1,000 for 10,000 subscribers. These services keep your bots active: they publish posts, update information, and even periodically interact with your content.

Still want to buy Instagram followers?

If you still decide to go to the dark side and buy Instagram followers, then read below the example of Hootsuite's, which decided to find out if the game is worth the candle.

They created a fake account and bought 1000 followers for $10. The audience grew before our eyes. This is a plus. But it consisted entirely of bots. This is a minus.

Despite the presence of an audience, real subscribers were not added. Hootsuite even posted one photo, but that didn't help either.

Results - a solid minus: no comments. What does it say? There is a number of subscribers, but this did not affect the interest of real people. Even a month later, the post on the Hootsuite's account page did not garner a single comment, absolute zero.

Of course, the Hootsuite experiment is a banter that was originally intended to be like that. But this is a good example of how most marketers ineptly use the dark Power: they take quantity, but the quality leaves much to be desired.

Yes, after a while they still subscribed to this account. But who are these mysterious kamikaze? Two schoolchildren and a dozen more bots are not a very suitable audience for a technology company.

The only thing that was constant in this experiment, according to Hootsuite's: the number of subscribers remained at the level of 1000, +/- 50 depending on the day of the week. As soon as a certain number of followers disappear - probably due to the blocking of such accounts - the system creates new ones and makes a supply of bots. But it still remained a low-quality audience.

The results obtained when using the application to get followers on Instagram were somewhat different - half of the new followers were eliminated after a week.

Why you shouldn't buy Instagram followers

You get what you pay for: just the quantity. Not quality. An audience consisting of bots will not like your posts and will not comment on them. Using these methods to get followers on Instagram, you jeopardize the reputation of the brand. And you risk losing real customers.

Suppose you hired a social media influencer to promote a product. After carefully studying his profile, we realized that most of his fans are just bots. I think next time you are unlikely to want to work with this person.

What is more valuable for business: having 10,000 fake followers or 100 real ones who comment on your posts and willingly share them?

But there are more important metrics than the number of subscribers. Link clicks and interactions (“likes” and “comments”) are the two most important of these.

Engagement rate. Calculation formula.

One of the ways to measure audience engagement on Instagram is to calculate the engagement rate. Add up all the likes and comments from the last ten posts. Divide the amount by the number of followers of your page. Multiply the result by 100 to get the engagement score.

Number of Likes + number of comments / number of followers x 100 = engagement rate.

Using this indicator, you can check the performance of your Instagram strategy and study the interest of the audience.

How to get Instagram followers without going to the dark side

Study the interests of your audience, share interesting content, thus you will retain your existing audience and attract new followers on Instagram. When posting, use relevant hashtags that will lead you to a new audience. This is, for sure, a more effective way to attract subscribers interested in your company's products or services than to increase the number of bots.

Use Instagram ads to increase your reach. With a budget of just a few hundred dollars a month, you can significantly increase the growth rate of your account and acquire new readers. Instagram offers a wide variety of advertising options, each tied to a specific business goal (brand awareness, website traffic, product sales, or app downloads).

If you want to empower and manage your Instagram account as efficiently as possible, then use Instagram post automation services such as Onlypult. Using this service, you can manage multiple accounts at the same time, publish and schedule content for a specific time, and track your own results. Try it today, especially since you can use it for free for a week.

In closing

What fate awaits a business that is ready to repeat the Hootsuite experiment to buy followers and likes on Instagram? Most likely, such an account will be blocked on Instagram or, even worse, the file will go to the people. We hope that with this article we have conveyed the idea that the idea of promoting a brand with the help of fake followers is far from the best option.