How to grow followers on instagram free
Get More Real Instagram Followers in 10 Steps
Instagram is the foundation of so many brands’ social presence. The platform is proven to drive traffic, support sales and engage customers.
And that’s why 59% of marketers plan to up their investment in Instagram this year.
But if you’re not thrilled with your Instagram growth and engagement, you’re not alone.
Competition on the platform is fierce as more and more brands get on board. Thing is, taking steps to grow your audience is absolutely worth it. That’s because the bigger your audience, the more opportunities to delight your customers.
Ready to tweak your presence to attract authentic and organic Instagram followers? This post breaks down how to make it happen.
10 ways to increase Instagram followersBefore we get into the nitty-gritty, this post is about building an organic following.
And yes, the distinction matters!
Some brands want to take shortcuts when it comes to trying to get more Instagram followers. We don’t pretend that pay-for-play sites exist.
That said, these services aren’t worth it for brands long-term. The Instagram algorithm weeds out low-quality accounts and phony engagement from paid bots.
But we’ll bite: there’s definitely some legwork involved in growing your audience authentically.
Doing so it worth totally worth it, though. Below are our ten best tips for getting more Instagram followers the right way.
1. Optimize your Instagram accountBefore you worry about how to get followers, consider how your Instagram account is set up first.
Ask yourself: does your profile “look the part?” For starters, consider your:
- Your Instagram bio (including your slogan, tagline and/or a branded hashtag)
- Your profile picture
- Your bio link (and where it points to)
These details define your brand identity on Instagram. More importantly, they impact your account’s discoverability. Building a follower-friendly account means:
- Having a search-friendly username.
Stick to either your brand name or whatever’s closest to your existing social handles. If your name is too long, shorten it to a variation your audience would recognize (ex: Cold Stone Creamery’s account is @coldstone). - Making your profile picture professional. An appropriately-sized logo is ideal. Any text in your profile picture should be legible on a smartphone screen.
- Minding where you point your bio link. This is crucial for turning Instagram followers into meaningful traffic or customers. It’s your only way to funnel social traffic to your site and promotions.
Linking to your homepage is fine but not always ideal. To encourage more meaningful interactions, a social landing page that points to multiple links can help.
This gives your audience total control of how they engage your business next. That means a better experience for your followers.
The best way to optimize your account is to follow a proven Instagram marketing strategy.
Download our free guide to get started.
Momentum matters on Instagram. In other words, you likely won’t get followers on Instagram if you post at random.
Creating content and providing value is what builds your audience. Doing so consistently is what helps you keep them. Don’t let your Instagram account gather cobwebs.
That’s why sticking to a regular posting schedule is crucial. In terms of when and how much to post, you don’t have to stick to a set-in-stone number. Most brands post daily or near daily. This tracks our own research on how often to post as well.
For reference, below is a breakdown of the best times to post to Instagram. “Optimal” engagement is during the mid-to-late morning and early afternoons during the week.
If you’re worried about your posts not getting seen enough, we get it. Consider how features like Stories can get more eyes on your content if it wasn’t seen the first time.
There’s no denying that brands are at the mercy of the Instagram algorithm for reach. Still, posting at the right times can still give your posts more visibility. Anything you can do to maximize engagement is a plus.
This speaks to the value of scheduling Instagram content. With Sprout’s newest tools, brands can schedule Stories, Carousels, Reels and Posts.
Scheduling content in advance ensures control and organization. Instagram scheduling tools ultimately help you hit that cadence we mentioned earlier. The ability to crosspost content from other networks helps here, too.
You can also use Sprout’s ViralPost feature to nail down your timing, too. Our platform analyzes your engagement history and identifies the best times to post.
4. Engage with customers, brand advocates and influencersPerfect your Instagram content plan with Sprout Social
In addition to scheduling a complete picture of your Instagram content calendar, Sprout offers even more features to perfect your brand’s feed.
Share IG-approved visuals with your team using our Asset Library, or test out our grid preview feature to make sure every aspect of your presence is true to your brand style.
Get a hands-on look at these features and more with a 30-day free trial of Sprout.
Figuring out how to get more Instagram followers means engaging your audience.
And one of the best ways to do that is through responding to and republishing their posts.
Enter the power of user-generated content. UGC campaigns build social proof by showing followers you’re invested in them. For example, Drunk Elephant regularly regrams their followers’ posts. They gather content with their #BareWithUs and #DrunkBreak hashtags.
Partnering with influencers with an established following is another way to grow your own audience. Content creators can get your brand in front of your target audience and build ongoing awareness for your products.
There’s a big difference between fake and legitimate followers on Instagram.
We get it, too. For the sake of quick growth, it might be tempting to purchase followers.
But the drawbacks outweigh the benefits 100%. Why? Because fake Instagram followers…
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Confuse your potential organic followers. An inactive, low-engagement account with a big following is suspicious. This can be a turn-off for fans that’d otherwise follow you and engage.
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Provide no monetary value to your business. Think about it. Your bot followers can’t buy your stuff, can they?
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Generate no buzz: If you have 10,000 fake followers, how many are going to engage with your posts? Does it really even matter if your posts are brimming with spam comments?
Real people have the ability to share, like, comment and engage with your Instagram posts.
Additionally, real followers actually appreciate the time you spend interacting with them.
For example, Lush Cosmetics takes the time to answer questions and engage followers all the time. This results in customers regularly returning to share shout-outs and positive comments.
6. Showcase your Instagram everywhere you canDon’t be shy about promoting your Instagram if more followers are your goal.
There is no one-size-fits-all approach to promoting your ‘gram, either. Here are a few ideas:
- Add social media icons to your website and marketing emails. Social media icons make it easier for people to find your business and help you connect with customers.
- Feature an Instagram feed on your homepage or product pages. Many ecommerce brands have dedicated UGC feeds on-site (see below).
- Reshare Instagram-specific content or announcements on other social channels. For example, you could talk about an upcoming IG Live via TikTok or Facebook.
Easier said than done, we know.
Filters. Captions. Content types. Post times. That doesn’t even scratch the surface.
There are so many variables to consider, right? It doesn’t help that Instagram’s algorithm is fickle. What works for one brand might not work for the next in terms of format and timing.
For example, some brands swear by Carousels. Others are all-in on Reels. Both approaches can work. You’ll quickly find on Instagram that some content performs better than others. This is why testing is so important.
Instagram’s native analytics are surprisingly powerful. That said, investing in Instagram analytics tools will take things to the next level.
For example, Sprout makes it easy to benchmark and analyze Instagram content across accounts. Rather than second-guess what’s working and what’s not, our reporting spells it out for you.
Be confident in your content strategy by analyzing those variables we mentioned earlier.
And if you’re unsure where to start, try analyzing your competitors. A staggering 90% of brands say that social media data helps them keep up with competing social accounts.
You obviously shouldn’t copycat your competitors. That said, you can take notes on what they’re doing or posting that drives engagement. Sprout’s Instagram Competitors report can provide a breakdown of what’s working in your industry. A little competitive research can go a long way.
Oh, and keep your ear to the ground with new Instagram trends. That way you won’t miss out on platform-wide opportunities to hop on trending content formats.
For example, Reels are popping off right now. Our data shows that 66% of consumers want to see more short-form videos from brands. In terms of trends, Reels should be on your radar.
8. Make meaningful conversation with your audience
Food for thought: 60% of marketers use Instagram as a service channel.
The platform is perfect for going back and forth with followers.
Likewise, many popular post ideas center around asking questions and engaging in a dialogue for a reason.
Off-the-cuff questions, shipping concerns or praise for products are all fair game from followers. Check out how Cometeer responds to all of the above on their Instagram posts:
Being supportive and responding promptly shows people that you care.
You’d be surprised at how your Instagram followers increase once you start acting more personable. Our Index research shows that 89% of consumers will buy from a brand after following them on social. Every interaction counts.
Again, try to respond to as many questions or comments as possible. Doing so could make or break someone becoming a long-term follower or a customer.
9. Find hashtags where your followers hang outInstagram hashtags have been a staple of the platform, like, forever.
That said, they don’t hold as much weight as they used to.
Dumping hashtags into your posts isn’t going to net you any new followers.
Especially when there’s so much noise on the platform.
Be proactive by focusing on industry-specific hashtags relevant to your customers. For example, Lashify regularly posts content to the #LashEducation hashtag. Tags are less general and competitive than #beauty. Becoming more visible within these types of tags is meaningful for brands in the right niche.
Understanding how your hashtags perform on Instagram is critical. With Sprout Social’s hashtag analytics tools, you have direct access to in-depth performance and usage data. Figuring out which hashtags to use is just a few taps away.
10. Take steps to delight your Instagram followersWhen you make your Instagram followers happy, you’ll see the payoff in audience growth. The best Instagram accounts have fans and communities (hint: not just followers).
The tips below are the building blocks for a follower-friendly account. Put them into practice in a way that aligns with your brand voice and values.
Avoid coming across as needy, solesy sales-driven or robotic at all costs.
So much of how to get Instagram followers for free is about creating an authentic community. For many accounts, this means building customer relationships. Content that highlights your personality and the humans behind your brand is a plus. This includes:
- Inspirational content
- Humorous content
- Re-sharing UGC with unique captions
- Storytelling posts
- Behind-the-scenes photos and videos
- Posts that raise awareness for social causes
How to get more Instagram followers (the wrong way!)
Disclaimer: Sprout Social does not endorse purchasing Instagram followers. We don’t recommend services that sell followings or “Likes.”
As the social space becomes more crowded and competitive, brands are willing to take risks for the sake of instant results.
We’ll say it again: brands shouldn’t buy Instagram followers.
Nobody should!
Why you shouldn’t buy followers on Instagram
Here are some reasons why buying followers to grow your account is a serious mistake.
Your real followers know what fake followers look like
Social consumers are getting savvier. Privacy concerns and social scammers have made people hyper-aware of weird activity. In short, people today are spam-detectors.
A sudden follower spike is a red flag. Not to mention having bots stink up your account with endless spam followers. This all damages your reputation and keeps you from growing an authentic Instagram following.
Fake followers bring nothing to the table
You’re probably worried about your Instagram metrics and understandably so.
That said, your follower count doesn’t mean much if your “followers” don’t drive engagement. You might look “bigger” at a glance but who cares? Consider how your engagement rate on the platform will suffer if your follower count is inflated.
If nothing else, buying Instagram followers violates TOS
No surprises here.
Consider how Meta has taken direct action against buying engagement in the past. They’ve gone as far as to shut down companies that sell likes. That’s because this practice violates the platform’s terms of service:
Help us stay spam-free by not artificially collecting likes, followers, or shares, posting repetitive comments or content, or repeatedly contacting people for commercial purposes without their consent.
How are you growing your Instagram following?Listen: getting more followers on Instagram isn’t going to happen by accident.
And despite what you might have heard, there’s no silver bullet solution for making it happen.
The tips above can help you build the foundation for an organic following that actually engages with you. Putting these tips into action is so much easier with a powerful publishing and analytics tool like Sprout.
Want to see our suite of tools in action? Start a free trial today and see for yourself!
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 groundworkHave a thoughtful Instagram marketing strategyIf 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.
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 profileTwo-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.
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 captionsInstagram 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.
Post content that’s meant to be re-sharedView this post on Instagram
A post shared by Will | Going Awesome Places (@goingawesomeplaces)
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 StoriesIf 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.
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 consistentlyYour 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 timeInstagram 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 storiesWhat 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 findableUse relevant hashtags to reach new usersSadly, 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.
Tag your locationView this post on Instagram
A post shared by Dee Campling (@deecampling)
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 usersIt’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
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 networksIf 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.
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.
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 codesYour 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 featuredFeature 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.
Source: Instagram
Step 4. Engage with your communityFollow relevant accountsYou 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 communitiesLike 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.
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 brandsDon’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.
Try an Instagram Live collaborationView this post on Instagram
A post shared by Rocky Mountain Soap Company (@rockymountainsoapco)
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.
Use interactivity features in StoriesView this post on Instagram
A post shared by Wine Spectator Magazine (@wine_spectator)
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 commentsOne 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 learningCreate an AR filterAR 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 contestsContests 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 InstagramOkay, 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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Cheat followers and likes on Instagram
Cheat on Instagram is in demand, as it is a quick way to increase the attractiveness of your profile. Followers on Instagram are the main indicator of the success of a profile. The more followers you have, the higher the commercial interest and trust of ordinary users in your account.
You can buy Instagram followers from us by choosing the services that suit you. This will increase interest in your content and significantly increase the chances that already live subscribers, real users, will be interested in it.
Likes on Instagram play an important role in getting posts into recommendations and allow you to attract attention in the feed. They display the attractiveness of your content to your profile visitors. You can buy Instagram likes on our service. In addition, we have available to cheat video views, stories, comments, coverage and other statistics.
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Use the "Quick order" or create a personal account on the service
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Free cheat Instagram likes
How to get followers on Instagram (all ways + program)
Instagram has become a serious marketing tool for sales and attracting the target audience for brands and bloggers.
However, due to high competition and complex algorithms, achieving popularity on Instagram is not as easy as it was a year or two ago. Now, if you really want to stand out and be popular, you need to be a lot more creative and work harder. To make the task easier, we will talk about how you can get followers on Instagram without investing a lot of money and without engaging in dubious activities.
Contents of the page
Is it worth getting subscribers?
The number of followers is one of the main indicators of success and popularity in social networks. In addition, Instagram is growing up and improving by leaps and bounds. Its new "smart" algorithms analyze the actions of other users on your page. The more visitors, views, likes and comments you have, the higher your posts rank and the larger audience they cover.
True, all this is true only if there are “live” subscribers. “Dead” souls or “live”, but useless subscribers, are more likely to destroy your account than help it become popular.
In pursuit of quantity, many forget about the quality of the audience. As a result, engagement rates in the account decrease, Instagram algorithms consider the profile uninteresting, and no one sees it at all.
Instagram has evolved a long time ago and now its algorithms give preference to users with interesting content and a high-quality audience that waits for posts and often interacts with them.
Today it is much better to spend a week and attract 100 “live” subscribers than to wind up 10,000 useless bots in an hour.
Of course, this is much more laborious and time consuming, but only “live” followers will benefit in the long run, become real admirers of your talent or clients. A “dead” audience can only become a brake on development. Therefore, summing up and answering the question, it’s worth saying that it’s definitely worth getting subscribers, but you need to choose the right methods for this.
Types of wrapping
Conventionally, all methods of attracting subscribers can be divided into two broad categories - useless and effective.
The first category includes cheats that are made using special software or services. Recently, they literally filled the Internet.
All useless cheat services work on similar principles. As a rule, for a small fee, a client can buy himself n-th number of subscribers. Basically, these are bots, which are then banned and deleted. Some services also provide an opportunity to buy bots for special points that can be earned by completing simple tasks on the service (subscriptions, reposts, likes, commenting).
Important! You should be very careful when using such services. Among them, there are a huge number of fraudulent sites that, under the guise of fake authorization, steal user login data from users.
Using such services is a quick and easy way to attract mass, but what's the point of empty numbers? Moreover, there are much more effective ways to cheat subscribers - mass following, mass liking, mass looking, hashtags, geolocations and many others. They can be used both manually and with the help of the Instaplus service, which automates these actions.
Instaplus is a safe way to attract live and interested followers to your Instagram account. You just need to spend a little time setting up - the service will do the rest for you.
Try Instaplus for free
What is the difference between Instaplus and bot cheat services? Using mass liking, mass following and other methods of cheating subscribers, you attract active users related to your target audience to your account. These users are willing to interact with your content and genuinely interested in it. This is a sure sign that in the future they can become not just dry account statistics, but also loyal customers.
Methods to cheat live subscribers
High-quality promotion of followers on Instagram is a rather long and laborious process. But if you are determined to attract only a live, active audience to your account, you want to take care of the promotion of your brand and expand its influence, these are the only effective ways to cheat.
Massliking
Mass liking is the mass affixing of likes to posts and comments of the right users to attract their attention. It works like this:
- The target audience is selected.
- Lists of users or "donors" with the target audience you are interested in are uploaded to Instaplus.
- Limits and parameters are set for automatic likes.
- A service or program to buy subscribers is launched.
Then everything is simple. The user sees your like and from interest goes to the profile. If the user is close to his subject and design, he subscribes.
In general, even if with the help of mass liking you can only get a reciprocal like, this is also very good. The Instagram algorithm will continue to promote your posts to him in the “Recommended” ones.
The conversion of this method of promotion is not so big - only about 3%. But this is purely your target audience.
Mass following
If you want to be followed, then you need to follow others.
This is a simple reciprocity rule that has proven to be very effective as a way to get subscribers.
The essence of the method lies in the mass subscription to users selected according to certain criteria and matching the description of your target audience.
You follow a user, he sees it in notifications and goes to his profile to see who has followed him. If the account is interesting to him, he signs in response.
The effectiveness of mass following depends on many factors - the selection of a user base, profile design, and much more. A few years ago, mass subscription gave amazing results. Today, users are already very sophisticated, but mass following still remains a stable way to get “live” subscribers.
Masslooking
Masslooking is a relatively new way to get subscribers. The essence of the method lies in the mass viewing of the Stories of target audience users. The logic of masslooking is similar to the two previous methods.
Many users rightfully want to know how many people are viewing their stories, as well as who exactly is watching them. As a result, many look at the statistics and view the list of their viewers. Seeing new faces there, the user has a completely natural desire to look into the profile.
This method has several advantages. First, it is a relative novelty. Far from everyone is still familiar with masslooking and perceive views sincerely. Secondly, you can view a huge number of Stories every day, and if at least 1% of users become your subscribers, this is more than enough for productive promotion.
Purchase of advertising
Like in other social networks, you can get followers on Instagram with the help of advertising. Instagram administration offers a variety of targeting ad formats - carousel, photo selection, ads in Stories and "Recommended". Among the proposed options, everyone can find what he needs to attract his audience.
However, targeted advertising can only be used by owners of business profiles and it works through Facebook.
Instagram offers quite flexible display settings. Users can be filtered by age, geolocation, languages used, area of work, study, analysis of behavior in social networks and many other parameters.
The cost of advertising is determined by means of an auction and depends on the niche chosen for impressions. The more brands with you want to show their ads to the selected category of users, the higher the cost of each impression.
The second way to advertise on Instagram is through influencers. Unlike targeted advertising, it is much more difficult to predict the effectiveness of such PR. Whether the advertising of a particular blogger was effective can only be understood at the output. With official advertising, everything is quite simple - you immediately see its cost, and if the results are not satisfactory, you simply turn off the campaign.
At the same time, placing an advertising post or Stories with a blogger can bring more targeted actions at a much lower cost.
It also has a positive effect on trust and brand loyalty. A blogger does not just advertise a product or service, he recommends them to his subscribers, who respect and listen to his opinion.
The advertising market for bloggers is quite chaotic. There are no generally accepted rules by which the cost is formed, all the nuances need to be discussed personally, and choosing a good blogger with a live audience is a whole art.
Exchange with other users
Interaction with other Instagram users is the main criterion for promoting a page and attracting “live” subscribers to it. Many users understand this, so they are ready to cooperate on mutually beneficial terms, or, as they say, “by barter”.
Barter is the exchange of goods and services. Let's say you ask another user to recommend your brand, and in return you offer them a similar service or a free copy of your product.
Both experienced Instagram users and start-up brands and bloggers are ready to cooperate on barter.
The main difficulties arise with the selection of a suitable page for advertising, because there are a lot of bloggers and commercial brands with a “dead” audience on Instagram. Such an exchange will not bring anything useful.
In order for the winding up of subscribers using this method to be effective, you need to carefully consider the choice of an advertising platform. It is recommended to choose pages of related brands and carefully analyze their account statistics before inviting for cooperation.
Collaborations
Collaborations are another interactive way to get followers for commercial accounts and personalities. In the standard sense, a collaboration on Instagram is usually called the interaction of brands and opinion leaders within the framework of a project.
For example, opinion leaders enter into cooperation with a product manufacturer, on the terms of which they advertise products or use them in their work, work, and so on. Subscribers see that their idol is loyal to the brand and they themselves begin to trust and become interested in him, or, in the desire to become closer to the blogger, they purchase goods and services.
The effectiveness of collaborations is due to the phenomenon of social proof.
When we see that someone speaks well of the product, uses it with pleasure, then we ourselves begin to treat the product more loyally, even if we ourselves have never used it.
Regular posting
It is impossible to get followers on Instagram if you have nothing to offer them in your profile. Instagram really doesn't like silence, so you need to post regularly, choosing different formats and the best time for posting.
Users who already follow you want to see new content. In addition, regular posting is needed to increase audience coverage. Posting regularly is a guarantee that your content will be seen by a large number of people, you will collect more likes and comments, which will make the Instagram algorithms promote your page even more actively.
It is recommended to publish at least 2-3 posts per day on various topics, as well as be active in Stories and IGTV.
How to get live followers on Instagram through Instaplus
Massliking, -following, -looking are called so precisely because of their mass character. If you put down a few likes a day and watch a couple of Stories, there may be an effect, but it obviously cannot be called a cheat on subscribers. When it comes to 700-1000 subscriptions per day, even more likes and views, then you can’t do without the use of helper services that automate actions.
The Instaplus automated promotion service independently performs all types of actions aimed at attracting subscribers. The only thing that is needed from the user is to correctly configure the operation parameters. To do this, you should set user filtering so that actions are performed only on the selected active audience related to your target audience. At the same time, you need to cut off bots, inactive accounts and stores.
Instaplus offers flexible customization with a variety of filters:
- The number of subscribers and subscriptions - helps to cut off commercial and dead pages.
It is recommended to set this parameter between 30 and 1000. - The number of posts is a parameter that reflects the user's activity. Active Instagrammers have at least 15 posts.
- Last published date is a filter that allows you to cut off inactive accounts. It is recommended to set a time frame between 7 and 30 days.
- Presence of an avatar — all “live” Instagram users have an avatar. If it is not there, most likely you have a bot page in front of you.
The service also offers to specify a list of “Stop words”, if they are found in the account description, actions to attract will not be performed. Using this list, you can easily cut off all unnecessary accounts. It is recommended to include the following words in this list: delivery, opening hours, order, schedule, online store and others like them.
Equally useful is the list of "White words". It should include all words that may indicate that the page belongs to a user from your target audience.
This will allow you to get exactly to the target audience and not waste time and resources on cheating other subscribers.
Then the matter remains small. You just need to select the type of task, set limits and start it up.
How to get followers on Instagram for free
All services that allow you to automate actions and facilitate cheating quite rightly charge a certain fee for their services. If you are not ready to pay yet, then almost all of the above actions can be done manually in the old fashioned way. True, in this case, you need to be prepared for the fact that cheating followers will be more time-consuming and painfully routine.
To manually attract users to your page, first of all, you need to create a user base for the target audience. You can select it by hashtags, geolocation, lists of subscribers of direct competitors and related pages. Otherwise, if you subscribe and like everyone in a row, the conversion will be very low.
When users are selected, you can move on to attracting their attention.
To do this, just go to the profile, subscribe, like, view Stories or leave a comment. Moreover, in each profile it is recommended to perform from one to several actions, but not to abuse them, so as not to scare the user away with their obsession.
When using the manual method of attracting subscribers, just as with the automated one, you need to adhere to the limits of the social network in order not to get banned. True, it is much more difficult to calculate them in this case.
Another way to cheat for free is to use services that work on the principle of exchange. Examples of such services are Bosslike, Ad-Social, Freelikes, Followers BOOM. You can earn coins on them by performing simple actions, and then use them to pay for cheating subscribers for yourself.
Do not forget also that most of the services that allow you to automate the acquisition of followers on Instagram have a free trial period, thanks to which users can evaluate the effectiveness of promotion without wasting their advertising budget.
For example, Instaplus offers a free trial period.
Advantages and disadvantages of wrapping
The main advantage of cheating is obvious - the more popular your account, the more users are subscribed to it - the more likely it is that someone else will be interested in your offer. In addition, new subscribers are always:
- increase in the client base;
- increase in sales;
- increase brand loyalty;
- positive changes in account statistics;
- more active promotion of your posts with smart Instagram algorithms.
There is only one disadvantage of cheating - with the wrong choice of methods or incorrect settings, there is a high risk of attracting bots or a non-target audience to your account. This can negatively affect the percentage of engagement and become a brake on account promotion.
Tips and tricks
Cheating live followers on Instagram is a mystically subtle process, located somewhere on the verge of shamanism and clear mathematical calculations.
Each brand and each blogger needs to look for their own way of interacting with users from the target audience, which works personally for them. There are, of course, general requirements for all.
In particular, none of the cheat methods will work if your account is boring, uninteresting, or incorrectly filled out. As you can see, all methods of cheating “live” subscribers are aimed at drawing their attention to your account. Then the user himself decides whether he wants to subscribe to the page or not. Therefore, if you are serious about promoting your profile, first make sure that:
- a simple and memorable account name is selected;
- installed an attractive and understandable avatar in miniature;
- correctly populated BIO;
- a unified promotion concept has been developed;
- profile content is designed in a single theme.
The Instagram audience is very demanding. If you want to have thousands of followers who don't unfollow, like, and comment on you, you need to be consistent, put in a lot of effort to promote, and stick to aesthetics throughout.
