Audience Growth

22 Tips To Get More Followers on Instagram

by · Updated Sep 6, 2024

Wondering how to get more Instagram followers? Whether you are looking to build a new account from scratch, or you are experiencing a plateau in your audience growth, figuring out how to attract new followers on a crowded platform like Instagram can be confusing. But we’re here to help!

Below, we dish out 22 tips for optimizing your Instagram account to quickly gain more followers.

22 Tips to get more followers on Instagram

  1. Make a plan
  2. Post content your audience actually wants to see
  3. Optimize your Instagram profile
  4. Find the right time to post on Instagram
  5. Post more often
  6. Post consistently
  7. Schedule your Instagram posts
  8. Jump on trends (when they make sense)
  9. Uplift your audience
  10. Engage with your audience
  11. Run giveaways
  12. Engage with other creators (and brands)
  13. Collaborate with other creators
  14. Experiment with Reels
  15. Go live
  16. Use hashtags strategically
  17. Write stronger captions
  18. Use SEO keywords in your content
  19. Use location tags to generate local interest
  20. Add descriptive alternative texts to your posts
  21. Cross-promote on other platforms
  22. Analyze insights and adjust your strategy

Tip 1: Make a plan

Before you try to get Instagram followers, you need to have a clear idea of why you want them. Are you building a career as a content creator or influencer? Do you want to use Instagram to promote your digital products and boost sales? Are you using Instagram to promote other work you’re doing, like creative pursuits or expertise in your field?

Answering these questions will give you an idea of what kind of Instagram followers you should aim for, and what you can do to attract them to your account.

Once you have that figured out, you can make a plan that includes the kind of content you’ll make, how often you’ll post, and the other strategies you can use to build your following.


Tip 2: Post content your audience actually wants to see

The best way to get Instagram followers is to get engagement. And the best way to get engagement is to post content your audience wants to see. That content should be engaging and authentic:

  • Engaging content invites people to like, comment, and share it. Not by literally telling them to do these things, but by posting content that naturally invites them to do so — because it’s relatable, interesting, or helpful.
  • Authentic content is the sort that only you can make. Sure, you might follow the broad strokes of another creator’s strategy, but you’ll be putting your own spin on it. Only authentic content attracts and retains high-quality Instagram followers.

Tip 3: Optimize your Instagram profile

While a post or a Reel is what will initially bring in potential Instagram followers, your profile (aka your bio) plays a role in getting them to hit “Follow.” Every bit of your profile should communicate what you’re about in a way that draws followers in.

First, make your profile pic on-brand and eye-catching. Placeholder graphics and blurry selfies might be fine for personal accounts, but if you want to build a following you’ll have to make your profile pic pop.

Then, make sure your bio captures what you’re about in a few lines. You can either plug keywords from your niche or have a few witty sentences that bring in followers by revealing your natural charm. Make sure you use a link-in-bio tool to make the most out of your links, too.

Here are some great examples from creators Kyyah Abdul and Skyelar Garcia of @managedbyskye:

Skyelar Garcia @managedbyskye

Next, make sure to optimize your Highlights. Instagram Highlights let you put some of your best content front and center in distinct categories, just under your bio. Use them to give potential Instagram followers a preview of what your whole account is about.

For example, a fitness influencer might create Highlight categories for workouts, nutrition, behind-the-scenes clips, and competitions. Or maybe you’re a cook — you can use Highlights to showcase different recipes. Whatever way you organize your Highlights, remember to add a catchy cover image to each category to grab people’s attention.

Need further inspiration? Take a look at @bakedbylaora’s neatly organized Highlights:

baked by laora


Tip 4: Find the right time to post on Instagram

While there’s no single best time to post on Instagram that works for everyone, there are some general rules you can follow to grow your audience.

According to research by Hootsuite, the best time to post on Instagram is 11 a.m. on Wednesdays. That being said, the actual best time to post is whenever your audience is most active on Instagram. That could be early in the morning or late at night. We recommend researching your ideal follower’s Instagram browsing habits, and try to post when you know they’ll be scrolling on the app.

If you’re not sure where to start, you could try posting once a day, at the times Hootsuite has identified as the best times to post:

  • 12 p.m on Mondays
  • 9 a.m. on Tuesdays
  • 11 a.m. on Wednesdays
  • 11 a.m. on Thursdays
  • 2 p.m. on Fridays
  • 9 a.m. on Saturdays
  • 7 p.m. on Sundays

After a few weeks of posting, review your data and see which posts perform best. Then try prioritizing these days and times.


Tip 5: Post more often

A foolproof way to grow your Instagram following is by posting as many times as you can comfortably manage. Think of it this way: every single piece of content you post is another shot at getting picked up by the Instagram algorithm, bumped up in the Explore page, and drawing in followers.

With that in mind, wouldn’t you want to try and post as often as possible?

Posting more often also lets you experiment with new types of content, content lengths, posting times, and more. The more you experiment, the better your chance of finding the type of content that’ll really resonate with your potential followers.


Tip 6: Post consistently

To grow your Instagram following, simply posting more often isn’t enough. While it helps boost engagement if you post new content to Instagram every day, it will only benefit your account if you can consistently produce high-quality content.

If your followers are used to seeing a feed post, Stories, or a Reel from you every day, but all of a sudden your publishing cadence drops down to once or twice a week, it’s likely that you’ll see your engagement rate drop too. 

Don’t get us wrong, that doesn’t mean you need to post every day. The key here is to simply be consistent with whatever schedule feels right and manageable to you.


Tip 7: Schedule your Instagram posts

Trust us on this one, Instagram scheduling tools will be your new best friend. There are plenty of social media management tools on the market, many of which — such as Later — have features that go beyond simply scheduling posts. 

Planning and automating your Instagram posts also helps you build a broader content strategy while saving you time on tedious tasks. That means you can focus more on producing engaging Instagram content!

Pro tip: In addition to planning ahead and implementing automated posts, we recommend creating a backlog of content so if you ever need to take a break from social media (IRL), you can.  


A good trend (and its accompanying hashtag) can bring some serious attention to your profile, especially if you nail it.

You don’t want to make all of your content just about chasing trends, but hopping on the occasional trend can pull in more followers than ignoring them completely. Just make sure the trend actually fits with your niche and that you’re not confusing your audience.


Tip 9: Uplift your audience

While social media often gets a bad rap when it comes to mental health and negativity, content creators know they wield tremendous power to make a real change.

Whether you’re sharing some of the struggles you’ve gone through, giving encouragement to Instagram followers going through a difficult time, or helping them find the courage to find their authentic selves, you can give them the boost they need. And while gossip and drama might get lots of engagement, positivity wins in the end. Get more real followers who’ll stick around by creating content that uplifts them, instead of demoralizing them.


Tip 10: Engage with your audience

At the end of the day, you won’t see any success on Instagram without your audience. For this reason alone, expressing your gratitude for your followers on Instagram is a good practice to get into. One of the best ways to do this is by responding to direct messages or comments on your posts.

Publicly engaging with your followers helps build a greater sense of community, and a safe space for open conversation.

You can also use question and poll stickers in your stories to bring in followers. Not only is using these features a smart way to increase engagement on your Instagram account, but it also helps promote genuinely fun interactions that’ll allow you to learn more about your audience (and vice versa).

Here’s an example from designer and creator Barbiana Liu, who used the feature to discuss and answer career-related questions from her followers:

You can also create Instagram Stories with poll stickers to share fun surveys or seek opinions on trending topics:


Tip 11: Run giveaways

People love free stuff, so it’s no surprise that running a giveaway campaign on your Instagram feed can be an effective method for increasing engagement and gaining new Instagram followers.

Before you launch your giveaway, some important points you’ll want to consider include:

  • Eligibility terms
  • Entry requirements
  • Giveaway time period
  • Winner selection
  • Prize details

Some examples of general eligibility include age restrictions (e.g. 18+), residency limitations, or any other requirements you find necessary. 

Meanwhile, giveaway entry requirements can include: 

  • Liking your Instagram post 
  • Following your account 
  • Tagging friends 
  • Using specific and relevant hashtags 
  • Sharing your post as an Instagram Story 

It’s best to create entry requirements that are trackable and will guarantee some kind of engagement with your Instagram account. 

For example, avoid asking your followers on Instagram to “share a post with two friends,” because you’ll have no way of tracking exactly how they’ll share that post. Instead, ask them to “tag two friends” in a post on your Instagram feed or via Instagram Stories. That way, you’ll be notified when they share your content. 

Here’s a great example from lettering artist Aurelie Maron, who ran a giveaway of three different prizes, including her online course:


Tip 12: Engage with other creators (and brands)

Here’s the deal: If you choose one place to spend all of your time and efforts promoting your Instagram account, we recommend investing in engagement with other creators and brands.

The best (and most affordable) marketing you can receive as an Instagram influencer is to be promoted, or recommended, by an influencer or brand that your audience already trusts. Even better if that influencer is within your content niche.

The best place to start is to follow accounts that are relevant to your content niche and like their posts. Better yet, slide into other Instagram creators’ DMs, or comment on and share their posts. 

Plus, the more you interact with Instagram creators of a similar content niche, the more Instagram’s algorithm will work in your favor.


Tip 13: Collaborate with other creators

Once you’ve spent some time engaging with Instagram creators, the next step is to collaborate with them. One of the best ways to do so is by co-hosting an Instagram Live. 

When you co-host an IG Live with another creator, you automatically tap into their existing audience and expose your content to a whole new group of followers. It truly is a win-win scenario.

Wondering what a co-hosted IG Live could look like? Take a look at writer Jezz Chung and life alignment coach Didier Sylvain’s Live session, where they had a candid conversation about the use of personal power:

You can also collaborate by co-authoring Instagram posts. That way, your Collab post will be delivered to both your audiences, meaning it’ll get more reach.


Tip 14: Experiment with Reels

Similar to TikTok, the short-form video feature Instagram Reels is designed to help users discover new creators and content, making it a great way to attract new followers.

When it comes to IG Reels, you want to start your video with a captivating hook that grabs your viewers’ attention within the first few seconds. No pressure though! Just think about what visuals, text, or script you can produce that will pique your audience’s curiosity (another reason why it’s so important to really know your audience). Here are a few extra tips specifically for making every Reel a banger:

  • Having a seamless loop from the end of your Reel to the beginning will make it more likely that a user will watch it multiple times, which means you get more views.
  • Establishing a clear beginning, middle, and end will keep your viewers engaged the whole way through.
  • Use trending sounds and music to increase the reach and engagement of your Reels.

Here are some excellent examples from recipe developer Hajar Larbah, beauty influencer Steph Hui, and creator Jordan Watson aka @aceking:


Tip 15: Go live

Instagram Live is a great way to engage more directly with your existing audience while giving potential Instagram followers a taste of what your brand is all about. It’s more off-the-cuff than your usual polished Instagram content, giving you the opportunity to be more authentic and show off the real you.

To make each livestream a great draw for potential organic followers, try these tips out:

  • Make it interactive: Some of the most successful streamers invite their viewers to interact with them, whether that’s just through chat or using features like polls.
  • Acknowledge viewers throughout your livestream: First-time streamers often make the mistake of not acknowledging their audience enough. Check in every so often by asking a question or reading from the chat.
  • Let viewers guide the flow: Depending on your niche, you can create livestreams where audience interaction is the point rather than just a bonus. Gamers can let chat decide what they play next, beauty influencers can let viewers pick which products they should try, and so on.

Tip 16: Use hashtags strategically

Hashtags help Instagram understand how to categorize and group content, and they’re certainly a feature that you don’t want to ignore. However, you also don’t want to go overboard with hashtags. While you can use up to 30 of them, you’ll want to limit yourself to the most relevant ones. Generally speaking, experts recommend using no more than three to five hashtags per post.

You want a healthy mix of popular and niche-specific hashtags on your Instagram posts. This will help broaden your discoverability on Instagram while also making it easy for your followers to find your content. And if you don’t feel like there’s a hashtag that accurately represents your content, just create your own! Who knows? You might even spark your own hashtag revolution.


Tip 17: Write stronger captions

For too many Instagram creators, the caption is an afterthought. They put a ton of effort into their posts, Reels, and stories, only to throw a few lines into the caption that don’t really bring anything to their content as a whole.

When used correctly, your caption can enhance your content, bring in more Instagram followers, and even promote other content. Here’s how you can make your Instagram captions better:

  • Write a few drafts: In the same way you don’t post the first snapshot you take, you shouldn’t post the first caption that comes to mind. Try three different versions for each piece of content, and rework the one you think fits best until it really sings.
  • Tease the best part of your post: If you made a Reel or video, try writing a caption that refers to the climax in a clever way while just teasing it. No spoilers here. Even static photos can benefit from a clever tease.
  • Reference other content: In an ideal world, your best content will interrupt a potential follower’s scroll and send them right to your account so they can follow you. But that’s not always the case. You can increase your chances of this happening with lines like “check my highlights for more of this” or “more in today’s story!”

Tip 18: Use SEO keywords in your content

SEO (also known as search engine optimization) is a powerful tool for anyone looking to grow their online presence. Essentially, SEO keywords are placed strategically across various written content to help drive traffic to your page from search engines.

Historically, Instagram users discover new content on Instagram’s Explore page via hashtags, location tags, usernames, and profile names. Recently, however, Instagram has added keywords to Instagram Explore’s search capabilities. This means good SEO practices can help you get your content discovered and bring in more organic followers.

For example, let’s say that you’re a pastry chef with an Instagram page dedicated to promoting your wedding cakes. Optimizing your captions, with keywords like “wedding cake,” “wedding cake inspiration,” or “wedding cake design” can help drive traffic to your page. Here’s an example from mother-daughter cake-baker duo, @rosalindmillercakes:


Tip 19: Use location tags to generate local interest

There are many advantages to using location tags in your Instagram account, such as: 

  • Local targeting: Geotags allow you to tag the specific location where your content was created. This is a great tool for influencers or businesses that are trying to target a local audience, as it attracts users in that particular area.
  • Discovery by location: Instagram users can explore posts and Instagram Stories from specific locations by clicking on geotags. This means that when you tag a location, your content becomes visible to users who are browsing through posts associated with that place. 
  • Community engagement: By tagging a location, you’re essentially joining a community of users who’ve also tagged that location in their posts. This creates an opportunity for you to engage with other creators and individuals in that community.
  • Local recommendation: Instagram’s algorithm takes into account location-based content and interactions. By using geotags, you increase the chances of your content being recommenced to users who are currently based in your location, or who have shown interest in it.

Take London-based table stylist and hosting extraordinaire Kirthanaa Naidu as an example. When sharing recommendations for places to eat and go shopping in her city, she uses the geotag “London, United Kingdom” to make her posts more easily searchable:


Tip 20: Add descriptive alternative texts to your posts

Adding a descriptive alternative text (alt text) is valuable for a number of reasons, such as:

  • Accessibility: Alt text provides a textual description of the visual content for users who are visually impaired or rely on screen readers. By incorporating alt text into your posts, you’re demonstrating to your audience that you care about inclusivity.
  • Improved SEO: Search engines can’t interpret images but they can interpret text. Another bonus of incorporating descriptive alt text into your Instagram posts is that you’re only further enriching your search engine optimization. Alt text is valuable information for search engines about the images you use, which can help improve discoverability. 
  • Enhanced user experience: Since alt text provides additional context and information about the image, it enriches the user experience for your entire audience (not just those with visual impairments). 

As an example, check out the alt text in this Instagram post from the National Park Service:

Pro tip: Keep alt text concise, descriptive, and relevant to the image. Focus on conveying the most essential details and context of the image. While there’s no need to get excessive with your alt text description, you can still have a little fun with it. 


Tip 21: Cross-promote on other platforms

Just because you’re trying to grow on Instagram doesn’t mean it’s the only place you should post your Instagram content. Chances are, if your followers have Instagram, they probably have accounts on at least one or two other social media platforms, and they probably consume content through other channels too.

Here are some cross-promotion tips:

  • Link your Instagram on other social media platforms: Link to your Instagram account from other social media accounts like TikTok, YouTube, Pinterest, Facebook, Snapchat, etc. 
  • Embed Instagram posts on your website or blog: It’s super easy to embed your Instagram posts on your personal website or blog. So don’t put your Instagram posts in a corner! Let your content run free on other platforms, sit back, and watch that organic traffic roll in.
  • Promote your Instagram on your podcast, newsletter, or other channels: If you have a podcast (or your friend has a podcast, or your friend’s friend has a podcast), it would be a great place to promote your Instagram account. Similarly, if you have a newsletter or a Substack, you can also encourage your subscribers to follow your Instagram account for more content.

Tip 22: Analyze insights and adjust your strategy

As you start building momentum on Instagram, the social media platform’s analytics tool will quickly become your new best friend.

Harnessing the power of Instagram’s analytics is essential for understanding your audience and refining your content strategy. 

Start by exploring the Insights section of your Instagram Business profile, where you’ll find valuable data about your audience demographics (such as age, gender, and location). Use this information to tailor your content to their preferences and interests. 

You should also analyze the performance of your posts, Instagram Stories, and reels to identify trends and patterns. Look for metrics like reach, engagement, and impressions to gauge the effectiveness of your content. 

The idea here is to pay attention to the types of posts that resonate the most with your audience and replicate their success. 

By leveraging Instagram’s analytics, you’ll gain actionable insights to optimize your content strategy, increase engagement, and foster stronger connections with your audience.

how to make money on instagram guide

How To Make Money on Instagram

Get this free guide for 9 proven ways to make money as an Instagram creator.

5 Ways to make the most of your IG followering

Alright, so you’ve learned all there is to learn about building up your following on Instagram. But now you have a sizeable audience and aren’t sure what to do with it. What a great problem to have! Don’t worry, we have solutions for that too.

  1. Promote content from other channels
  2. Sell digital products
  3. Secure some brand deals
  4. Get advice from experts who follow you
  5. Build your brand

Promote content from other channels

Unless you’re looking to be a hyper-specialized Instagram influencer, you should have a presence on other platforms. This lets you explore new types of content, reach new audiences, and build relationships you otherwise wouldn’t be able to.

With all the work you’ve put into building your audience on Instagram, you’ll have a much easier time growing on platforms like TikTok or YouTube. Regularly promote content you’re creating elsewhere, and you’ll have your own growth hack.

Sell digital products

Creating and selling digital products is one of the best ways to build up your income as a creator. They’re easier to make and sell than physical products (like merch), and they’re a more reliable source of income than most (like creator funds and ad revenue).

You don’t need an advanced skillset to create your first digital product. Free tools like The Leap make it super easy to get started in just a few minutes. Identify a topic you’re an expert at and turn it into a valuable, helpful product people can’t do without.

image

Create and sell digital products in minutes using The Leap!

Secure some brand deals

The bigger your audience, the more lucrative brand deals get. You might have already secured a few of these as you were growing, but your opportunities to work with brands will be more common and more worthwhile as you build up your following.

Be careful to stay authentic as you secure these deals; try only to work with brands whose products and services you would actually use yourself.

Get advice from experts who follow you

As you progress in your content creator career, you’ll start running into more and more problems you can’t fix with a Google search (or one of The Leap’s excellent guides). What do you do in these situations? And how can your audience help you?

Well, the bigger your audience, the more likely it is you have experts following you who’d be able (and willing) to answer your questions. Put out a shout asking for help, and you’ll be surprised by the replies you get.

Build your brand

What do you want your audience to think when they see or hear your name? That’s personal brand. And building a strong brand is essential once you get past a certain size. With a larger audience, putting out regular content that fits the brand you want to build creates a word-of-mouth effect, meaning you become known as a specific type of creator.

With a strong personal brand, you’ll get more brand deals, more income, and a larger following on all platforms. You just have to start somewhere.

how to make money on instagram guide

How To Make Money on Instagram

Get this free guide for 9 proven ways to make money as an Instagram creator.

Monetize your Instagram account today

What’s that you hear? Cha-ching! Oh, right, just the sweet, sweet sound of you making bank from your Instagram content.

Seriously, though, there are plenty of opportunities to make money on Instagram — from brand partnerships and affiliate marketing to Instagram subscriptions and selling digital products, and more. 

If you dedicate time to following even half of the audience growth steps shared above, we can pretty much guarantee that you’ll see a spike in your Instagram followers — and more followers equates to higher potential earnings.

Ready to start monetizing on Instagram? Get our Short-Form Video Monetization Mini-Report to learn how.

How To Monetize TikTok, YouTube Shorts, and Instagram Reels

Grab this mini-report for big insights into cashing in with short-form video.

How to get Instagram followers FAQ

How can I get more followers on Instagram quickly?

There’s no single guaranteed model for getting millions of followers in a few weeks that will work for every creator, but as long as you follow these tips, you will absolutely gain more followers:

  • Create engaging and authentic content: The best-performing content has these two key ingredients. It should invite people to comment, share, and like, while being something only you could have made.
  • Experiment with different formats: You don’t know what kind of content will bring in more real Instagram followers until you try making it.
  • Be active throughout Instagram: Just posting content isn’t enough. Find other creators and engage with their content. Reply to comments from followers. Contribute to all conversations, not just the ones you want to start.
  • Collaborate with like-minded creators: When you collaborate with other creators, you get access to their audience, increasing your reach. It’s a great way to bring in followers you might not be able to reach otherwise.

Does Instagram punish you if you buy Instagram followers?

Since buying Instagram followers is against Instagram’s terms of service, it’s more than likely that you’ll get punished for it. Your account might get suspended or permanently deleted.

Even if Instagram doesn’t catch you, buying fake followers isn’t a long-term strategy for growth. Bot followers and other low-quality accounts get routinely deleted by Instagram, meaning relying on fake Instagram followers to grow just isn’t going to work.

How can I get on the Instagram Explore page?

Instagram’s algorithms are constantly evolving, meaning the exact factors affecting who gets on the Explore page are subject to change. But at the end of the day, you want to focus on getting as much engagement on Instagram as you can — without relying on cheap tactics.

how to make money on instagram guide

How To Make Money on Instagram

Get this free guide for 9 proven ways to make money as an Instagram creator.

Follow The Leap on TikTokInstagram, and YouTube for more audience growth tips. We also make a newsletter.


Further reading

This article was originally published in June 2023, and updated in July 2024 with additional information.

jenni stablein
About the author

Jenni Stablein

Jenni Stablein is a content marketer and freelance writer passionate about producing compelling and educational content for a range of clients across tech, fashion, product design, and art. When she's not writing, Jenni is nerding out about clouds (yes, clouds) or how to keep things alive in her garden. 
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