I stared at my Instagram page two years ago and had 287 followers. Most of them were family, plus that one bot who always comments fire emoji on everything I post. It was very frustrating. However, what changed everything for me was that instead of trying to figure out how to gain more followers, I started making real connections with people. It may sound clichéd, but if you do this correctly, it can be an effective method to grow your following on Instagram.
How To Increase Followers on Instagram
Simply put, Increasing your Instagram following requires work. however, this does not mean that you should sit glued to your phone all day or use paid advertisements. Rather, it means working in a way that utilizes your resources efficiently and understands how to get the most return for the time you invest.
11 Proven Tips to Grow Your Instagram Followers
The eleven recommendations I am providing you today were created based on my own experience growing my Instagram account and the experiences of many other people who have grown their accounts naturally. Some of the suggestions may be simple and some may take you outside of your comfort zone, which is normal. Take whatever resonates with you personally and ignore everything else.
Table of Contents
1. Post Consistently (But Don’t Burn Yourself Out)
I attempted the “post every day no matter what” approach, but I only made it to 19 days. After that, I started posting blurry images of my coffee cup simply to keep my streak alive; which was a foolish mistake.
Although we rarely discuss it, quality is much more important than quantity. If you can create three fantastic posts per week, then those three posts will be far superior to seven mediocre posts posted weekly. Your audience is not looking at how many posts you have created, they are determining if each post will be worth their time. Quality is what matters. Post when you have something worthwhile to share and not just because it is Tuesday.
2. Use Hashtags Strategically (Not Just the Popular Ones)
For the first six months, I used hashtags like #instagood and #photooftheday and got about five followers from them. Big hashtags aren’t doing anything for you anymore. Post gets lost in the multitude of hashtags.
What works better is using a variety of hashtag sizes. Use some large ones, some medium ones and some small ones. The smaller ones actually allow your post to be seen. If you post fitness pictures, for example, the hashtag #gymtips has over 5 million posts, but #homeworkoutforbeginners only has about 30,000 posts. Which do you think will get you more exposure?
3. Create Engaging Captions That Spark Conversations
“Beach Vibes” is not exactly a caption, it is also known as a lazy caption. So, sure enough your engagement will show.
When you’re writing captions think about sending a text to your friend. Maybe tell your friend how you got lost trying to get to the beach, and if they have ever had a really bad vacation. Make them laugh, think or feel something about it. I’ve switched from using generic captions to telling a real story, and as a result, I have seen my comments triple. I am not joking; I saw an immediate increase in my comments. And I always reply to every one of my comments, no matter how short they are, because when you ignore people, they take notice!
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4. Engage With Your Audience (And Other Accounts) Daily
Initially, you may think that spending 20 minutes going through various accounts and posting comments is just a form of procrastination and doesn’t help you build your brand, but you would be wrong. The algorithm rewards you for leaving genuine comments (i.e., not just “Nice,” or emoji responses).
Authentic, thoughtful comments help boost your engagement in your niche due to the way the algorithm works. For this reason, respond to every DM (direct message) and comment from your followers so Instagram knows you are an active user. Ultimately, this activity allows you to connect with other people in your community, develop new, authentic friendships with them, and also grow your brand through engaging content.
5. Leverage Instagram Reels (They’re Still King for Reach)
For 8 months I avoided Reels since I felt uncomfortable in front of the camera. Eventually I ended up posting a random reel organizing my closet. That one reel received over 23k views which was quite a shock. At that point my normal posts were getting roughly 300 views. Instagram continues to heavily promote Reels on their platform.
As far as filming goes, all you need is your phone, you don’t need anything fancy. If you use current trending audio, add closed captioning (because most people will watch with the volume off), and include an attention-grabbing thumbnail image as the first frame of your reel it will do well. My Reels that have had the worst appearance occasionally received the highest number of views. I think it’s because the audience values content that provides value or entertainment more than quality of production.
6. Optimise Your Profile to Convert Visitors
What is it about you that makes people want to follow you?
I find profiles with bios that say things like, “Just living life” with no highlights to indicate what kind of posts they’ll find, to be a complete waste of time. If you want people to take an interest in your page, make sure you include specific information about what they can expect if they choose to follow you.
For example, write “Helping busy moms prepare meals in 30 minutes or less,” or “Sharing budget travel tips based on my experiences from visiting over 30 countries.” If you’re a personal brand, use your real picture instead of a logo as your profile photo. Have highlights that showcase your best content categories (e.g., Family, Vacation, Food). It should be clear to anybody who visits your profile that they’ll be able to see what you do and get value out of it within 5 seconds of viewing your account.
7. Collaborate With Others in Your Niche
After requesting to “Go Live” together, I found my audience began to rapidly grow on social media with that collaboration; although at the time both of us had a follower count of 800, doing just that 1-time Live co-host session yielded approximately 60 additional followers each. So yes, at this point it does not seem like a big number, but back then it was a big deal to both of us having less than 1000 followers.
Make sure to identify similar niche creators or those with similar size audiences to your own, send them a DM with a clear outline of the collaboration opportunity (going LIVE together or creating short videos – such as Reels), and ask if they would want to collaborate. A lot of creators will respond positively, and you should take advantage of each other’s audience by working together.
8. Share User-Generated Content (And Tag Your Community)
If someone tags me or mentions my posts, I will share it in my stories. It’s a good idea first to ask them if they want me to do this, and I have always received very enthusiastic responses. When I do this, I create a snowball effect because the person whose post I have shared typically will also share my repost with their audience.
This helps demonstrate to potential followers that there are real people who are engaging with my material. I created a hashtag for my community, and I go through the posts with this hashtag at least once a week. The more you show appreciation for your followers, the more they will feel invested in your success.
9. Post at the Right Times (When Your Audience Is Actually Active)
To find out when your followers on Instagram are most active, check out Instagram Insights. My followers tend to be at their highest activity between 8 and 10 PM on weeknights, but yours will vary based on your audience.
However, don’t worry too much if you don’t post during prime time hours. Even if I posted something at 2 AM, it received good engagement, as long as the quality of the post was high. Instagram’s algorithm now prioritizes content based on user interest rather than just time of post. Although the timing of a post can help with gaining an initial boost of engagement shortly after posting, it won’t make a poor-quality post successful or a great-quality post unsuccessful.
10. Analyze Your Insights and Double Down on What Works
The majority of Instagram accounts have access to informational content such as engagement statistics that are available without cost; however, most individuals do not utilize this feature. I personally check mine every Sunday after I drink my early morning coffee and review my analytics to see what my followers find most interesting.
Look for recurring trends in the information above; perhaps your personal stories are saving many times compared to your product images that didn’t receive nearly as many saves. Or you may be posting carousel posts that receive engagement compared to single photos which do not receive engagement.
Keep producing the content that your audience engages with most. Many users continue to post content that their audience has no interest in. Then they wonder why they are not growing their following or inability to grow their users’ engagement level. Use the evidence of statistics to guide your posting habits rather than your assumptions.
11. Be Patient and Authentic (The Secret Ingredient)
Be honest; building your audience online is a lengthy process that takes time—months not weeks. If someone tells you that it takes only 30 days to grow to 10k followers, then they may be selling fake products or using services which will cause your engagement rate to drop significantly.
I used to think that if I posted the same type of material as larger accounts with their hashtags and similar styles, then it would help my growth. I found out this was not true; it hurt my engagement instead of helping it. People have an uncanny ability to sense inauthenticity from even a distance.
The One Thing Most People Get Wrong About Instagram Growth
Many Instagram users strive for the 10,000 follower mark because it allows you to use the swipe up option in Stories (and also obtain that coveted blue check next to your name). But I’ve seen accounts with 50,000 followers with less engagement than those with 2,000.
The number of followers you have doesn’t matter if they’re not interested in your content. If I were to choose, I would rather have 500 engaged followers than 50,000 uninterested ones who scroll through my posts without a thought. Instead of worrying about the number of followers, start thinking about what value you provide to your audience.
What problems do you solve? What are you teaching? What makes your content important to your audience? If you can answer those questions honestly, then your followers will come naturally. The accounts that you enjoy following are probably not your favourites because they have the most followers; you likely follow them because they consistently post content that you’re interested in. Be that person for those who follow you.
Conclusion
Choose two or three of the suggestions above; don’t try to implement all eleven because you will become overwhelmed. Perhaps concentrate on writing better captions or improving engagement levels this month; incorporate Reels into your routine next month. Consistency over a long period will produce compounded results.
Q.1 How long does it take to grow 1000 followers on Instagram?
Answer – Honestly? It depends on how much effort you’re putting in. When I was actively posting 3-4 times a week, engaging daily, and using Reels, it took me about 2-3 months to hit my first 1000. But I’ve seen people do it faster and slower.
If you’re consistent with the strategies above and your content actually provides value, expect anywhere from 2-6 months. Anyone telling you it’ll happen in two weeks is either lying or talking about buying fake followers, which tanks your engagement anyway.
Q.2 What’s the best time to post on Instagram in 2025?
Answer – There’s no universal answer because every audience is different. My followers are most active between 8-10 PM, but yours might be morning scrollers. Check your Instagram Insights under the Audience tab – it literally tells you when your specific followers are online.
Q.3 Should I buy followers to kickstart my growth?
Answer – No. Just no. I know it’s tempting when you’re stuck at 200 followers and everyone else seems to be growing. But bought followers are fake accounts that never engage with your content.