How to get more Instagram followers: 18 hacks to skyrocket your fanbase [2025]

Your followers are your brand’s biggest advocates. Grow your Instagram audience and you’ll create a network of unstoppable momentum.

Instagram allows brands to showcase their personality, drive traffic, and increase sales, all in one handy platform. But building growth and generating engagement is no easy feat. 

Establishing an online following takes time and a great deal of strategic planning, not to mention battling the platform’s ever-changing algorithm. 

Thankfully, there are plenty of real and tangible steps you can take today to build your Instagram growth strategy, putting you on the path for online success. 

In this post, you’ll find a complete guide packed with powerful strategies designed to help you establish your online presence and grow your online following.

Followers = $$$

Instagram's visual approach allows companies to showcase their products and connect directly with consumers, making the platform a fertile ground for ecommerce.

As of 2024, 130 million Instagram users clicked on shopping posts, with a whopping 70% of consumers searching for products directly on the platform.

60% of Instagram users said they’d learned about new brands on the platform, and 50% said they’d made a purchase straight from the app. 

Moreover, Instagram has gained a reputation as being a trendy place to shop. In 2019, researchers found that brands made a positive impression on potential shoppers, simply by being on the platform. 

78% perceived brands on Instagram as popular, 77% believed them to be creative, and 76% found them more entertaining than those who weren’t using the platform for their business.

These stats are just a tiny snapshot of why Instagram is so important for business growth—so let's get into how to skyrocket your followers!

18 ways to get more followers on Instagram

This list has been specially curated to include a combination of tried-and-tested techniques, while also giving you the lowdown on the latest and hottest tips pros used to grow their following in the last few months. 

1. Optimizing your account

Before jumping straight in, it’s important to make sure that your account is optimized to generate more user traffic. This will be your bread and butter when driving engagement to your brand. 

It’s integral that you see your Instagram bio for what it really is - a landing page. To get started, you should ask yourself the following:

• Does your profile fit the bill? In other words, does it appear polished and professional? 
• Is it easy for your audience to locate?
• Does it encourage your audience to take action?

After you’ve considered these questions, you can start laying out your profile.

Put keywords in your bio, handle, and name

With millions of other Instagram accounts out there, and likely thousands dedicated to the same niche, you’ll need to find a way to make sure yours is discoverable. You can start by adding the right keywords to your account. 

Your username, profile name, and bio should all contain the name of your brand. Make sure that the bio confirms they’ve arrived at the right place. 

If your brand name is too long, you’ll need to shorten it without removing any keywords.

For example, the popular US fried chicken chain, Lee’s Famous Recipe Chicken is abbreviated to @leesfamouschick on Instagram. It’s still totally recognizable but fits in with Instagram’s username guidelines.

If you need to, you can include the full business name in your bio. 

Make sure that your account is marked as a business profile. This will give you access to important analytics, like who your followers are, how many you’re acquiring on a daily/weekly/monthly basis, and the content they engage with the most. 

If you haven’t already set your account to business while signing up, head over to Settings, click Switch to Professional Account, then select your Business Category, along with more details about your business. 

Next, you can add your location to your profile. This will help you rank higher in search results for local audiences. This is perfect for start-ups that want to drive more traffic to their physical stores, like restaurants or boutiques. 

If you have an online store that you’d like potential customers to visit, it's good to link these in your bio. This helps funnel your Instagram followers directly to your business. 

If you have a specific product or service that you’re currently promoting, it’s also a good idea to add an additional link that directs them here, as well as a general link to your homepage. 

Better yet, consider downloading an app such as Linktree, which allows you to share multiple links to different online destinations all in one place. You can direct your audience to several online spaces, including your storefront, blog page, deals, and other social media accounts. 

💡 Top tip: Add highlights to your profile

Instagram has a function that allows you to add previous stories to the Highlights section on your profile. Instagram stories only last for 24 hours, but if you’ve posted something on there that stands the test of time and is useful for future audiences, you can add it to your profile.

Highlights can be organized according to topic. So for one set of highlights, you could feature product photos, and on another, you could compile a sequence of handy Q&A sequences.

Don’t worry too much about organizing these right away. After all, you’ll need to start making your first stories first!

Choose a professional and high-quality profile picture

The next step is to choose a profile picture for your Instagram account. This should be as polished and professional as possible, as it’s the first visual component your audience will see related to your brand. 

If you already have a business logo, adding this here is perfect. Make sure that any text included inside the photo is legible and easy to read on a smartphone. 

2. Create and maintain a content calendar 

One of the most important steps in establishing and maintaining an Instagram following is creating a content calendar. This will help to ensure you’re allocating your time and resources in the most efficient manner. 

Keeping a detailed record of the content you’ve posted provides a snapshot of the topics you’ve covered, allowing you to balance out the type of content you produce, and invent fresh topics in the future. 

Followers will come to know and expect when to see new content from you, helping you meet your audiences’ expectations by setting up a regular schedule. 

Owning a content calendar will also help you stay relevant with the latest trends.

For example, you might need to publish content in conjunction with events and campaigns related to your industry. This could mean filming yourself attending a conference or simply weighing in on some big news in your field. 

It’s a good idea to examine some of the stats regarding the best times to post on Instagram. Research shows that the best time to post on weekdays falls somewhere between 10 AM and 2 PM. This time slot extends much further on weekends, ranging anywhere from 7 AM to 12 PM. 

Check out our full guide covering the best times to post on Instagram, so that you can reach as many people as possible.

3. Training your account 

A new trend that’s emerging that helps creators build an Instagram following is something called ‘account training.’ Whether your profile has zero followers or you’re looking to take things to the next level, this is a great tip for generating trending content ideas.

To train your account, all you need to do is spend a few days liking and saving content related to your niche, and then Instagram’s Explore page will gradually show you more and more content of this kind.

But what’s the point of all this? 

Anytime you need new ideas, whether it’s for captions, hashtags, or visuals, all you need to do is visit the Explore page and you’ll find some of the biggest trends related to your niche at the click of a button. 

For example, let’s say you’re a content creator who specializes in the food niche. If you treat your account like a business, and exclusively like and save content related to food, this type of material will automatically be generated on the explore page. 

Then, if you ever need ideas for new food content, or you want to hop on a new trend making waves in the industry, you won’t need to waste time painstakingly searching and sifting. 

The key is to treat your account like a business and avoid using it for generic browsing like a personal account. 

4. Mastering audio 

This brings us to our next point, which is mastering your audio. If you go on your reels page, you will find a variety of different short-form content related to your niche. 

On the bottom left of the screen, you’ll see the audio that’s been used in the video. To find out whether the audio is trending or not, and whether this is something you can capitalize on, simply tap the upward-facing arrow at the bottom of the screen. 

Once you’ve pressed this, you’ll be taken to another page that shows you all of the audio snippets that are trending on that particular day. You can scroll through this list to determine whether the audio featured in the reel is currently trending. 

If so, you can save it for later, or simply select another trending audio from the catalogue you can feature instead. 

💡 Top tip: find your audio first

When using trending audio in your reels, make sure to find the audio snippet before you start creating your reel. This is because some of the audio snippets can be quite specific, requiring you to produce a particular style of short-form content. 

For example, one of the hottest audio trends of 2024 was the ‘very demure, very mindful,’ trend. It’s a phrase that first originated on TikTok, and became a parody for practicing a modest, reserved, and reflective lifestyle. 

Some of the top trending videos showed people practicing stoicism in different situations, like completing mundane tasks, handling stressful situations, and taking time out for their mental health. 

The point is, that you need to produce content based on the audio clip itself, rather than trying to randomly assign a video clip to an audio snippet that just isn’t relevant.

5. Using polls effectively for engagement 

This new feature released in 2024 allows you to create user polls in your captions rather than in stories. 

It’s another way to generate engagement with your audience and display massive amounts of potential. 

For example, take this poll made by a user on Instagram this year. The post includes a short clip, along with a caption that reads, ‘The most powerful weapon tested in the history of mankind.’

Underneath the post, the user created a simple poll asking a ‘yes’ or ‘no’ question, and despite its simplicity, it ended up generating over 40,000 responses. 

You could use this feature for a wealth of different purposes. Some options include:

• Asking your audience questions about the type of content they like to see.
• Asking your audience opinion-based questions related to your niche. 
• Asking your audience questions about their personal goals and motivations.

This is another opportunity to get better acquainted with your followers and drive engagement to your account.

6. Define your brand’s aesthetic

Defining your brand’s aesthetic is one of the most important steps to building an Instagram following. 

Even if you’re an influencer and not a company, developing an aesthetic is the best way to market your account. This helps users to identify your posts without needing to see your username. 

The key steps behind developing your brand’s aesthetic include:

• Defining your target audience: Consider who you’re trying to appeal to in your posts. Allow this help you to craft your aesthetic to attract your dream following. Check out some other accounts that represent your target demographic well for inspiration.
• Choose your color and tone: Next up, choose some of the primary colors and tones you want to build your aesthetic. Whether you’re set on muted, pastel tones, or bright, vibrant colors, it’s important to be cohesive in each post.
• Plan your grid: It’s useful to consider what your posts will look like paired alongside one another on your profile. Think of your grid as a scrollable gallery, and while each post may be different, they should have transitional elements linking them all together. This could be as simple as adding a white border to each post, for example on photographer @brandonwoelfel's account.

7. Take advantage of Instagram effects

This is perhaps one of the most underrated ways to generate engagement on your Instagram Reels. To get started, simply:

• Upload the video you want to edit. 
• Click on the three stars located at the top of the screen.
• You’ll see a variety of different effects pop up at the bottom of the screen.
• Click on one of these and it will automatically add the effect to your video. 

If you don’t like any of the effects featured on the screen, you can use the search bar to find one that’s more fitting to your video. 

It’s recommended that you use Instagram for your video’s effects rather than another editing platform because it can help boost your content in Instagram’s algorithm, helping newer accounts get a wider reach. 

8. Focus on short-form video content 

According to Meta, reels receive 140 billion plays across Facebook and Instagram each day. 

Reels have helped Instagram gain market share over TikTok in recent years, while also making it far easier for brands to expand their community, capitalize on trends, and collaborate with other creators.

Reels are a great way to engage with audiences, allowing users to showcase their personality and creativity. They also let you hop on new trends, with the help of hashtags and challenges to connect with new audiences. 

Most importantly, they aid brand awareness, helping to build trust among consumers through product demonstrations. 

Let’s say for example, that you’re someone who sells makeup.

You could create a ‘get-ready-with-me’ tutorial demonstrating how you use your own products. Viewers will be able to see the merchandise in real-world settings, rather than under specialized lighting in a studio background.

Because you only have a few moments to grab your audiences’ attention, it’s good to make use of some of the various built-in tools Instagram has to offer. These include:

• 🎤 Voice-overs
• 😊 Stickers
• 🎵 Music
• 🎬 Cuts
• 🚀 Transitions

One of the handiest features of Instagram Reels is that they can be cross-promoted on different platforms. So if you own a TikTok account, they can be easily shared here too. 

If you’re looking for some ways to monetize your Reels, why not check out our handy guide? We take a look at the best ways to get paid for Instagram Reels.

9. Produce content audiences actually want to see

This might sound tricky at first, especially as there are so many variables to consider. 

But the key to producing content that engages your viewers is by focusing on entertainment. This is becoming increasingly important, with shifts in Instagram’s algorithm placing a focus on “full screen, immersive, entertaining, mobile-first video” content.

This doesn’t mean that every reel or live session you post needs to be action-packed, but it does need to be interesting.

Don't be afraid to experiment with different formats and try out different trends. 

10. Use pins to grow your following

This is a useful tip if you have a post that’s already trending on Instagram and driving a lot of engagement. 

Some viral posts will receive thousands of responses, and oftentimes, some important comments can get lost. 

If you’ve got a post that’s performing particularly well, take advantage of this by simply writing a comment stating, ‘If you like this content, follow us for more.’ To prevent this from getting lost, pin it to the top of your comment list. 

This will help incentivize those engaging with the post to follow your account. You don’t need to do this with all of your content, but if a particular post is gaining a lot of momentum, this is a great way to capitalize.

11. Harness the power of shares

According to Instagram CEO Adam Mosseri, shares are one of the most important ways to build a following on Instagram. 

In a 2024 interview, he stated: “More important than watch time or like and comment counts is send rates, [and] generally, I think the rate is more important than the count. So the number of sends per reach, the number of likes per reach, the number of comments per reach. 

“But sends per reach correlate more, in my experience, with overall reach than anything else, because we are looking to help people discover content they want to connect with friends over, and so sends is a great proxy for that sort of connection over creativity.”

To take advantage of this metric, make sure that your content has the best possible chance of being shared by:

• Posting relatable, engaging, and humorous content: Memes, witty content, and funny videos are all highly shareable.
• Sharing tips and hacks: Everyone appreciates a helpful hack that helps solve their everyday problems. This could be anything from cooking, to cleaning, to money saving.
• Creating engaging visuals: High-quality videos that have striking infographics and compelling designs are more likely to be shared. 
• Hop on to trends: Engaging with current trends whether they’re viral hashtags or popular challenges automatically makes your posts more relevant and shareable. For example, take a look at the cucumber trend that went viral in 2024. Everyone was rushing to make these salads.

12. Leverage the power of Influencers

We’re all aware of the power influencers hold over social media followings. Simply getting mentioned by an influencer nowadays can generate a hoard of new fans. 

But more often than not, if you’re just getting started out and are still relatively unknown, it’s likely you’ll need to take a slower approach with influencer marketing. 

• How do influencers make money? Social media monetization guide
• How to find influencers for your brand

Here’s what you can do:

• Research and list of influencers who are most likely to appeal to your audience and fit in with your brand. 
• Start out small and target micro-influencers who have a small but steady following related to your niche. 
• Try to be as discerning as possible and don’t work with someone just because they have a hoard of followers. Check out their posts, explore their content on other social media platforms, and get to know them by engaging with their content. This will help you decide whether or not this is someone you want to promote your brand. 

13. Make the most of tags

Hashtags have been a staple of Instagram since its inception, and though they’re not considered to be as relevant or popular as they used to be, they’re still incredibly effective in enhancing your brand’s visibility when used correctly.

It’s safe to say that dumping a load of random hashtags isn’t going to increase your visibility or drive more traffic to your profile. But, by focusing on industry-specific hashtags that are relevant to your niche, you can easily become a part of the conversation.

Once you start typing a hashtag into the Instagram search bar along with your keyword, you’ll be met with a bunch of relevant phrases. For yours to rank, you’ll need to be picky about the ones you choose. 

For example, an account that has 1,000 followers shouldn’t use too many hashtags that have over 500,000 posts in the search function.

Instead, focusing on smaller hashtags that have less than 100,000 significantly increases the chances of achieving a higher ranking. For example, these hashtags associated with the embroidery niche are highly varied in post volume. 

Choosing any of the featured hashtags from 54.1k and below would make a much bigger impact and help maximize your visibility. 

14. Check your analytics regularly 

To effectively Increase your following on Instagram, you’ll need to keep an eye on the analytics feature to figure out what’s working and what’s not. Instagram has a function called Native Analytics on the app, which allows you to look at:

• Views: The number of times your content has been played or displayed. 
• Accounts reached: The number of unique accounts that have viewed your profile, along with the top countries, top cities, top age range, and gender. 
• Interactions: The number of actions people have taken after viewing your post, including likes, comments, and shares.
• Ad insights: These include cost per ad goal, cost per ad goal results, and the budget.

These metrics will help you to evaluate your target audience, track your follower progress, and identify trends. 

For example, if your goal is to build brand awareness, your follower growth will directly correlate with this. 

15. Try user-generated content

User-generated content has become a popular marketing strategy in the past few years, and some of the best examples of this technique can be found on Instagram.

User-generated content involves other users promoting your products while tagging your handles. You can encourage this kind of content by coming up with a unique hashtag relevant to your brand that followers can insert in their video/picture’s caption. 

Your hashtag can help persuade purchasers to show off the items they’ve bought from your website. This works well as a promotional tool, especially when it comes to physical products.

For example, if you're running a clothing website, and there’s a new dress you’re promoting, having users style themselves wearing the new product gives a more realistic picture of what the garment looks like on different body types. 

This helps to build trust among consumers, allowing them to view the product in real-life settings, rather than seeing a contrived, highly-produced atmosphere. 

16. Create live shows 

Live shows are great for building brand awareness on Instagram. These sessions are something you can schedule into your calendar to partake in periodically. 

Live sessions can benefit your brand in several ways, including: 

🛠️ Offering product/service demonstrations: What better opportunity does your audience have to gain real knowledge and insight about the products you're promoting than from you? Use this as a chance to show off the different features and benefits of what you’re selling by showing the products in action. 

🎬 Give behind-the-scenes looks: You can make your followers feel special by offering them behind-the-scenes footage, giving sneak peeks into your daily operations. For example, if you’re someone who sells pottery pieces, you can show your audience how you design new pieces, how you prepare the clay for firing, and the different types of paint you use for decoration. 

🗣️ Live Q&A sessions: These are considered a staple of social media, and allow you the opportunity to answer any questions and concerns related to your brand. You can prepare for a Q&A session beforehand by sifting through previous comments left by users or asking your followers on social media. You can then start listing some pre-prepared topics. 

Live sessions help to humanize your brand and foster more personal connections with your audience.

• Best live streaming platforms for creators
• How to make money on TikTok live streams

17. Partner with brands that match yours

If you’re looking for more Instagram followers, partnering with other brands that are similar to yours can help boost your following, as well as engagement levels on your feed.

You need to choose a brand that fits in with your audience’s interests but doesn’t directly compete with the products/services you have on offer. 

For example, back in August, Pizza Hut teamed up with Xbox to reward customers with a free game pass. Designed to draw in hungry gamers who don’t have free hands to eat an elaborate meal, the campaign was shared on Instagram in the form of a Reel. 

When you’re reaching out to another brand for a potential partnership, make sure to highlight the mutual benefits a collaboration might yield. 

In terms of what the partnership involves, you could host an Instagram live session together, combining both your followers or work on larger, higher-production campaigns like the one featured above. 

Check out this handy guide that helps you choose the right brands to partner with. It explores the most important things to look for in a prospective business partner.

18. Run giveaways on your channel 

Giveaways are a staple for brands on Instagram. They’re an effective marketing strategy for reaching wider audiences, and helping expose your product to potential customers outside your usual following. 

The most effective way to run an Instagram giveaway is by asking your followers to:

• Comment and tag their friends in the comments section
• Make sure they’re following your account
• Share the post on their story

These steps ensure your giveaway receives the maximum amount of exposure and draws in potential participants. 

Just make sure that you choose an appealing prize designed to target your chosen demographic, attracting a quality following that will stick around once the giveaway is over.

Monetizing your followers!

With these 18 powerful strategies, you’re on the way to gaining loads of loyal Instagram subscribers committed to your brand and its vision.

But, this is just the first step in taking your business to the next level. Once you’ve acquired your following, there are many different ways you can monetize your Instagram.

These include:

• 📺 Monetized ads:
  You can opt to have advertisements added to your profile, so when people scroll through your feed, they’ll see these in between your posts. Creators have complete control over the ads that are shown, and they’ll earn you a share of the revenue received from them. 
• ✅ Badges on Instagram Live:
  Once you’ve gained a large following, you can start earning money from your live shows. You can set up Instagram’s ‘badge’ feature, which your followers can purchase to receive a special heart next to their username and make them stand out in the comments section. Creators earn 100% of the revenue from badges purchased, minus tax.
• 🔔 Subscriptions:
  Your followers can become Instagram account subscribers, paying a monthly fee to support you and get access to exclusive content. They’ll also receive a subscriber badge next to their name so that you can see them in comments and DM’s. 
• 🎁 Gifts on reels:
  This allows followers to send gifts on reels to show their appreciation for the content you’ve produced. The amount of money gifted varies, and depends on how much they enjoyed your video. 

These features are all fantastic options for monetizing your Instagram account, but the best way to start earning the big bucks is by combining your Instagram business with another platform allowing you to sell digital products and services.

If you want to maximize your earning potential, there is one platform that offers everything you need to get started - Whop.

Want to boost your earnings even more? Sign up to Whop

Most users don’t make a ton of money from Instagram. This is why so many Instagram users are diversifying their income stream, funneling their followers directly to their websites, online courses, membership programs, and other digital products.

Whop provides creators with a centralized platform where they can offer exclusive content, products, and services to their loyal followers.

Some of these include:

• access to Discord and Telegram communities
• online courses
• ebooks
• one-on-one coaching
• digital products
• templates
• workbooks
• masterminds
• access to virtual events
• SaaS
• …and much more

Unlike Instagram which limits direct monetization, Whop grants your followers access to all of these features, providing them with communication, connection, and products, all in one place. 

This not only gives you a far more stable income but also allows you to take better charge of your community.

Discussion forums, chats, and direct messaging all foster deeper connections with your audience, while the advanced analytics tools give you a deeper understanding of your community’s needs and preferences.

Signing up to Whop means that you won’t be utterly dependent on Instagram’s ever-changing algorithms, helping you to develop a more sustainable online presence. Better yet, it's free to get started and takes less than 10 minutes to create your whop!

FAQs

Should I buy followers on Instagram?

Whether you’re building your brand or promoting your products, it can be tempting to take shortcuts when you’re first establishing your following. 

There are a lot of cheap services available that allow you to buy thousands of followers for only a few dollars, but remember that you’re only paying for a number. 

Many of the purchasable accounts out there aren’t even real humans who will engage with your content - they’re just bots. This won’t help your account’s long-term growth, as your posts won’t show up on the Explore page, and won’t be viewed on anyone’s feed. 

Furthermore, buying fake accounts also makes it really tough to measure any real metrics. 

Finally, it also goes against Instagram’s community guidelines, which read: "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…" 

So, you could potentially be kicked off of the platform for violating this rule. 

Who has the most followers on Instagram?

Cristiano Ronaldo is currently the most-followed person on Instagram, with over 600 million followers as of 2024. 

How to hide followers on Instagram?

You can hide followers on Instagram by following these steps:

• Go to the Privacy section in your account
• Select the ‘Followers’ option
• Adjust your settings to ‘Private Account’

Can Instagram detect fake followers?

Yes, Instagram can detect fake followers. The platform has audit tools that make it possible to identify and remove fake followers from an account. This is done via an evaluation of a user’s follower base, and figuring out the percentage of suspicious or fake accounts. 

How many followers do you need to reach out to brands?

If you’re looking to reach out to a brand that you’re hoping to work with, there’s really no set number of followers you need to do this. However, most brands tend to prefer working with accounts that have at least a thousand followers or two. 

Does 10K followers make you a micro-influencer? 

Instagram influencers can be placed into three different categories based on the number of followers they have. These include:

• Nano-influencers: 1K–10K followers
• Micro-influencers: 10K–100K followers
• Macro-influencers: 100K–1M followers

How do I see people who have unfollowed me on Instagram? 

Checking to see if an account has unfollowed you on Instagram is easy. All you need to do is head over to the profile in question, then tap the box that says ‘Following.’ Select this, then you’ll be given a complete list of all the people that account is currently following. If you’re not there, it’s safe to say you’ve been unfollowed. 

Why is Instagram good for advertising? 

Instagram is good for advertising because the platform’s engagement rate is higher than any social media site. The ads are also non-intrusive, making them less likely to irk your audience.