Yes, this post is about growing your following on Instagram. No, it’s not about buying followers and all kinds of other shady ways to “grow your Instagram followers fast”.
Instead, here are some legit, totally non-shady ways to grow your profile consistently, with long-term engagement goals in mind.
- How to get followers on Instagram – fast
- Rule number one: Don’t buy followers
- Grab attention – consistently
- Post content relevant to your audience and their problems
- Use relevant hashtags
- Include keywords in captions
- Aim for content people want to share
- Engage with your audience
- Know what you’re offering them – and be clear about it
- Collaborate with other brands and creators
- Optimize your Instagram profile
- Follow accessibility guidelines
- Post Reels
- Promote user-generated content
- Host contests and giveaways
- Be real and relatable
- Monitor and analyze
- Frequently asked questions
- How to get 1k followers on Instagram in 5 minutes without posting
- How many followers on Instagram to get paid?
Simplify Instagram Business
Management with One Tool
- Manage & reply to comments and DMs in one place.
- Monitor ad comments from multiple accounts.
- Automate answers to repetitive questions.
- Schedule posts to multiple accounts, on desktop.
- Analyze performance and monitor hashtags.
- Keep track of your competition.
- Create or schedule in-depth reports in seconds.
How to get followers on Instagram – fast
…is probably something you’ve typed into your Google search bar to get here. (No judgment. It’s totally fine to want to grow your following.)
And no, this article won’t tell you how to do it fast – because in social media, that’s something that’s usually not sustainable in the long run. What it will tell you, though, is what to do to steadily grow your followers and keep them, building a long-lasting relationship with them and an engaged community.
Because let’s face it – the follower count is really nothing more than a vanity metric. Yes, it makes bosses feel good, but other than that, on its own, it doesn’t mean much. Because you can absolutely have many followers and still have no results for your business because of that.
An unengaged following, however big, is just a number. And there’s no silver bullet to get many of them fast and without effort (and especially consistent effort.) I know, harsh.
So, let’s take a look at how to get followers on Instagram – maybe not fast, but effectively, and for good.
Rule number one: Don’t buy followers
Just don’t. That could probably be the entirety of this section.
But let me explain.
By buying followers, you’re not doing your brand any favors. Even if right now, you think otherwise. Maybe you think, for example, that having many followers right at the start is something that’ll increase your authority and make people trust you.
Well, what do you think: is pretending something you’re not (at least not yet, because I’m sure you’ll get there) and buying fake followers a good tactic to build trust?
There’s your answer.
Also: fake followers probably won’t engage with your content, so you’re potentially hurting your engagement rate down the line. Which is probably the exact opposite of what you want to achieve, right?
And then, Instagram (just as any other social media platform) might also frown upon fake followers. So, essentially, you’re doing everything wrong in the hopes of getting the right result. I hate to break it to you, but it’s not going to work.
Now that we cleared that up, onto the next.
Grab attention – consistently
This involves a couple of things, so let me break it down.
- For people to want to follow you, they need to see some kind of value in it. Like interesting content that resonates with them.
- To let them know you have it, you need to grab their attention – with visually appealing posts, well-edited videos, and hooks in your text that make them actually read your captions.
- And for them to keep following you, you need to be consistent in your efforts. Post on a regular basis, and engage your audience every time you post.
- Also, develop your own content formats and style (both verbal and visual) that people recognize you by. Here’s an example from the Innocent brand who are known for a certain visual style and humor.
- And don’t forget about posting at the right time to catch your audience when they’re most likely to notice your content.
To make regular posting easier, use a scheduling tool like NapoleonCat, where you can create a posting schedule for your Instagram content, including Reels and Stories, alongside content for other social media platforms like Facebook and TikTok.
Post content relevant to your audience and their problems
Speaking of content that resonates with your audience. Research what your audience is interested in first.
What do they want to hear about? What do they find interesting/amusing/entertaining? And what content actually brings new followers in?
Check it regularly in your social media analytics to adjust your content on a regular basis. Also, keep checking what works for your competitors and other similar Instagram accounts.
That doesn’t mean “copy and paste” – but rather, check content analytics (which you can also do in NapoleonCat), and use the insights to figure out what your audience is into, when they’re into it, and inspire your content strategy.
Also, digging into your customer personas (and, first of all, creating personas that actually help you create content, including information about what problems they’re looking to solve and what they’re into online) will help with this point immensely.
By the way, you can test NapoleonCat for free here – no credit card required during signup 😉
Simplify Instagram Business
Management with One Tool
- Manage & reply to comments and DMs in one place.
- Monitor ad comments from multiple accounts.
- Automate answers to repetitive questions.
- Schedule posts to multiple accounts, on desktop.
- Analyze performance and monitor hashtags.
- Keep track of your competition.
- Create or schedule in-depth reports in seconds.
Use relevant hashtags
Though – let’s face it – often overused by brands, hashtags were made to let people discover content they’re interested in. It’s what hashtags do. So don’t forget about them, but bear some of the best practices in mind to use them effectively:
- Don’t put random hashtags in your posts. Instead, think about the audience you want to reach – what specific hashtags are they likely to search for or follow on Instagram? They’re the ones that will help you reach that audience.
- Don’t overload your captions with too many hashtags. 10-15 (relevant!) hashtags are usually enough.
- When you use super popular hashtags (however relevant), chances are your content on Instagram will be lost among all the other posts that also use them. So also use less popular, but very specific hashtags that are likely to reach your audience.
- You can also create your own hashtags. You will of course have to build their popularity over time (so it’s by no means a quick fix), but once people start using it, you have your own user-generated content channel on Instagram. (More about user-generated content in a little while.)
Include keywords in captions
Apart from hashtags, social media platforms, including Instagram, have their own SEO algorithms. So make sure you use keywords and phrases that are relevant to your industry and the topics your potential new followers are interested in.
Using relevant keywords is also more likely to get you on the Explore page, where your content can get exposed to potentially thousands of new followers.
Aim for content people want to share
Creating content with sharing in mind is a great way to boost your follower count over time. After all, people sharing your content means they’re showing it to their followers. So figure out what’s shareable when it comes to your brand. It could be things like:
- Funny content and memes
- Educational content that’s snappy, bite-sized, and visually appealing (e.g., carousels with tips on a given topic.)
- User-generated content (more on that one in a second.)
Engage with your audience
Talk to them. Reply to comments and messages to stay in touch with your followers and show them you care. Especially if you expect engagement from them. I mean, who wants to engage with someone that doesn’t engage back?
Of course, that’s not a build-your-following-fast kind of tactic, but it will pay off long-term. And will also let the algorithm know you’re fine to be shown to others who might be interested in what you have to say. And you know what increased reach means? More new followers.
Now, if you struggle to keep up with all the conversations, get the right Instagram management tools for business to help, like NapoleonCat’s Social Inbox.
That way, you and your team will easily keep track of all the comments and messages (and even ad comments) across your social media channels overall.
Know what you’re offering them – and be clear about it
I.e., have a clear value proposition on your social media that’s consistent with your overall messaging. And make sure it’s clear to your audience – so that they know why they should follow you in the first place.
It sounds kinda obvious, right?
Well, just take a wee scroll on Instagram to see it’s not clear to many brands creating content.
So don’t forget about it – everything on your Instagram account: your captions, your designs, your videos, your Instagram bio, all of it should convey a clear message based on the value you bring to your target audience.
Protect your social media from offensive comments and SPAM
Automatically hide or delete comments containing spam under your organic posts and ads – with an all-in-one social media tool.
Collaborate with other brands and creators
This is a very effective way to get your brand in front of new eyeballs 👀, especially if you collaborate with accounts that have a similar audience. And they don’t have to be competitors.
There are many brands that offer complementary products or services, not to mention influencers in your space, who can agree to cross-promote content along with your brand.
There are a few ways you can collaborate on Instagram, including:
- Instagram collab posts where you get together to create a post with another account, and it’s visible to both your audiences in their feeds. (If that content follows what I’ve already said before, there’s a good chance it will get you new, targeted followers.)
- Regular collaborations – with Instagram creators who can introduce you to their followers and help you increase the follower count on your Instagram profile.
And you know what the advantage of this way of building your audience is over buying followers? You guessed it – they’re already engaged when they decide to follow you, and that’s only good news for your content performance numbers.
Optimize your Instagram profile
Don’t forget to clearly let people know who you are and what you offer with your profile picture and bio. It seems like a small thing, but it really is about the first impression. So don’t forget about:
- Making your profile picture super clear, high quality, and visually attractive. (Don’t forget to check what it looks like in the feed, on your Stories, and in the comments – that’s all the places people will see it.)
- Write a compelling bio. A good idea is to include a few bullets with what you offer and what people can expect from your Instagram profile.
- Add a link to your website or landing page.
- Include keywords and phrases to make your profile potentially discoverable by people who are interested in the topics you’re talking about on your Instagram profile.
- Pay attention to your Story highlights in your profile – you can treat them like pages in a website menu, with categorized information and visually coordinated covers that complement the entire profile.
… Unless you’re a brand like Innocent and have a totally different (but still totally on-brand) way to hook your potential followers 😉
Follow accessibility guidelines
If your content is not accessible, you might be potentially excluding a large number of followers just because they can’t consume your content for various reasons.
People use different technologies like screen readers, or they read your Stories instead of listening to them. Below are some tips on letting them enjoy your content and keeping your content compliant with accessibility standards:
- Add subtitles to video content for those who can’t listen to them (including Instagram Stories and Reels)
- Write descriptive text for your Instagram posts
- Write with screen readers in mind. For example, capitalize each word in hashtags and limit the use of emojis in captions and text overlays.
Post Reels
Yes, you probably knew I was going to say it. But the truth is – Instagram’s algorithm likes Reels and makes them easily discoverable, even to non-followers. Which makes Reels a great tool to let people find you and connect with you (provided that, of course, your content ticks all the boxes mentioned above and makes them want to connect for more.)
The Reels and Explore pages in the Instagram app are where people find all kinds of Reels that Instagram thinks they might like. So take that opportunity and get that interesting content in front of them.
Here’s a handful of best practices that can make your Reels more effectively discovered:
- Use keywords and hashtags to reach the right audience
- Post Reels to your feed to be discovered by the people who already follow you and can engage with them to give the algorithm a little nudge
- Use trending audio and filters
- Add on-screen text and captions for people who can’t listen to your Reels
Promote user-generated content
User-generated content is and has been one of the best ways to engage customers and reach new people.
That’s how you:
- Create loyal brand advocates
- Show others people like your brand/products (and let them hear it from their peers, not from your marketers)
- Engage people in creating your story and passing it on to others who can become your followers.
But how do you get user-generated content on Instagram?
- Create a branded hashtag people can use to add content related to your brand
- Collaborate with influencers (see above) to share that hashtag among people who are not yet following you but might be your customers
- Encourage reviews and testimonials – not just on social media – then share them on Instagram
- Organize contests to gather user-generated content like Reels or photos.
- Engage in conversations with customers – sometimes they can be a goldmine of interesting content you can later share as posts or stories.
Host contests and giveaways
Speaking of contests, they’re always a good way to build your following, especially when you require the participants to follow your account (obviously.)
There’s a caveat though here: contests and giveaways might (and usually do) also attract people who are not interested in your products or services, or your brand.
So even though you’ll gain some followers if following you is a requirement, these people will either become dead accounts (effectively lowering your engagement rate) or will eventually leave, making the rise in followers only temporary.
It’s pretty similar to buying followers in that, actually, so pay attention to who you’re attracting, and whether that’s a good strategy for your account.
Be real and relatable
Yes, I know that everyone says things like “just be yourself”, “be authentic,” and all that kind of stuff. And what does that even mean?
And it’s not really about oversharing or TMIs. It’s more about – knowing who you are as a brand and being true to your brand personality and values, showing its human side like:
- Relating to real-world events (to an extent that makes sense for your brand, of course. Don’t overdo it, though.)
- Showing the people behind your brand – you and your team (and also your customers.)
- Use a language your customers speak on Instagram (and in real life.)
- Remember what I said in the beginning about buying followers? Fake is the exact opposite of real, so again, don’t do it. 🙂
Monitor and analyze
Use Instagram Insights or an external social media analytics tool like NapoleonCat to know exactly what works with your audience and what helps your following grow. You’ll have hard data to act on and do more of what makes sense for your Instagram presence.
Simplify Instagram Business
Management with One Tool
- Manage & reply to comments and DMs in one place.
- Monitor ad comments from multiple accounts.
- Automate answers to repetitive questions.
- Schedule posts to multiple accounts, on desktop.
- Analyze performance and monitor hashtags.
- Keep track of your competition.
- Create or schedule in-depth reports in seconds.
Frequently asked questions
How to get 1k followers on Instagram in 5 minutes without posting
Short answer – you can’t. Not without buying followers, which I’ll never recommend. Building an organic following takes time and consistent content, but only this way you can build a loyal following that’s actually interested in what you have to offer.
Buying followers doesn’t make sense from a business perspective if you think about it. It can harm your engagement (the more unengaged followers you have, the lower your engagement rate.), damage your reputation, and even get your account blocked.
Some people think that a large following makes an account look legit, but if they’re random followers (and it’s not hard to tell, especially if you’ve seen a thing or two on Instagram), it’s actually the opposite.
So, seriously, don’t do it. And if you’re wondering how to get followers on Instagram, read (or re-read) the article above.
How many followers on Instagram to get paid?
Well, Instagram doesn’t directly pay users, so there’s no threshold for that, either. But follower count will matter for things like brand collaborations, for example. Don’t forget that in the end, it’s the increased engagement that matters, so a smaller following that’s more engaged will usually bring in more profit than a large but unengaged following.
You may also like:
- How to Get Paid for Reels on Instagram
- How to Go Viral on Instagram (or at least increase your chances)
- How to Find Trending Audio on Instagram (and boost your Reels)
- Everything You Should Know About Instagram Reel Dimensions
- Instagram Shadowban: Is It Real? (and how to fix it)
- 400+ Best Hashtags for Instagram Reels to Use
- Crafting the Perfect Instagram Bio: 10 Ideas to Inspire You
- What’s The Best Instagram Post Size?
- Instagram Highlight Cover: Elevate Your Profile
- How to Go Viral on Instagram (or at least increase your chances)
- 5 Ways to Use Instagram Reels for Digital Marketing
- Best Instagram Followers Apps
