How to Get More Followers on Instagram: 15 Lifehacks to Start Doing Now

Instagram has 2 billion active monthly users as of January 2024. These stats are highly impressive and encouraging and make this social media platform a must-have for brands, businesses, and even individuals. Although Facebook has more users, the engagement rate on Instagram is far higher. This is the most promising social network for developing a fan base. Let’s have a look at the 2024 statistics:

• According to Statista, Instagram boasts 2 billion monthly users and over 500 million daily active users, which is a fraction compared to Facebook yet still an impressive number.
• As of January 2023, almost 85% of Instagram users are younger than 45 years old.
• Instagram threads have over 15.36 million active users.
• Instagram has an average of 4.2 billion likes per day.
• Active users spend, on average, 24 minutes on Instagram per day.
• Over 500 million people use Instagram stories every day.

With such amazing statistics, one would think it is very easy to increase followers on Instagram. The truth is, it can be quite a hassle. It is a very competitive social space, and users need a clear-cut strategy if they want to grow followers. Here are 15 tips on how to get more Instagram followers.

Our 15 Tips on How to Get More Followers on Instagram

1. Know Your Goals

As with any long-term venture, success on Instagram, one of the most popular apps out there, starts with proper planning. You want to get more Instagram followers, but you have to first ask yourself:

• Why do I want to get more followers? 
• What is my goal? 
• Who is my target audience?
• What do I hope to achieve by getting more followers?

Your goals to get more Instagram followers have to align with and complement your overall business strategy down the line. Some examples of goals you may have include:

• Growing awareness about your business 
• Increasing sales
• Driving more traffic to your website

By establishing your end goal, you will quickly settle on a theme and identity for your Instagram account. It will also help you determine your page’s feel and aesthetic features to convey your brand story.

2. Optimize Your Instagram Profile

Your Instagram profile has to be a coherent work of art with a consistent theme. From your bio to how you style your posts, your profile should be visibly attractive and easy to navigate.   

Your bio is very valuable to your account. This is what welcomes visitors to your profile. The first impression you create should be able to instantly capture the visitor’s attention. It should also be able to convey key information relating to your brand. The 150 characters in the bio should:

• Highlight important information about you or your business
• Provide your visitors with a way to contact you
• Showcase your brand
• Have a valuable call to action, such as making a purchase, viewing content, following you, or registering for an event

When users stumble on your profile for the first time, you need to quickly have them interested before they leave. If your bio is not enticing enough to your target audience, you will never gain followers. You can get attention with funny emojis or directional characters that point to a specific part of your bio. It could be a clickable link to your YouTube channels or other social media platforms.

Instagram Stories and Reels are also an essential part of your bio. The story highlights feature allows you to select and save specific stories into highlights. You can name and organize these highlights for your visitors to see. The highlights will appear right below your bio, and when clicked, they will show the saved stories. These highlights are going to remain in your profile indefinitely until you decide to change them. You can use this to showcase content that fully represents your brand. This is the best opportunity to take control of your narrative and convince visitors you are a worthy person to follow.

Here are some examples of how to get a lot of followers on Instagram with an optimized profile: 

• Showcase behind-the-scenes stories from the manufacturing process or a photoshoot 
• Post or repost videos and photos of people who are using your products, along with their positive feedback 
• Go live to show people what unique features your product has and answer incoming questions from viewers 

While your content does not have to be monotonous, it’s important to ensure consistency.  Use a theme that will shine through every post, making your eventual Instagram grid look like one interrelated unit – one that accurately represents your brand image.

3. Partner with Creators and Influencers

Influencers are the trend-setters on Instagram and having them on your team will promote your sales and also boost your brand awareness. Reaching out to users with millions of followers might be challenging as those people receive hundreds of messages daily. 

Instead, target smaller or begging influencers, especially those with an audience in your location. They will be more eager to cooperate, which may turn out to be a cheaper option for reaching new people. 

When you find the right creators, there are several ways you can cooperate with them:

• Collaborative content – You and your chosen creator can organize an Instagram Live together or co-create posts related to your brand products. 
• Exchanging products – If your creator has their own product line, it could be a good idea to exchange products for a review. Otherwise, you could send your products to an influencer for free in exchange for promoting them. 
• Paid promotion – This may be the easiest way to boost your brand awareness through paying an influencer to promote your brand. It’s a monetary exchange where you specify the number of posts, type of content, etc. 

Launch a brand ambassador program – If you already have a loyal fanbase, it would be a good idea to collaborate with influencers so they can become ambassadors of your brand. Rather than paying them for promotion, they can have access to other perks like free samples, discounts, or commissions.

4. Make Meaningful Conversations with Your Audience

We hope you didn’t skip the first tip and did identify your goals and who you want to target. If you haven’t specified who could benefit from your products, ask yourself the following questions: 

1. What is my brand or product?
2. To whom is my product or brand designed for?
3. What is my desired audience looking for?
4. How am I going to attract these people?

Answering these questions will enable you to know what your Instagram followers like to see in their feed, the specific time they are online, and the tone of voice you can use to best relate to them. The tone of voice will help you write killer captions.

Now, let’s decide how you can retain your followers and potentially convert them into loyal customers. For the most part, businesses use Instagram as their service channel where potential customers can comment with a question, praise, or complaint. 

Whilst replying to good feedback and questions about shipping or working hours is easy, the profile is open to criticism, too. You may have an urge to erase bad comments or questions you have no answers for – hold your horses! Engaging with your followers is not always roses and sunshine, yet addressing those queries is a part of making meaningful conversations with your audience. 

Instagram is a place where you can be helpful to your followers and show them your dedication to assisting them, even on a platform where you post promotions and products.

5. Make Your Account More Accessible and Catchy

Using the power of social media to grow your business is no longer a unique idea. There are several business accounts on Instagram – over 200 million, to be exact. Your page could very easily get lost in the “crowd.” Therefore, you must make your page as reachable as possible. Thankfully, there are several ways to do this.

a. Keywords  

For starters, you could incorporate searchable keywords into your account to get more Instagram followers. There are only two places on your Instagram account to implement keyword optimization: your name and handle. Adding a relevant keyword or phrase to your name or handle will make your account more accessible. It will help your potential followers to stumble upon your account.

For example, The XYZ Café’s handle could be @thexyzcoffeeshop, allowing them to get found when someone searches for a ‘coffee shop.’ Also, note that your profile names and handles should be consistent across all social media platforms so that followers on those sites can find and follow you on Instagram.

b. AR Filters

Another exciting way to drive traffic to your page is by using AR filters. Those bunny ears or puppy eye filters that people add to their selfies and Instagram stories? Yes! But how can they increase traffic to your page? It’s quite simple. All you have to do is create a filter that looks interesting enough to use. If it is non-promotional, it can be accessed by anyone in the Instagram Story effects gallery. Whenever anyone uses your filter, your account name will become visible at the top left of the screen as a clickable icon, thus leading to visits to your profile, and hence you get more Instagram followers.

c. Instagram Nametags

Nametags are essentially Instagram-specific QR codes that can be scanned by users to follow you instantly. Using nametags is a highly effective way to increase your follower count. Instagram nametags can be displayed on posters and other marketing collateral, as well as at networking events, conferences, etc. By using nametags, you’re helping people to quickly scan and follow your page on the spot. Similarly, they could also be printed onto product packaging or receipts so that customers who have bought from you can follow your account and buy from you again without having to go through the hassle of searching for your Instagram profile.

d. Use Geo-Tagging to Attract a Local Audience 

If you own a place where people can physically go to and use your products or services, you must have a geo-tag. Geo-tagging is adding your business tag that will be shown on Instagram stories. Every time your customers visit your place and post a story, instead of having a city name, there will be the name of your business. 

Moreover, your business location will also be available on an Instagram map, where other potential customers can see content created by your visitors. 

To create a geo-tag, you need to have a business account first. On Instagram, you should:

• Go to Settings and choose “Create the Location”
• Create a new post and click on “Check in”
• Type your business name and add all relevant details
• Choose a relevant category for your business and add your physical location

6. Use Engagements with Your and Competitors’ Audience

One of the ways to get Instagram followers is through communication. However, your communication should center not only around your direct audience but also your competitors’ followers. 

But before I explain how to increase followers on Instagram through engagements, you should know that your followers only see 30% of the content from the people they follow. If you have more engagements in your Instagram post, the higher it will appear in your follower’s feeds.

Interact with Similar Brands

Engaging with other brands in your industry niche increases your chances of being seen and will help you expand your Instagram following free of charge. The more you interact with other users, the more visible you become to their followers. But, the quality of the interaction must be just as important as the frequency. The time you choose to interact with the audience is a crucial factor if you want to be seen. You need to choose a time frame when many people are online on Instagram. This will make your comments and posts visible to many users, attracting a lot of Instagram followers in a short time.

Before and After Engagement Rules

Instagram’s algorithm has a way of recognizing posts that most people will find interesting. Such posts usually appear high up in the feed. The algorithm tells if a post can be of interest or not by looking at the amount of interaction within the first hour. 

To make your Instagram post have a lot of interaction, you need to engage with other users’ posts directly before posting yours. This increases the chances of people visiting your profile within the first hour of your post.

In return, people you interact with are likely to check your account and leave likes and engagements on your most recent posts. You can earn new followers on Instagram and a top place in their feed. It is a good idea to engage with other people’s Instagram stories, for example, your competitors’ audience for the network’s algorithms to notice your engagement.

Make Interesting Captions

Instagram posts with interesting captions encourage followers to spend more time looking at a post. Interesting captions generate more engagement, which attracts more people to your profile, picking up several followers.

If you have a lifestyle blog, it is a good idea to share your lifehacks or routine. If you run a flower shop, tell your followers about tips to keep flowers fresh for a long time.

Reply to All Your Comments

Keeping up the conversation is going to help push your post to the top of your followers’ feeds. Through other peoples’ comments, your post may even appear on the timeline of their followers, too. Always reply immediately after the comment to make sure you keep the conversation going.You can also use this opportunity to tag other relevant users. They will get a notification and join in the conversation. A good way to get followers on Instagram is to share your ideas and sometimes ask follow-up questions. Also, be sure to reply to the responses you receive on your Instagram stories. Although no one is likely to see the private interactions, it is a nice gesture towards your audience.

Pin Your Favorite Comments

Instagram allows you to pin up to 3 comments on each post. Pinning followers’ comments serves two purposes. First, it encourages other Instagram users to comment on your posts in the hopes of getting theirs pinned, thus increasing engagement. Second, it is an excellent method to bring flattering, positive reviews about your brand to the forefront— free, organic promotion for your products or services.

7. Post Interesting Content in Your Timeline

Instagram is a visual social site, so to gain more followers, your timeline needs to be full of interesting Instagram content. Users do not just follow you based on a single good post, they go through your profile, and some of them can even go back up to a week. So whatever you post, including your Instagram stories, should intrigue viewers to stay and see more of what you are about to share with followers. Here are a few ways to ensure your content is interesting enough to get you more followers on Instagram:

a. Use Ready Templates

There are plenty of tools out there that can help you craft attractive visuals for your Instagram posts. Online design tools like Venngage have a wide variety of templates for different kinds of posts.

With a ready-made template, you do not have to worry about coming up with new content to capture your followers’ attention. The online design tools auto-generate your Instagram stories and posts into amazing content. All you have to do is add a few details of your brand to the post template to make it relate to you. A simple photo done with a template can work wonders for your followers.

b. Repost from Popular Brands within Your Niche

You really don’t have to post your own content when you run out of ideas. Reposting other Instagram content from similar brands is a good way to get more Instagram followers and keep your profile interesting.

Moreover, whether you disagree or agree with the content you repost, you can record a short video with your thoughts and ask your followers to share their opinions on the topic.

However, when reposting other users’ content, you should do it legally. You can reach out for permission to repost, repost it as a screenshot, or give credit to the owner when you put up the post.

c. Edit Your Content

All your posts should have amazing aesthetics. This is what will lure many followers to your Instagram page. Generating a quality look all across your Instagram stories and posts will create a good impression on many users. 

Instagram editing tools such as Aviary and Afterlight can help your posts look more professional, giving your profile a strong Instagram aesthetic. Professional-looking accounts attract many visitors, which can turn into followers when impressed.

Posting photos and videos all the time can also bore your followers; you may even lose some. You need to spice up your profile with different kinds of posts. This is a list of some posts that can work very well:

• Clients’ stories about you or your product
• Testimonials
• Educational posts
• Quotes relevant to your brand
• Behind the scene photos and videos of your brand

8. Post Frequently and Consistently

One particular tip on how to get more followers on Instagram is to have a posting schedule and not drop off the Instagram radar. You should be consistent in your posts, even if they are just posted several times a week. The time you choose should allow you enough time to interact with your audience. 

Try your best not to lose any scheduled day for posting. Your followers may lose interest, which will lead to fewer engagements. No matter how frequently you post every day, consistency is key to gaining more Instagram followers.

The frequency of posts also has a vital role in gaining more followers on Instagram. Posting frequently earns you likes, which increases engagements, earning you more followers. This will grow your page, and your brand will always be in the minds of your followers. But how often is frequent?

If you want to grow your followers fast, you need to post between 3 to 5 times every day. If you start by posting 5 times a day, you should stick by it. It is better to increase the frequency of posts than decrease it. Decreasing the frequency would decrease engagements, and this may cost you some of your followers. In case you run out of ideas for content, consider posting user generated content. Also, posting Instagram stories once a day is sure to attract more Instagram users to your account.

9. Share User-Generated Content

While you may feel the urge to keep posting about your product, most Instagram followers don’t want to see promotional content all the time. It’s crucial to post content that your followers like and are more likely to reshare on their stories. Some examples of non-promotional content include inspirational quotes and infographics. Such content pieces will direct more organic flow to your profile.

However, one of the best ways to grow Instagram followers without boring them with promotional posts is to share user-generated content. Seeing how other real Instagram users happily try your brand products will encourage your audience to purchase your offers. 

In fact, 56% of users have purchased a product that was promoted by an influencer, so this is a chance for you to collaborate with a popular creator and yield the result shortly after.

10. Initiate Conversations to Get Noticed

Have you noticed that fewer people engage with your posts and stories? Fortunately, there is a way to get you back on track!

One of the best ways to get noticed and increase your followers on Instagram is through conversations through your stories. You should try by all means to engage with other users, even when they don’t respond. There are different ways to start a conversation on Instagram:

a. Asking a simple open-ended question in a post.

When a story or post is put up on Instagram, every user develops an opinion about it. They may not readily type it out, but when asked a question or two about the post, they may respond. For example, if someone posts a picture and tags a certain city, here are some questions you can ask to initiate a conversation:

• How is the weather like?
• How are the clubs?
• Is it safe at night?
• Where should I visit?

If users respond, other people may join in the conversation, enabling your profile to be seen by many people.

b. Respond to every comment in your feed.

We will never get tired of repeating the same thing over and over again. For you to grow a loyal Instagram follower base – engage with your viewers.

Try to respond to as many comments as you can. This can earn you several followers from each of your posts, thereby increasing and improving your relationship with your audience. Each comment is entitled to a response. No matter how absurd it is. The more a conversation grows around your feed, the more followers you will gain.

11. Use Relevant Hashtags

Many users like to fill their posts with some of the popular hashtags such as #instagood, #cute, and #nofilter. Hashtags promote your content and put you in front of a new Instagram audience. 

However, you need to choose the right hashtag so that you interact with your desired audience. Get involved in hashtags that drive actions you actually want. For example, if your brand is about women’s fashion, you should get involved in hashtags such as #fashion, #dress, #beauty, #onfleek, and other related words on fashion.

Instagram allows up to 30 hashtags in every post. You have to make maximum use of them. Use as many hashtags as you can. But you need to match them with the posted photo or video. They will make your content become more discoverable.

Using hashtags that are trending is a good way to get more followers on Instagram even when they do not relate to your brand. You just need to twist your post in a way that fits the hashtag description. 

Surprisingly, less popular hashtags can also help you grow followers. This is because these hashtags are less competitive. The small number of people involved will interact much more cohesively and this can gain you quick followers.

12. Promote Your Instagram Profile on Other Social Media Platforms

More people will easily follow you on social media if you are easy to find. Make sure to link your Instagram account to other social networks. This way, you will make your Instagram profile discoverable. 

If you have already established a good following from your other social media accounts, you may want to let those followers know about your Instagram presence. 

You need to have all your followers connected to you on all social media platforms. This is a great way to maintain a good number of followers, especially if you link your account to Facebook and X (formerly Twitter).

Moreover, you can arrange different promotional content on each account so that the engagement level is balanced throughout the platforms you use. Take into consideration collaborating with influencers and going live with informative content on Instagram while posting questionnaires or recent updates in X.

13. Instagram Advertising

Instagram Advertising ads are very effective in growing new followers. They provide a unique opportunity to interact with a specific group of users. They target the audience based on their location, demographics, interests, and key behavior. The ads are very effective because they also use Facebook data, which now owns Instagram. There are 4 types of ads to choose from: photo ads, video ads, slide shows, and carousel ads.

The average cost per 1000 views of Instagram ads is about $6. This means that you have a potential 1000 new followers for every $6 spent. This is well worth it, especially if you are using your Instagram account for business.

14. Harness Instagram Live and IGTV to Your Benefit

Live videos are already the trend on social media networks, and Instagram is no exception. They allow a brand to engage its followers through comments and questions in real-time. 

Since followers get a notification when you go live, it attracts more people to your page. Instead of going live yourself at all times, you could strategically collaborate with someone else, such as an influencer. They could go live and add you to the broadcast using the “Go live with a friend option.” This would showcase your brand to the influencer’s followers, hence leading to an increase in your Instagram followers.

Instagram live videos give you quite a bit of versatility. You could allow it to get deleted after the broadcast ends or have it show up in Instagram stories for 24 hours after the live broadcast. It is also a good idea to add the video to your Instagram TV page, creating a series that gives people another reason to engage with your Instagram content.

15. Join Instagram Engagement Groups

This is the best tactic to get followers, especially for beginners. When you join an engagement group within your niche, your number of followers will increase significantly. In these groups, you will find people with shared interests, and they will gladly like and engage with your posts. Using popular engagement groups, you can gain up to 2000 new followers in a week.

How to Get Instagram Followers Using Facebook

As per the statistics released in 2024, Facebook is the most used social network, with more than 3.049 billion users every month. Instagram is not far behind, with about 2 billion users every month, tying the third spot with WhatsApp. Don’t forget to use Facebook’s numbers as a source to add more followers to your Instagram. Here is how:

Add an Instagram tab to your Facebook page

Adding an Instagram tab to your Facebook page will make your Facebook friends aware of your Instagram presence. The new Instagram tab will pull in some of your posts from your Instagram to your Facebook profile. 

When people go to your Facebook account, they will be able to see the tab that will take them to your Instagram feed. Make sure you have good Instagram aesthetics with the posts showcased on your Facebook profile.

Share Your Instagram Posts on Facebook

The Instagram tab on your Facebook profile only draws in posts from your Instagram to your Facebook profile. The posts will not appear on your Facebook timeline for others to see unless you share them. You can share the pictures and videos right from your Facebook timeline to target more engagements and get followers.

Run an Instagram Contest on Facebook

This can draw attention to your Instagram account and is a good way to get followers. By creating a contest that involves people going to your Instagram account you will get followers as more people will be visiting your Instagram profile. The contest can involve people pulling up certain images and tagging you on your Instagram. You can include a specific hashtag to show participation.

Why You Should Not Buy Instagram Followers

When you buy Instagram followers, the bots automatically like and comment on your posts. Your account will appear as if it has suddenly flourished and with a lot of interaction when, in reality, this is not the case. Here is why:

Fake Followers Do Not Engage

Bought Instagram followers are not real people. They are merely online robots that are programmed to drop certain comments on random posts. The only engagement you get from them is short or one-worded comments like ‘awesome,’ ‘cute,’ ‘amazing,’ ‘nice pic,’ or just ‘nice.’

The Bots May Drop Inappropriate Comments

Fake followers can sometimes drop comments that are not even related to your post on Instagram. This may raise concerns for many of your genuine followers. For example, you may post about the death of your loved one, and then several bots drop comments like ‘nice’ or ‘good one.’ This will raise suspicion among your followers. Sometimes, the bots may even comment in a foreign language.

Fake Followers Are a Gateway to Spam

Bought followers can bring with them a multitude of spam posts. Having them in your Instagram account gives them access to a lot of your information, and the spam may spread to your email and other social networks. The spam can even spread to your followers when they follow these fake accounts. When your followers realize they got the spam from you, they will unfollow you.

Instagram Recognizes and Removes Fake Followers

Instagram has put quite an effort into dealing with this kind of followers. The new algorithm is now able to detect and purge them. So when you buy followers, sooner rather than later, they are going to disappear.

Fake Followers Destroy Your Credibility

No brand will want to work with you if you have a fake Instagram following. So, if you are aspiring to be an influencer, this is not the way to go. Many other Instagram users and brands are now able to detect accounts that have them.

Conclusion

There is no easy way to grow Instagram followers. Taking shortcuts will ruin your reputation as well as put you at risk of being banned. The above methods can steadily help you get more followers on Instagram.

If you really don’t have time to invest in growing your Instagram followers, you can let us, The SimplyGram Team, do it for you. We are an Instagram growth service company that provides you with dedicated account management with artificial intelligence to grow your Instagram followers. Plus, we have our free Instagram followers trial offer. 

SimplyGram is equipped with features that enable it to perform tasks that cannot be accomplished with just the Instagram app. It has features that can search audiences based on geo-location and gender, and it can even filter based on interactions with competitors. You just need to provide your desired audience, and we will get their attention and grow your Instagram following.We believe in steady and organic growth that will benefit your business Instagram account in the long term. So, what are you waiting for? Get a free trial and see the follower boost for yourself!