11 proven ways to get more followers on Instagram

Of course you don't need to pay to get more more followers on Instagram. But if you want to expand audience and gain subscribers quickly, you better consider doing it. Launching ads, influencer marketing and collaborations will be very helpful. The biggest Instagram accounts use them, so you should use them too. 

Promote your posts and Stories to get more followers on Instagram. Targeted ads require some skills and knowledge. The Boost feature makes it easier. The most difficult thing is setting your targeted audience. We wrote a step-by-step guide to make it easy for it. There we also explain how to use ads spending effectively.

After the ad is launched, you only need to wait. This way to get more followers on Instagram is mostly automated. Instagram analyzes users and decide who might be interested in you. It shows your content to them in the feed and Stories. If users like your pictures and videos, they go to your profile and subscribe. 

The minimum ads payment that the platform recommends is 5 USD per day. Instagram also recommends launching your ads for 6 days at least. 

Collaborate with other bloggers to get new followers on Instagram. Bloggers have authority among their subscribers, people follow and emulate them. Choose those who post on a topic corresponding to your brand. If they give a good review on your product and encourage using it, you can gain Instagram followers instantly and increase sales.

This way to get Instagram followers works even for new brands. You have a chance to explain the idea of your project and its importance to the relevant public. 

You may be disappointed to know that you have to search for popular accounts posting on the topic by yourself. Then you will have to check them for copy-pasted content, thoroughly work on the task specifications. If you approach an Instagram blogger, you also have to check them for cheated subscribers.

Make sure the user meets their commitments. Then you won't lose your time and money. Consider making a contract. It’s not a 100% guarantee either, but it lowers the risks. 

The price for getting more Instagram followers this way varies from thousands to millions. The bigger the account you approach, the higher the price. If your budget is limited, you may buy ads from a small Instagram account. A big blogger may be expensive, though, if you do things right, the investment will pay off.

Let's start from making the names clear. A blogger is a person who has a big audience on social media. An influencer is a person who have authority, they may have a big influence offline, but don't have many Instagram followers.

Influencers are acclaimed experts in their field, that's why their opinions are important. For example, they may be a worldwide recognized doctor, or a stylist, or a teacher. They care about their reputation and can't afford to advise a bad product. That's why their opionions are more credible. 

You don't have to check their cheated Instagram followers or worry that they'll vanish with your money. Because, again, they care about their reputation.

So what you do to get more followers on Instagram is collaborating with influencers. The rules and recommendations are the same.

Influencer marketing is way more expensive. Besides, not all influencers promote products, and they will not promote what they can’t test themselves. They won't advise to their followers stuff that they don't like. 

Give a benefit for subscribing to you to get more Instagram followers. The number increases instantly and becomes really big.

There are lots of benefits options to try:

For example, give a monetary prize for the best question about your brand. And make tagging your account or a promo hashtag one of the necessary conditions. 

The main drawback is that a part of the Instagram followers you get this way are interested in the reward, not in your brand. So when the contest ends, you can see they unfollow you.

Besides, if a big part of the Instagram followers you get is not engaged in your comments, and Instagram considers your account suspicious. It means it will show your content in the feed and on the Explore page less often.

These are also free methods anyone can use to get followers on Instagram. And the budget doesn't matter here. 

Reels is a chance to reach out to hundreds of users for everyone. Even if you are a new brand on and have a small account, you will see this multiples your reach rate. And the more people you are shown to, the more Instagram followers your get.

Read about other Instagram tips and secrets that may help you to get followers on Instagram.

The idea is close to the blogger and influencer marketing. But instead of paying with money, you promote accounts too. Thus, you both get new Instagram followers for free. You can repost each others' posts and Stories, recommend each others' products. You can also collaborate in your publications and Lives. 

Small accounts readily agree to collaborate for free. Big ones too, but only if you are a popular brand.

Carefully check the reputation of users you choose for collaborations. There is a risk of promoting someone's account for nothing. For example, you reposted someone's picture, but they don't repost yours. You have to pay more attention to the agreement's progress.

Usually, you upload images and videos to show them to your Instagram followers. But you may ask your followers to upload them and mention you. Here is how user-generated on Instagram works.

People use your product, take a photo and add your brand hashtags under their post. The publication gets to the tags page, where millions of users can see it, like and comment. That motivates others to share content with your product, and add your hashtags.

Here is why you get followers on Instagram when encourage user-generated content. Since there is more user-generated content with your brand, people see your product more often. And then, the more of them get to your profile to see who you are and subscribe. 

There are cons, though. It may be difficult for some brands to think up an idea for user-generated content. And a branded hashtag may include posts with negative reviews. 

Viral marketing will help you to get followers on Instagram fast. People actively share, comment and recommend viral posts and Stories. Any Instagram publications can become viral, even if you don’t place your bets on it.

There is no magic formula for going viral on Instagram. You should experiment with different topics and ways of presenting information. Then you will have a better understanding of what your audience likes. This is what can make you go viral.

Here are some tips to have higher chances to go viral ad get Instagram followers. Follow trends, and remember that compilations and checklists are more likely to get viral. Post quality high quality content, at least, the image should be sharp. Read a guide on Instagram video specifications.

Hashtags are a bare essential for a lazy marketer who wants to get followers on Instagram. By the way, where you put them, in comments or captions, affects your social media marketing results. You can read how to put hashtags on Instagram: where and how many of them you should add.

When you use hashtags, more people see your post. It can get in the Top tab and be seen by millions of users. Or, at least, it will get to the top of the Recent tab, which is good for you too. The more people see your images and videos, the more of them subscribe to you.

Location tags work like hashtags when you want to get more followers on Instagram. Your post gets to the page of the location you set. When a user searches for the place on Instagram, they see your picture or video.

If you have an offline shop, you can add its address as a location. You can also add location tags of other places where you made photos for your Instagram posts. For example, you describe feelings about a new film — put a geotag of the cinema address.

You won’t get many followers on Instagram this way, though. Few users search geotags. Still, this way is free, and so it is worth trying. 

Communicate with your audience on social media to get more followers on Instagram. The comments section is the perfect place for this. 

If you appear in the comments of the profiles with the topic corresponding to your brand, people will remember you. Some of them will go to your profile to get to know you and subscribe. 

Besides, you build your authority when comment. Give answers and advice under  the posts, or, if necessary, politely correct others. Then, users will know you as an expert. It's good for your social media marketing in general. And it helps to get more followers on Instagram in the future. 

There are a few things that may dim your enthusiasm. You have to spend a lot of time searching for Instagram posts to comment. And you should really be an expert in your industry. Besides, advice may anger users. Invading a user’s blog under a brand’s username can result in a reaction you don’t want. Still, if you comment politely and provide real facts, you'll get more followers on Instagram. 

The answer to the question of how you can get more followers on Instagram depends on your niche. Some methods may not suit yours. For example, debates about what’s more effective — influencer marketing or targeted ads — often erupt on the Internet. But the thing is they both are effective, and the answer depends on your audience and the product you sell.

We recommend trying them all to figure out your best options. Then you'll not only get followers on Instagram, but also achieve other marketing goals. 

We also recommend that you use these 5 tools for Instagram growth and content. Influencers use them to develop their brands on social media, try them too.