Get Solid IG Fans: How To Boost Followers on Instagram

Every brand or creator knows what an uphill battle it feels like trying to get more followers on Instagram. Maybe you’re a new account trying to make it on the scene. Or maybe you’ve been on the social media platform for a while but are struggling to attract new fans. Whatever your case, we’ll teach you how to boost followers on Instagram and get rid of the growth plateau.

The key to increasing your follower count is creating a strong connection with your target audience. And that’s exactly what we’ll be tackling today. Plus, if you have a business account, keep reading. We’ll give you the scoop on how to use the professional tools at your disposal to boost your Instagram followers. Keep scrolling to learn all these and more!

How To Boost Followers on Instagram for Free

Who says you have to pay tons of money to get popular on social media? Budget constraints shouldn’t stop you from reaching your Instagram growth goals. There are plenty of organic growth methods and strategies you can use to get more followers without the hefty expense. You just have to find your target audience’s soft spot and be as creative as you can with your content.

Are you a small business or aspiring influencer without a big marketing budget but eager to grow on Instagram? If you said yes, then these tips are just for you. Here’s how to boost followers on Instagram for free.

1. Stay Active by Posting High-Quality Content Several Times a Week

Nobody wants to follow a page on Instagram if it looks inactive. What’s the point of following an inactive account if it won’t show you valuable, impactful content, right? The more active you are on Instagram, the higher your chances of reeling in new followers.

So, try to post three to five times a week to stay consistent. By posting more frequently, you increase the number of times you show up on people’s feeds. If you curate your content well and get high engagement rates, you may end up on the Explore page. This boosts your visibility among people who don’t follow you yet, giving you a chance to win them over.

Are you having trouble staying consistent? Draft a content calendar to stay on top of the posts you church out day after day. Then, schedule your posts in advance to make sure you have something to upload every week. There are plenty of high-quality scheduling tools online you can use for that.

Feel that you don’t have the time to produce and publish a manicured feed post? Stay active and connected with your fanbase and potential followers with some Instagram Stories. These posts expire after a day, so there’s no pressure to make it overly “aesthetic” and polished. Upload some life updates, shop announcements, or even just a quick snap of your day for fans to see.

2. Optimize Your Bio To Rank High on Instagram SEO

Instagram search engine optimization (SEO) refers to optimizing your profile to rank higher on the app’s search results. Typically, it means writing your bio so that it includes keywords your target audience might look up on the app. The goal is for the algorithm to deem your account relevant to the search. That way, your page shows up at the top of the results.

To optimize your bio for Instagram SEO, talk about who you are and what niche you operate in. What do you specialize in? What are your key interests and the interests of your target market? Include these important words in your bio to show up in Instagram’s search function.

For example, let’s say you’re a creator who posts food content. Instead of just writing “foodie” in your bio, go for something more concrete and specific. Terms like “food photography,” “vegan,” or “desserts” might be helpful for SEO as they’re more specific. You can even use trending food hashtags—like #instafood or #foodieadventures—for extra visibility.

That way, when potential followers search those phrases on Instagram, you have a shot of showing up in the results. And when they visit your page and read your bio, they’ll immediately know what to expect from your page.

Instagram SEO can help boost visibility among your niche audience, allowing more of them to discover your page. When done correctly and consistently, it can reel in tons of new followers for you. So, always take the extra measure of researching trending tags to include in your post.

3. Encourage User-Generated Content and Share It on Instagram Stories

User-generated content (UGC) serves as amazing, authentic social proof for your business. When satisfied customers post content that features your products, it tells people that your brand is worth noting. It’s also more palatable than high-production ads and manicured, product-centric content, making it seem more “real.”

UGC can be anything from unboxing videos to try-on photos to people holding up your product packaging in a photo. The key is to encourage fans to feature your brand in their content so their audience sees it.

If real people talk about your brand and its products, your level of trustworthiness rises. That’s why having your current followers post UGC about your brand is an amazing form of word-of-mouth marketing. It’s a native way of “advertising.” Fans recommend your brand to others, and new fans (and followers) come bursting through the door.

But how do you entice your current followers to produce UGC for you? There are plenty of ways to do that. You could offer up some neat prizes like discount vouchers and exclusive club memberships to those who post UGC.

Don’t forget to share UGC about your brand straight to your Instagram Stories. It’s a great way to help boost reach and engagement for that particular post. Plus, it also makes the original posters feel valued and appreciated, strengthening your connection with them. It’s also a terrific, easy way to diversify the type of content you put out on Stories.

4. Don’t Limit Yourself to Feed Posts—Make Instagram Reels, Too

Are you staying consistent with your feed post schedule but not seeing any significant growth? Here’s how to boost your followers on Instagram: experiment with Reels.

Anyone who spends time on Instagram knows that feed posts and Reels are located on different parts of the app. Regular posts show up on the main feed, while Instagram Reels have their section viewers can mindlessly scroll through.

That means when you post both regular posts and Reels, you appear in two sections of the app simultaneously. You amp up your exposure to potential followers, allowing you to attract new fans who might follow your page. You can easily be discovered by audiences who frequent Reels more and those who don’t deviate from the main feed.

Posting Instagram Reels also allows you to show off a whole new side of your brand personality. It keeps your content fresh and dynamic. You can create entertaining viral videos or how-to’s and tutorials your target audience might find valuable. You can even participate in Reel trends, allowing you to increase your content’s reach further. All of these can help reel in new followers in the long run.

5. Add Trending Hashtags and Geotags to Your Posts for Extra Visibility

Another way to increase your discoverability and gain followers is by sprucing up your posts with hashtags and location tags. These tags essentially broadcast your posts to those interested in them, allowing them to reach potential new followers.

Both hashtags and location tags make your content “searchable” on Instagram. Hashtags allow you to profile your post according to specific topics and niches under which it falls. Meanwhile, location tags let you “mark” specific places and cities.

From there, the Instagram algorithm works to push out your content according to your tags. It may place your post on the Explore page of people interested in the topics your hashtags refer to. If someone has been looking up content about a specific place, your geotagged post might show up on theirs, too.

Using hashtags and geotags in your posts is a terrific way to reach your target audience. These tools promote your content to those interested in topics you specialize in or an area you want to target.

6. Work With Other Creators and Publish Collaborative Posts

Creators often collaborate to get exposure for their pages from their collaborator’s audience and vice versa. They might do this through a series of tagged posts, influencer shout-outs, and more. However, one of the best ways to get more Instagram followers through a partnership is by publishing collaborative posts.

Collaborative posts are joint feed posts that show up on two accounts at the same time. One person creates and publishes the post. Then, they invite the other to be a collaborator. When the second person accepts, the post shows up on both their profiles. That means this post will have multiple “authors” listed and will appear on the feeds of two different audiences.

These joint posts are amazing for expanding the reach of one piece of content. You basically end up doubling the number of people who see your post since you borrow from your collaborator’s fanbase. That means a whole new group of people will learn about your page, potentially allowing you to get more followers.

Are you racking your brain thinking of how to boost IG followers with a fun, collaborative post? Here are some ideas for your next collab with another brand or content creator:

• A sponsored product demo video featuring a brand’s products
• An entertaining Reel you created with another creator within your niche
• Branded challenges or giveaways with a popular influencer as a host
• Q&A videos where two content creators answer questions from fans together

How To Boost Followers on Instagram Business

It’s very much possible to grow your Instagram account effectively with a basic personal account. But if you’re a brand with a professional business account, it’s even easier.

Having a business account on Instagram opens up many more possibilities and opportunities to grow your page. Professional accounts get access to exclusive tools that allow you to put your business on the map. If you know how to utilize these tools to your advantage, you’ll see an incredible number of new followers fast. So, it isn’t wise to sleep on these awesome features.

But how exactly can businesses with professional accounts skyrocket their follower count with the gifts bestowed upon them? Here’s how to boost followers on Instagram Business.

1. Run Instagram Ads To Accurately Reach Your Target Audience

Perhaps the most effective way to reach your target market on Instagram is to run paid ads. Upload an ad, choose your budget and target audience, and sit back, relax, and wait for Instagram to promote it.

Ads allow you to be extra precise with the audience your content reaches. That way, you don’t waste views on people you’re not trying to communicate with. You can choose the specifics of your ads’ target market, from their demographics (age, sex, location) to their interests. You can even target them based on how they’ve interacted with your brand before.

Running ads allows you to increase your brand’s visibility on the platform, exposing it to more people. And because you’re choosing a specific target audience, you can rest assured your ad will resonate with whoever sees it. The more people notice your ad and get curious about your brand, the more likely you’ll get new followers.

Just make sure that the ads you run are relevant to your audience. Survey Monkey says 44% of social media users think the ads they see don’t align with their wants and needs. You don’t want to be part of this statistic. So, make sure the creative materials you run as ads are exciting, valuable, and impactful to your target audience.

2. Boost an Existing Post To Turn It Into an Ad

One way to ensure that you run ads relevant to your intended audience is by boosting existing, high-performing posts. Instead of creating new materials for your ads, simply choose a post people already like. Then, promote it by adding a budget. Et voila! Now, it’s an ad in its own right that can reach your target market fast.

This saves brands and creators the hassle of producing new content for paid ads. Plus, choosing historically well-performing content assures you that your target audience will likely find value in your “new” ad. It’s like repurposing posts that you already know people resonate with.

It’s also perfect for brands that don’t want to spend more money on making new creative material. Instead of mounting a creative production to shoot photos and videos for ads, use that budget to boost existing posts. That allows you to potentially reach even more people and welcome new followers into your community.

3. Set Up Quick Replies To Get Back to Potential Followers Fast

Brands and creators often find themselves bombarded with tons of direct messages on Instagram. It’s super understandable if you can’t get back to these DMs from fans and potential followers right away. But we’d be lying if we said punctual replies don’t earn brownie points for your reputation and connection with them.

If you have a business account, we recommend setting up quick replies in your DMs. These let you create templated replies that you can easily send out to users messaging your page. This is especially helpful for inquiries, FAQs, and other DMs you might get on a regular basis.

Replying to people quickly puts you on their good side. It helps build rapport with them, which can result in them trusting your brand and opting to follow your page. It’s amazing not just for follower growth but also for strengthening your relationships with your fans.

4. Use Instagram Insights To Curate Better, More Engaging Content

Business accounts get special access to Instagram’s in-house analytics tool called Instagram Insights. Here, you can see how each post is performing. You can look at their reach, engagement, and conversion metrics, allowing you to pinpoint your best and worst-performing content.

From these metrics, you can glean key insights about what makes your content tick. You’ll learn what your followers love and hate about your posts. Optimize your future content using these learnings to ensure you’re doing everything you can to churn out valuable, high-quality content. The better your content is, the easier you’ll attract more followers within your target audience.

Frequently Asked Questions

Still Struggling? Boost Instagram Followers Fast With Path Social!

Have you tried all our tips and tricks above but are still struggling with follower growth? That’s a sign that it’s time to bring out the big guns. By that, we mean working with a trusted growth service that can help boost Instagram followers fast, like Path Social.

The Path Social team works to optimize your content’s visibility by promoting it to your specific target audience. The more people in your target market see it, the more genuinely interested followers you’ll gain. Before you know it, you’ll have plenty of new followers consistently supporting your brand and the content you put out. 

Learn how to boost followers on Instagram and create a thriving community of loyal fans with Path Social today!