22 Tips on How to Increase Your Instagram Followers in 2026

Updated: 17. 9. 2026

Instagram is one of the most popular social media platforms in the world. With over a billion users, Instagram provides your brand with an audience that can consume your content and turn into influencers, brand ambassadors, and even customers. It is a platform that is brimming with enormous potential.

If you are asking yourself how to get more followers on Instagram or how to have a lot of followers on Instagram, you are in the right place. In this guide, you will find 22 proven tips to help you grow organically in 2026. But before we get to the individual steps, let’s take a look at some useful Instagram statistics.

Instagram Statistics

• In 64% of cases, Instagram users are under 34 years old.
• Instagram is among the most active social networks in the world, with over a billion active users.
• Every day, Instagram users like billions of posts.
• Posts on Instagram business accounts typically have an engagement rate of around 0.83%.
• The most active Instagram users are in India, the United States, and Brazil.

Everything clearly shows what opportunities and potential Instagram offers. Let’s now take a look at specific tips on how to increase your number of followers on Instagram.

How to Get More Followers on Instagram: 22 Tips

1. Make Use of Your Bio

A welcoming and compelling bio is the first thing people will see when they land on your Instagram page. In a way, it is like the homepage of your brand. Your bio gives people an idea of who you are and what you offer. It should also include a link to your website or your latest content for easy access. You can also add relevant keywords to your bio to further spark visitors’ interest. A good bio has a long reach.

2. Use Relevant Hashtags for Your Content

Hashtags can introduce your content to an entirely new audience. Use branded hashtags (specific to your brand) or hashtags relevant to your target audience. The more relevant hashtags users find, the more likely they are to start following you. Combine popular and smaller niche hashtags to reach both a broader and a more targeted audience.

3. Post Your Content at the Right Time

This will ensure greater visibility. The best time to post varies depending on your audience, but in general, high engagement tends to occur in the morning and early evening on weekdays. You can find the ideal times directly in Instagram Insights, where you can see when your followers are most active.

4. Gain Followers from Your Competitors

You can reach your competitors’ followers by engaging with them. Since they are already following similar content, they represent a high-quality audience that can become ambassadors for your brand. Get involved by following them, liking, and commenting on their content. The more you engage, the more likely you are to grow your brand.

5. Collaborate with Sponsored Posts and Reviews

Find influential people active in your industry. Having them promote your content will expose it to a wider audience. Influencers who have a relevant audience may be interested in collaborating with your brand. For unique products, you can send them a sample to review and publish.

6. Use Geotags for Local Discoverability

Tag your location in posts or Stories, and people searching for that location may come across your content. It helps promote your business to a relevant local audience. This is especially ideal for local businesses and cafés.

7. Use Instagram Stories

Instagram Stories allow you to increase your follower count and expand your user base. They boost your brand’s authenticity, encourage interactivity, and allow users to get a behind-the-scenes look. You can promote your posts, blogs, or relevant content and use interactive elements such as polls, quizzes, and questions.

8. Highlight Important Stories

The Highlights feature allows you to organize stories so that you clearly communicate to users what your brand is about. Given the short lifespan of Stories, Highlights give them a second life and encourage users to start following you. Since it serves as a kind of archive, you can categorize them for easy navigation.

9. Ask to Be Followed

People may enjoy your content but not necessarily start following you. They need a small nudge. You can achieve this by directly inviting them to follow you. You can incorporate the call to action into captions, videos, and the comments section.

10. Keep Up with the Latest Trends

Staying in touch with popular trends will increase your engagement and visibility. Adapt your content and hashtags to current trends, especially when it comes to Reels, which Instagram algorithmically prioritizes. However, make sure the content is presented in a meaningful way and that it genuinely interests your audience.

11. Run contests and giveaways

Contests and giveaway campaigns can attract a lot of new people to your profile. You can ask users to like, share, comment, use a specific hashtag, or tag a friend. The condition “follow the profile and tag a friend” will quickly bring you new followers.

12. Be consistent with your posts

Make sure your posts follow a consistent schedule and theme. By planning posts in advance, you’ll create an engaging whole and tell users the story of your brand. Planning also allows you to prepare content ahead of time, rather than improvising at the last minute. Consistency is the key to how to get more followers on Instagram in the long run.

13. Track your Instagram statistics

Monitor your growth (or stagnation). Analytics from Instagram Insights will give you an overview of where your weaknesses are and where there is room for improvement. You can also identify what works in successful posts and build on that further.

14. Use Instagram ads

Because Instagram is owned by Meta, you can use Facebook’s Ads Manager for advertising. These ads will show your content to a wider audience based on their interests, behavior, and demographics. You can run photo ads, video ads, carousel ads, or Stories ads. Combined with contests, this is a great way to gain a large number of active Instagram followers.

15. Create visually appealing ads

An Instagram ad can’t be successful if it fails to capture attention. Focus on:

• Using natural images that fit the platform.
• Reducing the amount of text in ads.
• Captions that match the image and your audience.
• Using hashtags so the content is shown to a larger audience.

16. Use Instagram tools

Tools will help you build and engage your audience. They make it easier to schedule posts, provide analytics and insights, and identify the right hashtags. Popular tools include Hootsuite, Later, and Linktree.

17. Develop your visual style

Create a visual style that makes you stand out. Users will immediately recognize a unique brand style, and it will become part of your identity, increasing memorability.

18. Use user-generated content (UGC)

UGC (User-Generated Content) helps increase the authenticity of your brand and humanize it. This improves your relationship with your audience. You can ask users to post photos with your hashtag or tag their friends.

19. Use high-quality images and videos

Use the highest quality shots that are original and authentic. They help users form a personal connection with your content. Video content must be entertaining, concise, and informative so that users don’t lose interest.

20. Promote your content on other channels

You can also promote your Instagram profile on other social networks, on your website, and offline. Promotion at events, in print, and at other occasions plays a major role in gaining new followers.

21. Use keywords to appear in search results

For better discoverability, Instagram recommends using relevant keywords in post captions. This is because search today includes not only relevant accounts, hashtags, and locations, but also results pages based on keywords. Describe your content clearly and use terms that your audience is searching for.

22. Design a beautiful Instagram feed

Your feed is an opportunity to showcase the atmosphere of your brand to someone visiting you for the first time. The grid creates a first impression and provides a bird’s-eye view of your post history. A cohesive and well-thought-out feed significantly increases the chance that a visitor will start following you.

How to get more followers on Instagram in 15 steps

Wherever you are on your journey to more followers, there is a way to provide your audience with an engaging and distinctive experience. Here are 15 steps to help you expand your reach and gain new followers:

1. Decide what the overall goal of your Instagram account is.
2. Develop a well-thought-out content strategy.
3. Optimize your profile for maximum engagement.
4. Share photos that grab attention.
5. Add thoughtful captions to your posts.
6. Use relevant hashtags to attract new users.
7. Plan your Stories and posting schedule.
8. Find and follow your target audience.
9. Be active and engage with the community.
10. Respond to content that appears in your niche.
11. Collaborate with relevant creators and get involved in cross-promotion.
12. Host challenges and contests.
13. Run Instagram ads.
14. Connect your account with offline clients and events.
15. Continuously improve by tracking what works.

How to get a lot of Instagram followers quickly and safely

Organic growth is the foundation, but it often requires months of patient work. If you want to give your profile an initial boost and appear more credible, you can also support your growth by purchasing followers. New accounts with a higher follower count inspire greater trust, and people naturally start following them more often – this is known as social proof.

At KupFollowers, you get real followers with delivery usually within an hour of payment. You don’t need to provide your password – a public profile is all that’s required. Every order also comes with a lifetime refill guarantee and the option for a money-back refund. Ideally, combine this strategy with the tips in this article so that your growth appears natural and sustainable.

Frequently asked questions

How do I get more Instagram followers for free?

The foundation is quality and consistent content, relevant hashtags, active community engagement, and making use of Reels and Stories. Post regularly at the right time and encourage your audience to interact. It takes longer, but the growth is organic and stable.

How do I get a lot of Instagram followers quickly?

The fastest way is a combination of viral content (typically Reels following trends) with active profile promotion. If you need a quick start, you can boost your follower count by purchasing followers, which will push you past the psychological threshold of credibility.

How many followers do I need to make money on Instagram?

There is no fixed threshold. Even micro-influencers with a few thousand active and engaged followers can secure collaborations. More important than the number itself is the engagement rate and how well you know your audience.

Is it safe to buy Instagram followers?

If you use a verified service that doesn’t require your password and offers a guarantee, it is safe. At KupFollowers, we work only with your profile’s public data, so you don’t lose control of your account.

Summary

In this article about how to increase your Instagram follower count, we covered important statistics as well as specific tips and tricks – from using your bio and choosing the right hashtags, to scheduling posts, running ads, using geotags, and Instagram tools. The key to getting more Instagram followers is a combination of quality content, consistency, and smart promotion.

Do you have questions about how to use Instagram to grow your follower count? Write to us in the comments and our experts will get back to you soon. And if you want to give your profile a quick start, check out our offer of Instagram followers.

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