22 Tips How to Increase Instagram Followers in 2026

22 Tips on How to Increase Your Instagram Followers in 2026

Contents

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

Before we get to how you could increase your Instagram followers, let’s look at some useful Instagram statistics.

Instagram Statistics

• Instagram users are under 34 years old in 64% of cases.
• In July 2026, advertisers can reach 1.440 billion Instagram users, ranking it fourth among the “most active” social networks in the world.
• Every day, Instagram users like 4.2 billion posts.
• Posts on business Instagram accounts typically have an engagement rate of 0.83%.
• The most active Instagram users are in India (201 million), the United States (157 million), and Brazil (115 million).

How to Increase Your Instagram Followers

1. Use Your Bio

A welcoming and engaging bio is the first thing people will see when they get to your Instagram page. In a way, it’s something like the home page of your brand. Your bio gives people an idea of what your brand is about. Your bio should also contain a link to your website or latest content for easy access. You can also add relevant hashtags to your bio to further spark the interest of visitors. A good bio has a long reach.

2. Use Relevant Hashtags for Your Content

Hashtags can introduce your content to a completely new audience. Use branded hashtags (hashtags specific to your brand) or hashtags relevant to your target audience. The more relevant the hashtags users find, the more likely they are to follow your brand.

3. Post Your Content at the Right Time

This will ensure greater visibility for your brand. According to a survey by sprout social, before the COVID technology was introduced, the best time to post on Instagram was Monday, Tuesday, and Friday at 11 a.m. and Tuesday at 2 p.m.

4. Steal Followers From Your Competitors

You can steal followers from your competitors by engaging with them. Given that users are already following your competition, they represent a high-quality audience that could become ambassadors for your brand. Engage in communication with customers by following them, liking and commenting on their content. The more you engage with them, the greater the likelihood that you will develop your brand.

5. Paying for Sponsored Posts and Product Reviews

First, it is important to find influencers operating in your field. Their promotion of your content will expose it to a wider audience. Influencers who have more than 20,000 subscribers and have an email address in their bio may be interested in collaborating with your brand. In the case of unique products, you can send influencers a copy of the product for them to review and publish.

6. Using Geotags for Local Discoverability

Tag your location in content or stories and people searching for that location may come across your content. This can help promote your business locally to the relevant audience. You can also contribute with your posts and stories related to that location.

7. Use Instagram Stories

Instagram Stories will allow you to increase followers and expand your user base. It can increase the authenticity of your brand. It can also increase interactivity and allow users to get a behind-the-scenes look at your brand. You can promote your blogs, your posts, publish relevant industries, etc.

8. Highlight Important Stories

The highlight stories feature allows you to organize stories so you can communicate what your brand is about. Due to the short lifespan of stories, highlights give your content a second life and encourage users to follow your brand. Since stories are a kind of archive, they can be categorized for easier use. 

Let’s move on to how you can increase your follower count on Instagram.

9. Ask for Followers

People may like your content but don’t necessarily follow your brand. What they need is a small push. This can be achieved by asking users to follow you. You can also work them into your captions and the comments section, inviting people to follow and engage with your brand.

10. Follow the Latest Trends

By keeping up with popular trends, you can increase engagement and visibility. Tailor your content and hashtags to relevant trends. However, make sure your content is presented meaningfully and is something your audience might be interested in.

11. Hosting Contests and Giveaways

By hosting contests and giveaways, you can attract more people to your brand’s page. Some of the things you can do are: ask users to like, share, comment, use a specific hashtag, tag a friend, etc.

12. Stay Consistent with Posts

Ensure your posts follow a consistent schedule, and follow a theme. You can schedule your posts to create an engaging theme and tell users a story you want to tell. Scheduling posts also ensures that you can come up with content in advance, rather than winging it. 

13. Track Your Instagram Followers

Ensure that you keep track of your growth (or the lack thereof). Data analytics from Instagram gives you insight on where your shortcomings are, and where there is scope to improve. You can also grow your brand, by identifying what works in the successful posts. 

14. Use Instagram Ads

Since Facebook now owns Instagram, you can use Facebook Ads Manager for Instagram advertising. These ads allow you to display your content to a wider audience. Your ads are shown to customers based on their interests, behavior, demographics, key behaviors, etc. You can run photo ads, video ads, carousel ads, story ads, etc. Together with contests, you can gain a lot of active Instagram followers

15. Creating Visually Attractive Ads

Your Instagram ad cannot be successful if it is unable to capture users’ attention. Things you can focus on include: 

• Using natural images that are natural to the platform.
• Reducing the amount of text in ads.
• Ensure that captions match the image and your audience.
• Using hashtags to display your content to a larger audience.

16. Use Instagram Tools

Tools allow you to build and engage your audience. They will help you with post planning, provide you with analytics and insights, and identify the right hashtags you can use for your posts. Popular tools you can use include Hootsuite, Later, Linktree, etc.

17. Develop Your Style

Create a visual style that allows you to stand out to your audience. This allows you to create a unique style for your brand that users will immediately recognize. This style will become part of your brand identity, which will subsequently increase its memorability.

18. Use User-Generated Content

UGC (User-Generated Content) can help increase the authenticity of your brand and make it even more human. This subsequently helps improve your relationship with your audience. Users can be asked to post images related to a unique hashtag, tag their friends, etc. 

19. Use High-Quality Images and Videos

The highest quality shots must be used, which are original and authentic. Ensuring these can help users develop a personal connection to the images. Video content must be entertaining, concise, and informative so that users do not lose interest. 

20. Promote Your Content on Other Social Media Channels

What good are social media networks if you don’t use them? You can promote your Instagram profile on other social media platforms. Promoting your page at offline events, such as print advertising and other events, is of great importance.

21. Use Keywords for Search Discovery

For better discoverability, Instagram recommends using appropriate keywords in post captions. The reason is a change in how search results are displayed. Previously, search results contained only relevant accounts, hashtags, and places. Now, keyword result pages intended for viewing are also included in search results.

22. Design a Beautiful Instagram Feed

Your profile feed is an opportunity to showcase your atmosphere or brand to someone who is following you for the first time or who visits your profile to see your content. The grid creates a first impression for visitors and provides a bird’s-eye view of the user’s post history.

Get More Instagram Followers in 15 Steps

There is a way to provide your audience with an engaging, top-tier, and distinctive experience regardless of where you are in the process of increasing your Instagram followers. Here are several steps you can take to expand your reach and gain new followers.

Conclusion

In this article about how to increase your Instagram followers, we covered topics such as important Instagram statistics, and some tips and tricks, such as using your bio, using appropriate hashtags, planning posts, using Instagram ads, using geotags, using Instagram tools, and so on. 

Do you have any questions about how you can use Instagram to increase your followers? Write your questions in the comments and our experts will contact you soon!