How to Get Instagram Followers Organically in 2026 – 22 Tips
Coming back for more social media tips? Get ready, because these ones are pretty packed. People ask me how I organically increased my Instagram followers. Unfortunately, there’s no straightforward answer to that. The app is constantly changing and the algorithm changes more and more frequently.
Why Write This Blog About How to Get Instagram Followers Organically?
Why focus on organic Instagram growth?
Why doesn’t the Follow/Unfollow method work?
How to get Instagram followers without following or liking
22 tips on how to get Instagram followers organically in 2026
Organic Instagram growth in summary
My final thoughts on how to get Instagram followers organically in 2026
Why write this blog on the topic How to Get Instagram Followers Organically?
My Instagram account currently has over 100,000 followers. And I didn’t get there by buying bots or using follow/unfollow methods. Instead, over time I learned how to leverage organic Instagram growth through lots of trial and error to achieve consistent results, which is probably what you’re looking for.
Interestingly, I always thought that what I was doing to gain more followers was universal. However, through research, I found that no one talks about real organic growth – only shortcuts.
Instagram “experts” like to advise small creators to do things like “comment on every photo under a certain hashtag”, BARF. We’re talking about time consumption and the fact that time never comes back, lmao.
I think it’s a great shame to see small creators trying to increase their Instagram followers when the truth is that everything they need is within reach! I hope I’ve helped clarify organic growth strategies that you can start implementing today, whether you’re a macro or micro influencer.
These are things I wish someone had told me before my account went through a massive trial and error phase. I hope this blog helps you get a head start on growth!
Why Focus on Organic Growth on Instagram?
So in short, it used to be pretty easy to buy bots on Instagram. People basically did it left and right. When Instagram then shut it down, it became fashionable for people to use the “follow/unfollow” method.
Then it became popular to like random people’s posts. Then it became popular to comment on random people’s posts.
In my opinion, it’s all a waste of time! Believe me when I say that how to grow organically on Instagram has nothing to do with these shortcut methods and everything to do with strategy.
Don’t worry, we’ll get to those.
Regardless of the fact that people like to grow their Instagram account for various reasons. One of them is that it’s part of how to get paid sponsorships on Instagram. Hell, growing can help you even determine influencer rates on Instagram.
But whatever your reason, I understand why you want to grow in the app and help!
Now let’s quickly talk about the consequences of using strategies like follow/unfollow.
Why the Follow/Unfollow Method Doesn’t Work
The follow/unfollow method is honestly one of the worst things you can do for your Instagram growth. Not only does basically everyone know about it, which means people will see through this BS, BUT if you use this method too often, Instagram can kick you off the platform.
If you don’t know what follow/unfollow is, good! But to be on the same page, follow/unfollow refers to a terrible growth strategy where you follow a bunch of accounts hoping they’ll see the notification that you followed them, look at your account, and then follow you back.
Believe me, I have a community on IG with over 100 thousand people… this method DOES NOT WORK.
That’s why I spent a TON of time learning how to get followers on Instagram without following a ton of crappy accounts! It’s super exhausting, fake AND IT DOESN’T WORK.
If someone told you to use this method, PLEASE, stop listening to them, lol.
How to get followers on Instagram without following and liking
I should add “or commenting” to that, but I’ll digress. Want to know the real secret to organically increasing your Instagram followers? Here it is:
POST BETTER CONTENT AND POST IT CONSISTENTLY.
Yes. It can’t be clearer than that. So even though I’ll provide you with 22 ways to gain organic Instagram followers, if you take ONE thing from this blog, make it this.
Ultimately, the best way to organically grow your Instagram profile is to post great content consistently. But of course, nobody ever wants to say that or tell small creators because it’s “hard”. But with practice, it really isn’t!
But it takes practice and it’s not an overnight thing.
Hell, if you really master posting Reels and train to make them great, one viral Reel can get you hundreds of thousands of followers. But again, it starts with getting used to creating great content.
Okay, I think we’re on the same page, so let’s talk about how to organically increase your Instagram followers 2026 edition!
22 Tips to Organically Gain Followers on Instagram in 2026
PS! Before you start reading this blog, I’d like to mention that I update my social media blogs fairly regularly! So I recommend saving this blog somewhere safe so you can come back to it.
The Instagram algorithm changes regularly, which can impact growth. That’s why it’s essential to have up-to-date information on the best tips!
TIP #1: HAVE A CONSISTENT LOOK TO YOUR PHOTOS AND CHANNEL (TO A CERTAIN EXTENT).
A great way to continue gaining organic followers on Instagram is to share a consistent look across all your photos. You can achieve this by using filters and influencer presets to edit your photos. If you have a certain editing style you like, creating a preset for yourself can save you time with editing.
Now I mention to a certain extent because having a super cohesive Instagram feed isn’t THAT important. We’ll get to why this technique can help your growth, but I want to point out that you don’t need to use just presets to have a consistent look.
Even if you shoot on your iPhone and don’t edit them, the point is to have a recognizable factor to your feed. Maybe that means you’re always the subject of your shots or you have a certain sense of style that’s easily recognizable. Hell, maybe you take all your photos on film.
Whatever your method is, find a way to make your personal brand easily recognizable.
Consistency never hurts. In the realm of borrowed land that is Instagram, you want to stand out in any way you can! Having your own style means people will recognize your photos and engage with them. I like to edit my shots in warm tones.
Followers scrolling through their channels will see my warm style and think to themselves: “Hey, that’s Dani! I tots want to see what she’s up to,” which will lead to engagement, which will lead to an increase in the Instagram algorithm, which then leads to a larger number of followers. Woohoo!
So that’s one way to grow organically on Instagram; let’s talk about other ways!
TIP #2: HAVE A COHESIVE AESTHETIC ON YOUR PROFILE
Okay, you have a preset that you use for your photos, but what about the rest of your profile? My suggestion: tell your brand story across your entire page! When someone lands on your profile, they should immediately know who you are, and your brand should stand out.
If you don’t stand out in the competitive world of Instagram, you can get lost in a sea of noise! So create some story highlight covers, use similar edits and color differentiation in your stories. Hell, use the Instagram font generator and start incorporating some cool fonts into your channel!
When you were looking for how to organically gain followers on Instagram, you probably weren’t thinking about aesthetics, right? Honestly, in the “borrowed space” of Instagram that I mentioned earlier, there just isn’t time to be an ordinary Jane! Do you need some crazy obscure color scheme and a highly sophisticated brand to stand out? NO. Of course not.
However, you do want people to know who you are and what makes you unique! Just like in the real world, when you connect with a brand through brand recognition. There are plenty of competing brands, but you’ll always go with the one you recognize, trust, and love.
Give potential followers a chance to get to know you and your brand as it is.
Make sure your brand and aesthetic match all aspects of your profile:
The most important points of your Instagram highlight cover
Your profile picture
The overall theme and consistency of your photos
TIP #3: PLAN YOUR POSTS AND SCHEDULE YOUR FEED
Plan and schedule your posts in advance to gain organic Instagram followers in 2026. Planning will help you maintain a consistent look for your channel AND stop stressing about the question: “Oh no! What should I post today?”.
Let’s be honest; when that happens, sometimes we don’t post at all or write a half-hearted caption that goes nowhere. I also like that I can schedule posts to go live, and I don’t have to worry about whether I’ll be online when I’m off on some adventure.
How does this help with organic growth in 2026?
Again, CONSISTENCY. I’ve also found that when I sit down to plan my feed and write thoughtful captions, I’m much more confident in my work. Both new and existing followers appreciate the quality of content coming from me when I plan, and I feel good!
TIP #4: CARVE OUT YOUR NICHE
This tip on how to organically increase your Instagram followers is actually quite popular. Niching down can be hard for some people to understand, because the feeling of being in a “tight box” can smell bad, right!
The truth is, when you create a smaller niche for yourself, you actually have greater creative control over your Instagram content. You can better navigate and develop unlimited possibilities for creating recognizable content across your entire channel.
Niche Exercise
Not sure where to start with your niche? I recommend using this simple exercise. If you’d like, you can use a piece of paper to answer these questions:
How do you imagine your personal dream brand? No limits! What would your personal brand be in a perfect world? What would your Instagram profile look like and how would it feel?
- Who are 3 Instagram influencers/accounts that you like?
- Why do you like their content so much?
- Who is your ideal follower? Why do they like your content? How do you serve them?
From here you can start thinking about your personal dream brand and start focusing on your niche.
Thinking about niche-related content
Let’s say that after all that dreaming and completing your little niche exercise, you’ve decided that you’d like to be a fashion influencer. You could create content such as:
- Fashion finds
- Outfit ideas for season XYZ
- Your favorite items that you wear less in season XYZ
- Outfit of the day
- Outfits inspired by person XYZ
What if you love more than just one field?
“But Dani, that’s so difficult. I also LOVE food and I think I’ll never be able to gain organic followers on Instagram because I just can’t narrow down my niche!”
Well, wait. Okay, let’s say you also like to go out to eat and share it with your followers. As a fashion influencer, how would food fit into the mix of content?
Be creative! In addition to other content you share, you could do some fun food-inspired outfits or clothing that you’d wear to go to a certain type of restaurant!
But you see what I did with those two examples? I took the niche we were working with and came up with several creative content ideas by mixing in additional interests.
By narrowing your niche, you can get creative direction, create more consistently, and create content aimed at a specific audience.
Instagram now allows users to select “interests” content, which means users can tell Instagram what specific content they want to see more of. By not narrowing down your interests, you unfortunately missed the opportunity to let Instagram push your content to the right people! As we continue with our How to Organically Grow Instagram Followers 2026 tips edition, you’ll notice that we want to calm the algorithm whenever we can!
Managing interests on Instagram
The “Manage Interests” feature on Instagram
TIP #5: USE NICHE-SPECIFIC HASHTAGS
I’ll admit that hashtags aren’t my favorite way to grow, but with the launch of Instagram search, hashtags are a great way to make your content searchable!
Think of them as keywords for your content. For example, if you post content about style tips, use the hashtag #styletips in them. That way your posts will show up to anyone on Instagram searching for style tips.
Again, it’s really about adding keywords to your posts and making them suitable for Instagram search.
I could definitely write a blog about Instagram search, but in the meantime I recommend that you start thinking about what niche-specific hashtags you can start using! You might also find them useful in Instagram Reels captions!
TIP #6: CREATE YOUR OWN HASHTAG
Creating a branded hashtag is a GREAT way to gain more followers on Instagram. When you manage to create a catchy hashtag and challenge your audience to use it, and then share its use in your stories, your followers will go crazy and engage!
When your followers get excited and start using your hashtag, your hashtag will grow and grow and start becoming popular among the masses.
From there, potential followers and fans will start competing for a spot in your stories in hopes that you’ll notice them in the hashtag! When thinking about how to organically gain followers on Instagram, sharing is huge!
TIP #7: FIND YOUR PURPOSE AND BE AUTHENTIC
Even though you may have a great brand going, are you clear on your purpose? Why should people care about following you, and why are you on social media? Once you’re clear on your why, you’ll go all in and create content that will convert potential followers.
Be authentic in how you present yourself!
This is another way to increase engagement. I’m not telling you to share your vulnerabilities in a way that makes you uncomfortable. By being authentic, I mean stop trying to copy every piece of content or personality you see.
When you create content that lives and breathes your unique approach and successfully shows both existing and new followers why they can trust you immediately more.
TIP #8: REFRESH YOUR BIO
Update your Instagram bio and username to include keywords that signal to Instagram what your content is about. When you do this, you make it easier for Instagram’s search features to categorize your profile and push it to users who might be interested in it.
Instagram search is a great way to grow organically on Instagram because it gives you the opportunity to get in front of your ideal audience. So start thinking of Instagram as a search engine and optimize your account appropriately to make it easier to get in front of new Instagram users!
In the future, we may see methods related to search, how to grow organically on Instagram, becoming more and more frequent.
TIP #9: CREATE A SERIES OF STORIES
Don’t stop your brand consistency at highlighted covers and images; carry it into your Instagram stories too! Plan your stories in advance. Be aware of where your story content is going and what you want to share with your audience.
Create stories that fit your highlights! Do you like to talk about cosmetic products? Then create a series of stories called “Beauty Fridays” where every Friday you share amazing cosmetic products you love.
Do I have to say it? CONSISTENCY. Some of my absolute FAVORITE Instagrammers have amazing story series like “Do Good Monday”. I learned to look forward to them and engage with these stories! You can gain organic Instagram followers consistently when you give people a reason to expect your content.
Heck, I’ve even noticed that some people tend to re-share their favorite story series on their channels because they love them so much that they want others to see them too!
TIP #10: SHOW MORE BTS IN YOUR STORIES
Your followers love to see more of you! Of course they love the beautiful photos or other curated content you create for them, but they also want to see BTS (behind-the-scenes). They want to know your true self and know that you’re really not that different from them!
I recommend using Instagram Stories for this. You can show people what a day in your life looks like or behind-the-scenes of a photo shoot. The key here is to create a deeper connection with your Instagram followers.
When you share more “you” in your stories, you give followers a reason to connect with you in a way that wouldn’t otherwise be possible. And that’s ultimately what will encourage more people to follow your profile and share it. More “you” in your stories also gives your followers someone they can relate to, someone they can trust, and someone they can connect with.
When you do this, you’ll start naturally increasing your engagement, which will then help the Instagram algorithm push your content to more potential followers. And engagement will always be an important part of how to organically increase your Instagram followers.
Instagram also tends to share Stories in the main news feed, so if you get more views on Instagram Stories, you can start appearing across channels of new users! More views on your content = more followers.
TIP #11: CREATE A STORY TEMPLATE
By “story template” I mean a story frame that your followers can fill in and share in their Stories! Templates had a moment a few years ago when people were creating “this or that” templates, “bucket lists” etc., but they work! Templates are a great way to engage your audience.
The whole point of a story template is that it’s a challenge that your followers participate in, reshare it on their stories, and their followers then fill in the template.
When you create a template, include your username on it so people will definitely check out your account. This ensures that everyone who sees and uses the template will head to your Instagram page, so you can gain more Instagram followers in 2026!
TIP #12: CREATE A FILTER
This tip is a bit more complex than the others, but face filters can get crazy reach! If you create a face filter that people like, they’re likely to use it on their stories, which means more people creating their own content will see you.
When using a face filter, the filter creator’s username appears in the top left corner of the story screen. This gets more eyes on your profile and potentially gains you more followers in 2026!
TIP #13: TAG CREATORS IN YOUR STORIES
Reach out to other content creators and collaborate with them. When you do, create a fun series together and then share each other’s snippets in your Stories. You can also collaborate by doing a fun joint giveaway and sharing it in your Stories. This approach can help both of you grow because you’ll help each other reach your audiences.
I do prefer to start with Stories though, because users can easily tap through all the tagged handles.
Tagging each other in your Stories can also signal to Instagram that your accounts share some relationship. When Instagram sees that two or more accounts are related in some way, it will start offering those accounts to users through the Explore page and other avenues.
TIP #14: USE THE COLLABORATIVE POST FEATURE
The collaborative post feature essentially makes you and another account co-authors of the content. This single piece of content then appears in the feeds of BOTH of your followers. It’s free and a great way to get in front of new users!
TIP #15: SHARE YOUR CONTENT ON OTHER PLATFORMS
Want to post only on Pinterest? That works! Start by choosing one additional social media app and branch out from there.
It’s all about reach, baby! Every time you expand your content more, it will help you get even more reach! And it will bring people back to your Instagram page. Also, using multiple social media platforms is key to a flawless social media strategy.
I’m not saying you have to create new content for each platform. Instead, make it easier for yourself by recycling content across multiple platforms.
TIP #16: ENGAGE YOUR AUDIENCE
A B-I-G way to grow on Instagram is to engage your audience. I know… you’ve heard it a thousand times, but it’s true. Let your audience know you care about them by engaging. Respond to their messages and comments.
Check out their pages and let them know that you like what they’re creating. If you want to truly grow on Instagram nowadays, you need to be active on this platform and engage.
Engaging in communication with your audience on Instagram helps strengthen your relationships, which leads to better engagement on your Instagram posts. Remember: better engagement is the main key to how to gain Instagram followers organically. But of course, you’ll then get more Instagram followers once the algorithm is on your side!
TIP #17: ASK QUESTIONS
“Ask questions” sounds like vague advice, I know, but what I’m really telling you here is to ask your audience. Ask them what they want to see from you, or for goodness sake, ask them how their week is going!
And if you can’t decide what content to create next, it’s an excellent way to get ideas from your followers.
When you ask questions and show that you care about them, your audience will be more likely to trust you, engage more with you, and recommend your account to their followers.
Wouldn’t it be better if we treated followers more like friends and less like a number?
TIP #18: USE ANALYTICS
How often do you check your analytics tools on Instagram? When I started publishing and trying to grow my audience, my answer would have been: NEVER.
It turned out that it can be useful to know a few things about your audience, like the exact time when they’ll be online and will engage with you… Yup. Pretty handy, I know. Make sure you’re taking advantage of the analytics data that Instagram already shares with you, and use it to grow your account.
If you’ve read my blog about the Instagram algorithm in 2026, then you know that timing is a BIG factor in beating the Instagram algorithm and in knowing how to gain Instagram followers organically.
You can also use your analytics to figure out what content performs best for you. When you know what content performs best, you can recreate it and continue to achieve results.
TIP #19: POST CAROUSELS
It’s said that when you post a carousel, you’re likely to achieve about 14% more engagement than a static Instagram post. Carousels can be a combination of multiple photos or photos + video. They help tell your story better to your followers and potential followers!
In the previous tip with the same tune, check out my blog about the Instagram algorithm in 2026, where you’ll find more information about timing. If you want the Instagram algorithm to favor you and show your content to more people, you need to create content that people want to spend time viewing!
The more time people spend looking at your photos, the more Instagram will say: “Aha! This post must be important, we should show it to more people,” which means you’ll get more Instagram followers!
TIP #20: POST REELS
Reels are having a MOMENT rn! See, when Instagram creates a new feature, it favors accounts that use it. Reels are Instagram’s competitor to TikTok and boy, they’re not going anywhere in 2026. Reels are here to stay, and they’re getting people BILLIONS in reach.
Reels are a great way to add value to your audience’s lives!
Videos naturally tend to have a greater sharing factor, which means that when you create relatable or entertaining Reels, they can be shared across the platform. More shares = more views on your content = greater organic Instagram growth.
TIP #21: GO LIVE
Live videos on Instagram had a real moment in 2020. Why? Because of isolation, people crave connection. Going live is a great way to foster this connection and maintain your audience’s interest in what you’re doing.
After the pandemic, Instagram began leaning more into Lives and introduced bonuses and features like “badges”.
Lives don’t have to be anything crazy. You can jump on for 15 minutes, ask a question, provide updates about your life, start a conversation, etc.
I suspect that “connection” will be a big thing in 2026. You heard it here first! When you show up live, you connect better with your audience. Plus, Instagram was paying creators for Live, which suggests they want more creators to use this feature more often.
TIP #22: USE IGTV AND VIDEO
Okay, I’m asking a lot of you now, BUT hear me out. I suspect that once Instagram merges IGTV and video, it will be even more critical. Instagram has never been able to compete with YouTube, but this is their chance.
Long-form video is excellent for deepening relationships with your followers. When you dive deep into a topic, your followers get to know you better.
At this point, I’m beating a dead horse, but if you focus on tactics that increase engagement, you’ll naturally strengthen one of the best, if not the best, ways to grow your profile organically on Instagram.
How to grow organically on Instagram in summary
Here’s a quick list of how to grow organically on Instagram without having to follow or like tons of posts:
- Have a consistent look to your photos and channel
- Plan your posts and plan your feed
- Niche down
- Have a seamless profile aesthetic
- Create a series of stories
- Use niche-specific hashtags
- Show more BTS stories
- Share content on other platforms
- Tag creators in your stories
- Engage your audience
- Create your own hashtag
- Use your analytics tools
- Carousel posts
- Post Reels
- Create a filter
- Go live
- Use IGTV and videos
- Ask questions
- Find your purpose and be authentic
- Create a story template
- Use the collab post feature
- Refresh your bio
My final thoughts on how to gain followers on Instagram organically in 2026
No one ever said that growing on Instagram is easy, but hopefully you can notice a few themes from this post:
- Create better content more often and consistently
- Ensure your content is shareable
- Focus on building strong relationships with your followers
- Leverage new features
- Start thinking about Instagram search
Michal Záruba is a digital marketing specialist and a consultant in social media and SEO. For more than 8 years, Michal has been helping brands grow online through strategic content, search engine optimisation and effective communication on platforms such as LinkedIn, Instagram and YouTube.
On the blog, Michal shares practical tips on how to combine SEO, social media and brand building into one working strategy, focusing on how companies can use modern tools and algorithms so that their brand gains not only reach but also trust.
Alongside creating content, Michal lectures on digital marketing, trains teams and follows new trends in AI and search.