How to Get People to Follow You on Instagram

Gaining more Instagram followers isn’t about hacks or luck, it’s a result of a smart, consistent strategy. This guide breaks down the essential steps to turn casual viewers into dedicated followers by optimizing your profile, creating content people want to share, and engaging with purpose. We will cover everything from setting up your profile for success to advanced content and collaboration techniques.

Optimize Your Profile to Convert Visitors into Followers

Your Instagram profile is your digital handshake. When someone new lands on your page, you have only a few seconds to convince them you're worth a follow. Think of your profile as the front door to your brand, it needs to be welcoming, clear, and representative of the value you offer.

Choose a Clear and Searchable Username

Your username (@handle) is one of the first things people see. Make it easy to remember and easy for people to find. If you’re a personal brand, your name is a great option. For businesses, your company name is the obvious choice. If your desired name is taken, try adding a simple, relevant keyword like “@janedoecoaching” or “@brooklyncoffeeco” instead of using confusing numbers or underscores.

Use a High-Quality Profile Photo

Your profile picture should be instantly recognizable, even as a tiny circle. For personal brands, a clear, friendly headshot works best. Look at the camera and show some personality! For businesses, your logo is standard. Make sure it's high-resolution and properly cropped to fit in the circle without cutting off critical elements.

Write a Bio That Means Business

Your bio is your elevator pitch. You have 150 characters to explain who you are, what you do, and who you do it for. A great bio clearly answers three questions for a potential follower:

• Who are you? (e.g., “SF Interior Designer,” “Personal Finance Coach”)
• What value do you offer? (e.g., “Helping you create a home you love on a budget,” “Teaching millennials how to invest their first $1,000”)
• What should they do next? (This is your call to action, or CTA, directing them to your link.)

Use line breaks and emojis to make your bio easy to read at a glance. Avoid vague jargon and focus on the benefits for your followers.

Leverage Your Link in Bio

Instagram gives you only one clickable link, so make it count. While you can direct people straight to your website, using a link-in-bio tool (like Linktree, Beacons, or a custom landing page on your site) allows you to direct traffic to multiple destinations: your latest blog post, a sign-up form for your newsletter, your product pages, or your other social media channels. Update this link frequently to direct followers to your most current and relevant content.

Curate Your Story Highlights

Story Highlights act as a curated "greatest hits" collection for your brand. They are the first glimpse a new visitor has into your best content. Use them strategically to introduce yourself and provide immediate value. A few effective Highlight categories include:

• About Me/Us: Introduce the person or team behind the account.
• FAQs: Answer common questions you receive.
• Services/Products: Showcase what you offer.
• Reviews/Testimonials: Build social proof with user-generated content.
• How-To's: Provide useful tutorials or tips related to your niche.

Be sure to create custom, on-brand covers for your Highlights to give your profile a professional and polished look.

Create High-Value Content They Can't Help But Follow

An optimized profile gets people to the door, but great content convinces them to stay. Your content strategy should center around providing value to your target audience. Every post should aim to do one of four things: educate, entertain, inspire, or persuade.

Master the Art of Instagram Reels

There is no more powerful tool for organic reach on Instagram right now than Reels. Instagram is prioritizing short-form video in its algorithm, meaning your Reels are more likely to be shown to people who don't follow you yet. This makes them your number one tool for discovery.

A successful Reel formula often includes:

1. A Strong Hook: Start your video with something that immediately grabs attention in the first three seconds. This could be a bold statement on screen, a pointed question, or an intriguing visual.
2. Deliver Value: Give them the answer, the tutorial, the laugh, or the inspiration you promised in the hook. Make it quick, clear, and easy to understand.
3. Use Trending Audio: Using popular songs or sound clips can boost your visibility. Tap the music icon when creating a Reel to see what's currently trending.
4. A Call to Action (CTA): End your Reel by telling viewers what to do next. Simple CTAs like "Follow for more tips" or "Share your thoughts in the comments" can significantly increase engagement and follower growth.

Develop a Cohesive Visual Aesthetic

When someone lands on your page, your grid of photos and videos creates an instant impression. A visually consistent feed looks professional and helps communicate your brand identity. This doesn't mean every photo has to look the same. Instead, aim for a cohesive feel through a consistent color palette, editing style, or content format.

You can achieve this by:

• Using the same 1-2 photo editing presets on all of your posts.
• Alternating between different types of content (e.g., a quote graphic, a photo, a Reel).
• Sticking to a brand color palette for any text overlays or graphics.

Write Captions That Build Connection

Your visuals get the attention, but your captions build the relationship. A good caption encourages engagement like comments and shares, signaling to the algorithm that your content is valuable.

• Start with a Hook: Just like with Reels, the first line of your caption is what's most visible in the feed. Start with a question or a bold statement to encourage people to tap "...more."
• Tell a Story: Share the behind-the-scenes, your personal experiences, or a client success story. Storytelling creates an emotional connection that turns passive viewers into loyal fans.
• Add a Call-to-Action: Always give your audience something to do. Ask a question, tell them to tag a friend, or prompt them to save the post. This is a simple but effective way to boost engagement.

Engage Like a Human, Not a Bot

Growth on Instagram is a two-way street. You can't just post content and expect the followers to roll in. You need to actively engage with your community and other accounts in your niche.

Master Your Hashtag Strategy

Hashtags are Instagram's built-in search engine. They help categorize your content so people interested in your topic can find you.

• Go for Niche over Broad: Instead of using a hashtag like #marketing with 80 million+ posts, use more specific ones like #contentmarketingstrategy or #socialmediamarketingtips. This puts you in front of a more targeted and engaged audience.
• Mix It Up: A good strategy is to use a mix of hashtags with varying degrees of popularity: a few very popular tags (1M+ posts), several moderately popular tags (100k-500k posts), and a handful of highly specific, niche tags (under 50k posts).
• Where to Put Them: Whether you put them at the end of your caption or in the first comment is largely a matter of aesthetic preference. Both tactics work the same way algorithmically. Aim for 10-20 relevant hashtags per post.

Engage with Your Target Audience First

Don't wait for people to find you, go find them. Spend 15 minutes a day engaging with people who don't follow you yet but fit your ideal follower profile. Find these people by:

• Searching relevant niche hashtags.
• Looking at the follower lists of larger, non-competitor accounts in your industry.
• Checking the comments sections of popular posts in your niche.

Leave thoughtful, genuine comments (more than just "Great post!") on their content. Don't ask for a follow, simply add value to the conversation. This puts you on their radar in a natural, authentic way.

Collaborate and Cross-Promote

Partnerships are one of the fastest ways to get your account in front of a brand new, relevant audience.

• Use the "Invite Collaborator" Feature: When you post a Reel or feed post, you can invite another account to be a collaborator. If they accept, the post will appear on both of your profiles and be shown to both of your audiences. This is an incredible tool for reaching new people. Partner with a complementary account in your niche for a co-created post.
• Do a Shared Live Video: Go live with another creator in your space. You can interview each other, run a tutorial, or have a Q&,A session. Both of your audiences will get a notification when you go live, exposing them to your account.
• Promote Your Instagram on Other Platforms: Don't forget that your audience exists in other places. Share your Instagram Reels on TikTok or YouTube Shorts. Mention your Instagram handle in your email newsletter. Connect your accounts and remind people where else they can find you.

Final Thoughts

The road to growing a dedicated following on Instagram combines science with art. It's about optimizing your profile for discovery, creating consistently valuable content that resonates deeply with a specific audience, and participating actively within your community. By focusing on these core pillars, you'll attract followers who aren't just a number, but are genuinely invested in what you have to say.

Executing a consistent Instagram content strategy can be incredibly rewarding, but it's also a lot of work. Planning, creating, and scheduling across multiple content formats can quickly become overwhelming, and that’s a big reason we built Postbase. Our visual calendar lets you see your entire content plan - from Reels to Stories to classic feed posts - in one simple view, making it easy to schedule everything in advance and stay consistent. Instead of wrestling with a clunky tool, you can focus your energy back on what really matters: creating great content and engaging with your community.