So, you’re just starting out on Instagram and want to grow your followers fast, but without buying bots or doing shady follow-unfollow tricks? Perfect.
This guide breaks down real, actionable, and beginner-friendly strategies to help you grow your account quickly and sustainably, even if you’re starting from zero.
Whether you’re a blogger, small business owner, content creator, or side hustler, these tips are tailored to give you momentum without burnout or confusion.
Tips to Grow Instagram Followers Quickly (Especially for Beginners)
1. Optimize Your Profile for First Impressions
Before you do anything else, treat your profile like your homepage. People will decide in less than 5 seconds whether to follow you.
Actionable Tips:
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Username: Keep it short, memorable, and relevant.
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Profile Picture: Use a clear, bright headshot (for creators) or logo (for businesses).
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Bio: Use clear language about who you help and how. Add emojis for personality. Include a call-to-action like “🎯 Follow for [benefit]”.
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Link in Bio: Use Linktree, Beacons, or your website to guide followers to key content.
Example:
👩‍💻 Helping bloggers grow using Pinterest & Instagram
🎯 Follow for daily growth tips
⬇️ Free Growth Guide
2. Choose a Clear Niche & Stick to It
Trying to talk to everyone = no one listens. Choose one main topic and build around it.
Examples of Niches:
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Fitness for moms
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Budget travel for couples
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Home decor for small apartments
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Book reviews for fantasy lovers
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Instagram tips for handmade businesses
Instagram’s algorithm and your potential followers need consistency to know what to expect.
3. Master the Art of High-Quality Content
You don’t need a fancy camera. Your phone, good lighting, and some editing apps are enough.
Content Formats That Work:
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Reels
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Carousels
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Infographics
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Before/After photos
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Behind-the-scenes
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Memes (if on-brand)
Tools:
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Canva for carousels and infographics
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CapCut or InShot for Reels
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Lightroom for presets
Keep your branding consistent. Choose 2–3 fonts and 2–3 brand colors.
4. Write Engaging, Relatable Captions
Your captions build connection. That’s what drives likes, saves, and follows.
Formula:
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Hook (First line should stop the scroll)
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Value (Teach, entertain, or tell a story)
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Call-to-action (Ask a question or prompt a response)
Example Hook:
“I almost quit Instagram last year. Here’s what stopped me.”
Then tell your story, end with “Have you ever felt like this?”
5. Post Consistently (But Smartly)
Consistency builds trust with both your audience and the algorithm.
Minimum Frequency (for beginners):
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3-4 feed posts/week (mix of Reels, carousels, and photos)
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Daily stories (5-10 frames minimum)
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1 Live session or Collab per month
Don’t post just to post. Focus on valuable content.
6. Use the Right Hashtags Strategically
Hashtags still matter. But using 30 random ones won’t help.
Tips:
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Use a mix of:
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Small (under 50k posts)
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Medium (50k–300k)
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Large (300k–1M)
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Avoid ultra-competitive tags like #love or #fitness.
Tools:
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Flick.tech
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Hashtag Slayer
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Instagram search bar
7. Leverage Reels for Explosive Reach
Reels are currently the fastest way to grow. The algorithm favors short, engaging videos.
Hook Ideas for Reels:
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“3 mistakes you’re making as a beginner creator”
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“How I grew 0 to 1,000 followers without spending a cent”
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“This one hack changed my Instagram growth overnight”
Use trending audio with less than 10k uses for maximum discoverability.
8. Engage Like a Real Human (Not a Bot)
Instagram is a two-way street. You want followers? Be one first.
Daily Tasks (15–30 min):
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Reply to DMs
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Comment on 5–10 niche-related posts
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Answer every comment on your content
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React to stories of similar accounts
Genuine engagement leads to profile visits → follows.
9. Collaborate & Cross-Promote
This works even with a small following.
Ideas:
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Do Reels or Lives with creators in your niche
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Shout each other out on Stories
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Guest post on their blog and promote your Insta
You’ll tap into their audience and build authority by association.
10. Study Analytics & Adjust Accordingly
You can’t grow what you don’t track.
Use:
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Instagram Insights (available for creator/business accounts)
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See what posts get the most:
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Reach
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Follows
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Saves
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Shares
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Double down on what works. Ditch what flops.
11. Run Giveaways the Smart Way
Done right, giveaways can bring in hundreds of followers fast.
Best Practices:
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Partner with 2–3 creators in your niche
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Make the prize super relevant (not just an iPad)
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Keep the entry simple: follow, like, comment
Avoid fake followers by making the prize niche-specific like:
“Win a Pinterest audit from 3 top bloggers!”
12. Use Instagram Stories & Highlights for Retention
Stories keep followers engaged daily. Highlights sell your brand passively.
Story Ideas:
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Polls & questions
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Behind-the-scenes
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Product demos
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Quick tips
Create Highlights for:
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About You
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FAQs
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Testimonials
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Best Content
13. Convert Visitors to Followers with Strong CTAs
Don’t assume people will follow — ask them to.
Examples:
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In captions: “Follow for more quick tips like this!”
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In Reels: Add on-screen text like “💥 Save this & follow for more hacks!”
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In bio: “🎯 Follow for daily Instagram growth tips!”
The more you remind, the more they follow.
14. What to Avoid: Rookie Mistakes That Slow Your Growth
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Buying followers or engagement (kills reach)
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Using banned hashtags
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Posting low-res or overly filtered content
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Ignoring your niche or audience needs
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Posting only promotional content
Growth is about giving, not selling. At least at first.
Final Thoughts: The Mindset Behind Sustainable Growth
Growing on Instagram is not about going viral once. It’s about showing up with consistency, value, and authenticity.
Some days your post will get 30 likes. Others, 3,000. Don’t chase numbers. Chase impact.
And remember — the slow, steady growth that comes from real engagement always beats shortcut hacks.
Ankit is an engineer by profession and blogger by passion. He is passionate to do all the stuff such as designing the website, doing the SEO, researching for the content, writing tech blog posts and more.
