How To Gain REAL Instagram Followers Organically?

That’s the ultimate goal, right? It’s a race to gain real Instagram followers and do whatever is required of us for this mammoth task.

Yes, even today, accounts with massive Instagram followers are deemed to be ‘credible’ in the audience’s mind. So, it becomes imperative to focus on building a community of legit followers on your account; be it a business, content-led, creative, or influential account – you are trusted if you have a huge following. Without a doubt, putting serious efforts to ensure you gain real Instagram followers should be at the forefront of your strategy on this platform.

21 Effective Strategies to Gain Real Instagram Followers Organically in 2026

Ready to watch your Instagram following explode? Then keep scrolling. Below, you’ll discover 20 proven strategies to gain more Instagram followers the right way. These practical tips are designed to jump-start your growth, strengthen your presence, and help you build an authentic audience you can start growing today.

Take a pen and your favorite notebook and start taking notes.

1. It Is All About The Instagram Reels

We have spent time watching TikTok videos that were highly addictive! But, Instagram did not want to lose out and hence launched Instagram Reels. And if you are not sharing Instagram Reels in 2024, you are surely missing out on a huge opportunity for your brand/business.

Much like TikTok videos, Instagram Reels have the chance to go seriously viral, as instead of users seeing Reels from the accounts they follow, users will see Reels from all accounts. Remember, Reels are most effective when posted at the time your targeted users are most active. Click here to know the best time to post for your handle!

Pro Tip:

• Always stay current and jump on new feature opportunities

2. Keep adding fresh content

Your existing followers want to keep seeing new content from you on your Instagram feed. But, constantly generating new posting content is not possible. In such cases, there are a lot of platforms where you can get new ideas and inspiration. The best places to look are your competitors. You can also use products like Predis.ai, which can help you generate great Instagram posts with just small inputs from your end.

Pro tip:

• Keep track of what your competitors are posting and ones that are resonating with the audience.
• Find trending content in your niche and recreate it in your own style.

3. Micro-influencers are key if you want to gain real Instagram followers

One of the best and probably the easiest ways to grow your follower base is to work with micro-influencers. It’s intuitive to be tempted by blue ticks and a large following on influencers’ accounts. However, those influencers may not be the best choice for your brand or business due to their exorbitant rates. On the other hand, micro-influencers are much more approachable.

Pro Tip:

• Remember that micro-influencers will always go the extra mile for your collaboration.

4. Show BTS of your business

All our followers want to see is the real us. Until now, it was a genuine challenge to show the human side of a brand or business, but stories can make it easier. By using behind-the-scenes content, you can make it easy for your customers to associate better with you.

Pro-Tip:

• Take them through a tour of your operations and also consider introducing important members of your business.

5. Engage With Your Followers

The one major aspect where social media communication trumps traditional ways of communicating with customers is the possibility of two-way communication. Your target audience will follow you not only to consume the content you push out but also to engage with you and make themselves heard. This prompts people to comment on their posts more often, which in turn leads to increased reach, tying in with the algorithm!

Pro tip:

• Pin good comments on top of your content to encourage users to interact with your posts.
• You can conduct Q and A sessions in stories to build rapport with your audience.
• Encourage users to make content and tag you in the post. You can also repost them from your account to make it reach more people.

6. Use the Hashtags That are Right for YOU

If you are managing a new Instagram account, using a hashtag with extremely high search volume and popularity on your posts may not get your post much attention at all.

For example, the #photography page on Instagram has over 700 million posts, and being ranked as a top post for this kind of hashtag would be beyond a herculean task, even for a well-seasoned, popular account. Hence, although the number is attractive (and could mean the hashtag has a lot of followers), you shouldn’t really bother with it since these followers are (likely) not going to see your post anyway.

Instead, choose more focused hashtags. Sure, they have fewer followers, but at least these followers will be exponentially more likely to actually view your post.

Predis AI has recently launched a free Instagram hashtag generator that conducts AI-based hashtag research that can help you find such hashtags.

Pro tip:

• Aim to get your content featured in the Explore section for the right keyword

7. Craft Super Compelling Captions

Your Instagram post captions are much more important than you think.

You can have the best-shot pictures or the cutest carousels lined up for posting on your profile. But if the caption fails to strike a chord with your followers, it would be worth nothing!

In fact, it’s the same with Reels. If you do not fabricate a caption that literally urges the user to tap and engage with it, the chances of your Reel going viral would be pretty slim. 

8. Post Regularly

We’ve talked endlessly on previous blogs about posting regularly on Instagram and how important this is for organic reach.

It’s hard to overstate it, so we’re going to tell you again. Post regularly by all means!

It will be a lot easier for you to gain real Instagram followers this way since Instagram users will see a point in clicking the Follow button for an account that consistently delivers value and good content. Plus, it is great for the algorithm as well!

Pro-tip:

• To get into a posting schedule, start creating content calendars and start pre-planning to maintain consistency.

9. Collaborate With Influencers in Your Niche

The best way to create engagement and gain followers is to collaborate and partner with other creators who share the same interests and genres as you. It can be beneficial for both of the parties as it creates an exchange of followers.

10. Know How to Optimize Your Posts

Always know the importance of knowing how to optimize your posts and understand the algorithm. Instagram is always changing, and new people are coming on this platform every day.

Try to understand your audience and what type of posts get more engagement, and replicate that. Figure out the optimal content that encourages your audience to interact with your account and other websites if you have linked any.

Pro tip:

• Use SEO in your Instagram posts, like adding keywords to improve discoverability.
• Add Instagram posts to your blogs to ensure that it reaches more people.

11. Find the Right Time to Post

Even if you are posting the world’s best content, but not doing it at the right time when your followers are the most active, then it is all in vain. Look for the time when your followers are the most active and try to post then. This increases engagement and allows new people to also check your content out.

Pro tip:

• Take advantage of Instagram Insights to find when your audience is mostly active.
• Check out your competitor’s schedules as well

12. Utilize User-Generated Content

The most effective way to gain Instagram followers is to make your current followers participate in creating content with you. You can encourage them by hosting a contest or a giveaway.

This can be beneficial as your followers will be posting the content made by them all over Instagram, and it will act like an advertisement for your account.

You can also post user-generated content, which only encourages your followers to create more. It is overall a positive thing for your Instagram account.

13. Craft an Interesting Instagram Bio

The first thing a person sees when they open your account is your bio. Keep it neat and attractive. If it is too messy, it can make people less interested in you.

Try to use clear keywords that describe you, your business, or your account properly without overdoing it. You can also add some cool emojis to make it a little unique, but don’t go ham on the emojis!

Adding a CTA (Call To Action) is a great way to showcase any website or other social media platforms and direct your followers there, ultimately boosting engagement.

14. Optimize Your Instagram Account

Try to make the most out of all the Instagram features you have on your account. Making an attractive bio is already a plus, and also choosing a profile photo that resonates with you and what you offer on your Instagram.

Pro tip:

• Use an appropriate username for your business.
• Keep contact details in your bio to help people reach you.
• Your Instagram feed should not be a mess and should have a coherent view.
• Maintain the visual quality of your posts.
• Engage and communicate with your followers.

15. Avoid Faking Instagram Followers

It is difficult to build a following on Instagram, especially when it is this saturated and full of competition. Do not try to cheat the system, and know that if you do the strategy thing right and work by the rules, you can easily gather a following.

But why are we so hell-bent on not buying your followers? There are 5 reasons why that is a bad idea:

• It beats the purpose: Using social media is because we want to build genuine connections with users. With fake followers, there is no one to form relationships with.
• Can get penalized: Instagram discourages users from purchasing followers, so if they find out, your account runs the risk of getting penalized.
• Can’t understand audience preference: One of the advantages of having an active social media following is the ability to see what your audiencce like in real-time. When you have fake followers, you lose out on this opportunity.
• Impacts the trust of your real followers: When your audience sees your posts getting spammed by bots, they lose their trust and have a negative experience.
• Reputation issue: When more bots spam, the user experience diminishes, and your reputation gets tarnished as well.

16. Showcase Your Instagram Everywhere You Can

You have to showcase your Instagram everywhere you can; otherwise, no matter what you do, it won’t be seen. Try to cross-promote your accounts on different social media.

If you have a YouTube account, try to plug your Instagram there and vice versa. This can also be done for other platforms like Pinterest, Facebook, X(Twitter), TikTok, and many others.

You can show off your posts and the type of content you have to offer on your Instagram and what your account is all about.

17. Attract Local Tourists by Using Geo-Tagging

One can also attract new followers by geo-tagging and getting into the feed of locals. You can do this by turning on the location setting on your phone and on your Instagram app.

Be respectful about the content you are posting and tagging the locals. Post things that are relevant to them and something that shows off your personality well.

You can also collaborate with local micro influencers and make content with them, which can be helpful for both of you. As it exposes you to their followers and does the same for them.

Pro tip:

• Place Instagram QR codes in your physical location to encourage users to follow you.

18. Organize Your Top Stories As Highlights

Organizing your top stories as highlights can be a great way to showcase your branding and improve the overall appeal. It also elongates the lifespan of a good Instagram story.

It also makes your account more visible and showcases all the top things you have to present to your audience. You can make some of the highlights showcasing some behind-the-scenes.

These can act like a teaser for your account, presenting what you post and how your online persona is. Importantly, they can help with gaining more followers.

19. Keep an Eye on Your Competitors

Your competitors’ Instagram profiles can be a goldmine for you only if you know how to use them to your advantage. And well, we’re finally spilling the beans on that.

Now, stroll through their followers list and follow each one of them. Chances are, you will get a follow-up since those users are already interested in engaging with beauty content.

20. Entice New Followers by Hosting Loop Giveaways

Engaging with fellow creators in your niche also opens the door for hosting loop giveaways. These are similar to collaborations, where you get to team up with other creators to host a giveaway. To participate in such giveaways, users are required to follow the accounts of all the hosts, including you.

Now, you are always free to host giveaways on your own, too. But loop giveaways have two major advantages:

1. They make your account visible to the followers of all the hosts involved in the giveaway.
2. Even if your personal reach is low, you will gain new followers through your hosts.

Isn’t that fantastic?

21. Connect with Facebook friends

If you have a Facebook account, then following those friends on Instagram as well can get you new followers with much less effort. You can easily find these people from the Instagram app through the following method:

If you still can’t find your Facebook friends on Instagram, then here are some other tips to find them:

• Search their Facebook profile name on Instagram to see if you can find them.
• See if you can find their profile on Instagram through a mutual friend’s account.
• Connect your Facebook profile to Instagram. Sometimes, you might get their account in your suggestions.

And that’s about it!

We really hope the above pointers help you up your IG game! And we understand that growing your Instagram account can often seem like a challenge, but if you follow the right strategy and stick to basics (which, though often neglected, includes writing a killer bio), you are sure to get more Instagram followers.

Just remember, it is a combination of creative content, right targeting, promotion, and tons of hard work! Also, remember, when you gain real Instagram followers, you’re just taking the first step in the process of developing a strong handle.

Tell us in the comments below if you have any other tips or tricks for growing your IG follower base, so we can project these to our followers as well. If you found this useful, don’t forget to subscribe to our social media accounts!

FAQ:

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