How To Get More Followers on Instagram: 10 Ways in 2027

Instagram followers are the people who’ve subscribed to your account’s posts, and they remain a signal of audience size and potential organic reach.

Although non-follower views are on the rise, thanks to the Reels discovery algorithm, a 2025 peer-reviewed study found that follower count is still associated with revenue performance.

In this guide, you’ll learn how to get more followers on Instagram, with tips from social media experts and entrepreneurs who have found success on the platform. 

10 ideas for how to get more followers on Instagram

• Optimize your profile and bio
• Focus on Reels
• Tap into analytics
• Follow your audience
• Build your personal brand
• Post regularly
• Run a giveaway
• Share user-generated content (UGC)
• Try Instagram Ads
• Create a series

Here are 10 strategies for getting more followers on Instagram: 

Optimize your profile and bio

A great Instagram bio and profile can help you attract followers. 

“Think of it as your visual business card,” says Ben Fingeret, vice president of social at communications agency Full Picture.

Consider adding the following to your Instagram bio:

• A profile photo related to your business, such as your logo

• Essential information about who you are and what you sell

• A unique selling proposition (why should visitors follow you?)

• A call to action (CTA)

• A link in bio that makes it easy for visitors to take that action

Skin care brand Dieux, for example, has a profile photo that shows the Dieux logo and brand name. The line “Effective skincare down to a science” communicates the brand’s unique selling proposition. The two CTAs urge viewers to direct message (DM) the brand or shop their ecommerce site, while the link in bio lets visitors start shopping right away.

A blue checkmark shows that Dieux is verified on Instagram, which Ben says signals credibility.

When it comes to your bio text, Ben says that many of the best lines follow the same format. “It’s a little active and maybe a little humorous,” he says. “It says who you are and why people should follow you.”

Ben encourages creators and brands to add Story Highlights and pinned posts. You can pin up to three posts, which appear as the first three squares in your grid.

“Those are the three standout things that they want people to see,” says Ben. “Some people, especially brands, will either do the latest promotion they have, or they’ll do something that really speaks to their brand origin or DNA, like an intro video.”

Focus on Reels

In the first quarter of 2026, Meta reported that video continued to drive all-time high engagement, and that there was a 10% increase in time spent on Reels. Instagram Reels are short-form videos that viewers can come across without following you or visiting your profile, giving you a chance to reach new audiences through Instagram’s discovery algorithm.

“Reels tap into Instagram’s algorithmic For You channels, meaning businesses can reach new audiences organically without ad spend,” says internet personality and digital creator Steven Fingar. “They’re also favored in the algorithm, so posting Reels can accelerate growth and engagement far faster than static content.”

While nothing can truly guarantee follower growth, greater reach gives you the best chance to achieve it. According to 2026 research from social media management platform Buffer, Reels have better reach than any other Instagram content type.

Tap into analytics

Instagram’s native analytics track follower growth and loss. They also show you the number of times an individual piece of content was viewed, how many unique accounts saw it, how many times people interacted with it, and how many accounts followed you after viewing the post. 

Once you identify which types of posts the algorithm is broadcasting to new viewers, and which types of posts are converting viewers into followers, you can double down on those content types.

Tique Chandler, founder of Chandler Honey, told Shopify Masters that using Instagram’s built-in analytics software allowed her to spot what was drawing in followers. 

“I know that people love to see my face,” she says. “They love to see what I’m doing behind the scenes. They love to be involved in new flavors that I’m creating.”

It’s also worth tracking followers versus non-follower reach and engagement, as this is who you’re trying to bring into your orbit. This metric shows how many people who don’t already follow you are seeing and interacting with your content. You can focus on increasing this metric by prioritizing discovery-driven formats like Reels and collaborating with creators to get in front of new audiences.

Follow your audience

Engaging with and following people with a demonstrated interest in your business can yield follows in return. For instance, Book Box earned early views and follows by seeking out and following local “Bookstagram” micro-influencers. 

“We just followed a bunch of Bookstagram and local Aussie influencers,” Cofounder Kate Blazeska tells Shopify. “They followed us back, and that’s sort of how we got views on our page. We worked closely with them to bring that attention and hype over our product.”

Build your personal brand

If your brand is founder-led, the founder’s personal Instagram can work in conjunction with the brand account to increase the follower count for each.

Pia Mance was a model and influencer with 45,000 followers on Instagram before she started her accessory company, Heaven Mayhem. On Shopify Masters, Pia says that she started posting photos of herself wearing Heaven Mayhem jewelry on her personal account. 

“I was just wearing it and promoting it,” she says. “My following wasn’t a diehard, converting following. They were just interested in these one-off necklaces. As soon as someone liked the post, I would DM them straight away, like, ‘Hey, so you liked it? Are you interested in purchasing it?’ I was after every sale, really wanting to connect with every single person.”

Since she already had an established personal account, Pia was able to build interest in her brand by subtly promoting her products. That led to both sales and account growth for Heaven Mayhem.

Post regularly

Posting regularly helps to engage audiences, which can lead to new followers. 

Dash Social analyzed more than 1.5 million Instagram feed posts and found that accounts that posted three to five times per week saw the most engagement. Aim to post even more Stories: Dash Social suggests posting upward of 30 Stories per week (four or five per day) for maximum engagement.

Here are a few posting ideas for inspiration:

• Anniversaries. Celebrate your business’s first social media post, sale, or launch. 

• Inspirational figures. Share who has inspired your business and why. 

• Audience appreciation. Show your followers what their support means to your brand. 

• Behind-the-scenes. Give audiences a peek into how you run your business.

• Customer testimonials. Let viewers know why your product or service is special. 

To stay organized, create a content calendar. Cross-reference a standard calendar tool like Google Calendar to stay on top of events like Valentine’s Day and April Fool’s Day that can spark content ideas.

Run a giveaway

Running a giveaway can help increase your follower count. To enter, brands and creators will ask followers to complete one or more actions. 

For children’s book fair company MiJa Books, giveaways were a meaningful way to gain followers on Instagram and grow their email list. 

“Part of the criteria [for the giveaway] was to subscribe to our newsletter and follow us on social media. And we saw that that was working … not just working, but it was a huge unlock,” says Cofounder Stephanie Reed on Shopify Masters.

Beyond follows, you can also require giveaway entrants to:

• Like the giveaway post

• Tag one or more friends in the comments

• Leave a comment on the post

• Share the post to their Stories

• Fill out an entry form on the brand’s website with additional information

These additional engagements can create a visibility flywheel on Instagram. Tags get your content in front of potential new followers, and engagement signals to the Instagram algorithm that your post deserves wider reach.

However you choose to promote your giveaway, make sure you follow Instagram’s rules and guidelines around running promotions. 

Share user-generated content (UGC)

User-generated content (UGC) is any content, such as videos, photos, written reviews, or audio, that a fan, customer, or follower creates about a brand. UGC helps humanize your brand and gives it credibility, providing social proof for potential followers. You can use the repost feature to share UGC content with your followers.

“UGC works best when it feels authentic and aspirational,” says Steven. “Choose content that aligns with your brand’s aesthetic and showcases the product in a real-life context your audience can relate to.” 

Tinned seafood brand Fishwife, for example, shared a carousel showing the different ways people enjoy Fishwife products while camping and hiking. The photos have different styles and backgrounds and aren’t overly polished, so they feel real and accessible.

Try Instagram Ads

As the old adage goes, sometimes you have to spend money to make money—or gain followers. In July 2025, Meta introduced an “Instagram follows” metric that allows you to directly track and attribute follows to Instagram ad campaigns.

Set up Instagram Ads in Meta Ads Manager, where you can set your own goals (like website traffic or brand awareness) and budgets. You can also establish audience parameters based on demographic data and location, helping you reach Instagram users with matching interests or in locations where you do business.

If you have a Shopify store, you can download the Facebook & Instagram app to help you track conversions from ads and sync product data into your ad creative. 

Create a series

By creating a series of videos on Instagram, you encourage people to follow your account to catch up with new installments.

If you’re working on a limited series, you can start your video by letting viewers know which part of the series they’re on, and close it out by encouraging them to follow you for future additions to the series. Leave viewers on a bit of a cliffhanger so they have more of a reason to hit that Follow button. 

For example, in her video recipe for Italian SpaghettiOs, @babytamago starts with “Welcome to my new series fall-maxxing,” introduces the recipe as “episode one” of the series, and ends the video with “follow along for more fall-maxxing.”

Should I buy Instagram followers?

You shouldn’t buy fake followers. It’s been outlawed by the Federal Trade Commission, and according to Instagram’s Terms of Use, you can’t do anything unlawful, misleading, or fraudulent or for an illegal or unauthorized purpose.

Purchased followers can also hurt your engagement rate and make your posts less likely to be shown to real users. Instagram’s algorithm uses engagement signals (both from viewers and from you responding to users in comments) when determining your content’s reach. If you have a high follower count of inactive users, you’ll have a lower engagement rate than if you just did things organically.

If you’re a creator, buying followers can negatively impact your ability to make money on Instagram. 

“If you’re trying to do a brand deal with someone, they’re going to ask for your stats,” Ben of Full Picture says. These stats include engagement rate as well as the location of your following. If a large percentage of your followers are located in a particular foreign country and you’re not creating content targeted at users in that country, Ben says that’s a “huge signal that you’re buying followers.”