How to get more followers on your business Instagram With more than 1 billion monthly active users, Instagram is one of the most essential social media platforms for marketers and business owners to connect with their audience. If you're new to the platform, you're probably wondering how to get Instagram followers who are genuinely interested in what your business has to offer. Growing your following takes time and attention, but there are a few things you can do right now to build your Instagram platform. Let's dive into the steps you can take to tap into your audience on Instagram and increase your follower count. Table of Contents How to Get More Followers on Instagram The Best Instagram Apps to Get Followers 1. Don't buy Instagram followers. While many social influencers and major brands work hard to build an organic following, some choose to buy followers to increase their social reach and engagement. Buying followers is cheap; some companies charge less than $5 for hundreds of followers. However, buying followers and likes can severely damage your brand image and decrease engagement. For example, Hootsuite created a fake Instagram account and bought 1,000 followers for as little as $15 to test how purchased followers influence audience engagement. The company received some new followers over the course of a month, but the followers were fake, barely interacted with the content, and were unrelated to the brand. Furthermore, you risk Instagram removing your account for...

How to use AI tools in your Instagram strategy: Tips from HubSpot’s global head of brand marketing For anyone struggling with using AI in Instagram marketing, now is definitely the time to learn. Nearly half of the marketers we surveyed for our 2025 State of AI Marketing report said they're already using AI for social media, with 49% using it for text-based social content and 47% for video/audio-based content. HubSpot’s own social media team is leveraging AI to create more engaging, authentic, and on-trend content fast. I did some digging on the ways brands are using AI on Instagram and chatted with HubSpot’s Global Head of Brand Marketing to bring you the AI examples, tips, and tools you need to succeed on Instagram. Table of Contents Examples of How Brands Are Using AI on Instagram Tips for Using AI in Your Instagram Marketing Strategy Best AI Tools for Instagram Marketing Examples of How Brands Are Using AI on Instagram 1. Generating Instagram Captions Coming up with captions is often the bane of a social media marketer’s existence. Thanks to generative AI, this tedious task can be much faster. I personally like to start with a draft I’ve written and then ask ChatGPT to help me refine it by prompting it with something like, “Improve this. Make it shorter, punchier.” I recommend revising the output. In fact, our State of AI Marketing research found that only 7% of marketers do not edit the...

The Ultimate Guide to Instagram Influencer Marketing for Brands In my agency days, I once woke up at 5:00 am to meet a TV host at my client’s donut shop for a behind-the-scenes first look at their pumpkin-spiced lattes and donuts. (In Indiana, we love our donuts.) The TV coverage was great, but you know what made an even bigger impact? The Instagram stories the media personality shared. In the last five years, influencer marketing has come a long way from an experimental content-for-product swap to a full-fledged marketing tactic. Influence Marketing Hub estimates that the industry will total $24 billion by 2025, up from $1.7 billion in 2016. Instagram influencer marketing is one of the most popular ways to work with influencers, and I’ve compiled all the details you need to know to get started with any budget. With this guide, you won’t need to trek out at dawn to launch your campaign — you can do it right from your computer or phone. What is Instagram influencer marketing? Why use influencer marketing on Instagram? How much does Instagram influencer marketing cost? How to Find the Right Instagram Influencers to Promote Your Brand How to Work With Instagram Influencers What is Instagram influencer marketing? Instagram influencer marketing is a social media tactic in which brands collaborate with influencers to feature or review a sponsored product or service with their followers. Most Instagram influencer campaigns are paid and require the...

How to Get Sponsored on Instagram (Even if You Currently Have 0 Followers) It's no surprise you want to become a paid Instagram influencer, but the idea of getting your posts sponsored might seem laughable if you’re just posting pictures of your brunch instead of skydiving pictures in Australia. You’re probably more marketable than you think, as Instagram is a popular channel for influencers to partner with all kinds of businesses to post all kinds of content across topic areas for all types of influencers, from micro-influencers to viral celebrities. Here, we're going to show you everything you need to do to get sponsored on Instagram. Keep reading to get started or click the links below to jump to a specific section of this article. Table of Contents How to Get Sponsored on Instagram What's a Sponsored Instagram Post? Using #ad and #spon Hashtags How to Disclose Paid Partnerships on Instagram Things to Consider Before Accepting an Instagram Sponsorship Pros and Cons of Instagram Sponsorship 1. Define your brand. You'll see the best engagement if you're able to define your niche. Do you want to post food and health-related content or focus on fashion? Whatever the case, it's important to establish your brand. In addition to the type of content you post, branding has a lot to do with your overall aesthetic. How do you want to style your posts? What's your messaging? To further solidify...

Instagram Shadowban Is Real: How to Test for & Prevent It When you're trying to grow a following on Instagram, you depend on Explore and hashtag pages to expand your audience and reach. So it can feel more than a little disheartening when it suddenly seems like your content isn't showing up anywhere. If you feel like your posts are receiving fewer likes and comments suddenly, or aren't appearing for certain hashtags or on the Explore page, you might be shadowbanned. From Instagram's perspective, the objective of hiding "inappropriate" content makes sense (although its enforcement has been criticized.) Why does Instagram shadowban? Shadowbanning allows Instagram to filter out accounts that don't comply with their terms. Some people use inauthentic measures to expand their Instagram following, like buying followers or using hundreds of hashtags that are irrelevant to their content. If that's the case, it makes sense that Instagram hides content from those accounts so that only genuine and helpful content is promoted to users. While Instagram doesn't openly admit to shadowbanning, they released a statement on their Facebook business page in February 2019 that addressed the problem users were having with their content not showing up for certain hashtags. Their statement at least confirms the hashtag dilemma as a real one — but many speculate that the statement is Instagram's way of admitting to shadowbanning, without actually admitting it. It's important to note that Instagram changes its algorithm often, so those alterations could be the...

30 Fashion Brands That Marketers Can Learn From on Instagram Between carefully curated photos, expertly targeted ads, and decisive adoption of Instagram stories, no other B2C industry has thrived on Instagram, much like the beauty and apparel industry. Some of the best clothing brands on Instagram are masters of consumer engagement, and businesses from any industry could learn something from these inspirational feeds. In this post, we’ve compiled a list of 30 clothing brands — both big and small — crushing the game. For a deeper dive into how to build a presence on Instagram, check out our complete guide to Instagram marketing. 30 of the Best Clothing Brands to Follow on Instagram 1. Telfar @telfar Telfar is a luxury brand well known for its bags and clothing. Like many brands on the list, it uses Instagram to share information about its products paired with high-quality product photos, videos, and user-generated content. Image Source 2. J.Crew @jcrew J.Crew has mastered the art of follower engagement on Instagram. Its vibrant feed inspires followers, whether via daily updated Stories, in-feed product announcements, or style inspo.     ...

Scheduling Instagram Reels: The Complete Guide Instagram Reels generate 43.5% more engagement than Instagram videos on average. So if you’re looking to give your content a boost, it’s time to make the switch. But there’s a catch. It’s impossible to deliver engaging Reels daily. You may run out of time or ideas. Scheduling Instagram Reels is a great solution to keep up with posting every day. Read the full post to learn how to schedule IG Reels. Table of Contents The Benefits of Scheduling Instagram Reels How to Schedule Instagram Reels With Creator Studio by Meta How to Schedule Instagram Reels With Other Tools Best Apps for Scheduling Instagram Reels Gain More Engagement With Instagram Reels Scheduling The Benefits of Scheduling Instagram Reels Still not convinced that you should schedule your reels? Here are six major benefits of planning ahead. 1. Posting at the right time garners more engagement. The best time to post Reels is between 9 a.m. and 12 p.m. from Monday to Thursday, according to a two-year-long research study from Hootsuite. On Saturdays, you’ll want to post at 9 a.m., and on Sundays, it’s 7 p.m. Unless you live, sleep, and eat with the phone in your hands, it’s difficult to stick to these time slots without scheduling posts. If you want the most engagement on your Reels, schedule them when your audience is most active on Instagram. Image Source 2. You’ll be flexible and consistent with...

Instagram Marketing for Small Businesses: The Complete Guide Seventy-one percent of US businesses use Instagram to market their products, services, and brand to more than one billion users on the app. With a variety of interactive features, Instagram marketing has become essential for small businesses. Your team needs need to have an Instagram marketing strategy in place to harness the platform’s power. Read this guide to help you tackle the platform. Table of Contents: Why Instagram Marketing Matters for Small Businesses 15 Instagram Marketing Strategies for Small Businesses Getting Started Why Instagram Marketing Matters for Small Businesses In our digital-first world, Instagram is one of the first places people go to learn about a small business. Today, 90% of people follow at least one business on Instagram. Further, 1 in 2 people use the app to discover new brands, products, and services. As a small business owner, you need to use Instagram to get your business in front of customers and build brand loyalty. But without a clear Instagram marketing strategy in place, you may find yourself struggling to grow your audience, post content consistently, or generate quality engagement. If this sounds familiar, you’re not alone. Over 90% of small businesses struggle with these common social media challenges. Here’s the good news: Even if you have a small budget, limited resources, or a one-person team, there are several Instagram marketing strategies that small businesses can use to grow their presence and find success on the...

Is IGTV Gone? I remember recording a 20-minute video I intended to upload to Instagram as IGTV content. The video was a collaboration with a few of my content creator friends, and I was so excited to share it. Imagine my surprise — and confusion — when I logged into Instagram and couldn't find the IGTV feature! I remember thinking, "Is IGTV gone?" The simple answer is yes, but don't worry — there are still ways to share long-form content on Instagram. Here's what you need to know about the fate of IGTV and video sharing on the app. What happened to IGTV on Instagram? In October 2021, Instagram scrapped IGTV as the social network shifted its focus toward video content. IGTV was combined with in-feed videos, forming the new Instagram Video feature. In July 2022, the Instagram Video and Instagram Reels tabs were consolidated to create a singular space for all video content, and all videos will be shared as Reels. Image source: Instagram So, if Instagram wants to pivot more toward videos, why would it do away with IGTV? Well, IGTV focused on long-form videos in the hopes that it could compete with YouTube. However, TikTok soon rose in popularity, and TikTok's short-form videos became more popular among social media users. To remain competitive, Instagram discontinued IGTV and launched Instagram Reels before launching Instagram Video. Changes are coming to video on Instagram 📺At Instagram we’re always trying to build new...