Our internal research found that the average Instagram account has between 1,000 and 10,000 followers. Influencers in this follower range can demand money for sponsored posts, and they can have their message seen by a lot of people.
And while you may have reached 10k followers, how can you even begin your journey to 50k followers on Instagram?
It’s going to take the following:
- Time
- Patience
- Work
If you’re willing to put all of the above into your Instagram account, you can reach 50k followers – or more.
We’ve found the following are the best methods to get more followers.
12 Ways to Get 50K Followers on Instagram
Ready to get 50,000 followers on Instagram? Follow the proven strategies below to help you create valuable content that is seen, builds your following and will help you expand your reach to well beyond the 50k follower mark.
We’re going to start with one thing that creators seem to overlook:
1. Level Up Your Post Quality
How much time have you spent on creating content? If you’re taking a fun photo or video, that’s obviously fine. But if you want to grow an account to this level, you have to take content creation very seriously.
How do you level up your post quality?
1. Create a Plan
We’re going to cover this more extensively below, but you want to have a content plan and to schedule your posts. You want every piece of content to be purposeful so that it attracts new followers.
2. Invest in Your Equipment
What equipment are you using? Many creators will use their iPhone or Google Pixel, and this is more than fine if you want to build a following. You can use either of these devices, but you need to consider some other pieces of equipment:
- Ring Light: If you do a lot of talking in your Reels or want to increase the quality of your photos, you’ll need to work on your lighting. Ring lights are an affordable option that works well for creators across platforms.
- Camera: If your phone isn’t cutting it or you create content that is more studio-based, buy a camera. You can use the Sony ZV-1, EOS Rebel T7, GoPro HERO12 (action videos) and many others. Research the camera to find the best choice for your budget and the type of content you create.
- Editing Tools: A basic editor is much better than the filters you’ll use on Instagram. You’ll find plenty of editing apps that you can use, such as Facetune, Canva, Lightroom, Instagram (it’s a decent editor), VSCO and quite a few others.
- Microphone: Live and video is much better when your audience can hear you well. You may want to invest in a microphone. Even if you use your smartphone, there are microphone accessories that will increase the sound quality greatly.
- Tripod: Video creators rely heavily on their tripods. You want to buy a stable tripod that is easy to transport and will help you stabilize your videos. If you only take photos, you may want to put tripods at the end of your must-have list.
If you up the quality of your videos, your potential followers will have a reason to follow you. Great content is why people follow others – don’t settle for mediocre.
2. Post Daily – And at the Right Time
I’ve noticed a trend where Instagram has been telling me that I’ve seen all of the most recent posts in the past 24 hours. And I’m not on Instagram that often or scrolling for hours a day. I have normal usage – maybe slightly lower.
People are slacking on their content creation, and this leads to stale content and bored followers.
You can break this trend to get more people following you. We have two main recommendations here:
- Post Often. You want to post to your main feed 2 – 3 times a week at a minimum. Add two Stories per day, one carousel, multiple photos, up to four Reels and go Live whenever you can. Use all of the Instagram post formats available to help you reach as many potential followers as possible.
- Post at the Best Times. We can write a novel on the best time to post, but you can use your own data for this. Instagram Insights will help you gain insight into your top-performing posts, but you need to consider your audience and when they’re online. Between 6am and 9am is a good start because people who are waking up will see your content.
3. Focus on Your Demographic and Where They Are
Posting time is such an important topic that we feel it deserves even more attention. You want to post at the best time for your followers, and since you may be on the other side of the world of your followers, this is impossible without knowing your audience and where they’re located.
You’ll want to see which accounts are most engaged with you and where these users are located. Experiment with posting for different time zones to see which one is best for you and your audience.
Instagram Insights will help you judge the content that’s working best for you and what’s under-performing.
4. Optimize Your Profile and Feed
Your profile is the gateway to your page, and you need to start with your bio. If your bio is weak, it will impact your followers. You want your bio to be:
- Short
- Concise
- Expressive of who you are and what you do
You can add keywords, a CTA, contact information or a link to your website. You can use emojis to make your bio stand out. You can even go as far as asking other people to review your bio and recommend key changes that you can make.
Once you do this, it’s time to go to your profile and look at your feed. If your feed is all over the place, consider removing some of the posts or adding at least 3 – 9 new posts.
You want the top posts to be the exact content that your audience wants to see.
If you want, you can Pin your top posts so that the first few posts potential followers come across are exactly what they’re looking for on Instagram.Â
5. Boost Your Posts
Anyone with a Professional or Business account can pay to boost their posts. You can do this by going to your profile, tapping on a post that you want to post and setting up your advertisement.
Paying to boost posts allows you to skip to 50k followers faster than any other method, but you’ll pay for this privilege. For example, you can promote a Post to:
- Specific audiences
- Specific age groups
- Specific interests
And when you do boost your post, it will put your post in front of these audiences for a cost. You might not receive any followers, but there’s a good chance that you will. Businesses often use boosting as a way to grow their accounts and it works very well.
The downside? You will need to pay Instagram to boost your posts.
6. Add in Strategic Hashtags
Even in 2024, hashtags are still relevant and important on Instagram. Make sure that you’re using strategic hashtags to get your content seen by more people and attract more followers.
Strategic hashtags are:
- Niche-specific
- Searched by people on Instagram
- Descriptive
The hashtags you choose will help users find your account and your content. Consider using a mix of tags that are really popular and those that have fewer searches to maximize your reach.
7. Be Social
The aim of any social network is to be more social. People love to follow creators and brands that actually engage and interact with their followers. Follow in their footsteps and take the same approach.
Make sure that you’re:
- Replying to comments
- Liking other people’s content
- Adding to conversations
- Asking questions
Speak to your audience as if they were friends, and you’ll find it easy to attract more followers.
8. Buy a Few Followers
Want a really quick and simple way to get more followers? Buy a few. Even influencers and brands buy followers because they know it’s the easiest way to kickstart your engagement and grow your account.
For best results, make sure that you’re choosing providers that offer real followers – not bots and fake accounts.
At Viralyft, we offer both high-quality and premium-quality followers, with packages ranging from 100 to 100k. If you want to take our service for a test drive, we also have a free followers tool that will give you 50 free followers.
9. Turn Your Profile Public
You can’t get more followers if no one can see your content. When your profile is set to “private,” only your followers can see the videos and photos you post.
Most Instagram users will check a person’s profile before following them. If they can’t see your content, they will just move on to the next creator.
Plus, with private profiles, people have to request to follow you, which just adds an extra step most people don’t want to bother with.
If you ever hope to hit 50k followers, your profile must be set to public. Here’s how:
- Open your profile on Instagram.
- Tap the hamburger menu and select Settings.
- Tap Who can see your content.
- Look for Account Privacy on the list.
- Disable the private account option.
Once your account is public, it will be much easier to get more followers and boost your engagement rate.
10. Buy Shoutouts
Creating great content isn’t the only way to get more followers. If you’re willing to invest in your growth, you can buy shoutouts from influencers with huge audiences.
There are a few marketplaces you can buy shoutouts from, including:
Take the time to look at each influencer’s content. Don’t just choose the account with the most followers. If you want to get more followers, only choose influencers with similar audiences and values.
Make sure that your best content is on display (pinned to the top of your profile) and your bio is optimized to get more followers.
11. Create a Content Plan and Schedule
Consistency is the best strategy to grow your Instagram following organically. But it’s easy to fall off track if you don’t have a plan.
To hold yourself accountable, create a content plan and start scheduling your posts.
- Aim to create a plan for 2-4 weeks of content
- Schedule your posts at least a week in advance
Make sure that you also do some research into what keywords to use in the description, hashtags to add and points to cover in your caption.Â
Instagram now allows you to schedule your posts right from the app, so it’s easy to follow your plan.Â
12. Collab with Others in Your Niche
Want to supercharge your followers on Instagram? Collaborate with other creators and influencers in your niche.Â
When you create Collab posts, they show up in both of your feeds (your feed and your collaborator’s feed), and they list both of your accounts as the creators.Â
Collaborative posts are a way to double your reach and engage with creators who have a similar audience to yours.
To create Collab posts:
- Create the post. You can collaborate on Reels or regular Feed posts.
- Tap Tag people.
- Tap the Invite collaborator button.
- Type in the handle of the account you want to collaborate with.
- The person you’re collaborating with will get a DM letting them know about your invite.
- They’ll view and accept your request.
If your goal is to get more followers through your collaborations, it’s best to choose creators and brands that have similar audiences.
Final Thoughts
Hitting the 50K follower mark is an achievement on Instagram. If you follow the tips and strategies in our guide, you’ll be well on your way to growing your account and reaching your goal. Just remember to continue engaging with our audience, posting regularly and focusing on creating high-quality content.
