You want to grow on Instagram, but every growth hack you try seems to work until it doesn’t. That’s the thing about Instagram: it’s a platform that’s constantly shifting, never static.
Trends change, algorithms evolve, and what worked last month might already be old news today. So, how do you stay ahead in this ever-changing game? By being proactive, futuristic, and ready to adapt.
From algorithm-friendly formats like Reels to leveraging the power of collaborations and data-backed optimizations, there’s a science to Instagram growth, and we’ve broken it down for you.
Armed with insights from SocialPilot’s Instagram Trends Report 2025, with insights from 45,700 Instagram accounts and 4.4 million posts, we’ve curated 11 powerful Instagram growth hacks that are actionable and built to help you thrive in Instagram’s fast-paced world.
Ready to level up? Let’s get started.
1. Optimize Your Instagram Profile
Your Instagram profile is like your storefront; it’s the first thing visitors see, and you must make an impact with your profile. A well-optimized Instagram profile includes:
- Name and Profile Image
- Profile Bio with Links, Hashtags, and Keywords
- Story Highlights
- Pinned Posts
- CTA Buttons
All these elements ensure your storefront is ready when users visit your profile, giving them a reason to stick around.
Why This Instagram Growth Hack Is Vital:
Instagram heavily relies on profile metadata to display your Instagram account in search results. This isn’t limited to social searches; your profile also gets indexed on search engine results.
With the increasing use of SEO on Instagram, Google can index Instagram profiles in its search results, making your profile reach more people.
Below, you can see when we searched for Neil Patel on Google, his Instagram profile turned up in the search results. This proves he has a fully optimized Instagram profile with all the elements in place.
How to Optimize Your Instagram Profile:
- Craft a Strong Bio: Use concise language to describe what you do. For example: “Helping small businesses grow with digital marketing strategies.”
- Include Keywords: Add industry-relevant terms to make your profile searchable.
- Use a Link Tool: Tools like Linktree allow you to include multiple links in your bio.
- Pin Posts Strategically: Highlight your best content, such as a recent product launch or an inspiring testimonial.
- Organize Highlights: Create categories like “Products,” “Reviews,” and “How-Tos.”
Tip: Regularly update your bio, highlights, and pinned posts to reflect new campaigns or seasonal changes. This keeps your profile fresh and relevant.
2. Post Consistently at the Right Time
Consistency and timing go hand in hand when it comes to Instagram growth. Regular posting builds anticipation and reliability, showing your followers (and Instagram’s algorithm) that your Instagram account is active and worth promoting.
But it’s not just about being consistent; you must be smart. Posting when your Instagram audience is most active ensures your content reaches the maximum number of people, boosting visibility and engagement.
Why this Hack is Vital for Growth:
As our Instagram Trends Report 2025 says, posting consistently on Instagram rewards engagement. Creators, businesses, and brands that post more than 5 times weekly get 7.3% more engagement than those who post less.
When you know how often to post on Instagram and at what optimum times, your chance of making it to the top of your audience’s feed and explore page increases.
Hear Adam Mossari, CEO of Instagram, talk about the importance of being consistent on Instagram. He also highlights how posting more can get you more reach and engagement, but you must find a sustainable rhythm to avoid burnout in the long run.
Actionable Tips to Stay Consistent and on Time:
For this hack, you need two things:
- Data showing when your audience is most active and
- A planned social media calendar
Instagram Insights is your best friend for this hack. It helps you determine when your followers are most active, allowing you to schedule Instagram posts strategically.
Consistency and timing create a winning formula: your audience knows when to expect your content, and the algorithm rewards your efforts with greater reach.
Our free AI-powered tool can help you find the best time to post based on your Instagram insights.
3. Make More Video Content
Video content is Instagram’s reigning king, and Reels are its crown jewel. Instagram algorithm heavily favors this format, often pushing them to explore pages where they reach an audience far beyond their followers.
Why this Hack is Vital for Growth:
SocialPilot’s Instagram Trends Report 2025 shows that Reels generate 49% higher reach than static posts. Instagram does not just prioritize video content but is also favored by users, as it’s more straightforward to consume and visually engaging.
Brands and businesses are mastering Reels to grow exponentially in engagement and sales. It won’t be surprising to see 3 Reels in every 5 content a company shares on Instagram.
Focusing on short, engaging videos increases your chances of going viral and appearing in more feeds.
Actionable Ways to Grow with Reels
The first step to leveraging video content to grow on Instagram is identifying a trending sound or theme relevant to your niche and community.
If you are a fitness brand, create a 15-second Reel showcasing a quick morning stretch routine using a trending audio track.
But even Reels are getting challenging as the viewer’s attention span is getting even shorter. This is where Reel length matters on Instagram, along with the right hook to grab attention.
According to Facebook, the average attention span of their user has reduced to 1.7 seconds (less than 2 seconds). The same goes for Instagram, making it even more challenging to hook viewers.
Also revealed in our Instagram Trend Report 2025, Reels between 60 – 90 seconds perform the best on Instagram; they get 24% more shares and 19% more reach.
So all you have to do is, for the first 3 seconds, use text overlays or bold visuals to hook viewers.
For example: “Struggling with back pain? Try these 10 seconds!” This approach teases value upfront, making viewers stay till the end.
Itsmodernmillie is a master of Reels. She has used the format to discuss content creator’ life, hacks, and their necessities and overall shared knowledge from her experience with the audience within 90 seconds. One viral Reel features a funny Christmas meme she creatively connected with herself being a content creator couch.
Tip: Always share your New Reel on Instagram Story. Reposting your Reels to Stories gives them additional exposure.
4. Optimize Video Content for Maximum Impact
You are wrong if you think you will get good reach and engagement just by recording and sharing video content on Instagram. You must create captivating Reels that ensure your audience watches, engages, and remembers your content.
Two key strategies to achieve this are:
- Subtitles and
- Reel Retention Rate
Subtitles are non-negotiable for Reels or any form of video content on Instagram. Having subtitles means you have optimized your content for those scrolling with their sound off. It ensures your messages land beyond accessibility and makes your content easier to follow, eventually boost retention.
Analyzing the retention rate of your Reel is also a crucial step. Content with a high retention rate is measured by how many viewers watch your Reel from start to finish. This signals the algorithm that your content is engaging and then gets promoted to the explore page.
Together, these strategies ensure your video grabs attention and keeps viewers stick through the end.
Why This Hack Is Vital for Your Instagram Growth:
Videos comprise only 34.08% of Instagram’s content, but they have the highest reach rate of 18% and a share rate of 0.08%. This is not a tiny number that everyone can achieve.
Having subtitles means your retention rate will also improve, and you need a good retention rate to get your content pushed to more viewers for better engagement.
How to Optimize Your Video Content:
1. Start by adding automatic subtitles to your Instagram video content.
- Open the Instagram app
- Go to your profile
- Tap the hamburger menu button
- Select Your app and media
- Scroll to Accessibility and translations
- Tap Captions and translations
- Toggle on Show closed captions
** If you are scheduling your video content using SocialPilot, here are simple steps to add subtitles to your Reels.
2. Use strong hooks to capture attention in the first 2 – 3 seconds.
3. Analyze Reel retention rate regularly
Hear Ninki, a content marketing expert, explain how to check your Instagram Reel Retention Rate for free and optimize your content style and length.
5. Experiment with the video length based on the retention rate analysis. Our research shows that the most effective Reel length is 60 – 90 seconds.
6. Include a Call-to-Action at the end of your video, such as “follow us for more tips” or “save this Reel for later.”
5. Use Carousels for Storytelling
Storytelling is taking over the Instagram strategy of every business, big or small. Carousels are one of Instagram’s most effective tools for storytelling and keeping Instagram users engaged. Unlike a single image or video, carousels allow you to share up to 10 content slides in one post, making them perfect for storytelling.
Why this Hack is Vital for Growth:
According to our Instagram Trend Report 2025, carousels make up only 17.27% of Instagram content but generate 22.73% reach, higher than video and image posts.
Why? Because swiping through each slide of carousal counts as multiple interactions, signaling Instagram to promote the content to more users.
See how Jack Appleby pointed out the notable change in the Instagram strategy of House of Highlights and how they share more slidable carousels than Reels.
House Of Highlights (23.6 million followers) has made a notable change in their Instagram content.
Instead of just posting videos of highlights, they're now posting all Instagram carousels: still image first, video second.
Algorithm hacking?
Engagement trick? pic.twitter.com/cgQq8CxrBo— Jack Appleby (@jappleby) May 28, 2021
Carousels are “mini-stories” that keep your audience hooked from start to finish. They also prove that your audience is ready to spend time on your content but needs a story or actual knowledge.
Actionable Tips to Use this Hack:
- Start Strong: The first slide should act as the “cover” of your story. Use bold text and striking visuals to make viewers stop scrolling.
- Build Suspense: Each slide should lead naturally to the next, with bite-sized text and captivating visuals.
- Finish with Impact: Include a CTA on the last slide to encourage comments, saves, or shares.
An example of this can be seen in Canva’s Instagram, as it frequently shares design tips, templates, elements, and more for different months of the year to help the designers know about the theme.
Tip: Share your carousel posts to Stories to boost their reach. Use Instagram’s “Add Post to Story” feature and overlay it with a teaser like “Click to see the full breakdown!”
6. Craft Your Captions Strategically
Trust this: storytelling is everywhere on Instagram and will soon be the only thing people care about. There is storytelling in video, carousals, and Stories, but what about images? Captions are where your visuals meet storytelling.
A great caption complements your image or video and encourages action. Keywords in captions make your post searchable, while the length determines its engagement potential.
We have found that more extended captions work well for storytelling or sharing personal anecdotes. In comparison, shorter captions are suitable for Instagram posts that do not need much storytelling in the captions.
Why This Hack Is Vital for Instagram Growth:
Captions used to be overlooked, but now they are becoming more critical. They are the places where you can position key parts of Instagram SEO, such as keywords and hashtags.
Posts with thoughtful, keyword-rich captions are more likely to appear in search results and explore pages. With a good, detailed story, you can complete the picture with some context; thats is how essential captions are.
But how long should your captions be? Our recent study revealed that captions with more than 300 characters drive 70% more comments (engagement). Make more long-form captions and explore what works for which content format on Instagram for your brand.
Jade Beason’s Instagram is a masterclass in caption strategy. She pairs her portrait that speaks a little and generates curiosity to know more, and then she feeds that curiosity with a detailed caption filled with keywords.
See how, in her post below, she kept her caption elaborate and distributed keywords throughout to get discovered.
Actionable Tips to Make Your Captions Conversation Starters:
- Start with a Hook: The first line should grab attention. Use a question, a bold statement, or an emoji.
- Include Keywords Naturally: For example, if you’re a fitness coach, use “workout tips” or “fitness motivation” in captions.
- End with a CTA: Encourage comments, saves, or shares with a clear question like “What’s your favorite workout? Tell us below!”
Try SocialPilot Free AI Instagram Caption Generator to craft a caption that suits your brand and tone.
Instagram Caption Generator
Generate snappy, scroll-halting Instagram captions without pause.
Here is the Generated Result
Create More for Free!
Get 500 Credits to Generate AI Content!
Since you’re an AI fanatic, we are offering you 500 Free Credits to generate awesome content on the AI Assistant of SocialPilot.
Hashtags are not a big thing on Instagram anymore, but they can help make your content discover and categorize. One mistake you still make is overloading your Instagram posts with too many hashtags, eventually harming their performance.
Yes, you heard it right. Having too many hashtags on your post (like the old days) can harm its reach, which we found by analyzing millions of posts shared through SocialPilot. Our report says having more than two hashtags can reduce your reach rate to 9%.
Why this Hack Can Help You Grow:
Research shows that hashtags function as search keywords on Instagram, so selecting the right ones ensures that your posts land in front of the right people. But in 2025, people can not stop saying that hashtags are not a thing anymore.
Well, here’s a proof. Recently, Instagram notified its users that they won’t be able to follow hashtags very soon and won’t be visible in their feeds. Matt Navarra shared the pop-up he got when he wanted to follow a hashtag.
This gives a brief idea of the future of hashtags on Instagram.
Our experts found that posting with 1 – 2 relevant and consistent hashtags can outperform Instagram posts with 20 hashtags. Generic and oversaturated hashtags like #instagood or #love bury your content posts under millions of others while having niche tags attract a more engaging targeted audience.
Actionable Tips to Use Hashtags Correctly:
- Research Niche Tags
- Mix General and Specific
- Test and Analyze: Use Instagram Insights to track which hashtags drive the most reach and engagement.
8. Build Relationships Through Engagement and Personalization
Engagement is the heart of Instagram’s growth and the best way to build relationships through authentic interactions and personalized communication.
Engagement on Instagram means three things:
- Likes, comments, saves, and shares
- Direct messages are a direct line to your audience to build one-on-one relationships.
- Broadcast channels let you send your opt-in audience updates, announcements, or exclusive offers.
Getting likes, comments, saves, and shares does not mean you can ignore DMs and community channels because they are the most personalized medium to connect with your audience.
Why This Instagram Growth Hack Is Important:
Instagram accounts that actively interact with their audience are more likely to appear in the Explore page and among suggested Instagram accounts. By ensuring no query goes unanswered, active engagement with niche content builds connections and strengthens your community presence.
How to Build Relationships with the Right Engagement:
By spending just 10 minutes a day interacting with niche accounts and audiences, you position yourself as an active participant in your industry. This engagement builds visibility and signals Instagram’s algorithm that you’re a valuable contributor to the platform.
- Set Up Automated DMs: Use ManyChat to create welcome messages for new followers or quick replies to FAQs, such as “What are your opening hours?” Include a personalized touch, such as a discount code or exclusive offer.
- Use Broadcast Channels: Regularly share behind-the-scenes updates, product launches, or limited-time offers to your opt-in subscribers. Promote the channel in Instagram Stories to grow your audience.
- Engage Daily with Niche Content:
Leave meaningful comments that spark dialogue, such as thoughtful questions or compliments. Avoid generic comments like “Great post!”
A recent article by Fobes.com highlights why Glossier is a successful makeup brand. They have to engage with their audience and customers all the time.
You can not see anything but their audience and customers on their Instagram feed. You can imagine their strong and personalized relationship with their people and community. This shows the power of engagement.
Collaboration and tagging are powerful growth tools that go hand in hand. Partnering with influencers, brands, or customers allows you to tap into their audience while tagging them in your content ensures that it reaches even further.
Instagram’s “Collaboration” feature (launched in 2021) amplifies this effect, allowing co-created posts to appear on both collaborators’ feeds. Adding location tags and mentioning relevant accounts expands your visibility and makes your content discoverable to new audiences.
Why This Hack Is Vital for Growth:
SocialPilot Instagram Trend Report 2025 shows collaboration posts dramatically increase engagement by pooling the audience.
- Our analysis of thousands of accounts says that a collaborative post on Instagram generates 3.8 times higher reach.
- The same report also talks about the importance of practicing tagging accounts and locations, which increases your reach by 2x and engagement by 30%.
When you tag collaborators and locations, your posts appear to their followers and people browsing location-based content. Instagram’s algorithm favors posts with high interaction, meaning this combined approach boosts visibility and credibility.
Actionable Tip for Collaboration and Tagging:
- Find the Right Partner: Collaborate with brands or influencers that share your target audience but aren’t direct competitors.
- Create Mutual Value: Plan content that benefits both parties, whether a giveaway, tutorial, or co-branded post.
- Leverage Tags and Mentions: Tag collaborators, customers, and suppliers to encourage them to reshare your content. Mention relevant accounts in captions to drive engagement.
- Use Location Tags: Tag locations like your business address or popular landmarks to make your content discoverable to a local audience.
- Encourage User Tagging: Create campaigns that motivate users to tag your brand in their posts to be featured.
A perfect example of this Instagram growth hack can be seen between Nike and LeBron James (basketball player). They co-created a post about the quality of Nike shows with a video.
Tip: Here’s a quick guide to collaborating correctly with your niche influencers, brands, and creators. Read the blog here.
10. Leverage Instagram Shoppable Instagram Posts
Shoppable posts streamline the user’s buying journey by letting them purchase directly from your Instagram feed and Instagram Stories. By tagging your products in posts, you prevent the delay in the sale caused when you ask Instagram users to go to your website or click on the link in your bio.
You must first create an Instagram shop to leverage this Instagram growth hack. It allows you to tag products on posts, Reels, and Stories from the shop.
Why This Hack Is Vital for Growth:
A survey by Instagram says that about 44% of people use Instagram to shop weekly using features like shopping tags and shop tabs.
This clarifies why Instagram is pushing more to improve its shopping features by aiming to add AI-recommended shoppable posts.
How to Sell More with Instagram Shopping Tags:
- Tag Products in Posts, Stories, and Reels: Highlight individual items or create carousel posts showcasing multiple products.
- Use Call-to-Actions: Pair Shoppable Instagram posts with CTAs like “Tap to Shop” or “Find Your Style.”
- Track Performance: Use Instagram Insights to analyze which products generate the most clicks and adjust your strategy accordingly.
Luckystayjewels is a perfect example of promoting products by tagging them in Instagram Stories, Posts, and Reels.
Tip: Pin Shoppable posts to your profile so they’re always visible. Use Highlights to create a “Shop Now” section featuring top products or seasonal collections.
After working hours on a post, it’s normal to get sentimental. However, you must understand that not every post is a winner, but every piece has potential.
Repurposing low-performing content lets you breathe new life into old ideas by updating them with fresh visuals, captions, or formats.
If, even after trying everything, it does not work, let it go and archive low-performing content instead of deleting it to keep your feed refreshed with your best work only.
On the other hand, resharing high-performing content allows you to double down on what already works.
Share more user-generated content that your followers or customers create. It will provide you with free, authentic content and build trust with your audience.
Combining these strategies will create a dynamic content cycle that adapts to your audience and keeps your Instagram account engaging with the optimized content strategy.
Why This Hack Is Vital for Growth:
When shared in the best form and the most authentic content, it gets 50% higher engagement and 73% higher clickthrough rates. The interaction rate increases, which gives you a stronger community.
How to Optimize Your Content the Right Way:
- Audit Your Content: Use Instagram Insights to identify low-performing and top-performing posts.
- Repurpose Creatively: Transform poorly performing static posts into Reels, carousels, or Stories. Add engaging visuals or updated information to make them relevant again.
- Refresh and Reshare: Revive high-performing content by tweaking captions, changing visuals, or posting at a different time. Pair it with a fresh CTA to encourage interaction.
- Delete Wisely: If a post consistently underperforms and no longer aligns with your brand image, it’s better to remove it to maintain a polished, professional profile.
- Engage with UGC Creators: Tag the original creators when reposting their content to acknowledge and reward them.
- Use UGC in Stories: Highlight customer testimonials, product photos, or reviews in your Instagram Stories.
Starbucks’ Instagram is the perfect example of leveraging user-generated content. The below post was shared by a creator, Piper Phillips. Starbucks didn’t ignore the opportunity to benefit from this and shared it on their feed (giving credit to the creator), generating thousands of likes and engagement.
Bonus: Remove Spam Followers
Span followers are more harmful than they seem. They are inactive accounts or bots that don’t engage with your content and drag down your engagement rate.
As the Instagram algorithm values only meaningful interactions, many fake followers can hurt your profile visibility. Span followers can dilute the quality of your audience insights, making it challenging to understand the behavior and preferences of real followers.
Removing spam followers sharpens your content targeting and ensures. Even Instgaram recommends monitoring your follower list and removing face accounts. To successfully remove spam accounts from your followers list:
- Identify Span Accounts (blank profiles, username of random letter or numbers)
- Manually Remove Them (visit every profile and Tap “Remove”)
- Use Tools (Use spam Instagram account remover tool that identifies and removes face profiles regularly)
Hack Instagram Growth Like a Pro
On Instagram, Yesterday’s hacks can quickly become today’s outdated practice. But not when you have the right strategies and a proactive mindset. These 11 Instagram Growth Hacks aren’t only some ideas; they are the real actionable steps rooted in data from millions of posts SocialPilot has shared on Instagram for thousands of customers.
From creating compelling Reels to knowing how to hack to optimize your content strategy, consistency, creativity, and commitment are key. Remember, growth is not doing everything at once; it’s about doing the right things at the right time.
Get ready to take your Instagram presence to the next level. Start applying these hacks because your audience is waiting.