Okay, so here’s my experience with trying to grow my Instagram followers without spending any money.

My Journey to More Instagram Followers
I wanted to see if I could actually get more people to follow me on Instagram without doing anything spammy or paying for ads. It was a bit of a slow start, to be honest. I was posting stuff, but not really getting much traction. It felt like I was just throwing stuff into a void.
First, I made sure my profile was decent. I used a clear picture of myself, wrote a bio that explained who I am and what I’m about, and put a link to my blog. Nothing fancy, just the basics. I read somewhere that it helps, so I just did it.
Then I started to post more regularly. I aimed for at least once a day. I mixed it up – sometimes photos, sometimes those little videos, and sometimes just text posts with questions or polls in my stories. I just wanted to see what people liked more. Honestly, figuring out what to post every day was a bit of a grind at first, but it got easier.
I started to pay attention to what was getting more likes and comments. It’s not rocket science, but it gives you an idea of what your followers are into. I started doing more of that kind of stuff. And also, I noticed that it was really a good idea to post consistently, maybe this is the so-called overall marketing strategy.
- Actually Talk to People: This was a big one. I started commenting on other people’s posts – not just “nice pic” but actual comments related to what they posted. And I replied to every comment on my posts, even if it was just to say thanks.
- Use Hashtags: I never really understood hashtags before, but they do help. I started using a mix of popular ones and some that were more specific to my niche. I put them in the first comment instead of the caption, I saw some people doing this and I followed, not sure why but it looks less messy.
- Engage with Stories: I used the question stickers and polls in my stories to get people to interact. It’s kind of fun and people seem to like it.
- Follow People in My Niche: I followed other accounts that were similar to mine and engaged with their content. Some of them followed me back.
It took a while, but slowly I started to see my follower count go up. It wasn’t a huge jump, but it was steady. And the best part was that the people who followed me were actually interested in what I was posting. I mean, I’m not an influencer or anything now. The engagement was real. I wasn’t just getting random followers, I was getting people who actually cared about the same things I did, especially when I expressed my interest in their lives.

So, that’s my story. It’s not a get-followers-quick scheme. It takes time and effort, but it works. If I can do it, anyone can. Just be patient, be consistent, and be yourself. That’s all there is to it.