Guide
How to increase Instagram followers, likes and views without buying them
By Social ScaleX team · Updated · 3 min read
The short answer
Instagram grows accounts whose Reels people watch, share and like. Post original Reels with a strong opening, make content people send to friends, test new formats with Trial Reels, and keep your account eligible for recommendations. Bought followers, likes and comments can be removed by Instagram and can stop it recommending your account at all.
On this page
Why buying followers, likes or views backfires
Instagram warns that apps selling likes or followers can get complete access to your account, that it may remove the engagement they create, and that it can limit your account. Instagram Help Repeatedly buying likes can also make an account ineligible for recommendations, which means none of its content is shown to non-followers. Recommendations guidelines
Bought numbers also don’t buy anything from you. Real growth comes from people who choose to follow.
What Instagram actually rewards
The most important predictions we make are how likely you are to reshare a reel, watch a reel all the way through, like it, and go to the audio page.
In 2025 Adam Mosseri named watch time, likes per reach and sends per reach as the top signals. Likes matter more with followers; sends matter more for reaching new people. Social Media Today Our Reels reach guide explains each signal.
10 ways to increase Instagram followers
- Switch to a professional account so you can see Insights and use business tools. It’s free. Meta Business Help
- Win the first seconds. Show the result, the question or the product straight away.
- Make it worth sending. Useful, local and specific content gets shared; sends reach people who don’t follow you yet.
- Post original content. Instagram recommends the original when it finds identical posts, and stops recommending accounts that mostly repost. Instagram for Creators
- Export clean files. Instagram shows watermarked, low-resolution or bordered Reels to fewer people. Instagram
- Test with Trial Reels. They go to non-followers first, so you can test a new format without your followers seeing a miss. Trial Reels
- Collaborate. A collab post with a creator or partner brand puts you in front of their audience.
- Turn comments into conversations. A “comment PRICE” call to action with an automatic DM gets you comments and leads. See our free comment-to-DM guide.
- Write searchable captions. Public professional content can be indexed by search engines, so say plainly what the post is and where it was shot. Instagram Help
- Check Account Status in settings. If you are not eligible for recommendations, fix that first. Account Status
How to get more likes on Instagram
Likes come mostly from people who already follow you. Post what your followers came for, reply to comments so they come back, and ask a simple question they can answer by liking or commenting. Track likes per reach, not total likes.
How to get more views on Reels
Views from non-followers depend on sends and watch time. Instagram measures both the share of a video watched and the seconds watched, so longer Reels are not penalised if people keep watching. Social Media Today
How to get more comments
Give people a reason to comment: a keyword that gets them something (a price list, a guide, a discount), a choice between two options, or a question only your audience can answer. Reply to the first comments quickly to start the thread.
Real numbers from accounts we manage
prago.outdoors passed 6M views in 30 days with 35.3K followers, and saini_telecom__ passed 4M views in 30 days with 12K followers: reach far beyond the following, driven by Reels. See the details in our client results.
Frequently asked questions
How can I increase my Instagram followers for free?
Post original Reels with a strong opening, make content people send to friends, test new formats with Trial Reels, collaborate with related accounts, and keep your account eligible for recommendations. All of it is free.
Is it safe to buy Instagram followers or likes?
No. Instagram may remove engagement from apps that sell likes or followers and can limit the account. Repeatedly buying likes can also make an account ineligible for recommendations to non-followers.
What matters most for Instagram reach in 2026?
Watch time, likes per reach and sends per reach, according to Instagram head Adam Mosseri. Sends matter most for reaching people who don’t follow you yet.
How do I get more comments on Instagram?
Give people a reason to comment: a keyword that gets them something by DM, a choice between two options, or a question only your audience can answer. Reply to the first comments quickly.
Sources
- Instagram Help: Third-party apps that offer likes or followers
- Instagram Help: Recommendations guidelines
- Instagram: Instagram ranking explained (31 May 2023)
- Social Media Today: Instagram shares algorithm insights (22 Jan 2025)
- Instagram for Creators: Rewarding original creators (30 Apr 2026)
- Social Media Today: watch time vs completion rate (25 Feb 2025)
- Instagram for Creators: Trial Reels (10 Dec 2024)
- Instagram Help: Search engine indexing of public content
- Instagram Help: Account Status
- Meta Business Help: Set up a professional Instagram account
Sources checked on 30 September 2026. Platform rules change; if something here is out of date, tell us and we’ll fix it.