How to grow on Instagram in 2025?

[Angela]

I feel like instagram has changed so much and nothing i do seems to work anymore. i post reels, carousels, regular posts, stories... and i'm stuck at 1,200 followers for the past 3 months

My engagement is terrible too. posts get like 50-80 likes and maybe 2-3 comments. feels like instagram is dead or i'm just doing something completely wrong

What's actually working for instagram growth right now? i'm in the lifestyle/fashion niche if that matters

[SarahVlogs]

unpopular opinion but i think people overcomplicate instagram growth

I grew from 900 to 4,200 followers in 4 months by just being consistent and authentic. no complicated strategies or chasing every trend

here's literally all i did:
- posted 3 reels per week that i actually put effort into
- showed my face and personality instead of just pretty pictures
- replied to every single comment and dm
- posted stories daily showing behind the scenes stuff
- engaged with 20-30 accounts in my niche every day

instagram rewards genuine connection. if you're just posting content and disappearing, people don't care about following you. you need to actually build relationships with your audience

Also 1,200 followers isn't small. those are real people. focus on serving them really well instead of obsessing over growth. when you provide value consistently, growth happens naturally

stop chasing viral moments and just show up for your audience consistently

[Uptrend]

Instagram definitely changed but it's not dead, you just need to adapt to what they're prioritizing now

what's working for me in 2025:
- reels are still king but they need to be GOOD. 3-5 second hook or people scroll past
- posting 4-5 times per week instead of daily (quality over quantity finally matters)
- heavy focus on saves and shares, not just likes. instagram pushes content that people save
- using 3-5 hashtags max, not 30 like the old days
- engaging with other accounts for 15-20 minutes right after posting

i went from 1,800 to 6,500 followers in 5 months by switching to this strategy. my reels average 8k-20k views now when they used to get 800

for fashion specifically, transformation content works really well. outfit changes, styling the same piece different ways, thrift flips, etc. make people want to save it for reference later

also check your insights. if your reach is 90% followers you're not getting shown to new people. you need at least 30-40% reach from non-followers to grow