Instagrammers dream of having hundreds to thousands of followers to boost their account’s credibility and potentially earn money. But we all know, it’s not easy.
With thousands of genuine followers, you can collaborate with brands, set up your own shop, or share affiliate links. We’ve already covered how to go from 1000 to 10,000 followers on Instagram.
Now, join me in this blog as I explore how to get 20k followers on Instagram, with insights from real creators.
How much is 20k Instagram followers’ income?
For those who want to monetize their IG account, this is a vital question.
Well, definitely it depends on your niche. For example, fashion or beauty influencers have higher earnings than others.
Additionally, the type of collaboration (from sponsored posts to affiliate links) plays a role.
Engagement metrics (likes, comments, and shares) are another important factor in how much 20k Instagram followers can bring for you.
And over time, you can add other income streams like coaching, for instance.
Let’s see how much Mary Margaret Boudreaux, a digital creator, made of her 20,000-follower account (Business Insider reports).
- $900 per brand deal
- Over $2,000 in three months from Amazon affiliate links
- $50 per session from one-on-one coaching with other small creators
Meanwhile, partnering with brands brought in the most money to her.
Suggested post: How to get 100k followers on Instagram
How long does it take to get 20k followers on Instagram?
Sure, making money from 20k followers is possible but remember, building this amount of followers takes time and effort. You can’t gain tens of real followers overnight.
For example, Mary Margaret spent less than a year posting regularly and increased her followers from 1,500 to 20,000.
Remember, if you’re growing your Instagram account from scratch within a highly competitive niche, it may take longer.
How to get 20k followers on Instagram (Free)
With the following strategies and without spending a penny, you can grow your Instagram account to 20,000 followers and more.
Want to learn how to get 5k followers on Instagram? Click the link.
#1. Promote your account
It’s not complicated! You can use different channels to promote your account, from other social media platforms to word of mouth.
Share your account on messaging apps and ask your friends and family to join you on Instagram. If you have a website, utilize it to promote your account. And, don’t be afraid to clearly ask people to follow you.
#2. Build a professional profile
An optimized profile is a good reason why users should follow you.
The first thing I do when I get a follow request is to check out their profiles. I wanna know who they are, how they can help me, and if they’ve got any achievements.
Remember to include a strong and clear call to action, and your contact info in your bio. See Instagram SEO to learn more about profile optimization.
#3. Be consistent
You need to build a solid presence on Instagram and that requires consistency. It doesn’t mean to share tens of posts a day and overwhelm your followers. You can aim for 3-5 times a week.
For example, Mary Margaret used to post 10 to 12 Instagram stories a day, an Instagram feed post a day, and one to three Reels a day.
All you need is an Instagram content calendar that defines which days of the week you want to post.
A content calendar also allows you to schedule your posts in advance.
Sung-Gab who could double his IG account (Kingtutat) followers in less than 6 months used to create 3 to 5 Reels at a time and upload 2 to 3 times a week.
#4. Share what your audience like
First off, answer these questions:
- Who are you creating content for?
- Do you know their interests and pain points?
If thinking you don’t know your audience well, roll up your sleeves now! Do market research with your followers to see what they like and what they don’t.
For example, you can run Polls to gather your audience’s feedback.
#5. List top 10 competitors (Relevant accounts)
Do Not miss this point at all! How your creators can help you? Here’s how:
- Start analyzing your competitors’ followers. Their age, gender, location, behaviors, interests, and anything that can help you understand your target audience better.
- Leave comments on their posts. Expose yourself to potential followers.
Then, engage with your competitors’ followers to grab their attention.
Reply to their comments on posts (Hey! I don’t mean to ask them directly to follow you!). Try to solve their problems. Start meaningful conversations.
- Watch what content they’re creating, and what are top-performing posts (format, and type).
- Review their hashtag strategy. If they care about hashtags, how many hashtags they use, and what are relevant hashtags.
Bonus tip: Don’t copycat! Be smart, find the gaps, and fill them. Be unique and creative to stand out!
#6. Respond to your followers’ comments & DMs
Whether you’re a brand or a creator, you should show you care about your followers.
Replying to comments and DMs fosters community, encourages engagement, and builds a positive brand image, which attracts new followers (This is what Sung-Gab does too).
However, there’s a subtle difference here: Creators can chill and chat with their fans, building genuine connections.
Brands gotta stay on brand, rep their voice, and help out their customers!
#7. Be yourself
Put your own signature on your posts. Your own voice, tone, view, and story! Do Not mimic celebs or influencers. Do Not use filters to fake reality.
This not only attracts new followers but also causes you to lose existing followers.
And don’t be afraid to share your experiences, challenges, and even failures.
Look how @Dave.farro’s (with over 500k followers) unique approach to the world of food has helped him gain views and followers.
#8. Collaborate with relevant accounts
Collaboration translates into more reach and followers. So, don’t miss the opportunity to collaborate with other accounts in your niche.
Sung-Gab leverages this strategy, for instance. “I collaborate with various dancer friends and plan to continue doing so”. He says.
#9. Repurpose your content
You don’t have to always create new content. Repurposing existing content can be a time-saving and effective strategy to get more followers.
There are lots of repurposing ideas you can inspire from, like:
- Extracting key points from blog posts, YouTube videos, or even podcasts and creating a carousel post out of them.
- Editing snippets from your long-form content into short, engaging video clips for Reels or Stories.
- Reposting past photos with updated captions, highlighting new insights or asking engaging questions to spark fresh conversations.
- Transform static images into short video loops using editing tools within Instagram or other apps.
#10. Use Instagram Reels
Let me tell you something:
Instagram algorithm favors Reels in the main feed and Explore page. That’s the reason why it’s more likely for non-followers to see your Reels than your static posts.
Plus, Reels have a higher chance of going viral due to their discoverability features. But they won’t automatically grow your followers.
A combination of quality, trending music, and valuable content (entertaining or educating) can increase your chances. We have several IG Reels ideas to attract more followers.
#11. Create reshareable content
This is simple! You reshare good content with someone, and if they find it interesting, they might check out the source and decide to follow it.
Content that evokes emotions (like fun or joy), offers valuable information, encourages action, and is visually stunning is most likely to be reshared on Instagram.
#12. Don’t buy followers
Imagine building a grand castle on a foundation of sand. At first, it looks impressive, but with the first gust of wind or rising tide, it crumbles.
Buying followers is like building this facade – the numbers look good, but with no genuine interest or engagement, your castle of influence will collapse, leaving you with nothing but a pile of fake accounts.
Final Words
You figured out how to get 20k followers on Instagram with some cool tips from real creators.
It’s no walk in the park and definitely takes time and effort. Plus, there’s no set timeline for reaching that number; it really depends on your niche, how often you post, and how creative you get.
But remember, it’s not just about the numbers; you’ve got to keep your followers engaged.
Check out some tips on how to increase Instagram engagement. And if you’re feeling the struggle, you might wanna try out an organic Instagram growth service like AiGrow to save yourself some time.
With AiGrow, you can create and plan out your posts, find potential followers by location and hashtags, and more.
FAQs
Here are a few common questions regarding the topic:
How to get 10k followers on Instagram?
To get 10k followers on Instagram, you can utilize different strategies such as optimizing your Instagram account, maintaining a consistent content calendar, leveraging different content types, strategic hashtag use, professional feed design, hosting giveaways, engaging with the audience, and collaborating with others.
How to get 20k followers on Instagram fast?
To speed up your followers’ growth process, you can opt for promoting your account and content more widely and commenting on relevant accounts’ posts to increase your exposure.
How to get 20k followers on Instagram in 5 minutes?
Growing real Instagram followers requires time and effort and doesn’t happen within a day or week unless you buy fake followers who won’t last.
How much does Instagram pay for 20k followers?
Earnings from Instagram depend on your niche, type of collaboration, and engagement metrics. However, a creator (Mary Margaret Boudreaux) reported to Business Insider that she could make $900 per brand deal.
