Social media security: 2026 risks, tips, and tools

Key takeaways

1. Social media security threats are escalating, with AI-powered phishing, deepfake impersonation, and account takeover attacks hitting organizations of every size.
2. A documented social media security policy with role-based access, two-factor authentication, and quarterly audits is the foundation of protection.
3. Real-time monitoring and governed approval workflows help teams catch impersonation, scams, and breaches before they cause lasting damage.
4. Enterprise tools like Hootsuite Social OS centralize security, compliance, and publishing governance in one connected system.

What is social media security?

Social media security refers to the practices used to protect your social media accounts, information, and privacy. For organizations, it also covers who can access branded accounts and how that access is governed. These measures provide protection from threats like:

• Hacking and account takeover
• Phishing
• Malware
• Data breaches
• Identity theft
• Deepfakes and synthetic media
• Spread of misinformation

Platforms like Instagram, Facebook, and LinkedIn are relied upon for communication, marketing, and customer service. Therefore, social media security awareness is important for both business and personal accounts.

Bonus!!!

 Get a free, customizable social media policy template to quickly and easily create guidelines for your company and employees.

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Why is social media security important for businesses?

Social media security matters because a single compromised account can expose customer data, drain ad budgets, and damage a brand’s reputation in hours. Social accounts contain a wealth of data. They’re linked to personal information, customer connections, credit card details, and so much more. Without social media security protocols in place, all that information is at unnecessary risk.

The financial stakes are significant. Consumers reported losing $12.5 billion to fraud in 2024, a 25% increase over the prior year, according to the Federal Trade Commission. Social media remains one of the most common channels scammers use to reach victims, which means impersonation of your brand can carry a direct cost to your customers.

Beyond the dollars, there’s the reputational and regulatory exposure. A hijacked account that publishes fraudulent offers, or an employee who shares regulated information, can trigger customer complaints, regulator scrutiny, and in regulated industries, legal consequences.

Treating social accounts as part of your broader risk management program is no longer optional for enterprise teams.

Common social media security risks in 2026

The threat landscape has shifted from opportunistic scams to organized, automated attacks. Here are the risks most likely to affect your brand accounts today.

Phishing and social media scams

Phishing scams are some of the most common social media cyber security risks. The goal of a phishing scam is to get you or your employees to hand over passwords, banking details, or other sensitive information.

The tactics vary, but most fall into a few recognizable patterns:

• Fake giveaways: Fraudsters impersonate well-known retailers to offer a significant coupon or prize, then collect personal information to “claim” the non-existent reward.
• Fake customer support: Accounts that mimic your support handle reply to customer complaints and request login or payment details.
• Investment and crypto pitches: Often run through hijacked or impersonated business accounts to borrow credibility.
• Lottery and inheritance claims: Someone claims to be a lottery winner who wants to share their winnings.

Online shopping and investment scams are also significant problems on social media. Of the 2024 fraud reports the FTC received where consumers identified how they were contacted, social media accounted for $1.9 billion in reported losses, more than any other contact method.

Social media is also the most common contact method for scammers targeting working-age adults, which makes brand impersonation a shared problem between your marketing and security teams.

Source: Federal Trade Commission

Imposter and fake accounts

Imposter accounts are profiles built to look like they belong to your company, and they’re relatively easy to create. This is one reason why getting verified on social networks is so valuable.

Impostor accounts can target your customers, employees, or prospective hires. Your connections may be tricked into handing over confidential information. In turn, your reputation suffers. Imposter accounts may also try to con employees into handing over login credentials for corporate systems.

The volume is substantial. LinkedIn’s Community Report shows the platform took action on tens of millions of fake accounts, with automated defenses blocking 97.8% of them at registration and 99.7% stopped proactively before a member report. A small share, however, was only caught after members reported the accounts, which is why monitoring your own brand mentions still matters.

Source: LinkedIn

Meta reports similar scale on Facebook, where it actions hundreds of millions of fake accounts each quarter and estimates that roughly 4–5% of monthly active users are fake.

AI-powered phishing and deepfake threats

AI has changed social engineering from a manual craft into a scalable operation. There’s a lot of information about your business, and your employees, on social media. That’s not new. What is new is the ability to gather crumbs of information from multiple sources and use it to generate convincing, targeted content at volume.

That plays out in a few ways:

• Spear phishing at scale: Attackers scrape LinkedIn and other profiles to generate personalized messages that reference real colleagues, projects, and reporting lines.
• Deepfake audio and video: Synthetic clips of executives are used to authorize payments or request credentials, often delivered through DMs or follow-up calls.
• Synthetic profiles: AI-generated photos and bios make fake recruiter, partner, and support accounts far harder to spot.
• Chatbot impersonation: Automated accounts that mimic your support tone and respond instantly to customer complaints.

Deepfake attacks are no longer theoretical. A Gartner survey found 62% of organizations experienced one in the past year. The scale is well documented: in one widely reported case, a Hong Kong finance employee transferred roughly $25 million after joining a video call where every other participant was a deepfake of a senior colleague.

Audiences are struggling to keep up too. Roughly 20% of Gen X say it’s hard to tell what’s real or fake regarding social content generated by AI. Younger generations find it only slightly easier: 15% of Millennials and 14% of Gen Z also struggle here.

AI tools can also give scams a veneer of legitimacy. In one case in point, a Canadian man was scammed by a fraudulent Facebook customer support line. He felt comfortable giving his information to the scammer because a chat with an AI assistant told him the phone number he found online was legitimate. It was not.

Malware attacks and account takeovers

Account takeover happens when an attacker gains direct control of your profile, usually through stolen credentials, malware, or a compromised employee device. In one of the more public examples, the X (formerly Twitter) U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission account was hacked in January 2024, with the false post moving markets within minutes.

If hackers gain access to your social media accounts, they can cause enormous brand reputation damage.

A newer threat to social media business accounts is hijacking a social media ad account with attached payment methods. They can then run fraudulent ads that appear to come from a legitimate source (you) but actually direct the user to malware or scams.

Source: W/Labs

Vulnerable third-party apps

Locking down your own social accounts is great. But hackers may still be able to gain access through vulnerabilities in connected third-party apps.

Instagram specifically warns about third-party apps that claim to provide likes or followers:

“If you give these apps your login information … they can gain complete access to your account. They can see your personal messages, find information about your friends, and potentially post spam or other harmful content on your profile. This puts your security, and the security of your friends, at risk.”

Audit your connected apps at least once a quarter. Revoke access for anything you no longer use, anything tied to a former employee, and any tool your team can’t identify. Every active integration is another door into your account.

Password theft and credential attacks

Those social media quizzes asking about your first car or elf name might seem like harmless fun. But they’re a common method for gathering password information. Or to learn personal details that are often used as forgotten password clues.

By completing them, employees can compromise their cyber security on social media.

Credential theft remains one of the most reliable ways into an account. Verizon’s 2025 Data Breach Investigations Report found that stolen credentials were involved in 22% of breaches, and that reused passwords give attackers access across multiple systems once a single set leaks.

Employees can also unwittingly provide clues to their forgotten password hints. This info may appear in posts about life events. Think: graduations, weddings, and birthdays. It’s always best to limit personal information shared online, especially on public profiles.

Social media security best practices for 2026

Now that you know the risks, here’s how to mitigate them. Start with these eight practices:

1. Use strong, unique passwords and a password manager
2. Enable two-factor authentication and passkeys
3. Limit access with role-based permissions
4. Train employees on social media security awareness
5. Set up real-time monitoring and alerts
6. Review and update privacy settings regularly
7. Secure mobile devices and connections
8. Audit your security measures quarterly

Use strong, unique passwords and a password manager

Password hygiene is the cheapest security win available to your team. Every social account should have its own long, randomly generated password that appears nowhere else in your stack.

A few rules worth writing into policy:

• Use a password manager: It removes the temptation to reuse or write down credentials, and makes rotation painless.
• Aim for length over complexity: A long passphrase is harder to crack than a short string of symbols.
• Never share passwords over chat or email: Use a social media management platform with permissions instead.
• Rotate after any staff change: Especially for accounts that were shared before you moved to role-based access.

Enable two-factor authentication (and passkeys)

Two-factor authentication is not foolproof. But it does provide a powerful extra layer of protection for your social media accounts. It’s best practice to enable it for all secure social media accounts, even if it can sometimes be annoying.

In fact, a lack of two-factor authentication contributed to the SEC account hack.

Where a platform supports them, passkeys are the stronger option. Passkeys replace passwords with a cryptographic credential tied to your device, which means there’s nothing for a phishing page to capture. Facebook, Instagram, X, and LinkedIn all support passkey or authenticator-app login, and app-based codes are preferable to SMS wherever you have the choice.

Limit access with role-based permissions

Limiting the number of people who can access and post on your social accounts is an important defensive strategy.

You might focus on threats coming from outside your organization. However, employees are a significant source of accidental data breaches.

You may have whole teams of people working on social media messaging, post creation, or customer service. But not everyone needs to know the passwords to your social accounts, or have the ability to post. Apply the principle of least privilege: give each person the narrowest access that lets them do their job, and nothing more.

You can use Hootsuite to collaborate on secure social media without sharing passwords. Permissions are assigned by role-based access, and content moves through an approval workflow before anything goes live. If someone leaves the company, you disable their seat instead of resetting every platform password.

Train employees on social media security awareness

Your team is the layer attackers target first, so training deserves the same cadence as any other security control. Fold social media specifics into onboarding, then refresh at least twice a year.

Cover these points:

• How to spot impersonation: Fake recruiter DMs, lookalike support handles, and urgent requests from “executives.”
• Run phishing simulations: Include social DMs, not just email, so the exercise reflects how attacks actually arrive.
• Make reporting easy: One named contact and one channel, with no penalty for false alarms.
• Explain the personal-account overlap: Quizzes, location tags, and life-event posts can feed credential attacks on work systems.

Set up real-time monitoring and alerts

Real-time monitoring is how you catch a problem while it’s still small. Keep an eye on all of your social channels, including the ones you use every day and those you’ve registered but never used.

Use your social media monitoring plan to watch for:

• Imposter accounts using your name, logo, or executive photos
• Suspicious activities, including unexpected logins or posts
• Phishing links or fake promotions attributed to your brand
• Inappropriate mentions of your brand by employees
• Inappropriate mentions of your brand by anyone else associated with the company
• Negative conversations or sudden sentiment shifts about your brand

Lumen, the integrated insights and listening app inside Hootsuite Social OS, surfaces these signals across social and web sources so your team gets alerted to spikes, sentiment swings, and impersonation attempts as they happen rather than after a customer complains.

Review and update privacy settings regularly

Privacy settings drift as platforms ship changes, so schedule a review rather than assuming last year’s configuration still holds. This applies to both your personal and business accounts.

People seem to be well aware of the potential privacy risks of using social media. In fact, 81% of U.S. adults feel data collected by companies will be used in ways they’re not comfortable with. Those concerns, of course, don’t stop people from using their favorite social channels. The number of active social media users has grown to more than 5.7 billion, which means an enormous pool of potential targets.

Make sure you and your team understand privacy policies and settings. Check what’s visible to the public on each profile, what’s exposed in employee bios, and which audience defaults apply to new posts. Provide privacy guidelines for employees who use their personal social accounts at work, or to talk about work.

Secure mobile devices and connections

Most social publishing happens on a phone, which makes device security part of your social security posture. Surprisingly, 16% of Americans never use phone locking features such as a passcode, fingerprint, or face recognition. Their social accounts and other data are completely accessible to anyone who gets their hands on their mobile device.

Source: Pew Research Center

Failing to update phone software also exposes users to unnecessary risk. Only 42% of American smartphone users have their software set to update automatically, and 3% never update their smartphone software at all.

For any device used to access brand accounts, require a screen lock, turn on automatic updates, enable remote wipe, and use a VPN on public Wi-Fi. Open networks in airports, hotels, and cafes are easy places to intercept traffic or spoof a login page, so treat them as untrusted by default.

Audit your security measures quarterly

Social media security threats are constantly changing. Quarterly security audits of your social media measures, alongside your regular social media audit, will help keep you ahead of fraudsters.

At least once a quarter, review:

• Social network privacy and security settings: Platforms routinely change these. X disabled two-factor authentication via text message for non-premium users, then rolled out passkeys as a login option. Both are security changes that belong in your policy.
• Access and publishing privileges: Check who has access to your social media management platform and publishing rights on each account. Make sure former employees have had their access revoked, and that anyone who changed roles no longer holds access they don’t need. Confirm ownership of each account is documented as part of your social media governance model.
• Connected third-party apps: Revoke anything unused or unrecognized.
• Recent online security threats: Maintain a good relationship with your IT team so they can keep you informed of new risks and social engineering tactics. Big hacks and major new threats will also be reported in mainstream news outlets.
• Your social media policy and guidelines: As new networks gain popularity and new threats emerge, a quarterly review keeps the document useful.

How to create a social media security policy

A social media security policy is the document that turns good intentions into enforceable practice. It defines who can access your accounts, what they can publish, and what happens when something goes wrong. Build on your broader social media policy for employees rather than creating a separate, competing document.

Include these components:

1. Account inventory and ownership: Every branded account, who owns it, and who has access.
2. Password and authentication requirements: Minimum length, password manager use, mandatory two-factor authentication or passkeys, and rotation triggers.
3. Access levels and approval workflows: Which roles can draft, approve, and publish, and how content moves between them.
4. Rules for personal social media use: What’s acceptable on business equipment, and what employees should avoid, such as quizzes that ask for personal information.
5. Device and software standards: Screen locks, automatic updates, VPN use, and rules for public Wi-Fi.
6. Threat recognition guidance: How to identify and avoid scams, phishing, impersonation, and deepfake attempts.
7. Incident response plan: Who to notify, in what order, and how quickly, if an account is compromised or a security concern arises.
8. Review cadence: A named owner and a set date each quarter to revisit the document.

Ownership usually sits with social or communications, co-signed by IT security and legal. In regulated industries, loop in compliance early, since publishing rules and record-keeping obligations will shape your approval workflow. A policy nobody has read won’t protect you, so pair it with training and make it part of onboarding.

Enterprise governance and compliance

Enterprise governance is what keeps a policy working across dozens of accounts, regions, and teams. At scale, manual checks break down, so the controls need to live inside the systems your team already publishes from.

That usually means three things: centralized permissions so access is granted and revoked in one place, governed approval workflows so nothing publishes without the right sign-off, and an audit trail so you can show a regulator or auditor who published what and when. For teams in finance, healthcare, and the public sector, that audit trail is often the difference between a manageable incident and a reportable one.

Social media security checklist for 2026

Use this as a quick reference when you’re setting up or reviewing your program.

Security action	Frequency	Responsible team
Confirm two-factor authentication or passkeys on every account	Monthly	Social media team
Review who has access and publishing rights	Quarterly	Social media lead and IT
Audit and revoke connected third-party apps	Quarterly	IT security
Check platform privacy and security settings	Quarterly	Social media team
Monitor for imposter accounts and brand mentions	Daily	Social media team
Rotate passwords after any staff or role change	As needed	Social media lead
Run phishing and social engineering training	Twice yearly	IT security and HR
Review and update the social media security policy	Quarterly	Social, IT, and legal
Test the incident response plan	Annually	Social, IT, and comms
Verify device locks, updates, and VPN use	Quarterly	IT security

3 social media security tools to protect your accounts

No single tool covers every risk, so most teams combine a governed publishing platform with external threat monitoring. Here’s how the options compare.

Tool	Best for	Key security features	Pricing model
Hootsuite Social OS	Teams that need governance, monitoring, and publishing in one system	Role-based access, governed approval workflows, Lumen listening, compliance controls, audit trails	From $99/user/month; Enterprise custom
ZeroFOX	External threat intelligence and brand impersonation takedowns	Automated alerts on fake accounts, malicious links, and scams	Custom, quote-based
1Password Business	Credential management across social and internal systems	Shared vaults, access controls, breach monitoring, passkey support	Per-user subscription

1. Hootsuite Social OS

With Hootsuite, team members never need to know the login information for any social network account. You control access and permissions so everyone gets only the access their role requires, and you can disable a seat the moment someone leaves without touching platform passwords.

From there, content moves through governed approval workflows that route drafts from creator to approver automatically. Notifications make sure everyone knows when an approval or revision is waiting, and every action is logged, which gives you the audit trail compliance teams ask for.

For regulated teams, Hootsuite’s Proofpoint integration adds another review layer by automatically checking social content against your policy and relevant regulations before it publishes.

Learn more about setting up Proofpoint here.

Hootsuite is also an effective social monitoring tool that keeps you ahead of threats. Lumen, the integrated insights and listening app, watches social and web sources for mentions of your brand and keywords, so you know right away when suspicious conversations emerge.

For example, say people are sharing phony coupons, or an imposter account starts posting in your name. You’ll see that activity in your streams and can take action before your customers get scammed.

Hootsuite is also FedRAMP authorized and Cyber Essentials compliant. Learn more about our risk management program and information security policies.

#1 Social Media Tool

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2. ZeroFOX

Source: ZeroFOX

ZeroFOX is a cybersecurity platform that provides automated alerts of:

• Dangerous, threatening, or offensive social content targeting your brand
• Malicious links posted on your social accounts
• Scams targeting your business and customers
• Fraudulent accounts impersonating your brand

It also helps protect against hacking and phishing attacks, and supports takedown requests for impersonating accounts and domains.

3. 1Password Business

Most social account takeovers start with a stolen or reused password, which is why a business password manager belongs in your security stack. 1Password Business gives teams shared vaults with permissions, so credentials for accounts that can’t use role-based access are still controlled rather than passed around in chat.

It also supports passkeys, flags credentials that appear in known breaches, and lets you revoke a departing employee’s access in one step. Pair it with your publishing platform and your team never needs to see a raw social password.

Credential hygiene handles one risk. For the comment-level threats that reach your audience directly, such as spam links and phishing replies, build content moderation into your monitoring routine so problem comments are hidden before followers click through.

FAQ: Social media security

How do I secure my social media accounts?

You can secure your social media accounts by enabling two-factor authentication, using strong unique passwords with a password manager, reviewing privacy settings regularly, and limiting who has access to post on behalf of your brand. Add quarterly audits of connected third-party apps and access permissions to catch gaps before an attacker does.

What are the most common social media security risks?

The most common social media security risks include phishing scams, account takeover through credential theft, impersonation by fake accounts, AI-powered deepfake attacks, malware distributed through social ads, and vulnerabilities in connected third-party apps. For businesses, ad account hijacking is a growing concern because attackers can spend your budget on fraudulent campaigns that appear to come from your brand.

Which is the most secure social media platform?

No single social media platform is universally the most secure, because security depends on how each platform’s privacy settings, authentication options, and data policies align with your needs. LinkedIn tends to offer stronger enterprise controls, but every platform requires active configuration, and the weakest link is usually account access rather than the platform itself.

What are the top 3 social media privacy concerns?

The top three social media privacy concerns are unauthorized data collection by platforms and third parties, exposure of personal information through weak privacy settings, and the risk of identity theft from information shared publicly on profiles. For businesses, employee profiles are often the richest source of information for social engineering attacks.

What should a social media security policy include?

A social media security policy should include password requirements, two-factor authentication rules, role-based access guidelines, approved and prohibited activities, incident response procedures, and a schedule for regular security audits. It should also name an owner for each account and a single point of contact for reporting suspected incidents.

How can AI be used to attack social media accounts?

AI can be used to attack social media accounts through automated spear-phishing messages, deepfake audio and video impersonation of executives, AI-generated fake profiles at scale, and chatbot-powered social engineering that mimics legitimate customer support. The core shift is volume: attacks that once took hours to research can now be personalized and sent in seconds.

What is two-factor authentication for social media?

Two-factor authentication (2FA) for social media is a security measure that requires two forms of verification, typically your password plus a code from an authenticator app or device, before granting access to your account. Authenticator apps and passkeys are more secure than SMS codes, which can be intercepted through SIM-swap attacks.

How often should I audit social media security?

You should audit your social media security at least once per quarter, reviewing access permissions, connected third-party apps, privacy settings, and your security policy to account for new threats and platform changes. Run an off-cycle review any time an employee leaves, a role changes, or a platform announces a major authentication update.

What tools help protect social media accounts from hackers?

Tools that help protect social media accounts from hackers include social media management platforms with role-based access and governance like Hootsuite Social OS, external threat intelligence platforms like ZeroFOX, business password managers, and authenticator apps for two-factor authentication. Most teams need at least one governance tool and one monitoring tool to cover both internal and external risk.

Save time managing your social media marketing strategy with Hootsuite. Publish and schedule posts, find relevant conversions, measure results, and more â all from one dashboard. Try it free today.

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How to get more Instagram followers in 2026

Key takeaways

1. Profile optimization comes first. Your username, bio, profile photo, and highlights are what convert a visitor into a follower.
2. Reels, carousels, and trend-led content drive the most organic reach, because Reels reach non-followers more reliably than static posts.
3. Consistency plus discoverability wins: post 3-5 times per week, use a focused hashtag strategy, and treat Instagram SEO as part of every caption.
4. Tracking your follower growth rate and adjusting from there is what separates accounts that grow from accounts that stall.

How to optimize your Instagram profile for new followers

Your profile is the deciding factor for most new follows. Someone finds a Reel, taps your handle, and gives you a few seconds to explain why they should stick around.

Start by getting clear on who you’re trying to reach:

• Where do they live?
• What do they do for work?
• When and how do they use Instagram?
• What are their pain points and challenges?

Learn from your current followers to identify their pain points, struggles and what they like to see on social media and create content from there.

Paige SchmidtFormer Social Engagement Coordinator at Hootsuite

From there, work through a quick profile checklist:

• Username: Searchable and close to your brand name.
• Profile photo: Recognizable at thumbnail size.
• Bio: Says what you do and who it’s for.
• Link: Points to one clear next step.
• Highlights: Answers the questions new visitors always ask.

Bonus: Download a free checklist that reveals the exact steps a fitness influencer used to grow from 0 to 600,000+ followers on Instagram with no budget and no expensive gear.

Write a bio that tells people why they should follow you

A good bio answers one question: what will I get if I follow this account? Lead with the value, not the adjectives.

Include a keyword or two that describes what you actually do, since your name field and bio are searchable inside Instagram.

If you need a starting point, a bio generator can draft options to edit from. Then close with a simple call to action, like “shop the new drop” or “free templates below,” so the link has a reason to be tapped.

Design a grid and highlights that make a strong first impression

Once you know who your brand is, you can decide how it’ll show up. Your brand identity should have a consistent voice, personality, and look, so your posts are recognizable at a glance and your grid reads as one cohesive unit.

My addition would be: be consistent. When you are getting started on social people might not always recognize your face, but they might recognize your location or your video style. An example is this fitness girlie I follow on IG. She starts her fitness videos the same way, lighting is always the same and first shot is pretty consistently in the same location. I saw her videos a few times before I actually started following her.

— Trish Riswick, former Social Team Lead at Hootsuite

Source: Mailchimp

You might have multiple topics you’d like to post on. You can use brand assets to give your grid a consistent look and feel like Mailchimp does.

Then make sure the content itself is high quality and works together when laid out. When new users visit your profile, it should make them want to see more (and click Follow). Take Monos, for example. The luggage company’s main feed has a beautiful, minimalist aesthetic.

Source: Monostravel

Finally, pin your best Stories to highlights and pack them with the info new visitors need. Don’t forget to customize the cover photos on your highlights, too.

What content formats grow Instagram followers fastest in 2026?

Short-form video reaches the most people who don’t already follow you, which makes it the fastest path to new followers. That said, different formats do different jobs, so a mix works better than betting everything on one.

Format	Reach to non-followers	Best use case	Effort level
Reels	High	Discovery and new follower growth	High
Carousels	Medium	Teaching, storytelling, saves	Medium
Single images	Low to medium	Brand aesthetic, announcements	Low
Stories	Low	Nurturing existing followers	Low
Live	Low to medium	Q&As, launches, collaborations	Medium

Why Reels are still the fastest path to new followers

People love short-form video content — nearly two-thirds of Instagram time is spent watching video. You can take a page out of TikTok creators’ book by producing engaging or entertaining Instagram Reels.

A few things to keep in mind when you’re making Reels for growth:

• Hook fast: Say or show the payoff in the first two seconds.
• Keep it tight: Since Instagram prioritizes watch-through rate, shorter Reels are easier to rewatch, and replays help distribution.
• Use trending audio: Pair it with your own idea rather than copying the trend outright.
• Add on-screen text: Most people watch with sound off at first.
• Design for shares and saves: Those signals travel further than likes.

Because Reels surface in the Reels tab and Explore, a single good one can put you in front of thousands of people who have never heard of you. That’s the whole game. A Reels creative workbook can keep your idea pipeline full.

Create carousels, memes, and shareable content

Instagram is a visual platform, but great captions help you get more reach and engagement. Carousels in particular reward a strong caption, since each swipe is another chance to keep someone reading.

Here are some key strategies to keep in mind:

• Put the most important words up front. This includes your keywords!
• Include a CTA or ask a question.
• Write like a human (edit your AI outputs, people!).
• Add value or intrigue.

An AI caption generator is genuinely useful for a first draft or ten headline options, but the caption still needs your voice on top. Longer, story-driven captions are performing well, so don’t be afraid to give a good idea a few sentences.

The Chic City Girl on Instagram uses her caption to share her thoughts on floral printed clothing.

Visually appealing infographics or relatable memes are also likely to be shared by others, which increases your reach. Getting your existing followers to share your content is one of the better ways to find new people.

Consider watermarking your content or adding a subtle logo in the corner so if it does get repurposed, people know it’s yours. Or take a simpler approach like HUHA, which uses a backdrop with its branding subtly included.

Keeping up with social media trends is worth it for the same reason. Participating in relevant, trending conversations shows your followers you’re paying attention, and it gives the algorithm a reason to push your post to people already engaging with that topic.

Paige Schmidt is constantly on the lookout for memes and trends. “Whenever I see a funny image, I save it and add it to a ‘mood pics’ folder. Then, whenever I have a funny linkless post, I check to see if I can pair it with a meme to increase engagement.

“Sometimes, I’ll go on Pinterest and type in ‘mood pics – sad’ or ‘mood pics – angry’ and save a bunch that I think would do well. I find Sponge Bob memes or Simpson memes do very well, so if I see a funny mood pic I save it immediately.”

Share behind-the-scenes and authentic content

Giving your audience a look behind the curtain can humanize your brand and build a strong connection with your followers. Being open and honest is a master lesson in how to gain real Instagram followers who genuinely support your brand.

Pro tip: Don’t try to fake this content. Your followers will see right through it, and it’ll do more harm than good in the end.

Use Stories and highlights to keep people around

Instagram Stories won’t usually win you new followers on their own, but they’re where you keep the ones you have. Around 500 million people use Instagram Stories daily, and Stories have plenty of built-in features, like Polls and Questions, that make engagement easy.

Stories are also the right home for content that doesn’t quite fit your feed, and hosting a Q&A there or on Live is a simple way to give a niche audience real value. Instead of outright asking about engagement tactics, try a question like, “What would you like to see more of from me?” The University of British Columbia uses this approach well.

How to use Instagram SEO to get discovered

If people can’t find your brilliant content, they can’t follow you. Instagram SEO is how you show up in search, in Explore, and in the recommendations that sit alongside content people already like.

Here’s the order to work through it:

1. Research the words your audience actually types into Instagram search.
2. Work those keywords into your name field, bio, and captions.
3. Add descriptive alt text to every image.
4. Tag your location when it’s relevant.
5. Add 3-5 specific hashtags rather than a wall of them.

You’re also working with the Instagram algorithm, not against it. It rewards content that keeps people watching and interacting, so relevance beats volume every time. We go over all the hot Instagram SEO techniques here.

Optimize your captions, alt text, and username for search

Instagram reads the text on your account, so give it something useful to read. Front-load your captions with the words someone would search for — an Instagram SEO tool can speed up the keyword research. Describe your images in alt text rather than stuffing keywords, and keep your username close to the thing you’re known for.

Location tags do similar work. If the location of your post or Story is clear, tag it. Users can then click on that location and see all photos and Stories posted from your store, restaurant, or office. If you’re posting from a conference or event, a location tag can put you in front of a highly relevant group of potential followers.

How to use hashtags on Instagram in 2026

Using hashtags thoughtfully is still a free way to get found, and you can create your own branded hashtags too. Instagram users can even follow hashtags — tracking trending hashtags can help you tap into those active audiences — which means your hashtagged content may appear in the feeds of people who don’t follow you yet.

The advice has changed, though. Instagram now recommends using a small number of highly relevant hashtags rather than the 30-hashtag walls that were common a few years ago. Aim for 3-5 that genuinely describe the post, mixing one broad tag with a couple of specific niche ones — a hashtag generator can surface relevant options fast — and run some tests to learn what works for your particular account.

How often to post on Instagram (and when)

When users interact with your posts, those engagements tell Instagram’s algorithm that your content is valuable, and that boosts your reach. Giving your existing followers something great to interact with is often what brings in new ones.

How often should you post to grow? Based on our analysis, 3-5 times per week is the sweet spot. A posting schedule template can help you map out that cadence without letting quality slide.

Timing still matters even though the feed isn’t chronological. Hootsuite’s social team found that the best time to post on Instagram is generally in the early mornings and early evenings, especially early in the week, with Wednesdays around 5 PM performing especially well.

Your audience might have different habits than ours, though. Hootsuite analytics can show you the best time to post for your audience based on past engagement, impressions, or traffic.

Schedule your content in advance

No one wants to be chained to their phone to publish content. Perch, the publishing app inside Hootsuite Social OS, lets you build a posting schedule from your desktop and publish straight to Instagram.

Scheduling in advance also means you can plan a cohesive grid that tells an overarching story, and give yourself time to write a good caption instead of improvising something witty on the fly.

You can plan and publish feed content, plus schedule Instagram Stories and Reels, from the same place.

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How to build engagement that attracts new followers

Engagement isn’t just a vanity metric. It’s the signal Instagram uses to decide who else should see your content, which makes it one of the more reliable levers for growth.

The signals worth chasing, roughly in order of value:

• Shares: Someone putting your post in front of their own audience.
• Saves: A vote that your content is worth returning to.
• Comments: Real conversation, not one-word replies.
• DMs: The strongest signal of genuine interest.

Tagging helps here too. Tagging users exposes you to their followers, and creators are more likely to re-share content they appear in. Always tag the creator on user-generated content, and encourage customers to tag you back, which is especially effective if you have a photo-worthy backdrop in your physical location.

Following and genuinely engaging with relevant accounts works the same way. When you comment thoughtfully on someone’s content, there’s a good chance they’ll check out your feed. Social listening is great for finding those conversations and the influential users worth following. For a few smaller wins, like pinning your best comments to the top of a post, check out more Instagram hacks here.

What is the 5-3-1 rule on Instagram?

The 5-3-1 rule is a simple content ratio: for every nine posts, share five pieces of curated or community content, three pieces of original content, and one promotional post. It’s a guardrail against turning your feed into a catalogue.

Treat it as a starting point rather than a law. If your audience follows you specifically for product news, your ratio will look different. The underlying principle holds either way: most of what you post should serve the audience, not the sales target.

Leverage user-generated content and community engagement

If someone takes a photo with your product, in your establishment, or using one of your services, repost it. This is called user-generated content, and it’s a gold mine. Be sure to tag the content creator and thank them for featuring your stuff. Article does this consistently well.

Positive reviews and testimonials belong in the same bucket. Highlighting them (or, if you’re brave, a negative review alongside a plan to do better, like RISK! Podcast) builds credibility and trust, which turns casual visitors into loyal followers.

Like all social networks, Instagram is really about the communities inside it, so make sure you’re participating in those spaces. Get involved by liking, commenting on, and sharing content from other credible accounts in your niche. Just avoid generic comments (like “Awesome post!”) that look like they came from a bot.

How to use collaborations and influencers to grow your following

Collaborations borrow someone else’s audience for a moment, which is why they’re one of the faster ways to reach people who’d never find you organically.

Partner with influencers and creators in your niche

People trust other people, and you can borrow that trust by getting buy-in from a creator in your niche. Start small and specific: a creator with 10,000 engaged followers in your category usually outperforms a much larger account with a vague audience. An influencer strategy template can help you plan outreach and track results.

Takeovers and Live sessions are useful variations on the same idea. Invite a creator or brand advocate to run your account for a day, or go Live together, and their followers come along for it. A collaborator doubles the audience you’re broadcasting to. If you’re not working with creators yet, our guide on influencer marketing is a good place to start.

Use Instagram’s collab feature with complementary brands

Don’t be afraid to reach out to other brands to see if there’s a way you can work together. Instagram’s collab post feature publishes a single post to both accounts’ feeds, so it shows up for both audiences at once and shares the engagement.

One common option is to host a contest featuring products from multiple companies, or to team up on a charity fundraiser, like HUHA does.

How to promote your Instagram beyond the app

Not all Instagram growth happens on Instagram. Every other channel you own is a place to point people toward your profile.

A quick cross-promotion checklist:

• Link your Instagram account from your website and email footer.
• Promote Lives and launches on your other social channels.
• Embed your Instagram posts in blog content, so readers can click through to your profile.
• Use your Instagram QR code at events, so people can follow you without typing your handle.

Exclusivity works too. People love being part of a club almost as much as they love a deal, so use your Instagram as the portal to exclusive content and discounts, with special codes and links in your bio. MACU TEA runs this play well.

Run contests and giveaways that drive real follows

Contests on Instagram can bring in a wave of followers fast. Just make sure your entry mechanics ask people to follow you and comment on a post by tagging a friend, so the reach compounds.

Building user-generated content into the contest helps even more, since people discover your profile through posts their friends create. And yes, once the contest ends some people will unfollow. But if you’re making content worth staying for, plenty will stick around.

Should you use Instagram ads to grow followers?

Instagram ads are worth considering once your organic content is working, because they put proven content in front of people who’d otherwise never see it. It isn’t a free strategy, but unlike buying followers, it’s a legitimate way to reach real people quickly with a small investment. Advertising should be part of your overall Instagram marketing strategy.

You can target by location, demographics, and even key behaviors and interests across Instagram’s 1.74 billion advertising audience, or create a lookalike audience based on the people who already interact with your business. Besides the feed, you can advertise in Stories and in the Explore feed, which is where people find content from accounts they don’t yet follow. Getting there organically is hard, so we have an entire article on it, and a detailed Instagram ads guide for the paid route.

How to track your Instagram follower growth

Instagram analytics tools give you data on impressions for each post, along with reach, engagement, top posts, and more. You’ll also find demographic information about your followers, including gender, age, and location.

For growth specifically, keep an eye on four numbers:

• Follower growth rate: Net new followers as a percentage of your audience, which tells you whether momentum is building.
• Reach to non-followers: The clearest sign your content is finding new people.
• Profile visits: How many people your content sent to your profile.
• Engagement rate: Whether the audience you’re gaining actually cares.

Read those together rather than in isolation — an engagement rate calculator can help you benchmark where you stand. High reach with few profile visits usually means the content is entertaining but the hook doesn’t connect back to you. Plenty of profile visits with few follows points at your bio and grid, not your Reels.

Reviewing this regularly is how you spot the adjustments worth making, and analytics can help you use Instagram to serve your business goals in plenty of other ways too.

With files from Christina Newberry.

FAQ: How to get more Instagram followers

How can I get 1,000 followers on Instagram?

Getting to 1,000 followers usually takes a combination of profile optimization, consistent posting (3-5 times per week), a focused hashtag strategy, and active community engagement. Reels do most of the heavy lifting for discovery, while your bio and grid decide how many of those viewers actually follow you.

What is the 5-3-1 rule on Instagram?

The 5-3-1 rule is a content ratio guideline suggesting you share five pieces of curated or community content, three pieces of original content, and one promotional post for every nine posts. It’s a way to keep your feed useful to your audience instead of overloaded with promotion.

How much does it cost to buy 1,000 Instagram followers?

Buying Instagram followers is usually cheap, but purchased followers are almost always bots or inactive accounts. They drag down your engagement rate, distort your analytics, and violate Instagram’s terms, which can get your account restricted or removed.

Is it better to post Reels or photos on Instagram for growth?

Reels are better for growth, because they consistently reach more non-followers than static photos do. Photos and carousels still matter for building your brand and serving the audience you already have, so use Reels for discovery and other formats for depth.

How often should I post on Instagram to gain followers?

Posting 3-5 times per week gives you enough consistency to stay visible without sacrificing content quality. If you can only sustain three good posts a week, do that rather than stretching to daily posts that get weaker each time.

What are the best times to post on Instagram in 2026?

The best times to post on Instagram depend on your specific audience, but early mornings and early evenings, especially earlier in the week, tend to see strong engagement across most accounts. Check your own analytics for the times your followers are actually active, then schedule around those.

Do hashtags still work on Instagram in 2026?

Yes, hashtags still help with discoverability, but the approach has changed. Instagram now points users toward a handful of highly relevant hashtags rather than the maximum of 30 that was common in previous years, so aim for 3-5 specific tags per post.

Why am I losing followers on Instagram?

Follower drops usually come down to inconsistent posting, a shift in content that no longer matches what people originally followed you for, or Instagram removing bot and spam accounts. Check whether the drop lines up with a change in your content before assuming something is broken.

Should I switch to an Instagram business account to grow faster?

A business or creator account is worth switching to, because it gives you analytics, contact buttons, and ad tools that personal accounts don’t have. None of those features grow your account on their own, but they give you the data to make better decisions about what to post.

Can I grow on Instagram without using Reels?

You can grow without Reels, but expect it to be slower, since Reels are the format Instagram currently pushes hardest to non-followers. Carousels, strong Instagram SEO, and collaborations can carry growth if video isn’t an option for you.

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