How to get followers: growing an audience without bought followers

track.lt editorial team · 2026-10-11 · 5 min read

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What the platforms themselves say about recommendations
What to apply from this
Regularity and one topic
Why bought followers do harm
What brands check
Frequently asked questions
Sources

The internet is full of advice on how to “hack the algorithm”: post at 18:37, use exactly 11 hashtags, comment under well-known posts. Most of it is guesswork. Meanwhile, the platforms themselves have publicly described what they base their choice on when deciding who to show a post to. There is not a single trick there – only how people react to the content.

In this part of the guide – what Instagram, TikTok and YouTube say about recommendations, what you can apply from that, why bought followers are the worst investment and what brands look at. There is no quick path, but there is a clear one.

In short

Platforms show a post to new people based on how the first viewers react to it: whether they watch to the end, save, share, comment.
The number of followers is only one of many signals. A new person usually sees your post before they follow you.
Bought followers are prohibited by the rules of all three platforms, are removed and ruin the statistics you will show to brands.
The accounts that grow are those that create on one topic regularly and for a long time.

What the platforms themselves say about recommendations

Instagram

Instagram explains that there is no single algorithm: Feed, Stories, Explore and Reels are ranked differently. The most important signals it names:

For Feed – your activity (what you like, save, share, comment on), information about the post (how many people like, comment on, share and save it, and how quickly) and how much you interact with the author.
Explore – first of all, the popularity of the post. According to Instagram, these signals matter more here than in Feed or Stories.
Reels – your activity, your history of interacting with the author, information about the video itself (audio track, visuals, popularity) and about the author. Here Instagram also mentions the number of followers and the level of engagement, but adds that it aims to give everyone a chance to find an audience.

Instagram also states that accounts which keep posting content that breaches its Recommendations Guidelines or Community Standards are not recommended at all for a period of time. You can check this in the app, in the “Account Status” section.

TikTok

TikTok names three groups of factors: user interactions (what they like, share, comment on, watch to the end or skip), content information (sounds, hashtags, number of views, country) and user information (language, location, device). For most users, according to the platform, interactions carry the most weight, including watch time.

The author's number of followers is not mentioned among the examples for the “For You” feed. It is mentioned only where TikTok suggests accounts to follow and in the live stream feed.

YouTube

YouTube writes in its Help Center that there is no universal “ideal” video length: it depends on the content and the audience, and it is not worth stretching a video artificially. The platform advises thinking about value for the viewer and holding attention throughout the video.

What to apply from this

What the platform says	What it means for you
It matters whether the post is watched to the end	The first seconds must say what the post is about. Cut everything that is not essential
Saves and shares are counted	Create what people want to save: lists, instructions, comparisons
The history of interaction with the author matters	Reply to comments and messages – this increases the likelihood that your next post will be shown
Content information: sound, hashtags, caption	In the caption, say what the post is about, in the words people search with
Content that breaches the rules is not recommended	One risky post can halt the growth of the whole account

Regularity and one topic

The platforms do not promise that frequent posting achieves anything by itself. But it gives you two things you will not get otherwise: more attempts and more data. After twenty posts you can already see which ones attract new people; after two – nothing yet.

Choose a rhythm you will keep up for three months. Two posts a week all year is better than every day for two weeks.
Stick to one topic. A person follows when they know what to expect. An account “about everything” makes no such promise.
Repeat what worked. If a post about budgeting got five times more, make three more on the same topic.
Review your statistics every month: which posts brought new followers, which ones people saved and shared.

Why bought followers do harm

The rules of all three platforms prohibit it, and the platforms remove it.

Platform	What the rules say
Instagram	Third-party apps generating fake likes, follows and comments breach the Community Guidelines and Terms of Use. Such activity is removed, and accounts that continue it may be restricted
TikTok	Trading in services that artificially increase engagement is not allowed. When fake metrics are detected, the fake likes and followers are removed
YouTube	Artificially increasing views, likes, comments or other metrics is not allowed, nor is exchanging subscriptions (“sub4sub”). Content and channels may be removed

There is a practical reason as well. Bought followers watch nothing and do not comment, so the account's engagement rate falls: followers increase, but reactions do not. It is exactly this ratio that brands check first.

The same applies to follow-for-follow groups and “follow and win” giveaways: they bring in people who are not interested in your topic.

What brands check

Reach, not the number of followers: how many people actually see the post.
Engagement: the ratio of reactions, comments, saves and shares to reach or to the number of followers.
The audience's country and age. To a Lithuanian online shop, followers from other countries are worth nothing.
The growth curve. A sudden jump with no clear reason raises suspicion.
The content of the comments: whether they are real sentences or just emojis.

All of this is visible in the platforms' statistics, screenshots of which a brand usually asks for before agreeing a deal.

Frequently asked questions

How do you get followers quickly on Instagram?

There is no quick and safe way. The platform shows new people the posts that the first viewers react well to, so growth is determined by content and time.

Is it worth buying followers to get started?

No. It breaches the rules of Instagram, TikTok and YouTube, fake activity is removed, and the engagement rate is ruined.

How many times a week should you post?

As often as you can keep up for several months. The platforms do not specify a number.

Do hashtags still work?

TikTok names hashtags among the content information signals. They help the platform understand what the post is about, but they do not rescue a poor post.

How many followers do I need to start earning?

For commissions on recommendations and for content made for clients, no specific number is needed. For sponsors, an active and clearly defined audience matters more than its size.