There are many pieces of advice about how to be successful on Instagram and most of them become common knowledge because they are repeated so often. These tips might have been relevant at one point in time, but then became out-of-date due to algorithm changes, changes in priorities in terms of content formatting or other factors. The difference between the two should be recognised since adhering to old-fashioned practices might result in losing valuable time or even reducing one’s reach in certain situations.
Myth 1: Posting at the “Best Time” Guarantees Reach
It is widely known that there is a perfect time for posting, and the exact time is usually given — it is 6 p.m. on Wednesday, for example. However, the right time for posting is highly individual, and it depends on an individual account’s followers’ activity.
What actually matters more:
- Consistency of posting schedule over time
- Audience-specific activity patterns (checked via account insights)
- Content quality and hook strength within the first few seconds
Theories that concentrate too much on “the best time” in isolation from content quality usually yield poor results, as time plays an insignificant role compared to the performance of the content once the test audience views it.
Myth 2:
Myth 2: Number of Followers Is the Main Growth Indicator
For many years now, the number of followers has been used to measure an account’s success regardless of the changes made in ranking algorithms within the platform itself. Campaigns dedicated to increase Instagram followers can neglect one crucial aspect – whether these followers are active or not and whether they are going to engage with the content in the future or just serve as extra numbers in the following.
More important signals than follower count:
- Engagement rate relative to audience size
- Save and share rate, which influence distribution more directly
- Profile visit-to-follow conversion rate
- Story completion rate for existing followers
On the other hand, having an account that has 5,000 active followers is better compared to an account that has 20,000 non-active followers on Instagram.
Myth 3: Hashtags Alone Drive Discovery
It is a popular opinion in the world of Instagram marketing that the use of hashtags, particularly the use of as many as 30 hashtags, was essential for discovery. However, this belief has been disproven by the Instagram product team itself, which has confirmed that hashtags are relatively less important in today’s distribution process.
| Old Assumption | Current Reality |
| Use all 30 hashtags per post | A handful of relevant tags suffice |
| Hashtags are primary discovery tool | Explore and Reels algorithm relevance matters more |
| Generic high-volume tags maximize reach | Niche, specific tags perform better for targeting |
Myth 4: Buying Followers Is a Reasonable Shortcut
This myth persists because the appeal is obvious: a fast, cheap way to inflate a profile’s apparent size. In practice, purchased followers are typically low-quality or automated accounts that never engage with content, which actively harms the ratio between follower count and engagement rate — a ratio the algorithm appears to weigh when determining distribution to new viewers.
Why this backfires:
- Engagement rate drops as follower count rises without matching interaction
- Platform enforcement periodically removes large batches of fake accounts, causing visible follower count drops
- Authentic followers will be deterred by an account that has an incongruous number of followers versus its level of engagement
Myth 5: Being Viral Once Means You’ll Always Grow
While going viral can bring about a huge increase in followers, the idea that this continues indefinitely is not always accurate. Accounts that have been viral once have seen their growth stall straight away if they do not have a content plan to keep those followers engaged.
Factors that help growth after being viral:
- Content consistency that matches what attracted the viral audience in the first place
- A clear content identity or niche that gives new followers a reason to stay
- Engagement with new followers’ comments to build relationship signals
Myth 6: More Posts Always Mean More Growth
Suggestions for posting frequencies have ranged from one end of the spectrum to the other, with some strategies recommending daily multiple postings as absolutely required for increasing the number of followers. Overposting, when coupled with low-quality content, will actually decrease reach because it will result in decreased average engagement per post, as the algorithm takes into account engagement patterns across an entire account, rather than the success of each post individually.
Where This Leaves Realistic Strategy
The approaches that truly aim to increase Instagram followers through Instagram will always be based on a more limited range of actions, different from those described above: posting with frequency consistent with the audience’s capabilities, using the appropriate content formats for now (which are Reels, as the algorithm currently prioritises them for discoverability), and focusing on engagement, rather than follower count. These strategies don’t provide fast results, like the ones that were mentioned above, but they withstand the changes in the algorithm much better, since they are built on principles that the platform is consistent with rewarding.
Accounts that periodically audit their strategy against outdated assumptions — rechecking whether a tactic still aligns with how the platform currently ranks and distributes content — tend to adapt faster when algorithm updates roll out, rather than continuing to invest in practices that stopped working months or years earlier.
