How to grow on Social Media

What a lot of accounts do that are trying to grow is go to accounts related to their content, and then follow all of the followers of that account hoping for a follow back. I think this is pretty frowned upon but its basically the only way to grow quick. I did it with my goonsquad_productions account to get a base and I got like 900 followers in like 2 or 3 weeks. The only problem is that most of the people are inactive and I only average like 100 likes. I'd say the best legit way would be to get your friends and then just wait.

Oh also you can advertise on Instagram and depending on how much you pay it puts your picture/video in so many people feeds. For example $10 will get you exposure to 1000 accounts. (Im not sure what the actual ad rates are tho)

You can use an autoliker that automatically likes photos with specific hashtags that you put in. I know one website has a 3 day free trial and then like $8 a month. Idk how many followers you gain but it's not bad at all. I've tried the free trial but if you're serious about growing $8 would probably be worth it

milk_manYou can use an autoliker that automatically likes photos with specific hashtags that you put in. I know one website has a 3 day free trial and then like $8 a month. Idk how many followers you gain but it's not bad at all. I've tried the free trial but if you're serious about growing $8 would probably be worth it

I dont want fake people or bots following me, I want real people who are somewhat passionate about this and take intrest follwing me. w/o using money

dyerI dont want fake people or bots following me, I want real people who are somewhat passionate about this and take intrest follwing me. w/o using money

It definitely isn't all fake people and bots

But yeah I wouldn't spend money either.. you could go around liking people's photos yourself or do a giveaway or something

Create good content, be active, have fun. People like to see real talent and a passion on Instagram. If you have original, creative content you'll get active followers.

Like you said, you don't want fake people/ bots to follow your account. Look around to other accounts that share similar content, get involved, gain clout.

First of all, don't use bots and don't use ads. You're looking to create an engaged following, not just having people follow you but never like your stuff (bots) or like one photo but not follow you (ads).
The best way to build an engaged following is to have an account with a consistent theme. Think of the accounts you follow. Im guessing a bunch of them will be ski accounts which consistently put out high quality content with the focus heavily on skiing. If it was an account with a whole load of photos of some kid you don't know, their dog, their coffee and some "artsy" photos of some random stuff with soft depth of field, you probably wouldn't, even if every 1 in 5 shots was a good shot of what you came there to see.
When I look at your account what first greets me is "just a kid with a camera and a passion" and then in your photos you back it up. You're a kid with a camera and a passion which is great and you're doing exactly what most good photographers do when they discover photography which is to find the joy of making a good image and then going all sorts of ways with it. You see some cool idea for a photo like burning steel wool or shooting the structure of a box bridge and you copy it to build your repertoire of techniques. This is great and will stand you in good stead for being an adaptable photographer, but will not get you followers.
What you need to do to succeed from here is to become a kid with a camera, a passion and a direction. Find a theme, whether that's a genre of photography (urban, landscape etc.), a style (B&W, long exposure), a mood, a subject, a colour palette, whatever it is you want to focus on, and stick with it for a while. Your focus can evolve over time, but unless you give people an account where they know what they're following for, they aren't just going to follow you based on your technical prowess at pumping out a load of photo clichés

hugopeckhamFirst of all, don't use bots and don't use ads. You're looking to create an engaged following, not just having people follow you but never like your stuff (bots) or like one photo but not follow you (ads).
The best way to build an engaged following is to have an account with a consistent theme. Think of the accounts you follow. Im guessing a bunch of them will be ski accounts which consistently put out high quality content with the focus heavily on skiing. If it was an account with a whole load of photos of some kid you don't know, their dog, their coffee and some "artsy" photos of some random stuff with soft depth of field, you probably wouldn't, even if every 1 in 5 shots was a good shot of what you came there to see.
When I look at your account what first greets me is "just a kid with a camera and a passion" and then in your photos you back it up. You're a kid with a camera and a passion which is great and you're doing exactly what most good photographers do when they discover photography which is to find the joy of making a good image and then going all sorts of ways with it. You see some cool idea for a photo like burning steel wool or shooting the structure of a box bridge and you copy it to build your repertoire of techniques. This is great and will stand you in good stead for being an adaptable photographer, but will not get you followers.
What you need to do to succeed from here is to become a kid with a camera, a passion and a direction. Find a theme, whether that's a genre of photography (urban, landscape etc.), a style (B&W, long exposure), a mood, a subject, a colour palette, whatever it is you want to focus on, and stick with it for a while. Your focus can evolve over time, but unless you give people an account where they know what they're following for, they aren't just going to follow you based on your technical prowess at pumping out a load of photo clichés

Wow that's a lot, but very helpful. Thanks for alll the help. I'm going to start working on focusing my genre and all that asap:)))

dyerWow that's a lot, but very helpful. Thanks for alll the help. I'm going to start working on focusing my genre and all that asap:)))

No worries dude!

LJ.CorralesCreate good content, be active, have fun. People like to see real talent and a passion on Instagram. If you have original, creative content you'll get active followers.

Truth, it just takes time. Sadly, a ton of people buy followers, it will come back to bite them in the ass sooner or later, once Instagram figures out how.

Just keep on doing you.