How to Boost a Post on Instagram in 2025

by Lina Thorne • Updated 9/2/2025 · Posted in Marketing

In the ever-evolving, algorithm-driven world of Instagram, getting your content seen by your followers – let alone new audiences – can feel like an uphill battle. You pour your heart and resources into creating a beautiful Reel, or a captivating carousel…and then they’re met with nothing but crickets. If this sounds familiar, you’re not alone. It’s a common experience for businesses and creators navigating the platform’s highly competitive landscape. Afterall, Instagram has over 2 billion monthly active users as of 2025. Luckily, there’s a quick and simple way to put your best-performing posts in front of more people – the Boost Post button.

But boosting is only one piece of the puzzle. To truly grow on the platform, you need a balance: smart, intentional boosts for visibility and strong organic growth strategies that keep your audience engaged long-term.

In this comprehensive guide, you’ll learn how to use the Boost Post button and do so both correctly and effectively. We’ll also tell you whether it’s really worth it and what kind of posts should be boosted. Finally, since a balanced, holistic strategy is the true key to long-term success, you’ll also find out how to increase your Instagram reach organically.

how to boost a post on Instagram

Why Should You Consider Boosting a Post on Instagram?

Boosting an Instagram post is beginner-friendly and hassle-free. It’s designed to be accessible for small businesses, solopreneurs, and content creators who might find the Meta Ads Manager intimidating.

Here’s why you should consider using this tool:

Increase Visibility. Boosting pushes your content into the feeds and Stories of new, targeted audience. This helps you break free from the limitations of the organic algorithm.
Target with Ease. Boosting allows you to define who will see your content. You can target users based on demographics and interests. It means that your content will be seen by those who are more likely to become your customers, clients, or fans.
Cost-Effective and Flexible. You have complete control over your budget, making it accessible for businesses of all sizes. You can spend as little as $1 USD a day and set the precise duration of your campaign, from one day to several months. It’s possible to stop the boosting at any time.
Valuable Social Proof. Increased visibility often leads to more likes, comments, shares, and followers. This social proof makes your profile appear more popular, credible, and trustworthy to new visitors, which psychologically encourages them to follow you and engage with your content.

Requirements & Rules for Boosting an Instagram Post

Professional account required. Switch to a Business or Creator account to access Insights and the Boost Post button. Also, your account needs to be at least 30 days old.
No need for a Facebook Page. Instagram now allows boosting a post without a Facebook page, but only if you’re doing it for the first time.
There’s a fee. Paying for boosts inside the Instagram iOS mobile app includes an Apple service fee of 30%. You can avoid it by paying on a desktop or using Instagram in a mobile browser.
Ad review and policies. All boosted posts go through review and must meet Meta’s Advertising Standards.

How to Boost an Instagram Post

Let’s take a look at how you can boost your Instagram post using the mobile app. It’s pretty easy and straightforward:

1. Go to your Instagram profile and choose a post or Reel, then tap the Boost Post button in the lower right corner.

2. Select your goal. Here are the options:

More Profile Visits – Ideal for raising brand awareness and gaining new followers.
More Website Visits – Best if you want to drive traffic to a specific link. Please note that you must have the link in your bio because the “Learn More” button on the ad will direct people to your bio, not to a URL.
More Messages – Perfect for generating leads, offering support, or starting conversations.
Optimized mix of goals – Go for this option if you want Instagram to decide what’s best for your account based on your posts and followers.

3. Define your audience. Choose wisely, because this will determine who Instagram will show your ad to. You have two options:

Suggested Audience – Instagram will automatically target people who are similar to your followers. This is a good choice if your dream clients are already following you. But please note that it doesn’t offer a lot of control, which is why it can be inefficient.
Create Your Own Audience – If you want efficient and effective boosting, this is the option to go for.

You can define your audience by:

Location. Target by country, state/province, or city.
Age. Select a specific age range.
Gender. Target men, women, or all.
Interests. Target users based on their interests and the accounts they follow. It’s a good idea for you to be as specific as possible here. For instance, choose “boho wedding photography” instead of just “photography” – the latter is much broader. The more specific you are, the better results you’ll get.

4. Set your budget and duration.

Your budget is how much you are willing to spend in total. For instance, you can set a daily amount of $5.

Your duration is how long you want the boost to run. For example, it can be 5 days. Instagram will show you an estimated reach (e.g., “1,800 - 5,000 people”) based on your budget and audience size. Keep in mind that a longer duration with a smaller daily budget can often be more effective than a short, yet expensive campaign. Spend your money wisely.

5. Review the settings carefully and check the preview of your ad.

6. Add your payment method.

7. Does everything look correct? Tap Boost Post.

Your boosted post will be submitted for review, which can take up to 24 hours. Once it’s approved, it’ll go live. You can track its performance in your Instagram Professional Dashboard.

That’s it! You’ve just boosted your Instagram post! Everything is pretty easy and straightforward, right?

Please note that you can use these instructions to boost an Instagram post on your computer. The steps are the same.

What Kind of Posts Should You Boost?

Don’t just boost any Instagram post. You need to be smart and strategic about this. Otherwise, you might end up wasting your money for nothing.

Best posts to boost:

Top performers. Use Instagram Insights to identify posts that are performing well organically. If a post is already getting good engagement, the algorithm has already validated its appeal. Boosting it will surely bring in more likes, comments, and shares.
Posts with a clear CTA, like “Shop Now,” “Download Our Guide,” “Limited Time Offer.” Your boosted post must explicitly tell people what you want them to do next. Vagueness is the enemy of conversion.
Valuable content. Your content needs to provide value to people. Keep in mind that educational, entertaining, or engaging content usually performs best. This could be a tutorial, an educational infographic, or a behind-the-scenes video.
Posts that generate leads. A post offering a free consultation, or a link to a lead magnet can be incredibly effective when boosted to a well-targeted cold audience.
Announcements and offers. Promoting a 24-hour flash sale, a weekend discount code, a webinar you’re hosting next week, or a new product launch is a perfect use for boosts. The urgency encourages quick action.

Posts you should avoid boosting:

Reels with copyrighted audio or interactive stickers. They are ineligible for boosting.
Low-engagement posts. Boosting won’t magically fix a weak piece of content.

Is It Even Worth Boosting an Instagram Post?

Well, it depends entirely on your goals.

It’s a good idea to boost a post when:

You want to draw more attention to a post that’s already performing well organically.
You want quick exposure for an event, offer, or announcement.
You are a beginner who wants an easy and low-commitment entry point into the world of Instagram ads.

But it’s definitely not worth it if you’re boosting out of desperation, thinking that running an ad can help you fix low engagement.

How to Grow on Instagram Organically

The following tips will help you grow organically and make sure your content attracts the right audience:

You need to resize your images for Instagram, so they meet their size requirements. If you fail to do this, your content might end up blurry or pixelated after you post it. This should be avoided at all costs because people will scroll past low-quality images no matter how beautiful or valuable they are.

Here’s a tip. If you want to protect your content against unauthorized use and distribution as well as raise your brand awareness, consider adding a watermark to your images and videos before sharing them online. Adding a logo, for instance, helps people remember your brand better.

2. Optimize for Instagram SEO

In 2025, Instagram is leaning heavily on search and discoverability. So, you need to use relevant keywords in captions and add descriptive alt text to images.

3. Use hashtags strategically

A handful of well-chosen hashtags is far more effective than a dozen generic ones. Research the hashtags your competitors and industry leaders are using. Then experiment with different hashtag combinations to see which ones drive the best engagement. Remember to use a mix of niche, trending, broad, and location-based hashtags.

4. Focus on content that’s saved and shared

While likes and comments are great, Saves and Shares signal to the algorithm that your content is high-value and worth returning to. Create carousels with insightful tips, how-to Reels, infographics, or checklists. You can also throw in some humor into this mix.

5. Quality is more important than quantity

Keep in mind that boosting simply helps your posts reach new people. But it’s up to them whether to interact with it or not. In other words, if your content isn’t good, no one is going to follow or message you. One well-produced piece of content will perform better than ten low-effort posts.

6. Be consistent

These days, it’s not necessary to post daily. What matters most is being consistent. Aim for a schedule that you can stick to (e.g., 3 posts per week). Think of it as a TV schedule in the good old days – you knew when to tune in for your favorite show, right?

7. Post when your audience is most active

If you publish a post when your audience is online, there’s a higher chance it’ll be seen and interacted with. Early engagement tells Instagram that your content is relevant, which can trigger a snowball effect where your post gets shown to more users.

The “best” posting time depends on your niche and audience. Thankfully, you can check Instagram Insights to see when your followers are most active. And with Instagram’s built-in scheduling tool, you can plan ahead and consistently post at the times that deliver the most visibility.

8. Don’t stick to just one format

Instagram is a multi-format ecosystem. So, use each format strategically:

Reels: The king of discoverability. It’s no secret that the algorithm favors Reels and pushes them to non-followers on the Explore page. Make use of popular trends and trendy audio to create entertaining content that provides value or solves a problem. Grab attention within the first 2–3 seconds. Add text to your videos for those who watch reels without sound. This can also make them more discoverable.
Stories: Great for daily, more personal engagement. Use polls, quizzes, and question stickers to encourage interaction. Share behind-the-scenes snippets or unedited images. Stories are perfect for showing your brand’s personality, doing quick updates, cross-promoting, and driving traffic via the link sticker.
Carousels: Use them to tell a story, list tips, show multiple products, or a certain process. The swiping increases engagement time, which the algorithm loves.

9. Engage like a human

If you want your audience to interact with you, you need to interact with them, too. Engagement works best as a two-way conversation. Reply to comments, like user mentions, and share relevant content your followers create. Acknowledge the people who are taking time to connect with your brand.

By showing up as an active member of the Instagram community, you build trust, visibility, and stronger relationships with your audience. Over time, this naturally increases both engagement and reach.

10. Collaborate

Collaboration has always been a powerful way to reach new audiences, and Instagram’s Collabs feature makes it easier than ever. With Collabs, a single post can appear on both your profile and your collaborator’s profile at the same time. That means one piece of content reaches two audiences at the same time. And the likes, comments, and views are combined into one post. You can invite up to 20 collaborators on a single post, giving you plenty of opportunities to tap into new audiences. Instagram’s Collabs is a smart way to get your content in front of more people with minimum effort.

11. Analyze and refine

Your Instagram Insights is a goldmine of free data. Regularly check it to understand what’s working and what’s not. Which posts have the highest reach, saves, and shares? What types of content drive profile visits? Which format keeps viewers watching longer?

Use these data-driven insights to refine your content strategy. Double down on what works, and stop posting what doesn’t.

Conclusion

Boosting posts on Instagram is a quick way to increase reach and raise brand awareness. But it should be a part of your overall Instagram growth strategy, not a replacement. Think of boosting as the spark, while growth strategy is the fuel that keeps your account growing steadily.

The key to sustainable success lies in a balanced approach. First, focus on creating valuable content of high quality that resonates with your audience and fostering a genuine community through active engagement. Use the Insights to identify your best posts. Then, and only then, strategically use the Boost Post button to get your best content in front of a carefully defined new audience.