Manual Vs. Boosted Growth on Instagram: What You Need to Know Before Choosing a Strategy
July 17 2025, Published 1:39 a.m. ET
If you are a content creator or influencer on Instagram in 2025, you have something in common with millions of others like you. It takes you a lot of time and effort to attract the right audience and keep them interested in what you have to say.
Yes, Instagram has more than 2 billion monthly active users. But if you don’t use the right growth strategies, you won’t entice any of them to follow your account.
Instagram’s own rapid growth is another obstacle to your success on the platform (as strange as that may sound). The more users sign up to create content, the more competition you have.
This means you can no longer rely on quality content only. You must use a strategic approach to growth.
Instagram Competition Gives Rise to Growth Services
That said, Instagram competition is not a new thing. There is just a lot more of it in 2025. Over the years, social media experts and entrepreneurs have brainstormed how to counter this competition, resulting in the rise of Instagram growth services.
Growth services are online tools designed to help Instagram (and other social platforms) users increase their follower count automatically and then organically. Think of it as a much-needed instant head-start that you can build on.
Growth services continue to gain popularity because:
●They have built a reputation for reliability, which makes it easier for content creators to anticipate a specific growth pattern.
●Reputable growth websites are extremely user-friendly, further simplifying the Instagram growth process.
●These services also cater to all types of budgets, so you will find packages to suit your pocket and requirements.
●Automatic engagement services help free up your time, allowing you to focus on content strategies.
If you are a business owner or influencer on Instagram and you want to expand your reach in 2025 and beyond, you must know the differences between manual growth and automatic growth.
Continue reading to explore both strategies and their advantages and disadvantages, enabling you to make informed decisions to grow your Instagram profile.
Manual Instagram Growth Will Always Be Challenging
The reality of manually growing your Instagram account is that you will constantly encounter challenges. The irony is that these challenges come in the form of the manual growth strategies you are constantly told to follow.
For example, most social media experts will tell you to collaborate with influencers and brands. What they don’t tell you is that this process takes a long time. You need to find suitable collaborators and ensure they are aligned with your content vision.
Even if you do manage to find a collaborator, there is no guarantee that your collaboration will be a success, no matter the size of either of your audiences.
Other challenges of manually growing your account include:
●Running ads. Instagram offers the opportunity to create ad campaigns using Meta’s Ads Manager.
You must also identify a target audience, create content for this audience, and try to monitor your success over time.
Without ad creation experience, you run the risk of low engagement, which can result in a poor overall return on investment.
●Boosting posts. Instagram also has a ‘Boost Post’ feature, which can promote content quickly.
●Algorithm changes. The Instagram algorithm constantly changes, so the visibility of your posts fluctuates. With each change, manual strategies become less effective. Also, as more users and brands vie for attention, standing out on Instagram becomes more difficult.
Manual growth strategies are not useless. They do work and can be very beneficial if you know how to use them. Still, they require a lot of time, effort, and often expertise as well. If you want consistent, predictable growth, these strategies will prove very hard to follow.
What Is the Alternative?
As mentioned above, automatic growth services are an alternative to manual growth strategies. And the best part is that you don’t have to choose between the two, because they complement each other perfectly.
For instance, Blastup is a growth service that has been around for many years. When you buy an Instagram follower package from this website, you get engagement on a specific post. Receiving the engagement you need may spark interest in other Instagram users.
Tools that increase engagement, such as likes and views, can enhance your profile’s visibility and potentially reach new audiences.
See how the two services work together? Without one, it is hard to get the other.
Services like Blastup also offer you the following:
●Instant or staggered delivery, depending on how fast you want to establish an engaged Instagram audience
●Customizable packages that suit your needs
●User-friendly platform
●Excellent user security, especially when it comes to payments
●24/7 customer service and a refund policy
Instagram growth services should fit into your overall social media strategy. Combining manual and boosted growth can help increase your audience at a quicker pace.
However, remember that effort on your part is still required. You must engage with your Instagram followers, whether they come from a boost package or joined your page organically. You must create valuable content that evokes emotions and encourages genuine interaction. Above all, you must be consistent. If you want steady growth, consistency on your part is non-negotiable, especially when it comes to content.
Comparing Boosted and Manual Growth Strategies
While boosted and manual growth strategies complement each other well, they also have their strengths and limitations. And in some instances, one strategy works better than another.
Manual Instagram Growth Strategies
The strengths of manual growth strategies include the following:
●Real interactions and engagement
●Brand credibility
●A good chance of activating the Instagram algorithm
●Cost-effective when implementing user-generated content and creating collaborations
Manual Growth Limitations
●You need a lot of focus time to implement manual strategies. Your main focus will be on content that invites engagement, as well as ongoing strategy development.
●Manual growth strategies have unpredictable outcomes. No matter which strategies you follow, they cannot guarantee fast growth, or any growth for that matter.
●Manual growth is resource-intensive, so you will need to put effort and creativity together to keep audiences interested.
Ideal Use Cases for Manual Growth Strategies
●If you have a small business and a limited budget, you may be able to use some manual growth strategies to grow an audience on Instagram.
●Very niche markets may also benefit from manual growth strategies.
Boosted Growth Strategies
Boosted growth includes the following benefits:
●Potential for quicker Instagram growth when it matters most
●Aiming for consistent progress within a set timeframe
●Easy-to-use platforms with straightforward processes
●Scalable packages that suit content creators and businesses
Boosted Growth Limitations
●If you don’t use a reputable growth platform, you may end up buying bots that cannot engage with your account.
●If you don’t pair boosted growth with manual growth, you may not experience long-term success on Instagram.
Ideal Use Cases for Boosted Growth Strategies
●Boosted growth packages are great for creating buzz around product launches.
●If you need an instantly engaged audience for an event promotion, boosted growth strategies can help.
●New accounts may appear more credible and benefit from increased social proof.
Pros and Cons of Boosted and Manual Growth Strategies
Before you choose a strategy, ensure you consider the following pros and cons.
Manual Instagram Growth Pros
●You get audience insights through feedback.
●Your content is customized for a specific audience.
●You have a better chance of building a strong Instagram community.
Manual Instagram Growth Cons
●Manual growth comes with limited scalability as your audience grows.
●Without any automation, it isn’t easy to maintain consistent interaction.
●Achieving significant growth typically occurs over a much longer time frame.
Boosted Growth Pros
●This can help increase your account’s visibility, potentially reaching a broader audience.
●Instant growth allows you to focus on your content instead of worrying over results.
Boosted Growth Cons
●Boosted growth only works if you buy from a reputable source.
●If you solely rely on instant boosted growth, it may trigger an Instagram policy violation.
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The Choice Is Yours
Manual growth and boosted growth services present both advantages and challenges. Depending on your requirements and goals, you may benefit from a hybrid strategy instead of a ‘follow-on’ strategy.
For instance, instead of always getting a boost in followers with organic followers, you can find a good balance between the two strategies.
You can, for example, buy 100 followers and create content they are likely to engage with. Follow this up with more followers and then encourage user-generated content to boost visibility. This will draw more eyes and more interaction. Should there be a dip in engagement over time, you can either boost or draw followers naturally.
The point is not to limit your options but to utilize the available strategies to continue building a loyal following. This approach is designed to support long-term growth on Instagram.
