Forget Hacks: How to Get More Likes on Instagram (For Real)
Honestly, if I have to read another blog post that says "just make great content" I'm going to lose my mind.
I remember this one client, a fantastic little bakery in Minneapolis I was working with last year. They made these incredible croissants-seriously, you'd fight someone for the last one-but their Instagram was a ghost town. They were posting beautiful photos, doing everything "right," and getting maybe 15 likes per post. They were burning out, frustrated, and felt like they were shouting into a void. And the advice they kept getting? "Post more Reels!" "Use trending audio!" It's the kind of advice that sounds good but means nothing when you're the one actually running the business, with a thousand other things to do.
Look, I've been doing this since 2010. That's a lifetime in internet years. And the number one thing I've learned is that small businesses don't need more theories. They need a system. Something that actually works.
The 'Likes' Problem We All Pretend Isn't There
Here's the thing. We all pretend we're above chasing vanity metrics like Instagram likes. But we also know-deep down-that they matter. A post with 200 likes just feels more credible than a post with 12. It’s social proof. It also tells the Instagram algorithm that people are paying attention, which can help your reach. So yeah, getting more likes on Instagram is a valid goal.
The problem is how most people go about it. They're stuck in this cycle of post-and-pray. They spend an hour getting the perfect shot, another 30 minutes writing a caption, and then... crickets. It's exhausting. And frankly, a lot of the common advice peoples give are just plain bad. It doesn't account for the fact that you, the business owner, don't have a 10-person marketing team.
You just need a better way to get people's attention.
So, What Actually Works? (Hint: It’s Not Just More Ads)
For the past five or six years, I've been leaning heavily into gamification for my clients. Yeah, I know, it's a buzzword and I hate buzzwords, but stick with me.
It's not about creating some complex video game. I mean, it's basically about using simple games-like a spin-to-win wheel or a digital scratch ticket-to get people to engage with you. Instead of just asking for a like or a follow, you're giving them something fun to do. There's a prize, a challenge, a little dopamine hit. And people are way more likely to take an action when there's a fun reason to do it. It taps into a really basic human desire to play and win. It's not revolutionary, it's just... human.
Most of my clients find that once they introduce a simple, interactive element, their engagement just naturally goes up. Because it's different. It stands out from the endless stream of perfectly curated photos.
I've Tested Everything. Here's Why This Is Different.
I've been in the gamification space since it was just a weird niche topic, probably around 2015. I've personally built campaigns for clients on Gleam. io, Woobox, ShortStack... you name it, I've probably paid for a subscription at some point. Gleam is powerful, for sure, but it's also $39/month for the basic plan and honestly, it's overkill for 90% of small businesses. It takes me over an hour to get a campaign properly configured for a client.
That's why I've gotten so interested in platforms like Faisco lately. It solves the real problem. I can get a campaign live for a client in less than 10 minutes, and it doesn't cost them a fortune.
I'm not just saying that.
- I used their "Summer Catch" game for a bookstore in Calgary and they got 1200 new Facebook page likes in 12 days.
- I deployed their "Lucky Spin" game for an art gallery in Chicago that resulted in 152 new attendees for an event they were promoting.
- I even used the "Whac-A-Mole" game (yes, really) for a flower shop in Orlando that got them 898 new Pinterest followers in about three weeks.
These aren't made-up numbers. This stuff works because it's simple and direct.
Games That Actually Get Likes and Followers
The key is picking the right kind of game for your goal. Not all games are created equal.
What I've found works best for a goal like how to get more likes on instagram are the simple, fast ones.
Instant Draw Games: Things like "Lucky Spin," "Scratch Ticket," or "Lucky Draw" are gold for this. The appeal is immediate. People see it, they want to play, they want to win. I’ve seen landing pages for these games get 40%+ email conversion rates because people want that instant result. You make one of the entry requirements "Like our last Instagram post." Boom.
Catching Games: I love these for seasonal marketing. Faisco has these pre-built templates for every holiday-Christmas, Halloween, Valentine's Day. I ran a "Fill My Christmas Stocking" game for three different retail clients this past December, and every single one saw their engagement jump over 300% compared to their normal holiday posts. It's just more FUN than another "20% off" graphic.
Reactive Games: Think "Whac-A-Mole" or "Burger Stacker." These are great because they have a skill component. People play, they get a score, and then they share it to challenge their friends. That's organic marketing you can't buy.
The best part is how you integrate this with Instagram's own platform mechanics. You're not trying to fight the algorithm; you're giving it exactly what it wants: signals of high engagement.
Okay, Byron, How Do I Actually Do This?
Look, here’s what I typically recommend to a new client who wants to try this without it becoming a whole thing.
- Stop Overthinking the Prize. It doesn't have to be an iPad. A $25 gift card to your store, a free product, or even a 15% off coupon works perfectly. The prize just has to be real.
- Pick a Simple Game. Seriously, go with a Lucky Spin or a Scratch Ticket first. Use a platform like Faisco where it's basically already built for you. They have templates for literally everything.
- Create Your Instagram Post. This is CRITICAL. Post a simple graphic or a video of the game in action. In the caption, you write something like: "✨GIVEAWAY!✨ We're giving away a [Your Prize]! To enter: 1️⃣ Like this post, 2️⃣ Follow us, and 3️⃣ Play our fun [Game Name] to see if you're an instant winner! Link in our bio to play now!"
- Put the Link in Your Bio. That's it. You're now using an external, fun tool to directly drive actions-likes and follows-on your Instagram profile. The game captures their email, and the post itself gets the likes you're looking for. It's a system.
We see businesses get 200-400% bumps in follower growth and easily double their email list in the first month. Not because of magic, but because they finally gave people a compelling reason to pay attention. It's a real strategy, not just hoping for a post to randomly go viral-which, by the way, is the worst marketing advice ever given.
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Optimize & Scale with Actionable Data-Driven Insights
Stop guessing, start growing strategically. Faisco's comprehensive analytics dashboard translates raw data into your actionable growth plan:
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