The Impact of Boosting on Instagram Growth (And Why it Differs From Ads)

Many brands spend hours perfecting their content calendar: planning posts, refining visuals, and crafting captions that connect. But even the best calendar won’t reach its full potential if only a fraction of your audience sees it. That’s where boosting comes in.

One of the most common questions we hear from brands is: “Why should I put money behind my content if it’s organic, or if I’m already running ads?”

The short answer: because organic content and ads serve different purposes, and boosting bridges the gap.

• Organic content nurtures your community, shows consistency, and proves your brand’s voice and value. But reach is limited. Only a small percentage of your followers (and almost none outside your audience) see it.

• Ads are designed for specific objectives like leads, conversions, or sales. They’re typically campaign-driven.

• Boosting takes the content you’ve already worked hard to create and ensures it gets in front of more people. It amplifies what’s working organically, without the heavier spend or setup of a full ad campaign ($20/post can go a long way!)

In other words, boosting isn’t paying twice, it’s making sure you get the full return on the content calendar you’ve spent so long creating.

The Case for Boosting: A Client Example

One of our clients had a strong content calendar supported by an average of $200/month of boosting. From December 2022 to November 2023, they invested consistently and saw growth from 650 → 1,148 followers—a +76.6% increase, averaging about 7% growth per month.

When they paused boosting during December 2023 – March 2024, growth slowed dramatically to just +3.7% overall, averaging less than 1% per month.

Once boosting resumed in April 2024, growth picked up again, climbing from 1,242 → 2,193 followers by August 2025. That’s another +76.6% increase, averaging about 4.8% per month.

Even though the second boosting phase had a lower monthly % (because growth was measured against a larger base), it still massively outperformed the pause period—5x faster on average, and more than 1,000 new followers in just over a year.

Takeaway

A great content calendar sets the stage, but boosting makes sure the audience is in the seats. If you want your strategy to deliver bigger, faster results, don’t just post and wait for organic discovery alone; boost the content you’ve already worked hard to create and accelerate the growth of your account!