If you’re unfamiliar with Instagram shoutouts and how to use them to grow your brand, don’t worry. We’ll cover all the bases in this guide.
First, knowing why Instagram marketing is important for a growing brand is essential. It’s no wonder that Instagram is a popular marketing platform for brands that want to reach their target audiences. The platform has a huge reach – over 2 billion monthly users. And with 44% of Instagram users using the platform to shop at least once a week, it’s also a platform where consumers are ready to spend.
Getting traction and engagement with your target customers, however, is not as easy as just posting from your brand account. You need to promote your content to get eyeballs on it. That’s where Instagram shoutouts come in.
When a popular Instagram account gives you a shoutout, it expands your brand’s reach and can help drive traffic – and followers – to your page.
Let’s dive into our guided tour of Instagram shoutouts and how to incorporate them into your social media strategy.
What are Instagram shoutouts and why do they matter in 2025?
Any time another Instagram account positively mentions yours, that’s a shoutout. These endorsements are often tagged as “shoutouts” or “S/O” across the platform. They usually appear in Instagram captions or comments, unlike collaborative posts on the platform, which are authored by and appear on two feeds simultaneously, without the shoutout element.
Instagram shoutouts serve as powerful social proof. They are a form of influencer marketing that lets you narrow down your audience and get a lot of exposure for a comparably small investment. Shoutouts allow you to present your brand to an already loyal audience. By routing your marketing through a trusted account, you reach a broader customer base without “cold calling” on random feeds.
Instagram shoutouts deliver four core benefits for brands:
- Authentic credibility through established account endorsements.
- Precision targeting via strategic account partnerships.
- Fresh content perspectives from creative collaborators.
- Enhanced engagement through new audience interactions.
How to request Instagram shoutouts for your brand
A direct message is a good way to approach your potential partner, but if you have an influencer marketing tool, you can discover and contact new influencers more easily. With a proper influencer CRM tool, you can manage all influencers and shoutout requests in one place, all while seeing actual engagement rates.
Here’s what to include in an outreach message:
- Personalization: Always mention specific details about the influencer’s content or niche.
- Clear value proposition: Highlight how the collaboration benefits both parties, whether that’s through direct payment, a product offer, shoutout for shoutout (S4S), collaborative posts, or other ways it could positively impact the recipient.
- Professional tone: It should go without saying, but be polite and concise. Get to the point quickly.
- Follow up: If you don’t hear back within a week, send a polite follow-up message one time. If you don’t hear back after that, move on to other potential partners.
Ultimately, how you choose to reach out to other accounts depends on the scale of messages and the size of influencers you’re working with. Instagram shoutouts are a great and varied way to get your brand noticed by engaged communities. With luck, the right tools, and a thoughtful approach to outreach, you’ll build connections and create a wider fanbase for your brand.
Types of Instagram accounts for brand shoutouts
There are a lot of different types of Instagram accounts to work with, so choosing one to request a shoutout from can be challenging. Pro tip: Use an influencer marketing tool to discover new influencers that have an audience you’re trying to target. Then, reach out directly to request a shoutout.
Instagram shoutouts from personal accounts
Most Instagram accounts are personal, belonging to one individual. Their posts will typically be about them and will be related to their lifestyle.
These creators build dedicated followings in specific niche areas like sports, lifestyle, food, or travel, offering your brand precise audience targeting opportunities.
Micro-influencers – personal accounts with 5,000 to 50,000 followers – are a great starting point for your Instagram shoutouts journey. Their fan bases tend to be more loyal. Stick to micro-influencers in your industry or niche. For the best results, ensure your products mesh well with their vibe. Accounts with slightly more followers may also be compatible, depending on your budget and reach.
Personal accounts with 500,000+ followers are broader and more expensive. They may not be interested in hosting your brand’s shoutout directly, as they are often represented by professional social media managers.
Remember to check the account’s engagement rates – a high number of followers with low engagement can be a sign of fake followers.
Themed accounts
Themed Instagram accounts are created around a particular topic or interest. Notable examples include @discoverearth’s dedicated travel photography and @livefolk’s lifestyle adventure content.
Themed Instagram accounts excel through their laser-focused audience interests. Their followers understand and appreciate promotional content, including shoutouts, often resulting in stronger conversion rates for brand partnerships.
Pro tip: Use industry-specific hashtags to find theme accounts that relate to your product offerings.
Instagram shoutouts for brand growth: Try these five
The secret to Instagram shoutout success? Diversify your strategies. Each shoutout type serves a specific marketing objective, offering unique advantages based on your goals, resources, and timeline.
Paid shoutouts on Instagram
Paid shoutouts represent strategic investments in brand visibility.
While the price range varies, it’s safe to assume this rule: The bigger the account’s influence, the bigger the payment. Accounts with over one million followers will typically require a minimum of four figures for the shoutout.
S4S, or shoutout-for-shoutout on Instagram
S4S is a simple exchange of services. If User A publicly promotes User B, then User B will shout back. This is more cost-effective, but you’re less likely to attract the interest of larger influencer accounts.
These mutual promotion agreements work best under these specific conditions:
- Matching follower demographics.
- Aligned audience interests.
- Complementary brand offerings.
If you use S4S, make sure you trust the brand to some extent. The last thing you want is for their end of the deal to fall through or to find out the brand has a bad reputation or product after publicly praising it online.
Voluntary or fan shoutouts on Instagram
Organic brand mentions from satisfied customers – essentially, user-generated content (UGC) – represent the pinnacle of social proof. These unprompted endorsements read as authentic and resonate with potential customers seeking genuine recommendations.
Brands earn these valuable mentions through:
- Superior product experiences.
- Memorable content creation.
- Authentic community engagement.
You can’t hinge your marketing strategy on voluntary shoutouts. You have very little control over the behavior of your fans and their decision to reshare your content. However, you can encourage it by creating content on your brand page that caters to reposts.
Instagram Stories shoutouts
Mentions in Instagram Stories have become a vital tool for brands looking to increase their visibility, create genuine connections, and reach wider audiences. Through both organic user interactions and sponsored collaborations, these mentions offer a powerful, cost-effective method to grow your brand’s presence on Instagram.
There’s a strong relationship between story mentions and follower numbers. When people tag a brand in their story, they introduce it to their followers, which often leads to profile visits and follower growth. This exposure is especially valuable when coming from influencers or well-known accounts that build your brand’s reliability and reputation.
In 2024, frequently mentioned profiles exceeded their own story publications by a factor of ten. These successful brands, particularly in sectors like fashion, beauty, and sports travel, benefit from a combined reach that far surpasses what they could achieve through their original content alone.
Brands that regularly post stories tend to receive more mentions, so post Stories consistently.
Instagram Stories are especially popular for voluntary shoutouts, so consider asking followers to “tag us in Stories,” and reshare those Stories to show your appreciation.
Instagram Reels shoutouts
In 2024, Instagram Reels solidified their role as a leading content format, transforming brand-audience interactions. Reels officially overtook images in usage frequency for the first time, representing 38% of brand content by the end of the year, while image posts accounted for 37%.
This transition demonstrates the increasing popularity of brief, visually compelling content designed to grab viewers’ attention quickly.
Reels maintain a 2.2% benchmark engagement rate, maintaining an edge over TikTok’s average reach engagement rate of 1.7%. Considering the importance of Reels to an Instagram strategy in 2025, it’s the perfect focus for your shoutout strategy.
Final thoughts on Instagram shoutouts
The success of your brand’s Instagram shoutout strategy depends on three core elements: strategic partner selection, authentic content creation, and professional relationship management. These elements help you hack Instagram’s algorithm while fostering meaningful audience connections.
To check the performance of your Instagram shoutouts strategy, measure performance analytics. Begin with controlled tests, measure outcomes, and optimize your Instagram marketing strategy based on your findings.
