The 80/20 of Instagram growth in 2026:

80% of your growth comes from: strong hooks, high save rates, and consistent posting on 1-2 topics.

The other 20% comes from: hashtags, posting times, trending audio, collaborations, and everything else people obsess over.

I am not saying ignore the 20%. I am saying do not start there. Nail the 80% first. Most accounts that are not growing have not even started on the fundamentals.