u/FalseAd3001 — reddlx

Hey everyone,

I’ve been trying to understand how agencies or growth teams handle creating and managing multiple Instagram accounts nowadays.

A few years ago it was possible to create accounts with just email, but now phone verification seems mandatory and accounts get flagged pretty quickly.

I tested a few SMS activation services (like 5SIM, SMS-Activate, Grizzly, etc.), and while some of them work occasionally, they don’t seem reliable for long-term use. Accounts either get flagged or restricted after some time.

So I’m curious:

Are agencies still using temporary SMS services, or is that outdated now?
Are dedicated numbers actually more stable, or still risky?
Do most teams just rely on real SIM cards now?
Is account warming + behavior more important than the number itself?

Not looking for anything shady, just trying to understand how this is handled at scale in a realistic way.

Would appreciate insights from anyone who has experience with this.

Thanks

Hey everyone,

I’ve been trying to improve my Instagram growth strategy, especially for digital marketing and product promotion, but things feel very different compared to before.

Back in the day, you could just post consistently and use some hashtags, and you’d get decent reach. Now it feels like the algorithm is way stricter and more focused on “real engagement.”

I’m trying to understand a few things:

What kind of content is currently working best for getting into Explore? (Reels, carousels, hooks, storytelling, etc.)
How important are hashtags now? Do they still matter or are they mostly irrelevant?
Does posting time still make a big difference?
What are you doing to increase engagement (comments, saves, shares)?
Are you using AI tools for content creation, and does it help or hurt reach?
For those promoting products: how do you avoid looking too “salesy” while still converting?

I’ve tested a few things like:

Different posting times
AI-generated captions
Varying hashtag counts

But the results feel inconsistent.

Would love to hear real strategies that are working right now (not outdated tips).

Thanks in advance.