Unless you’re a celebrity or the Most Interesting Man in the World, odds are you have to work to build Instagram fame. And since Instagram delivers an engagement rate that’s over 50 times better than other popular social networks, it’s going to be a key marketing medium for years to come.

Our research shows that the number of followers, likes and comments accounts receive are directly related to one’s activity on Instagram along with the quality of content being shared and the hashtags used. A common misconception is if you build it (have good content and strategic hashtags) they will come (engage), however proactively engaging others is just as important.

We looked at 100 Instagram accounts that hadn’t posted in at least 48 hours, which takes content-spurred engagements out of the equation given Instagram’s algorithm for showing fresh content first, and found that after a short period of liking/commenting on targeted content the stale accounts began immediately (within 15 minutes) generating engagements 91% of the time. Of course this was just one test we did and is not intended to be a definitive result.

If you take a step back and think about it, our findings make total sense: As you reach out to other people they receive notifications and visit your profile in return. Engaging targeted content will attract likeminded individuals with a high propensity to engage, and will ultimately result in an increased number of likes, comments, and followers.

The moral of the story is to not only think about you or your company, but also others. You have to be active if you wish to succeed, and the more active you are the more famous you’ll become.