What Does S4S Mean on Instagram?

Quick Answer

S4S stands for Shoutout for Shoutout. It's an arrangement where two Instagram accounts promote each other to their followers, typically by sharing each other's content or mentioning each other in posts or stories.

How S4S Works

1. Account A posts about Account B (shares their content, mentions them, or recommends them)
2. Account B does the same for Account A
3. Both accounts gain exposure to each other's audiences
4. Followers who are interested follow the recommended account

Common S4S Formats

• Story shoutout: Sharing the other account's post to your story with a recommendation
• Feed post: Reposting or featuring the other account in a post
• Caption mention: "Check out @account for amazing content about [topic]"
• Reel collaboration: Creating content together and cross-promoting
• Story mention: Quick and low-commitment. Learn creative Instagram Story ideas for shoutouts

How to Do S4S Effectively

Finding the Right Partners

• Look for accounts with similar follower counts (within 20-30% of yours)
• Choose accounts in a related but not competing niche
• Check their engagement rate,high followers with low engagement means fake followers
• Use our engagement calculator to verify their engagement rate
• Review their content quality,their audience reflects who you'll reach

The Right Way to Ask

Send a clear, professional DM:

"Hey [name], I love your content about [topic]. I have [X] followers who'd enjoy your page. Want to do a shoutout exchange? I'll share your best post to my stories and you do the same."

For more outreach tips, see our influencer outreach guide.

Making It Work

• Be specific about what you'll post and when
• Time it together,post within the same hour for maximum impact
• Make it genuine,write a real recommendation, not a generic "go follow this account"
• Track results,note follower count before and after to measure effectiveness

Is S4S Still Worth It in 2026?

Pros vs. Cons

Better Alternatives

• Instagram Collabs,use the built-in collab feature to co-author posts
• Content collaborations,create genuine joint content instead of shoutouts
• Instagram Reels,focus on creating discoverable content via Reels
• Influencer outreach: Find genuine partners with our guide to finding Instagram influencers
• Hashtag strategy,use targeted hashtags for organic discoverability

S4S Etiquette

• Don't ghost,if you agree to S4S, follow through
• Don't spam,don't DM random accounts asking for S4S
• Be selective,one quality S4S is better than ten low-quality ones
• Disclose if needed,if there's any compensation involved, disclose it
• Remove if asked,if either party wants the shoutout removed, do it immediately

Related Terms

• Instagram Marketing
• Collab
• Influencer Partnerships
• Follower Growth
• Engagement Rate