For a bunch of reasons, I decided a month or so ago, that I really wanted to up my Instagram game. I was teetering on the edge of 900 followers, and I wanted to get it to 1,000 as soon as humanly possible.
So, I decided to put some strategies in place, including making sure I post, at a minimum, once a day. Here are 8 Instagram Tips that I’ve learned, to help you take your Instagram game to the next level.
1. Put your Instagram in your Twitter profile. I didn’t put the @ symbol in front of my Instagram name, because it would have just lead to my twitter feed.
2. A couple times a week, schedule up a tweet to encourage people to find and follow you on Instagram.
3. Note which images on your feed get more likes and comments.
Photos with faces: truthfully, people love to connect with other people. So, if you put a photo with a face in it, it will get more “likes.” This includes selfies (which I hate, but am trying to do more of, nevertheless), and photos of people/friends/family, and also animals.
Photos taken with my DSLR tend to get higher likes than photos taken with my iPhone. Is this cheating? I don’t know… I know many Instagram purists are “iPhone only.” But photos that I take with my DSLR simply have better quality, and Instagram is a photographer’s medium.
4. Play nice with other Instagrammers. When you scroll through and look at, like and comment on other people’s photos, they will notice, and look at, like and comment on yours. I try to find and follow new users a couple of times a week.
5. Take the best possible photos you can. This means learning more about photography basics: light, composure, and editing. I am loving the latest update on Instagram, because it allows me to tweak my photos, to make them really look their best.
6. Learn about popular hashtags: Check out this list of the most popular hashtags on Instagram, and use 2-3 per post, if they are appropriate.
7. Pushing to Twitter and Facebook may garner you a few extra likes…. but in my experience, it doesn’t result in a huge spike. I want to keep my Instagram followers as just that–Instagram followers, so I don’t often push my photos to Facebook (where they can see them without having to click through to Instagram, or become a follower of mine). I do more often push them to Twitter, as you have to click the link to go back to see the photo. But in my experience, the amount of likes you get from doing this is negligible.
8. Find the best time of day to publish to Instagram using Iconosquare. Log in with your Instagram credentials, then go to Statistics–>Optimization. It’ll tell you when the best times of day are to post, based on when your community is online.
There you have it, folks! Since putting these strategies into place, I’m up nearly 100 Instagram followers–almost at my goal of 1,000! If you want to help me out, find and follow me @rebeccacoleman.
What are your favourite Instagram tips? Share in the comments below!