How to boost your Instagram presence
If you are a blogger who loves photography Instagram is an obvious platform to master. It’s simple, visual and you don’t have to spend money boosting posts to be seen. (Although this is likely to change in the long term.) If your Instagram enthusiasm and popularity have stalled then here are a few pointers on how to boost your presence from Trips 100 editor and Family Adventure Project Instagramer Kirstie Pelling..
1 Post more of what people like
I’m not going to blurb on about how posting great pictures improves your following on Instagram. Because how many of us consciously post average or even rubbish ones? But instead of rushing out to sign up for a photography course, stop and analyse which kind of pictures your followers like. I’m betting there’s a pattern. You can tell for sure by signing up to Iconosquare which can give you a list of your most liked posts. (Sadly they now charge for what Statigram used to provide for free.) On our Instagram channel pictures of the Lake District go furthest and I would even put the most successful posts down to a particular tree. That’s lucky, as the tree is on our daily walk. Instagramers who are really motivated by their following figure out what their followers want and post little else. Check out the account of @everythingeverywhere and see if you can find a single image with a face in it. If your followers like pics of Chinese food then perhaps you need to get yourself out to China more. Or at least down to the takeaway once a week. If they like churches…well you know what to do.
A photo posted by The Family Adventure Project (@familyadventureproject) on
2 Use hashtags and communities
Don’t have a one size fits all approach to hashtags. Be specific with each post. Use destination tags, attraction tags or targeted community hashtags that will help people find your particular photograph and connect with you. This is particularly important if you are starting out as it’s one of the main ways people will find you. Join communities. Be an active part of them. Find a feature page with a hashtag that resonates with you and increases your chance of moderators noticing and featuring you by commenting and liking regularly. You could even volunteer to be a guest judge for challenges or a stand in moderator at holiday time. Or if there is no regional group in your area then start one. I started @Igerscumbria, the official igers community for the Lake District with another Instagramer.
3 Go on instameets
It’s easier to strike up a lasting bond online if you have met someone face to face. Instameets in your area can also help improve your photography too as there’s usually someone with better equipment or more experience than you. And generally it’s fun to tour a city or the countryside as part of a herd. Check out your local group, find out what’s happening when you are travelling. Or organise a meet yourself with some friends.
A photo posted by The Family Adventure Project (@familyadventureproject) on
4 Get featured
One of the best ways of improving your following is to get featured on much bigger accounts. The chances are if you find someone with followers in the tens of thousands, they’ve been boosted by someone else along the way. However there’s a paradox here; the bigger and more influential the account the harder it is to get moderators to notice you. Unless you are a shamazing photographer, I’d probably steer clear of the really big feature pages like National Geographic and focus on smaller or more specialist hashtags. UK wide ones I like and use regularly are #capturingbritain and #Britains_talent. I also use bigger tags like #beautifulplaces in the hope of being featured. If you are an established Instagramer then you may want to try approaching the people who run the account to do an Instagram takeover or to be featured by them.
5 Create wow photos for high profile challenges
One way of improving your images is to accept creative challenges. One of the best regular challenges I’ve found is Instagram’s #WHP or weekend hashtag project and almost every week I find myself doing strange things to be part of it. They don’t just feature the biggest instagramers on their Monday round up, they pick smaller accounts too, so there is a chance in thousands you might get picked. Better odds than trying to win the lottery?
6 Follow people
One of the quickest ways to get followers is to follow people yourself. Manage your account with the Crowdfire app. Instagram can also do some of the work for you with its suggested users. Clicking on the search symbol also shows you other accounts you can follow.
7 Develop some quirky themes
Having a quirky theme running in and out of your feed makes you stand out from the crowd of travel bloggers. In the last couple of years I’ve had two regular themes weaving in and out my own @familyadventureproject gallery. The first is snowglobes #adistortedworld and the second is a set of Playmobil figures that come around the world with us. #playoutdoorsfamily.
A photo posted by The Family Adventure Project (@familyadventureproject) on
8 Delete poor images and spam followers
Gallery images don’t have to stick around for ever just because you’ve taken the time to post them. If they make you wince when you look back through your feed then bin them. While you’ve got your fingers on the delete button, get rid of the spammers. You can usually tell who they are by checking out their random, uncaptioned images and consonant or number strewn names. If you leave them following you they will attract others. You have been warned!
9 Use processing apps
I can’t stress this one enough. There are apps that can transform an ordinary image into a special one in two clicks. They are free. Start with Snapseed and Camera 360. Explore all their functions. Then play around with others. My current favourite is Over for adding text.
10 Tag people in the images
There’s much speculation on what algorithm Instagram uses to make you a recommended user or feature you on their blog. Some people claim that the platform prefers people who use several of its functions when posting. Tweet a pic occasionally from the app, or tag destinations and attractions in the image itself. There’s an added advantage that a destination may pick up on it and feature you on their feed or on their Facebook page.
11 Start a more specific account
If they are liking something in particular then think about creating a whole new account for it. @kim.au did this with her tiny cars. And I’ve branched out recently into a poetry account. Follow me at @instapoetinmotion to see what I’m doing with poetry, words and images. Here’s one of my Instagram poems on the theme of…well, er, Instagram.
And if you have any tips on how to get bigger and better on Instagram please leave a comment here. We’d love to share your thoughts.
A photo posted by Instapoetinmotion (@instapoetinmotion) on
