4 Quick & Easy Tips to Help You Become An Instagram Star

Out of all my social media feeds, Instagram is my absolute fave. I spend an embarrassing amount of time scrolling through my account and double tapping like on every other photo I see.

Afro's are so versatile! Pineapple puff done by my sister @ericagarnes 💞💞💞 #NaturalHair #Naturalistas

A photo posted by makhondlovu (@makhondlovu) on Jan 6, 2016 at 12:50pm PST

Lately in addition to #instastalking some of my faves, I've decided it's time I take my feed seriously and really try to be a little more creative in how I reach out to my instafam. I just wanted to share a few game- changing tips and tricks I've picked up along the way.

Let's take our Instagram feed to the top! Here are 4 easy ways to up your 'gram game.



1. When should you post your photos?

Blogger Marianna Hewitt has over 498K followers on her Instagram account and what I love about her is how transparent she is about her brand. The LA based blogger wrote a very helpful blog post about when to post your snaps to reach the largest audience. She writes "there are some peak times to post photos to Instagram if you want people to see them, get a lot of likes and to find out what works best for your followers or audience, you can go to Statigram, which is now known as Iconosquare, the desktop website. It will show you a graph of when your photos have the most amount of likes, so you can tell what works best for you."

Image from lalamer.com

Read more after the jump!



2. Pick your images carefully

Shirley B Eniang has 395K followers on the 'gram

What makes Instagram so much fun is that it's a visual medium. That's why it's so important to really post images that are stimulating to the eye. To really maximize on the viewer's experience it's important to shoot in natural light and pick an editing style or app that really enhances the pic. This means no blurry photos, low resolution images or memes that have been screenshotted to death. The key here is to make your feed look visually appealing.

3. Use your apps

Gary Pepper Girl

Nicole Warne of Gary Pepper Girl has over 1.4 million followers on Instagram so she knows a thing or two about building a loyal community of followers. In an interview with Fashion Magazine, the blogger says she uses  uses three editing apps for each photo: Snapseed, to intensify the image and make it a little more 3D, VSCO Cam for a particular filter and Afterlight to alter the colors. I personally love VSCO Cam and another app I love is FaceTune. It's great for airbrushing any blemishes or pimples you may have.....but let me warn you, it is addictive!

4. Use hashtags sparingly

Hashtags are great - but they can be super tricky. That's why it's so important to not abuse them and take away from the beauty of your post.

Hashtags make it easy for people to find your photos especially if they are searching for those specific terms. Instagram has a great blog post about using hashtags the right way. "Using very general tags like #photo might get you a few likes, but with over 700,000 photos tagged #photo, it isn’t the best way to make your photos stand out and connect with the people most like you. Relevant tags will help you attract new followers who will take a genuine interest in your photos and continue liking and commenting on your photos over time."

I don't always follow all these rules - the key is to have fun on the 'gram. But it does help to have a targeted approach especially if you want to grow your followers and brand. While we're at it, make sure to follow me , are you on Instagram? What's your handle? I want to follow more people!