blogging basics: instagram

Instagram is definitely my favorite social media platform right now. I. am. obsessed. In my spare time, you can always find me scrolling through my Instagram feed. I use it as an extension of my blog and I’ve been having a lot of fun this year building up my following and ‘brand.’ Today, I’ve gathered some tips and knowledge for you that I’ve gained along the way!

Take photos in square mode
When I know I am going to upload a photo to Instagram, I take it in square mode. That way, I don’t have to worry about cropping things out of the picture when I go to post it. I always take pictures with the regular camera function on my phone, not through the Instagram app.

Utilize Instagram tools feature
There are tons of editing apps but I usually just use Instagram itself. I skip the preset filters and use the tools section to adjust brightness, contrast, saturation, etc.

Keep things consistent
For awhile, my photos were all over the place. Some dark, some light, colors all over the board. Sometimes I find that they still are but I’ve gotten a lot better at keeping things consistent. When someone comes to your profile, you want each photo to look good on its own but also want your entire feed/profile to look cohesive as well. Once you find an editing technique you like, stick to it. For example, I always love really high brightness.

Utilize your bio space
If you are a blogger, use your bio space wisely and include your contact information and your blog URL. This is the only place (as of now) on Instagram that you can display clickable URLs so it can be a good way to drive traffic to your website. If a photo relates directly to a post on my blog I put something like ‘link in bio’ in the caption to try and get people to click through.

Post what works
If you get more likes, comments and engagement on a certain type of photo, keep posting that type of photo! For example, I tend to get a lot of likes on #ootd posts and shots of food around Cleveland so when I am coming up with Instagram content, I keep those two things in mind.

Tag brands and companies featured in your posts
If you are wearing a certain brand or using a certain product, make sure to tag it. Brands will often repost, comment or like your photos when they are featured which can help you gain recognition and attract more followers. They also might be more inclined to work with you if they know you already promote them on your own (I just had a brand reach out to me this week because I had featured them on Instagram).

Take a lot of photos
Take pictures from multiple angles and in different lighting to see what works best. I sometimes take 15-20 of the same photo before I find the right one!

Use hashtags
Use hashtags in the caption or comments section of your posts. In the ‘notes’ section of my phone, I keep a list of all of my most used hashtags. When I post a picture, I can just copy and paste in those hashtags easily. Any time I use hashtags (such as #ootd, #fashionblogger, etc.), my photos get more engagement. Just make sure that the hashtags are actually relevant to the photo.

Comment & respond to comments
Just like you should comment on fellow bloggers websites, also comment on Instagram photos that you love! As a rule of thumb, try to comment on 3-5 photos/day that inspire you or make you happy. I follow a ton of fashion bloggers so for me, it’s really easy to do. It’s a great way to engage with fellow Instagrammers. Also, make sure to respond to people when they comment on your posts.

Do you love Instagram? Do you have any tips to share?