Trending 21st December 2015 by Online editors

How To Build A Massive Instagram Following

We asked IGer Shona Lenehan how she gained over 12,000 followers on Instagram.

Let’s be honest, if there’s one thing on social media that makes everyone happy, it’s getting more likes and more followers. Lets say you’ve created an Insta account, and you’re excited about sharing some awesome photos or videos that you’ve taken and you’re excira about earning some love from fellow users.

Maybe you have around a thousand or so followers, but then it plateaus. It’s around this point in your Instagram game that you might think, ‘Man, this is impossible.’

Well, we have have some good news. Self-confessed social media addict  Shona Lenehan has shared her tops tips on how to get your Instagram account some major cred, and boosting those numbers is totally doable.

1. Take it easy on the filters

Filters make everything look better, right? Right, but you shouldn’t overdo it. To keep things looking uniform Shona says it’s best to try to edit all your pics using the same filters to stop your Instagram feed from looking too fussy. “Keep the photos relatively simple,” she recommends. That means it’s either lowfi or valencia girlfriend, never both, but if in doubt, don’t use a filter at all. According to Populargram, it’s unfiltered images that get the most likes.

2. Mingle mingle

Just like at an event or party, it’s when you get chatting with other peeps that you make new friends. The same rule applies for social media. “Interact with others on Instagram with comments and likes,” instructs Shona. “This is a way for new followers to discover you.” The lesson? Be active about communicating with other users who share your interests.

On your own photos, again, it’s unfiltered pics that garner the most interaction, with Mayfair and Inkwell also attracting lots of comments.

3. Be active

It goes without saying that if you don’t use your Instagram all that often, it probably isn’t going to grow very much and that’s why Shona’s number one tip is to “post pictures regular, at least once a day if possible.” Otherwise users will start to lose interest and let’s face it, that ain’t good. Many of the big IG accounts post up to 12 times a day, while others share between two and three pics a day. Decide what’s manageable for you.

4. Tag it right

As well as using the right filters (or none at all as the case may be) tagging your pics appropriately is also important, and will help you to connect with like-minded peeps. Luckily, apps like TagsForLikes and Webstagram do all the hard work for you, and find the most popular, trending tags for the pictures you’re posting. Better yet, scout out users using similar hashtags to you and like and comment on their pics. It will help you build an engaged Insta community.
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