Things You Need to Know About Instagram

Anyone who follows me on Instagram will probably be aware of how much I love it. There are often days when I post 15 or more pictures! I’ve been on there since 2012 and have slowly increased my presence and my followers over that time. These days, I tend to gain followers at a rate of around 100 per week, and most of my posts get a fair amount of engagement. I love the audience on Instagram, and one of my favourite things to do during down time is to scroll down my Instagram homepage and see what everyone has been up to.

Here are five things you need to know about Instagram…

1. More Engagement

On average, the engagement rate on Instagram is around fifteen times that of Facebook, and twenty times of Twitter. That’s probably because pictures are more engaging than text, and a photo of you or your environment is more personal than text about it! One stat I’ve read is that there are 1.2 billion likes on Instagram every day, and 1000 comments per day. That’s a lot of engagement! Just imagine if you were a business on Instagram, you could reach out to so many people. However, not all businesses are lucky enough to have a high follower account or reach, which is why they look at Buying Instagram followers like a pro on Twicsy so that they can raise their visibility and start engaging with their audience.

2. Active Users

Instagram has over 300 million monthly active users, with 75 million using it daily – and 70% of users outside the US. Whereas other social networks seem to have a lot of inactive accounts, Instagram have done their best to eliminate dormant accounts. This means that whether you have 50, 500 or 5000 followers, they’re all likely to be active and engaged. It’s still growing as well; it’s estimated that 20% of Internet users now using Instagram.

3. Blue is Best

Apparently, people are more likely to “like” or comment on a photo with a blue tinge. There’s a 24% increase in likes if the dominant colour of an image is blue. What does that mean for your pictures? It doesn’t mean you should avoid photographing anything red, just that filters that make the background a bit blue will probably make your pictures more popular. Likewise, if you’re posting a quote or text image, use a blue background rather than red. That said, the most popular filter on Instagram is actually #nofilter!

4. Hashtags Work!

I know it sometimes feels a bit icky to use a ton of hashtags in your Instagram posts – especially if you’re sharing them to Twitter or Facebook as well – but they work! One way to avoid that ickiness is to post your photo normally, then put all your hashtags in a comment. Instagram has made it easier for you to choose hashtags that will work: when you begin to type a hashtag it’ll come up with suggestions, with a number next to each one, showing how many times that hashtag has been used before.

5. Selfies Work!

At Brit Mums Live this year, Ella from Deliciously Ella said that she felt a bit icky posting selfies, but found that when she did, her fans loved it. People love to see the face behind the blog or business. They especially love a selfie when you’ve been cooking or working out or just woken up, and you look less than perfect. Kylie Jenner is apparently the selfie queen of Instagram, with hundreds upon hundreds of them posted to her account. You don’t need to do that many, and to be honest if you post too many people are likely to get bored of the sight of you – but one a day is a great way to be more personal with your audience. And, of course, use hashtags like #selfietime and #instaselfie.

Thanks for reading! If you’ve enjoyed this, you may enjoy this post: 5 Things to Try on Instagram