Let's chat about Instagram

Oh Instragram you are a conundrum.

I have spent the last three months obsessing over instagram, I have probably read every post ever written on instragram tips and I've even completely renovated my account. My followers are very very very (one more very) slowly rising and although this isn't the be all and end all as a blogger, which you probably are, you want to have your hard work recognised, right? 

Here is what I have picked up so far: 

1. It's a good idea to have a theme - I know I know when it comes to Instagram 'theme' can be considered a dirty word. But you know what? I love a theme, it is aesthetically pleasing and it is more likely I will follow you if you have one. I had a bit of a awkward stage when trying to create a theme, like a puberty for instagrammers. I had heard someone say you needed to use the same filter for every photo, which can work. However the filter I had chosen made my skin in selfies look somewhat grey, not ideal for a blogger who does a makeup of the month series. So I stopped that and now I don't use a filter at all. I adjust the brightness of my photos instead in an attempt to make them pop. 

2. The amount of people you follow doesn't make much difference - The wonderful Jemma (strong name too) mentioned this in a post and a little lightbulb went ping inside my noggin because she is so right. By cutting back on who you follow you get to only see posts that will inspire you, I had a big old clean out and you know what happened to my follower numbers .... nothing. 

3. Be smart about hashtags - I downloaded the tagsforlikesapp which Frankie Winter told me about here it has made me think a bit outside of the box when it comes to what hashtags I use however, if you are posting a photo of a lipstick DON'T tag it #eyeliner #primer #foundation because that's not what it is is it cheeky? And if I am looking for a #eyeliner #primer #foundation photo and your lipstick picture turns up all you are going to do is piss me off!

Here are some you may not have thought of #tnchustler #abmlifeiscolourful #flashesofdeligh #thatsdarling #blogsociety #blogbffs #livethelittlethings #thehappynow #nothingisordinary #instagood #igers #instalike #fashioninsta #fashionstyle #fashionaddict #outfitinspiration #styleoftheday #styledbyme #asseenonme #streetstyle #instabeauty #monochrome #noir

4. Leave proper comments - Like with anything social media related interacting is going to be key. Like photos of a similar theme to yours, and interact with the followers of accounts you aspire to be like. However it really grinds my gears when I get a notification for a comment on instragram and it is something like 'Cool' it leaves me feeling pretty meh. Please don't just comment for the sake of it, say something inspired, make an observation, ask a question. And if you comment S4S or F4F or L4L on any of my photos that is the quickest way to stop me from checking out your account.

5. Take stock photos - It is a good idea to post often on instagram, not too much between 1 - 3 times per day is apparently the right amount. I guarantee you not everyone who posts a photo of a lovely coffee cup is actually drinking that coffee at time of posting. I didn't do this at first and it does obviously take something away from the authenticity, however if it is important for you to grow your account regular uploads are a must. Take more photos and save them for a rainy day when you have nothing particularly instagrammable around you. Trouble is I get too excited and just want to post 80 photos in a row, I must learn to control myself!

Try not to get too frustrated with it, which is totally hypocritical of me to say as it's driven me a little mad over the last couple of months. Follower counts on Instagram tend to yo yo and even my beautiful blogger pal MillyDayDreams who has a kick ass instagram said this is the same for her (so there is hope for us yet)

If you want to go and have a laugh at my instagram journey so far as I have left it all up (even the grey skinned selfies) please pop over to @acrossthispage and say hello!