Given to the unique concept of Instagram, it has made its space among the most popular social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter. You will be hooked once you start using Instagram. Keeping up with each other’s life has become easier with it and people are getting crazy about getting more and more likes and followers. If you love Instagram as much as we do, you will really like these tips and tricks.

Receive notification when your favorite people post

We all are especially inclined towards some people in our Instagram feed and hate missing their posts. it maybe because we love their photography skills or simply because we like them; with the latest update, never miss a single post from those people. Simply turn on the notifications of people you want to receive notifications for each time they post something.

Scroll through people’s feed safely

The deeper you dig in someone’s Instagram feed, the greater the fear is about double tapping a picture from 80 weeks ago and being labeled as a stalker. But don’t worry, there’s a hack for this as well. Just switch to airplane mode and scroll safely through their feed without worrying about liking their old pictures accidentally. But before doing that, scroll down their pictures quickly to load all the pictures before going through them slowly later.

Reorder your filters

So you always choose Valencia over Willow? We all like some filters more than the rest of them. And wouldn’t it be wonderful if your favorite filters could appear in the beginning of the list? You can actually rearrange your filters with a simple trick. Start by editing a picture and go to far right in the list of filters and tap on “manage”. Now, press long on the three grey lines on the right of each filter and drag it to arrange in your desired order.

Hide the pictures you are tagged in

It’s a universal fact that the pictures you are tagged in are always less flattering than the ones we click ourselves. but thanks to friends who love uploading embarrassing pictures of you, the world now knows how you look when you have just woken up. You can now hide those embarrassing pictures from others with a simple trick. Go to “photos of you” and tap on the three dots on the above right corner and choose “edit”. Now, choose the pictures you would like to hide from your profile and once you are satisfied with the pictures you have selected, tap on “hide from profile” on the bottom of your screen.

With the integration and growing importance of social signals to Google algorithm, more and more are encouraged to use social media platforms to skyrocket their advertising efforts. One of the venues that has been gaining considerable attention from SEO specialists and internet marketers is Instagram. But like any other business strategy, you can’t just jump into the bandwagon and see results. Know the right way to do Instagram marketing, then build brand awareness and gain more followers.

Instagram has taken the lead in making the web more visual, creating avid photographers from average users and brand specialists from businesses who have seen the potential of such platform. Photo-sharing has proven to be a great way to attract a good following, increase customer relations, and inspire active participation and discussion from users. To enjoy all these promising benefits, what does it take to make your marketing campaign a success?

1. Set up and manage your account professionally. If you are not outsourcing social media optimization, you have to take the time to set up and manage an account… professionally. Think of how you would want people to remember and see your business. One good Instagram marketing strategy to look into is that of Burberry’s-a British luxury fashion brand. Among the photos that they share are taken during their events, behind the scene. By doing so, they make the followers enjoy the “experience” through insider photos of glitz and glamour. This involvement ignites interest and sharing.

2. Set up schedules. No internet user would want to follow an account that uploads 30 photos at a time, each day. Though flooding your feed with everything you have in your camera can be tempting thought to make the brand stick, this move can only lead to annoyed followers who’ll decide to unfollow your account and even marking your posts as spam. Just focus on quality and creativity, and your one single photo would be able to bring your message across more efficiently than the longest article you can write.

3. Upload Actual Photos. The success of your Instagram marketing campaign lies heavily on the creativity of your photos. Never populate your feed with photos of texts telling of news, events, or promotions. Share real, creative photos and if you have to include some text then that is what the caption is for. And if you are having a hard time figuring out what to post next, here are several ideas for content strategy:

· Images of your products in various sets or backdrops.

· Images of people, famous or average, using your products- can be the usual, candid, funny, or unconventional.

4. Hashtags. In social media optimization, hashtags mainly help categorize posts. These can also be used to create communities within the photo-sharing platform that holds the same interests. Another way to maximize the use of hashtags is through staging contests with prizes at stake.

Is your brand on Instagram? What are you doing to bolster your brand there? Are you still figuring out ways in which you can enhance your presence there? Today we will be looking at ways in which Instagram can be used for businesses.

Instagram Stories

First things first. Instagram’s “Snapchat-like” stories are the latest buzz in the world of social media. We will talk about that first. Instagram Stories refer to a series of videos and images that can be uploaded to a different feed from your regular one. These stories disappear after 24 hours. Meanwhile, the story continues to be shown chronologically once you add content to it. There is scope to edit your content with fun emojis, finger paint and text. The videos and images on this feed cannot really be liked or commented on but you will be able to send a message from the Stories on the slideshow to your user. You can even share parts of the stories on your regular feed.

Now, the question is how exactly a Social Media Management Company can make use of this feature to improve brand awareness? We will explore how.

Instagram Stories are a great avenue for securing engagement online. Any sagacious advertiser would understand that. Firstly, it can be a great way with the help of which you can give your users a sneak-peek of what’s happening behind the scenes. Talk about weaving stories and there’s nothing better than telling them who you’re – beyond your products or services. Tease them with glimpses of the upcoming changes to your website or introduce them to your team via videos. These are a few great ways in which you can build buzz and engage users.

Instagram Stories render a certain degree of exclusivity to your content. Capitalize on this exclusivity to gain more followers on this platform. Use this platform to secure more registrants for webinars or for Facebook video sessions.

Instagram’s Algorithm: What you need to know

The recent algorithm change introduced by the platform has attracted the attention of B2C businesses. Earlier, your posts appeared chronologically on the feed. In the wake of the change, however, only posts that are likely to garner the highest degree of attention or engagement in the form of likes, comments, and shares, appear at the top. Instagram, from now on, will try to gauge the kind of interest a post will be able to generate. Talk about Artificial Intelligence!!

Businesses, as such, are required to revise their social media strategies because they would want to get their most recent posts appear first. If they don’t then there’s hardly any point of sharing them at the first place. There is a need to respond to this change with marked immediacy. Ask your fans to turn on their notification, use relevant hashtags to attract discussions on recent topics and strengthen focus on the creation of shareable and click-worthy content. Make sure you’re picking the right marketing tools to measure the success of your content- shares, clicks, audience growth, and click-throughs.

Keep everything in moderation, including your social media posts. Post pictures naturally and always keep connecting with your audience. Express good values such as gratitude by thanking your fans for compliments.

Gain followers and follow influential models yourself

Apart from gathering your vital statistics, height and weight etcetera, agencies and scouters are increasingly looking at your media presence, your likes, and followers. There isn’t a specific number but of course more the merrier. It signifies your ability to market yourself, and your appeal to the common folk, or target audience. With that said, social media only gives an added advantage, and you still have to impress during your interviews and casting calls. Find out more about how you can ace your casting call.

Walk the talk and follow influential models yourself such as Adrian Lima and Gisele Bundchen who regularly post their model pictures and update their social media accounts. Following such people will also give your potential model agencies a sense of your interest in fashion and modeling. Take caution that these high-profile model’s have a different dynamic from you and if you are still new or low key on social media your use of it must be strategically relevant for your position. Do not just copy the top models style whole sale. Although it never hurts to learn from the best, models must take the positives and apply them such that it fits our specific community appropriately.

Embrace social media, but remain a mystery too

There are some high profile models that remain low-key on social media. Kate Moss is one such example; she is press-shy and never takes snapshots in public. Post important pictures but remember to always keep the mystery. Do not keep spamming posts; hold some restraint on your posting. You definitely want to avoid the effect of irritating your followers by constantly appearing everywhere on their social media feed, especially if you posting things that are less important like cat or food pictures. Give a few days break and intervals between posts, and remember less is more. If you have nothing good don’t post it. Most importantly, staying low also means lesser chances to make offensive posts. In order to rise up the ladder of social media appeal it is important posts are well quality checked and that which retains fans and followers, thus keeping your appeal for a longer period of time.

Choose your platform wisely

This ultimately depends on your commitments and position in life and there are many cases. However you may take heart in supermodels like Tyra Banks and Coco Rocha who have millions of fans across multiple platforms and spend time in connecting with their fans despite their busy schedule and lifestyle. Coco Rocha for example has amassed millions of fans across 13 social media platforms.

If you tend to be busy, as most of us juggle part-time modeling with a full-time career or education, and have a host of other responsibilities and commitments. In such case it is better to focus your attention and energy to specific platforms that enhance your position as a model. The top platform would definitely rank as Instagram. It’s layout and design best suit your ability to share visual content such as pictures and videos easily. Though hash tags are very commonplace across most media platforms, it is effectively used in Instagram to track pictures and videos. Moreover the beauty of Instagram is the ability to easily scroll through the feed, engaging by liking and being updated on latest fashion trends and modeling content easily. You can follow modeling agencies and be updated of latest job openings and the progress of the agencies as well.

The next best platforms are Facebook, followed by Twitter, and then Snapchat. The dynamics of each of these platforms are different and are for different target audiences as well. But as far as modeling goes, Instagram still remains the best platform available and if time is an issue, then focusing it on Instagram would enable an aspiring model to reap maximum benefit.

If you have any humanitarian causes put up some information about that and show the world that your true nature and personality beyond the skin in the content you post and talk about. Hope we find you being an influential social media personality one day too!

Chase Jarvis’ book “The Best Camera Is the One That’s With You” showcases photos that he took using only his iPhone. More importantly, the book proves that it doesn’t matter what kind of camera you use, as long as you capture the images you want the way you want to, you’ll be able to create a good photograph.

Jarvis’ insight, however, is not something that a lot of photographers share. Traditional photographers, most especially, are not so keen about the idea of using camera phones for taking photos. Majority of them feel that camera phones undermine the creativity of a photographer. Many say that it takes away the real essence of taking photographs as all you need to do is press a button and you get the image you want. Some even call camera phones a form of disruptive technology. This is also how many photographers view the photo-sharing app Instagram.

Since its introduction in 2010, Instagram has turned into a huge success. People like its easy-to-use features and the fact that they can take photos and then make them more attractive with the help of filters.

No matter what photographers are saying about Instagram, it cannot be denied that the photo-sharing app has contributed quite a lot to the evolution of photography.

Social Media Integration

With the popularity of Instagram, it is now possible to share photos in the easiest way possible. You can immediately share your Instagram pictures on Facebook and Twitter.

This feature will give your photos a wider reach as Facebook friends and Twitter followers can also share the photos to their contacts. In just a matter of minutes, hundreds (even thousands) of people can see your images.

A More Convenient Way of Editing Photos

With its retro-inspired filters that are easy to manage, you can easily edit your photos. You don’t need to use another app as the filters are within Instagram itself. This may not sit well with traditional or professional photographers, but Instagram users like the fact that with just a single press of a button, they can turn their colored photos into black and white ones, and vice versa. With these instant filters, you can immediately create the image you want people to see.

Some professional photographers do not like using filters because they believe this hinder one’s creativity. Several photographers even say that with filters, Instagram somewhat glorifies bad shots. These comments do not bother Instagram users, though, as they find filtering photos fun and useful.

A Handy Alternative

Traditional cameras and DSLRs are quite heavy. Camera phones, which are the main means of taking photos for Instagram, are more lightweight and easy-to-carry. There are no long lenses and dials that you need to carry. In fact, a number of photojournalists even find their iPhones a better option than their SLRs, especially when unexpected events crop up. Since they’re small and can be kept inside the pocket, iPhones and other camera phones can be discreetly carried around.

All-in-One

With Instagram, photography has become simpler. In one platform, you can shoot photos, edit and then share them in a matter of minutes. People now have an alternative to expensive cameras and photography paraphernalia.

In conclusion, it is safe to say that Instagram should be seen as an effective means of sharing relevant photos to as many people as possible. Professional photographers can choose to embrace it or not, but the fact remains that Instagram has and will continue to revolutionize the world of photography.

It will not be a fulsome to say that Instagram is the most commonly used social media platforms in today's world. Users just have to sign up for free and they can enter the unlimited fun space of Instagram photos in mere seconds. But there is a cliché that keeps Instagram out of the reach of a large population that use computer based web and do not have smartphones. Although the parent company did not launch any web version of the social media platform yet some other websites started offering services on the Internet through the use of the Instagram online viewer. An Instagram web viewer is an online tool used to access smartphone based Instagram application on the computer based platform with the help of internet connection.

How to access Instagram on the regular web?

Although, Instagram was basically meant to be used on a smart device, but only a few people know that it can also be used or accessed with web browsers too. So if a person wants to check out his profile online from a laptop, desktop computer or even the web browser on your mobile device, here's how doing it.

A person can browse Instagram.com, by putting its title in the address bar of any web browser and can get access to his / her account or sign up for a new account. If he was not adapted to the scenario and do not already have an account. One can also set the long term log in just by ticking a dialog box on the screen. Entering the details will directly lead you to the news feed tab as it is seen in the mobile version of the application. Now one can view Instagram photos and videos as well as upload his / her own content.

What can be the best Instagram web viewer ?

The internet has clogged with too many "Instagram web viewers". While the most of them become junk, there is a remedy that shines through this colossal mess of online applications. There are too many websites offering this feature, but the majority of them are fake so we have to be extra careful whil; e choosing the best Instagram web viewer.

We are giving below few tools which can help you view Instagram on the web.

• Copygram is one of the tools which which focuses on the printing of Instagram photos, but when you clickon grid.copygr.am. Here, one can get a cleaner view of his / her Instagram feed, along with the ability to like, tag and comment on the photos.
• Every online application has some pros as well as cons. Similarly, downside to Copygram is that unlike other service providers, one has to create an account on the website itself and register his email, instead of directly logging in by the means of an Instagram account.
• Some other websites are also out there to provide a person with the service of the Instagram online viewer. Few examples of such websites are Pinsta.com, Instafall.com, Extragram.com.

How to explore Instagram as a social media marketing platform
To boost your Instagram marketing, first of all, you need to boost your followers on a constant and stable basis. The more people are aware of your brand, the greater your chances are to potentially reach your target audience. Let's run through the tips and tactics how to explore Instagram as a social media marketing platform to make your brand more popular.

1. Use unique, crisp, and attractive hashtag
Hashtags are not only important for Twitter; they also play a dominant role on Instagram. It's a big way of how users can find you through their mobile Instagram searches. As compared to Twitter, here you're not restricted by character count. You can include a few tags in your posts to get connected. While deciding on hashtag for branding, it is advisable to create brand specific hashtags. Try to keep it as unique and crisp as possible. Try multiple variant of hashtags such as brand specific hashtags, general hashtags, and trending hashtags, to get noticed in searches.

Examples of brand specific hashtags are:

# PutACanOnIt-Red Bull

# TweetFromTheSeat-Charmin

# OreoHorrorStories-Oreo

# WantAnR8-Audi

An ideal general hashtag should be prepared with two words over a single word to make it meanful eg less than #QL, #AskQL is a better hashtag.

2. Consistently interact with your followers
Once you get follower / s, do not shy away to stay engaged. Constant post impressive content which your followers find relevant to their interest and business. Avoid throwing random posts, ie once in a week or ten in a go, as far as possible. At least, twice a day posting is requisite. Once your followers start increasing, you can start posting three to four times a day. Consistency matters most! According to Anthony Carbone , "If you stick to a niche and show authenticity and passion in your posts, you will find a strong following"

The more people you can dynamically engage and persuade to comment on your content (images / videos), the better for you. Since, it will inculcate the interest for others who want to contribute or comment on your content as well.

3. Do not bore your audience with information overload
No doubt consistency is inevitable, but if it lacks harmony and relevancy of content, it results in either spamming or information overload. Keep your frequency correct and consistent. Rather than preaching them, engage with them. It's better to ask sometimes, they should feel being valued. Dig out meaningful interaction from them.

The ideal proportion of posts based on followers suggested by industry experts are:

4. Make the most use of tools that are free
Instagram also provides free analytics tools for business profiles; wisely make the most use of them to market your products and services. For example, "insights", an analytical tool, provides you access to engagement data. If your account is initially signed up as a personal account for your business, do get switched to a business profile. That's how you can cash advantage of the free tools that businesses use to track the shape of their brand on Instagram. 'Insights' assists you understand your audience, provides you data on posts with most impressions, engagements, and shares. Ultimately, you will conclude which posts are effective and which ones are not working well with your audience.

5. Repurpose content from other related sources
As stated in earlier paragraphs, effective and successful Instagram marketing needs consistent posts related to your products and services. It is well obvious that every time coming up with creative and engaging posts is not as easy as it looks. That's where re-purposing content or curating content offers a hand of help. Providing you either tag or mention the original poster, this is a completely ethical marketing practice and does not fall under the black clouds of plagiarism. You need to ensure that the posts which you wither repurpose or curate are relevant to your followers.

Conclusion

Social media marketing via Instagram can facilitate you achieve your targeted business goals with much of the ease. Use Instagram extensively and appropriately, and grow bigger!

There are various other tips and tactics to market your products and services better on Instagram, over and above these top 5 which you should keep handy.

It’s easy to upload and share photos on Instagram and some users are just contented with doing just that. But there are more ways to boost your presence and attract more followers on the platform.

Engagement is still key in social networking and on Instagram, users of all types including business owners who want to increase engagement on the site can do so through various strategies.

Tag Photos

Tagging a photo is a sure way to gain likes and comments on the photo sharing app, Instagram. This was confirmed by a study done by Dan Zarrella entitled “The Science of Instagram.”

It is possible to tag people on Instagram photos. In fact, a user can tag up to 30 people in a single photo.

And other than people, you can also tag your location.

When you tag people, you are exposing your photo to more people. The people you tag will be notified increasing the likelihood of your photo getting a like or comment. The friends and followers of the people you tagged will also be able to view the picture while people searching for specific locations will also be able to see it.

Use the Words Like and Comment

Another strategy that can gain your photos more likes and comments is by using the words like or comment in your caption. Keep in mind that as an Instagram user, you can add a caption to your photo. This step is important as it gives your followers an idea of what your photo is all about.

Add Filters

Filters make photos on Instagram more captivating. There are different types available such as those that brighten your images, add saturation and desaturation and one that lets you create the classic black and white photo.

The study, however, noted that the best filter to use is the “normal filter” which lets you post a photo as it is with no special effects.

Based on the research, the images with normal filter gained the most number of likes and comments. The other popular filters were the willow, valencia and sierra.

Subject of Photo

The subject of your photo is always a major factor in attracting attention from Instagram users and getting likes and comments. Those that feature faces were found to be more popular compared to those that show objects, places or scenery.

Photos that feature a selfie or a group of people got more attention. They received a 35 increase in likes compared to pictures with no faces.

Now that you know these steps, make sure to practice them whenever you log in to your Instagram account.

People who use Instagram always want more followers. If they are new, they want more followers, and if they have used Instagram for years, they want more followers.

People always want to be popular in real life, and that is the same on their social networks. Instagram is no different and the people who have a lot of followers can make a living off their social networks.

If you're new to Instagram, then it can be a little bit intimidating, but you should take your time and have fun. Do not be worried if you only have followers who are your friends in real life. The more you post, the more followers you will get.

Schedule

If you want to be popular on Instagram and you want to keep your followers, then you have to post often. If you want to take it a bit more seriously, you should stick to a posting schedule, so your followers know when the new image is going to be updated.

If you have some downtime and you do not post for a while, then your followers may delete you in favor of following someone else. Your friends in real life will not do this to you, but if you have followers who follow you because they have similar interests, then they might unfollow you.

Tagging

When you first upload to Instagram, you probably will not know to use tags. This is something that is true for everyone, when they first started using the website or App. So, do not think that you are on your own here.

Even the most popular Instagrammer has a first image and if you go through their history to find it, they probably will not have any tags on it.

However, you should learn quickly that you should be tagging your pictures if you want to make more friends. If you do not tag, then the image will only be visible to users who are already on your friends list.

This is because there is nothing attached to the image, to make it searchable. For example, if you tag your image with the word 'football,' then when other users search for 'football,' the image will appear in the search results.

That is how you get more followers. When someone finds your images and they are interested in whatever the tag is they will add you to their friends list because they are interested in seeing more.

Social Networks

It is possible to find more followers by using your other social media platforms. If you link social networks like Twitter and Facebook to your Instagram, then the image will be shared there when you post to Instagram.

You will get more followers this way because your tags will also work on those social networks. So, you will get followers with similar interests. You might even engage followers who do not have Instagram. You post may be the post that gets them to join Instagram.

Trends

You can also get more followers by looking at the hashtag trends and posting an image that suits that trend. For example, if you know that a lot of people post POTD (picture of the day) tags, then you can post an image on that similar trend.

It could be anything that you want and a lot of people will see it. Once you have posted with this tag a few times, you will notice that people who like pictures of the day will start to add you as their friend. Your exposure will have doubled.

Instagram has 52 times greater engagement level than Facebook and 127 times greater than Twitter. What this means is there’s a substantial opportunity for businesses to market a wide range of products and services on Instagram to get maximum sales and profits.

Your Instagram page is a way to make a great first impression on any potential prospects. And the best way to make an awesome first impression is take great photos and videos.

1. Lighting

Bear in mind that no amount of filtering or editing will save a photo that’s badly lit. Use natural light whenever you can, except in cases where you have access to the right kind of lighting set-up. If you’re taking pictures outside, early morning and late afternoon are the best times.

2. Use Your Eyes

Before you take out your phone and start snapping pictures, take a moment to really look at what’s going on around you. Use your eyes to structure the photo in your mind. Don’t just take out your smart phone and start snapping.

What’s in the background of the photo? Is someone about to walk in front of your subject? Is there something going on nearby that might mean taking this picture in a different location would be a better idea? Spend some time looking at your subject, your surroundings, lighting and everything else that is going on before you start clicking away.

3. Use Technology

Instagram provides a variety of filters and editing tools. There are also third-party apps which improve the capability of your smart phone camera. There’s nothing improper with using apps and tools to take good pictures. Most smart phones have some kind of photo adjusting features and built into their cameras.

They usually include tools that let you cut, switch, modify lighting and contrast levels, increase or decrease saturation, add shadows, shades and highlights and create the long exposure effects.

4. Move Around Your Subject

The lens of smart phone camera soaks up light in a different way in comparison to a traditional camera. When looking through your phone at your subject while moving through a full circle, you’ll see how the shifting direction of your light sources can uncover some fantastic effects, and surprising results. You’ll start to observe opportunities that previously didn’t occur when you just held your phone up and clicked a picture.

5. Change Your Viewpoint

Shooting from up high or right down on the ground can result in more interesting pictures and makes your them look different. Photos that stand out get shared. This is how a single photograph on Instagram can go viral, earn you hundreds or even thousands of followers, and help you draw attention to your business.