. EAT . SLEEP . CREATE .
In the last couple of years instagram has absolutely rocketed, it’s become an essential asset to every blogger out there & a platform for creativity, inspiration & photography. Whilst it started out as just a little something a lot of us bloggers did on the side of our blog, it’s now become a platform in it’s own right for photographers and creatives alike, and in fact there are tons of influencers who have been grown out of instagram alone!
With it’s rapid success, and instagrammers with more fans than Britney’s record sales, understanding what makes an instagram account popular is something i’m sure we’re all longing to know the secret to! I for one cannot claim to be an instagram pro (far from it in fact, my instagram is still super small sadly), but I definitely follow a lot of instagram mega stars, and so today I thought i’d share the 5 things that I think make an instagram account so popular from what i’ve observed from my own instagram obsessions.
Of course it’s all subjective, so i’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments too!
“Creativity is not a competition” Autumn Sky Fall
. WHAT MAKES AN INSTAGRAM ACCOUNT POPULAR? .
#1 QUALITY & PHOTOGRAPHY
Instagram has become massive over the last year or so, and that means that there are now tons of insatgrammers vying for attention, and tons of people looking for new accounts to follow. The increase in popularity has really driven an increase in quality, gone are the days of blurry low res selfies, here are the days of stylised, high quality, magazine worthy photography.
For me personally, and a trend I can see across a lot of the ‘big’ instagram accounts (excluding celebs who generally are still fans of the blurred selfie) is that the images are always of a seriously high quality. With time, effort & thought gone into every shot … and every shot being clear, clean & quality. Every image loaded is there for a reason, quality over quantity is definitely a key theme!
#2 CONSISTENCY
When I look at the popular instagram accounts, or just the ones I personally love, they’re always consistent. That’s both consistent in style (e.g. they have a set theme, topic or photography style) but also consistent in quality and delivery. My favourite accounts can always be relied on to deliver 3 – 5 unique, high quality instagrams throughout the day … knowing and seeing this level of consistency is a key driver in people pressing that follow button.
#3 IDENTITY & INTEGRITY
The reason instagram has become so popular, is that a) it’s personal and b) theres something for everyone. In my opinion the best instagram accounts are ones that are full of integrity, they’re the ones where every image feels true to the grammer, every image is unique & not a copy cat of a trend or another account, and an account that consistently delivers the users unique style. It’s the uniqueness that steps instagrammers apart from the crowd too.
An instagram account should tell your own story, have a clear identity, and ones that do, gain traction.
#4 CREATIVITY & INSPIRATION
My favourite instagram accounts are not only full of integrity and consistent in their delivery, but they’re also full of creativity (and really inspiring with it). One of the best things about instagram more generally is that it has encouraged and inspired a whole new generation of creativity. Creativity in photography style, composition, lighting and even the items in shot. It’s driven an appreciation of (and creative take on) the small things in life, flowers, coffee, pretty buildings, clothes …. the little details.
#5 INTERACTIVITY & ENGAGEMENT
The final thing which I think really makes an instagram account good and worth following is an instagrammers level of interactivity and engagement with it’s followers. When I met Ella from Deliciously Ella (you can read my Q&A with her here & here), one of the things she mentioned as a driver of her success was the fact she constantly made a point to engage and respond to her followers or people that commented on her pictures. Instagram, just like blogging, is meant to be a community, and so having that level of engagement with other users is a really big factor in a blogs success in my opinion. If you want to get more instagram followers looking into bot services can encourage organic engagement.
MY 5 FAVOURITE INSTAGRAM ACCOUNTS
COLLAGE VINTAGE | LISA DENGLER | HAPPILY GREY | SARAH MIKAELA | TUULA VINTAGE
And don’t forget to follow my instagram account too (mediamarmalade), its growing slowly but surely & I’d love to know what you think? Leave me your links in the comments too!
Hannah says
Great post, these photos are gorgeous xx
http://www.ohjanuary.blogspot.co.uk
Laura Belle says
Thank you for sharing :) My best friend is actually a small Instagram sensation and seeing how much effort and love she puts into every picture she uploads makes me so proud of her!
xo Laura
http://xoxolaurabelle.wordpress.com
Joana says
Aw your instagram is great and you do have 8,000 followers. I wouldn’t call that ‘super small’ :p
Loved these tips!
Joana x
http://www.joanainthecity.com
Lucy says
I seriously love Instagram but can easily compare my own account to others and get stupidly bogged down about it. It really has gone from being a social media platform where you would just spontaneously share personal snaps to a HUGE platform that can require a lot of time and effort into. It’s something I really want to up my game on, so I’ll definitely be using your tips :)
She’s So Lucy
Emily says
Exquisite pieces! I do adore that brand, and LOVE to wear it!!
Trang Do says
Lovely photos! Great post dear!
Xoxo,
Love from http://www.trangscorner.com {a lifestyle, fashion, beauty, and food blog}
Sarah Elizabeth || SEDiva Abroad says
Absolutely yes to all of these! What a great post! I agree with the identity and the creativity, and definitely the engagement. I used to think of Instagram as such a hassle, but I’m starting to think it was because my old phone was such a hassle to use and I couldn’t use Instagram on my computer!! Haha xx