0

By Riana Lurice Dazon (Feature) –

Picture this.

You take that perfect selfie with your friends in front of the tall windows of Lincoln High (all because of the perfect lighting.) You then take time to apply filters, tagging different people who are in the photo, and finally – posting the photo itself. There is this certain agitation with the wait for the likes and the comments from that recent post. However, you are not getting as much engagement as you would have liked. What could you have done?

Since 2010, Instagram has changed the way users interact with one another in the global scale. Being deemed a mobile app for kids in its prior launch, it has attracted millions of people that it has become a place of serious content marketing, networking, and audience building tool for different individuals and brands.

As a social media junkie, and someone who obsess on the miniscule details of her online profiles and different organizations (such as launching the LHS Student Council instagram page two years ago)  – I have seen the amount of dedication in which bloggers put into their profiles to share creative content through the platform. From YouTuber Drew Scott, and from personal experiences, these are a few tips to “up your Instagram game” – whether you are an aspiring blogger, or someone who just wants to use the mobile app to its fullest potential.

Geotags

Geotags are tags that assigns a geographic location to a photograph or a video that you post on a social media site. Loads of Lincoln High Students would tag “Lincoln High School” in their photos for different events that may happen during the time. Most liked, or recent posts, can be found on the very top of the page from that location. Seeing everyone else’s posts who initially took the same location, and vice versa; this then will get more impressions of the image, and potentially more followers.

Hashtags and Tagging

Studies show that using at least one hashtag in your Instagram caption increases engagement by 12.6%. While if you were to tag someone in your instagram caption (putting their @ username in the actual description), it increases engagement 56% These small things, though very meticulous, could help you a lot. It gives this sense of organizing your posts. “Some people follow the hashtags to see what’s happening.” Library Specialist Carter Hulinsky said. “I thought it can be a way to gain more followers when keeping that in mind.”

VSCO Cam

A lot of instagrammers tend to strive not only for those perfect photos, but for the whole look of their accounts. VSCO Cam is an amazing app not only to play with your photos through editing, but as well as having a view of that cohesive feed you are aiming for. Typically when using the app, I tend to edit the photos one by one to try and match the look that I am going for. However, there is a feature in the app in which you can “copy and paste” the edits that you made from one photo to another. Now a huge fan, it saved me so much time and it extremely helped with having the exact same adjustments per photo.

Business Profile

There is now a feature on Instagram in which allows you to be contacted by your followers, as well as other businesses who would love to work with you. Switching your personal account into a business account, it requires you to sync it to your Facebook page. Though a hassle of making an actual page, it is completely worth it as it increases a way to engage and network with other instagram accounts.

Instagram provides you information about your posts, as well as the traffic that your page reached during the week. It shows you the amount of “clicks” to your website (if you have a URL in your bio), top performing photos, the follower increase, the demographics of your followers – both age and location. This feedback is extremely helpful to see the things that you need to improve on in order to build your Instagram account. Maybe your selfie has been the photo that was most liked, or maybe a photo that you never thought would get so much attention would actually does; a sign of such sorts.

Do you.

“Authentic is the new photogenic,” Wyn Wiley, a Nebraska native known for his senior photography business, said on his #ChalkSeries on Instagram (@wynwileyphoto). “It’s a very bold move to be authentic to who you are and maybe a little less #aesthetic.”

As much as there are technological tips that can boost your engagement through the social media app, this would not be in effect if you do not genuinely know your intentions and affirmations. To confidently answer why do I want to increase my followers, what are my goals with sharing content, and etc. is vital when you want to play the “Instagram Game.” Striving just for the likes and the fame does not guarantee you a happy ending in this medium. Nor does it define who you are as a person. It is important to keep in mind that in there is no one that we should prove ourselves to other than ourselves, and staying true to yourself guarantees success and happiness that is worth a lifetime.

For more, follow The Advocate on twitter,@LHSAdvocate

And go to our online site, news.lps.org/advocate