There has been a sudden interest in the blogging community to discover Instagram. I have to admit that if you had asked me what I thought of it last year I did not have a clue. I did not like the idea of having my raw photos exposed to the World, without so much as a watermark. But then I saw some fellow bloggers taking part in an #instahunt and I wanted to join in. You see the thing about blogging for me is the community. I had fallen out of love with devoting my time to linkys because I began to feel that to join in was a commitment and no longer fun. I found that there was a huge community of bloggers on Instagram that did not demand any more of my time than I had available.
Benefits for Bloggers on Instagram
Personally when reading blog posts my mind starts to wonder and I really rely on the images available. I started to consider what it was about Blogs which I liked and how aesthetically pleasing to the eye they are is a big factor. With this in mind I really wanted to try to improve my photography. I discovered that there are people other than bloggers on Instagram who are willing to help. By looking at images I have discovered more about what it is that I like, and the photographers have shared with me their tips as to how they achieved it.
Instagram is a community – and you can find people with similar interests or inspire you to find new ones. You can join in hashtags – by bloggers and non-bloggers, with no commitment to time. And as it does not rely on time you can comment on photos taken on the other side of the World and they can read it in their own time.
As I say it is a lot less time-consuming (especially if you are, selectively, liking pictures). This means you can support other bloggers on Instagram, and lots of them, without it taking up your whole day that you could be doing other things.
Top Tips for Bloggers on Instagram
Do embrace the community – follow those you admire, use the hashtags, like and comment on other’s photos, and tag them in with @. You can follow the top hashtags or popular users hashtags and even look at your stats.
You can use the filters on Instagram but do check out the apps you can adapt your photos on your phone. I simply put the word “photo” in at the app store and downloaded the free ones – there’s a lot to play with. I may need to buy an iTunes voucher soon though to upgrade to the nifty Christmas stuff!
Have your blog url in your bio. Think of Instagram as building your Brand/Audience and that users will want to find out more. How popular your pictures are gives a good indication to how visually pleasing they are – which you can go on to use in your blog posts, or to use as images to promote posts.
It helps to become more creative with your imagery. If you try to do this regularly it will really encourage you to think outside of the box.
Do you have any other Instagram tips? What are your favourite hashtags?
Please enter your Instagram Account in the comments below and find other like-minded individuals
If you want to follow my Lego photography on Instagram follow the hashtag #LegoJoy
Other Posts from Bloggers on Instagram
If you need help with getting started with Instagram
For more inspiration on How to Make the most of Instagram