How to Get Your Instagram Onto the Popular Page
Instagram has continued its explosive growth over the past year, with a user base that has grown to over 500 million people as of June 2016. The photo sharing app is more popular than ever before, which offers a unique opportunity for users to grow their social network and following. If your goal is to get one of your photos (or better yet, regularly get photos) on the popular page, then follow our simple guide:
Step One: Build the Perfect Page
Breaking onto Instagram's popular page requires a lot of likes on your photograph (even though it has recently begun tailoring to specific interests based on photos viewed and liked). Many times it will take over 1,000 likes for a photo to break onto the popular page. If you're currently stuck with double digit likes, this may seem like a daunting task. But don't worry, all it takes is some diligence and a little bit of knowledge of current trends. To reach that popular page, the first thing you need to do is build a solid foundation on your Instagram page.
You have to be your harshest critic on this. You want to start out by uploading around 15 of your best photos. If you don't envision any of those posts being good enough to be featured on the popular page, then don't post them. You need to make sure that the base of your Instagram page will attract users to like and share your posts. Which brings us to our next step...
Step Two: Specialization
This step is critical. Pick an overarching theme for your Instagram page, and stick to it. Whether you want to post beautiful photography you've done, or a bunch of hilarious memes, make sure you stay consistent with your content. Don't mix in a random photograph that is obviously out of place. Instagram users want to have some level of continuity with the people they follow, and they don't want their feed to be bombarded with random pictures of your cat.
Step Three: Relevance
A news story can sweep through Instagram within minutes, and be outdated in just a couple of day. Because of this, the relevance and timing of your posts are especially important. This is most important for meme accounts, who can gain thousands of followers overnight with a perfectly timed punch line on a current event. But photographers need to have a sense of relevance as well, as a well-timed, poignant photograph can be just as powerful in terms of followers and likes accrued. If you prove that you can readily remain on top of current events, it will attract a following of users that can expect to go to your page anytime something noteworthy happens.
Step Four: Identify Trends
Trends are even more powerful than current events in the Instagram world. Whether it's bottle-flipping, Spongebob Squarepants, or "Damn, Daniel!" trends can bring a surge in popularity, and have some serious staying power in the Instagram world. Even if it feels as though a trend is overplayed, take notice of how much buzz and interaction it's still generating; getting in on it might help you onto the popular page. You'll likely know whether it was a good idea or not by following...
Step Five: Engage With Your Followers
Your followers are your lifeblood and you depend on them to take you to the promised land of the popular page. By liking, sharing, and tagging friends in your posts, they generate a buzz around your feed that would not be possible without them. It's important to keep your followers happy and engaged, which is why you should respond to questions and comments they leave on your feed. As your following grows and there are many more comments on each post, then you don't need to reply to everyone (and no one will expect you to). But in the beginning, make sure to engage as many followers as possible, or people will feel turned off from following your feed.
Generating feedback on a post (by asking a question or making a provocative statement) is a good way to ensure your following and like total will grow. Make sure to listen to what your followers are saying in the comment section. There will always be internet trolls who simply exist to post hateful content on people's feeds, but dig deeper than that to see what kind of genuine reactions you are generating.
Step Six: Develop Your Style
Once you've followed the first five steps of developing your Instagram feed, you're ready to put on the finishing touches on your page. Depending on your content theme, there are different stylistic touches you can put to make your Instagram first-class. Remember that filters are important to use, as they can make a photo look just right. Also check to see how your most recent 15 photos look as a whole. Many people coming to your page for the first time will not see an individual photo, but your entire collection of photos. Make sure these give off the right first impression.
