From The Journal

By now, you’ve probably figured out how useful Instagram is for your blog. It’s no wonder that it’s still all the hype these days – this social platform is free, fun and addictive. You can showcase yourself in a natural and really personal way and today, it’s even got more monthly active users than Twitter.

But some people seem to struggle with Instagram and one question that people always ask is, how do I grow my following?

Over the past three months, I’ve grown my Instagram following by 50%.

I haven’t done this using any quick methods – I’ve done it organically. I’ve done it through putting in more effort and focusing on the things that work.

So if you feel stuck with your Instagram or you simply don’t know where to start when it comes to growing your community, this is for you. Today I’m going into the details and telling you about nine organic strategies that have made a big increase in my followers.

#1 | Take care when shooting photos

“Take good photos” as a piece of advice for Instagram is predictable. It’s a visual platform, so of course, the nicer your photos look, the more interest you’ll get. But I always used to struggle with this – what does “take good photos” even mean?

I used to just point and shoot whenever and wherever I wanted – and that really showed in my feed. You could tell my shots didn’t have a lot of care put into them and really, I was quite careless.

Now, I’m much more selective with what I choose to post, because I know how much of a difference it makes. It’s the difference between taking a picture of my favourite mug on my desk, or holding it up against a white background. It’s about forcing yourself to think more creatively. Instead of thinking “I need to take a picture for Instagram” and getting an alright shot or something, why not wait? Why not think, “This would be really great as an Instagram photo” instead so you build up a backlog of images to use? That way you’re not putting as much pressure on yourself and you’re likely to get an even better photo.

I’ve found the best way to do this is to take inspiration from others and train your mind. It’s tricky at times, but once you start to think this way, you’ll never look back.

As for equipment, I’ll use my iPhone 5S most of the time, with some occasional shots thrown in from Tom’s Panasonic Lumix camera. These always see increase in engagement and help to make my feed look more professional.