Everyone remembers the first time they hit that milestone number of likes on Instagram, whether it was the first time you broke 11, 100, or even hit a thousand. What is it that makes an Insta pic a good one? Why is it that your vacation pic only gets 30 likes, while your friend’s pancake pic gets 300?
Instagram isn’t only about the content of the picture. There is a set of unspoken rules we follow on Instagram to keep our account in good shape, and to maximize the number of likes we get. Here are just a few I’ve observed:
1. Tag your friends! Odds are they look bomb in your Insta pic, so make sure you tag them. Also, it’ll quench their thirst for more followers.
2. Always comment on your friends’ selfies!
3. Stop posting pictures of your food! It’s just making your followers hungry.
4. Never post two selfies in a row. You’re beautiful, we get it…but one is enough. Save that second one for a throwback or another Selfie Sunday.
5. Don’t like your own Insta pic. I mean, would you like your own Facebook status or tweet?
6. Wait for prime Insta time.
It’s difficult. Trust me, I know. But if you want a maximum amount of likes, then you should wait. On weekdays, I’ve heard that it’s anywhere between 7 and 10 at night. Test it out for yourself!
7. If you use a filter, try not to make it super obvious (that way you can still get away with saying #nofilter)!
8. When it comes to captions, you should refer back to something my ninth grade math teacher used to tell us, “Keep it simple, stupid!” Long captions take too much effort to read. Make it funny, cute and relatable. Your friends will soon be commenting: “Your caption!!!” with multiple fire emojis following it.
If you follow these simple rules, your Insta-game will have all your friends envious in no time. Pretty soon, everyone will be begging to make it on your feed!