Over 41 million photos are shared per day. There are over 8,000 likes pressed per second and over 1,100 comments shared per second. So, now that you know the data…

Here they are:

1. Share humanized, relatable photos.

What do popular instagram accounts all have in common? Their photos are highly personal, relatable, and they can’t be duplicate. They connect with their audience. Take photos that are unique, humanized, and connect with your audience. The best way to relate with your audience is to ensure the photos are not “perfect.” If there is emotion, they are more likely to comment or like the photo.
In other words, be real. Instagram is not a place to just post pictures of your business. It is a place of human connection.

A beautiful image that captures people’s attention.

2. Connect your Facebook account.

A few months ago, Facebook bought Instagram for $1 billion dollars. The good news is this allows all of your instagram photographs to easily integrate with Facebook. One thing I have noticed is that some people don’t even connect their Facebook account to their Instagram account.  Your instagram activity gets streamed to Facebook. That gives you access to all of your Facebook followers, thus by connecting your Facebook and showing off your beautiful photos, you are more likely to get more Instagram followers!
One of the best kept secrets of Instagram is that it helps you auto-follow or “follow all” of your Facebook friends in literally just seconds.

3. Use relevant hashtags.

Just like Twitter, Instagram uses hashtags to organize photos. Some hashtags are more popular than others, but it is important to always use relevant hashtags. Instagram’s search engine is much more powerful than Twitters, because people use it to search for interesting photos. It is much easier to “digest” a photo than to read someone’s thoughts on Twitter. At most, use 3 hashtags. Anything more than 3, people believe the photo is “spammy.” The more people who interact with your photo, the better likelihood you will get more instagram followers.
Top 20 Hashtags on Instagram:
#follow
#love
#instagood
#me
#cute
#tbt (throwback Thursday)
#photooftheday
#eyes
#nice
#beautiful
#happy
#girl
#l4l
#instacollage
#picoftheday
#throwbackthursday
#christmas
#instadaily
#like

Use popular hashtags, but don’t over do it.

4. Filters Matter

What made Instagram so popular so fast?…..Filters. They give each photo a unique sense of beauty, and they make each photo so personalized. By making your photo inspirational, breathless or memorable, people will be more likely to engage with your photo, and want to follow you because they want more beautiful photos.
On Instagram, you are how you filter:

This is a fun infographic about filters.

5. Timing is everything

If a tree falls in the forest and no one is around, does it make a noise? If you post an instagram photo in the middle of the night, but most of your followers are asleep, does anyone see it? Let’s say you snap the most beautiful photo in the world, but you share it at 3am….it is unlikely you will see a lot of new instagram followers. People check instagram at two key times: In the morning and on their way home from work – those are the two most popular times.  Below, the chart says the best time to share is on Wednesdays at 5-6PM.
Definitely consider sharing photos during these two times because it will yield maximum possible engagement results. An instagram photo has a lifespan of around 3-4 hours before it goes away.

As you can see, Wednesdays between 5-6pm is most optimal time to share.

6. Have a clear CTA – Call To Action

“Double tab if this made you laugh.” Or, “Comment with a witty caption. The best instagram accounts always have a clear CTA. Fans are twice as likely to engage with a photo/post if there is a clear call to action. The more engagement you have the more exposure you have. The more exposure you have, the more potential you have to get more instagram followers.

Unique way to encourage engagement.

7. Follow others and like their beautiful photos!

Treat others the way you’d like to be treated. The same applies for Instagram. If you want to get a lot of new likes, comments, and followers, you should be doing the same for others. Engage, engage, and then engage some more. It’s important that you don’t spend all of your time on instagram shouting one way messages and only uploading photos (instead of liking and commenting other people’s photos). While exploring, instagram users may stumble across your username by seeing a comment you wrote on a picture. Personally, I’ve followed someone because they liked a photo of mine. Use that same logic and apply to other people’s instagram accounts. Be active. The more active you are, the more exposure you will get. The more exposure you get, the more potential you have to get more instagram followers.

Comment and like on other people’s photos to help gain Instagram followers.

8. Combining multiple images

Pictures are powerful. Some say they are worth thousands of words. Pictures can also tell a story. I use a tool called PicStitch to combine photos to make my photo that much more engaging. By combining multiple pictures, you encourage likes, comments, and ultimately, get more followers. Make sure it is a great picture/story though — great content is key!

Great picture. Amazing story.
-Tim, CEO