

Tell people what the photo is, share a quote, ask a question. Posts with captions get higher levels of engagement and they allow you to interact with your audience. No matter how awesome your image is, it needs a caption. Be engaging and you’ll create better relationships with other Instagram users. Instead, post regularly and like/comment on others’ posts as frequently as possible. Unless you’re brand new to the platform, don’t lurk in the shadows. Instagram is all about interaction and sharing posts. You will gain followers much more quickly if they can see your content and don’t have to wait for approval. Instead, set your account to Public so that new followers can see what you post and what you’re about. Unless you are using Instagram solely for personal reasons and don’t want to network, do NOT set your account to Private. Instead, use the same username as your Twitter handle and make your name something easy to recognize, whether it’s your real name or your business name. If you make your username (and even your “real” name) hard to find, people won’t be able to find and follow you. Unfortunately, the search function within Instagram isn’t as powerful as other sites. Here are the 14 things NOT to do on Instagram: Don’t use an awkward username on Instagram However, there are a lot of things you might be doing which will actually hinder your success. Whether it’s Instagram best practices or tips and shortcuts, there are a lot of ways to use Instagram effectively.

In all of my posts about Instagram, I spend a lot of time explaining what you should do to see success.
