The history
In this latest ‘What’s It All About’ blog post we are talking all things Instagram. It is primarily a photo and video sharing social network founded by Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger in October 2010 but now owned by Facebook. It first launched exclusively on iOS followed by an Android version in April 2012, then eventually a website in November 2012. Within 2 months it gained one million users, and by the end of it’s first year 10 million users. That’s staggering when compared with the growth of other similar social networks. If you think that’s a lot, to this date it currently has 800 MILLION registered profiles! We’ll just let that sink in.
How does it work?
The best way to explain Instagram is to think of it like Facebook or Twitter, but for images. Each post must have an image or video and that is the main focus, but you can also add a description, hashtags and a location to a post. So if someone is searching for a certain hashtag or location your post might show up if your hashtag or location matches. Depending on your posts popularity (number of likes and views) it will determine how high up searches it will show. When adding a post to Instagram you can add various filters to your image, like sepia or even an effect which simulates brighter light making the image sharper and more vibrant. When you first open the app it takes you to your feed like most other social networks, which is a list of all the posts from the Instagram profiles that you follow and each post has a like button (but you can also like a post by double tapping the photo) as well as the ability to comment on a post. Recently a new feature was released on Instagram called stories, set to rival Snapchat and it is working (Instagram Stories gets 2x more posts per day than Snapchat). The way Instagram stories works is by posting a short video or image, which is only available to view on your profile for 24 hours. When you open stories you view the images and videos in a sequential slideshow. So they are the basics of Instagram. Now lets find out how to get the most out of it.
Celebrities
Celebrities are a big contribution to Instagram’s success. The fact that so many celebrities have accounts on Instagram and use it actively to communicate with their fans is the main reason why they bring so much to the brand.
In some ways it gives fans an insight into the lives of the celebrities who they follow. It is also good from celebrities perspective to allow them to get a message across straight to their fans without media manipulation.
It’s no surprise then that the most liked post ever on Instagram, with 17.9 million likes, is from Kylie Jenner (see right). The celebrity with the most followers is Selena Gomez with 136 million, coming second in the all time list to the official Instagram account so that just proves how much of an influence celebrities have on the success of Instagram.
How to succeed and become ‘Insta famous’
Photography is key on an Instagram post. If you get just the right angle and lighting for an image it can help your post succeed. The reason being that you want to catch someones eye if they are scrolling through their feed. You might find it hard to believe but getting your image right could be the difference between getting 100 or 1000+ likes. Getting the write description and hashtag is also important for your posts success. You want to use tags that are trending, popular and relevant to your post. This way there is more chance of it showing up in searches. Posting frequently is also vital to keep your follower count up and gain more followers. No one wants to follow an account that only posts once in a blue moon. So there isn’t any set method to become ‘Insta Famous’. As long as you post good quality images frequently and engage with followers you are improving your chances.
Popular accounts
Here are some of the most popular accounts on Instagram and some of our personal favourites.
Overall Instagram is without doubt one of the most popular social media platforms, but can sometimes be misunderstood by those who don’t necessarily know how it works. So hopefully all of that has sunk in and helped you get a better understanding of Instagram and how to get the best out of it.
If you have any questions feel free to get in touch using the live chat box at the bottom left of this page.
