You know that one friend you had growing up who took a hundred selfies a day, and sported a full face of makeup before eight in the morning? That friend has now moved to L.A., become a “model,” only dons the color black, and has over 15,000 followers on Instagram.
She is Exhibit A of what you would call Instagram famous.
When trying to become an Instagram celebrity, the how’s and to’s require a certain science. There are different factors that matter, from when to post to what to post. But after you get the swing of it, your new fabulous life is just a few food stagings and filters away.
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The first step to creating your Instagram empire is to think of your Instagram profile as a color story. The next step is deleting all the blurry pictures that you snapped on late nights out, or the flowers on the side of the road you didn’t slow down in the car to capture. Nobody wants to see those.
Create a clean sequence where each photo blends with the next in content and color—this will make your profile aesthetically pleasing and attract followers. Avid Instagrammers go crazy over profiles centered on one main color. Especially white. Or cream.
www.instagram.com/nadiaazmy/
Naturally, everyone finds their “beat” just a few weeks into their Instagram career. If glorious food is abundant in your gentrified neighborhood, or your outfits are always on point, you’ve hit the jackpot.
Popular accounts find a theme and stick to it. Foodies can be spotted at the fad restaurant of the month, standing on a chair to get that perfect angle from above (guilty as charged). Fashion enthusiasts “flaunt” their best outfit on a carefree stroll through the city, or they mix it up with a melted ice cream cone in hand to show off their bejeweled fingers.
But remember trends change. Much like that avocado toast you captured a few weeks ago in the middle of a busy brunch, some fads are already dead and gone. However, one thing that will remain for a while are walls. People go crazy over walls.
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And don’t forget about the captions. They should be just as creative as the photographs. Don’t be a bore and tell the internet what you did that day, or state plainly what you posted. Let loose, unleash the punny jokes, and don’t be afraid to use a few emojis. Scratch that, use two maximum.
Timing also matters. According to a study by the Huffington Post, Latergramme found the best time to post on Instagram is at 2am, when your followers are coming back from the bars, or 5pm, when the world retires from a day of work. Also, posting on Wednesday and Sunday at 5pm will give you the highest amount of overall likes—which is the entire point.
Of course, paying attention to time can be a burden—especially if you’re too busy running around town finding your next Instagram post—but that’s nothing an alarm can’t fix.
Of all these tips and tricks to becoming an Instagram star, the most important is to be present. Post and engage with users frequently, but do not let your dream of fame get in the way of your everyday life. Or, at least, what you want your everyday life to look like.
