How to get more likes on the ’Gram.

The days of hoping you’ll get more than 12 likes on Instagram are soon to be a thing of the past. Just follow these best practices and you can be sure to attract followers who’ll engage in your content.

1. Have a theme. Ask yourself this: Just what is my thing? Are you location based? Or are you a small restaurant that wants to highlight its delicious-looking seasonal menu? Have a shtick. Here’s an example of an Instagram account with a consistent theme throughout, #lightandbright. All her photos are super-clean, bright, and warm toned. Instacredible.

Images from Amanda Swanson (@amanduhhpanda).

2. Go easy on the filters. Whenever you slap on a filter, tone it down a bit. More isn’t always more. It can make your image look fake. Once in a while, go rogue and #nofilter it.

3. Tag it. Use relevant hashtags on Instagram that will increase your chances of getting likes, more followers, and even regrammed. As an example, if you’re gramming a pic of your darling pup, be sure to use the trending hashtag, #dogsofbuffalo. But don’t go overboard with your hashtags – use two or three, max. Too many hashtags is #socialsuicide.

“I ate your favorite moccasins last night.” #puppydogeyes #dontbefooled #dogsofbuffalo
Image from Alaina Garvey (@lainy2313).

4. Include faces. In my experience, photos featuring humans garner more likes. People love faces! Especially these ones:

5. Stick to a schedule. The last thing you want is to update your account once a day or once a week and then disappear for weeks or months. While taking a break from Insta may not seem like a big deal, it will get in the way of building a loyal following.

6. Spread the love. Like and comment on other users’ photos. It’s the most natural way to get likes.

7. Find your window. There is no magic formula for figuring out the best time to post. Depending on your audience, you will need to discover when your own timing is right. Mine is 2pm on a Sunday. If you’re a 25-year-old advertising professional living in Buffalo too, maybe that’s your trigger time as well. WARNING: Stay away from weekdays between 9am and 5pm. Dead zone.

8. Use the color blue. According to a study by Curalate, both blue and bright images perform 24 percent better than dark images.

California Dreamin’ #onathursday

9. Don’t bleed the feed. Posting multiple photos in a row makes you look like an Insta amateur. It’s not a Facebook photo album.

10. Have fun and be less boring. I know this is sort of vague, but it’s no less important than the other tips mentioned here. If your content feels forced, your followers will pick up on it. If you’re bored with your photos, guess what! Your audience is too.

Now go ramp up your Insta likes. #yourewelcome