I love Instagram. It’s easily the most-used app on my phone, and if IG were a person, we would have one of those “BFF” necklaces that splits in two. It’s that serious.

Instagram is, in my opinion, the best no-fuss way to share your images. There’s none of the worry about “will this only show up in 3% follower’s image feeds?” like you have with Facebook, because with IG it’s simple- if someone clicks “follow,” they’re going to see every image you post within their photo feed. There are no “promoted” posts, so you only see the images from people you CHOOSE to follow. IG makes connecting with my followers so much easier, and I love it for that.

Every social media platform is going to have its own nuances and subtle etiquette that, if understood, can increase your following and level of interaction (which hopefully results in business growth for you in the end!). I’m still learning the exact art of those nuances, but here are some tips for you business owners as you navigate the world of photo sharing!

1. As with any social media platform, consistency is key. Don’t spam your follower’s feeds with 8+ photos in a row, only to go completely silent for days or weeks at a time. I’ve unfollowed people before out of sheer irritation for filling my feed with all-at-once with photos of themselves, their dog, PSAs for their workshop, whatever. If you have several images to post, try to space them out by leaving a few hours in between each image.

2. Also along the same line- decide what kinds of images you want to share with followers and try to keep that consistent as well. For my personal IG feed, I choose to share both my work and glimpses of my personal life (both the “glamorous” and the not-so-glamorous). But some users, like the fabulous Maggie Austin, choose only to post images of their work, so when you view their feed in thumbnail format, there’s a certain level of uniformity to it all. Whichever route you decide to go, just make sure you’re being mindful.

3. Use hashtags as a subtle means of pushing your brand. During my most recent trip abroad, I used the tag “#abbygraceineurope.” I did it for a couple reasons- a) to have a quick way to see all of my images from the trip with one click, and b) to let my followers know I was in Europe with each image I shared from my trip. I’m an international wedding photographer and I want to continue to travel abroad for my work, so by tagging every photo with a hashtag that lets people know I’m a world traveler, I’m subtly reminding my followers that I’m a destination photographer.

I also use this for my anniversary sessions and my ballerina shoots- “#abbygraceanniversaries” is an important one for me to strengthen since anniversary sessions are such a large part of my business, and I want to reinforce that idea to everyone who follows me.

4. Maybe this is just me, but the filters available within the Instagram app itself feel a bit passé to me. I don’t use any of them on my images anymore and instead, opt to edit my images with the VSCO app. I’m definitely not the best at this, but I try to keep an even sort of “feel” to the edits of my images, so any time I’m considering posting an iPhone photo, it needs to be lit and edited in a way that’s at least similar to how I light and edit my professional images. Hopefully.

If you want to find someone who’s REALLY boss at a uniform feel when it comes to edits of their images, check out Rhi of Hey Gorgeous Events. One scroll through her thumbnails and you’ll see what I mean. There’s a reason she has 26K followers, and her consistent style of IGs is part of it.

5. If you have a rectangular image and you want to preserve the dimensions (aka you don’t want it cropped into a square), use a program like Squaready. You upload your image into Squareready, which places the rectangular photo onto a white square background, and then compresses the entire thing into one square file which it then opens in IG. Easy peasy.

6. For the most part, keep your text short. There are a few exceptions to this rule, but I typically try to keep captions to no more than two sentences, if I write that much. Occasionally I’ll write a little more if I’m feeling especially loquacious or inspired, but I try to keep in mind that people log into IG to see photographs, not necessarily to read novels.

7. Keep the humble brags to a minimum. After hanging out with my 7- and 8-year-old niece and nephew last night, I’ve been reminded of just how much we “grown-ups” like to boast about ourselves (“Tia Abby, are you bragging?”…yes. Yes I am. Sorry). As a small business owner, you HAVE to be the one promoting what you’re doing, because often, you’re the only one doing so. Just… try to keep the outright boasting to a minimum. Veiling it with words of false humility doesn’t make it any more attractive, and people see right through that. I’m speaking from experience, folks- humility is NOT something that’s ever come easily to me.

If you’re going to talk about your dreams, goals, and accomplishments, IG is a great place to do it, and sometimes through posting you’ll find other folks who want to help support those dreams and goals. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with celebrating a win! Just make sure you’re being genuine about it. Or my 7-year-old sassy niece, Isabella, will call you right out on it. 🙂

Anyone else have tips for making the most of Instagram? I’d love to hear them!