Embrace the Square: Tips for Getting the Most Out of Instagram

I was honored to get an invite from Chris at ‘Out of Chicago‘ to discuss a bunch of my techniques and tips for upping your Instagram game. Here are a few snippets:

Find Your Style
The key to a successful Instagram feed is a consistent point of view or theme. When I first stated on IG, I was posting a little bit of everything: wildlife, client work samples, food, family and personal photos, pet pictures, sunsets, etc. I was all over the place. Over time, I honed my feed down into a more predictable offering based on what I most loved to shoot, and what other people seemed to engage in most. Once that clicked, my engagement grew much quicker than when I was trying to be everything to everyone.

Now, I post mostly Chicago-related city and skyscape photos. In even broader terms, my style usually features vivid colors and tons of detail. Sure I diverge from my usual path in the name of experimentation every now and then, but the ship always rights and I come back to what got me here…

Time Your Posts
I argue that when you post is just as important as what you post. Since Instagram is a chronological, continuously updating feed, it’s important to upload your image when people are checking it. Over the course of my 1500+ posts I’ve seen a few patterns emerge:

The time of day matters. Posting early in the morning (6, 7, 8am) and then at night (9, 10pm is my favorite) seems to get the best results. In the morning you catch people checking their phone when they wake up. At night you’ve got people scrolling Instagram before bedtime…

To read the full article, you’ll have to head on over to my post on the OutOfChicago blog > Embrace the Square: Tips for Getting the Most Out of Instagram