Hey guys! It’s Amy from The Blissful Bee and I’m happy to be back again contributing to twelveOeight! Today I want to talk all about Instagram and how to gain new followers and likes. I first want to say that I am no expert by any means! I too am still learning the tricks of the trade of gaining a larger following, but there are a few things I’ve learned along the way. My first tip is to USE HASHTAGS! It took me a while to figure this out, but millions of people are searching Instagram 24/7, so when you use a hashtag, your images are going to be seen by others. This will not only get you more likes, but it might also get you more followers. If they like what they see, they will want to see more. Here are some of my photos before:
Pretty big difference huh? There are a ton of “popular” hashtags that you can use. For example, #beautiful, #love and #instagood are some popular options. To see the top used hashtags of Instagram, click {here}. Another piece of advice would be to change your username to your blog name. Don’t worry, you won’t loose all of your followers. That was my biggest worry when I made the change, but nothing was effected. If you’re wondering where to change your username, see below. By changing your username in the location that I did (right next to the person icon) that’s what will show up when you post your photos. That username is what people will see you as. I also have family and friends that follow me, so I wanted to include my actual name as well. So for example, I could search “theblissfulbee” or “amywalton” and my account would show up either way. See below: 
I also added a description and included my blog link as well. This will let people know about my blog and where to go if you would like to see more than just my Instagram account. My next tip is VERY important. MAKE SURE TO MAKE YOUR ACCOUT PUBLIC. Before I follow someone, I want to look at their pictures first to make sure I like their photos. If their account is private and I can’t see their photos, I won’t follow them. Another great tip is to follow some of your favorite bloggy friends. I love seeing what other blogs are up to and enjoy interacting with them. If I like their photo, then I will “like” or comment. Who doesn’t like some kind words, right?? And my last tip for today is to post a nice balance between your personal life and blog life. If your going to change your account to your blog, then don’t post 100% personal photos. And vice versa – too many blog posts might get overwhelming as well. You can also have 2 different accounts set up. One as your blog and another as your personal account. I just have one account though – I don’t think I could handle multiples!
Well I sure hope my Instagram tips help expand your following! I just started these tricks recently and have already seen a difference. And while we’re at it, if you would like to follow me on Instagram, click {here}. Thanks again Tanya for having me today! Always enjoy stopping by:)
Thank you so much for all of the wonderful tips Amy!!
Thank you for posting this Tanya. I am still new on Instagram. So this is huge to me. Very valuable info if you are going to post pics more on Instagram which I like doing right now. I will be thanking Amy as well later on. Thank you, and thank you!
Have a lovely day!
Ellya
What you have said makes perfect sense. It's one of those things that you wonder why you didn't think of them yourself! So thank you. I'll be updating my Instagram profile and look to adding hash tags to my posts in future.
I hope you're having a great week ☆♡☆
Just changed my profile too! Thanks for the great tips! Plus I'm following you on Instagram.
Does Twelve O Eight have an Instagram account? I probably just missed it but would love to follow you too!
Glad to hear this was helpful you guys!!
xo, amy | theblissfulbee.com
DcsdzH Major thanks for the post.Really looking forward to read more. Cool.