You’ve all probably heard by now that social media can change people’s lives. It can transform the ordinary into social influencers, working with brands and being paid for social posts. Well, one of the greatest examples of this is Instagram.

Instagram is essentially an online photo album. You share a photo with your followers, add hashtags to increase reach and gain likes from people around the world. Some of the biggest Instagram accounts in world have millions of followers, and the biggest brands in the world pay good money to advertise with these influencers. Even business people are taking advantage of the platform to grow their reach, for example there’s entrepreneur Elon Musk, Richard Branson and tech CEO Issa Asad Instagram. For people who have a large following, they could be earning thousands for a single post.

But how do normal people make a business out of Instagram?

1. Engage With People

If you think that it’s enough to simply post your photo with some hashtags and do nothing else, you’d be very wrong. The key to getting noticed by other Instagram users is by having a conversation If you click on the search bar and search a hashtag related to your niche, let’s say vegan for example; you will be able to see some of the top posts for that niche. Don’t just like them and scroll on, take the time to comment something useful, like ‘How did you cook that tofu?’ or ‘that looks really colourful’. Simple comments such as this are what will get you noticed by others, and even bring them to look at your account.

2. Hashtag, Hashtag, Hashtag

You will have heard of hashtags, you may have even used them yourself- but do you know what a hashtag really is? The purpose of a hashtag is to put your photo or post in front of a specific audience. Utilising hashtags is one of the greatest ways to grow your influence on Instagram. You are allowed a maximum of 30 hashtags per post, so choose them wisely. But don’t add them to your caption, instead comment on your post with them. It looks much less messy on the newsfeed and will be more likely to get people’s attention

3. Learn How To Take Photos

Instagram is all about photos, so you’ll need to brush up on your photography skills. If you are a blogger, you will want to learn about flat lays – these are the photos you see from overhead with items very carefully placed next to each other on the floor or a table. It takes time to learn to how create a successful flat lay, but when you do, they are incredibly pleasing to the eye and people love them.

4. Tag Brands and Influencers

It’s not enough to take a photo wearing your brand-new Mac lipstick and sharing it with your followers, you’ll want to get their attention too with the hopes of a shout out or repost on their account. Although you can simply @ them in your caption, it is more effective if you tag them in the photos. Every time you are tagged in a photo it flashes up on your feed, this means it is more likely to be seen and taken notice of.