Likes and Comments on Instagram – How to Engage Your Followers

You like me!

Likes and Comments

How do you “Like” or Comment on Instagram? Engaging with followers is one of the most fun parts of being on Instagram. It is gratifying when you share an image and people respond to it by liking it, commenting or even reposting it.

But in order to engage with followers, you first need to have some! Even a few will work to start! If you’re new to Instagram, you can check out recommended follows, or simply follow brands or celebrities you like. Many brands and celebrities don’t reciprocate with likes or comments but you can get the flow of what happens on the platform, and later tweak the list of people whose content you follow.

Engagement

But how to “Like” or Comment on Instagram? When scrolling through your feed, it takes only a moment to “like” and leave a comment. Some people post the exact same comment on various images so they can rapidly post comments! It’s disingenuous and think most people can tell. Furthermore, if engagement is a goal, making the same comment over and over is more like a bot than a person. Still, any kind of comment takes more effort than a simple “like.”

I will often scroll through a newly followed account and like three or four photos, and if one warrants a comment, I’ll leave one. Likes can lead to engagement. If someone sees you’ve liked a number of their posts, often they will visit your feed. Then if they see something they like, they’ll offer likes or comments. That is simply how it can start.

Likes and Comments

A comment like, “Beautiful shot!” or “Your cat is too funny” means a lot to the photographer, and the likelihood of a response is high. How high? I haven’t personally measured, but even a short comment can lead to back and forth conversations. That’s how you become acquainted with people.

Another way people engage (especially true if you are following people who live in non-English speaking countries) is by using emojis. It’s surprising how much can be communicated via emoji.

There are apps you can buy to “fake” your engagement. Software can automatically go through and “like” posts. But simply “liking” a post isn’t considered engagement. In fact, there have been adjustments to the Instagram algorithm to determine whether a comment is considered engagement or not. I found this fairly recent post that says a 4-word comment is required in order for it to be recognized as “post engagement.”

@LuzzietCastilho has 256 likes and 123 conments on this image! Nice!

Use content as a catalyst

Your content and description will be the single best catalyst for soliciting feedback. Despite the quick-scan nature of Instagram, a keyword, phrase or comment along with a good image often will catch someone’s eye. So if you decide to post pictures of what you’re eating for dinner, make sure you say something about it, like @Alaskanamber’s caption:

“Ethiopian food for 4 🙌🏽🇪🇹🌍 (Not normally a food snapshot person but this was the best Ethiopian food I’ve had since I was there in 2010!) #meskel#amaseganalo#ethiopianfood#seattle#washington#yummy#injera#dorowat#meskelrestaurant

Don’t be afraid

Most people on Instagram are friendly and are looking for reactions to their photos. If you take a moment to give a compliment, you will most likely be rewarded with a response, and in time, could find yourself with a new friend in Sweden or the Arctic Circle, like my friend, @_wildernesslife_in the Arctic Circle. She offers Arctic experiences to guests. It looks amazing!

Now that you know how to “Like” or Comment on Instagram, as Nike says, “Just do it!”

Caption copy: This my third pic from Victor. You can see a trustful connection between me and Victor. The reindeer is relaxed and he observes the environment and smells the wind but he is not anxious of me moving around him. He is quietly sharing his world with his friend. 
#arcticwinter #arcticliving #arcticlife#wildernesshome #wildernessliving#midwinter #northernlife #laplandliving#reindeer #reindeers #antlers #paraspaikka#mylapland #lovelapland #laplandfinland

_________

For additional engagement tips, see, Do Instagram Captions Make a Difference?

More About Terri:

Her store on Alki Beach: Alki Surf Shop
Terri Nakamura Design
Terri Nakamura on Twitter
Alki Surf Shop on Twitter
The Horsfall House on AirBNB
More by Terri Nakamura

Tips to Make Instagram Images Better

Make INstagram Images Better

Shot across from Alki Surf Shop in West Seattle-an image that looked dark and hopeless, saved by cropping, adjustments and a Snapseed filter.

What can you do to salvage an image that is “almost there,” but is in some way deficient? How can you make Instagram images better?

If you’re shooting with a professional camera, likely you are using Lightroom, Photoshop or some other professional software to process your images. When you are editing a raw file, the possibilities to correct an image are extensive.

shooting With an iPhone VS Android

There are great apps on both the Apple and Android platforms. Two that are available on both platforms that I think offer to do many things and are fairly intuitive tools to use are Pixler and Snapseed.

Both offer some of the same basic tools including cropping, rotation, the ability to create collages, auto-balancing of color, focal blur, image filters or effects, the ability to add type or borders, and easy resizing, and many people wouldn’t want to do more than the basics.

And of course Instagram is famous for their original offering of built-in filters/effects, but both Pixlr and Snapseed offer options that are specific to their apps and both help make Instagram images better.

Pixlr

Pixlr (formerly Pixlr Express) is the right photo editor for everyone whether you have never edited a photo or are a pro. This app has all the tools and effects you need and then some. I like the ability to easily dodge and burn in this application because sometimes you want to darken or lighten an area of an image, and it’s fairly easily accomplished here.

You can favorite your “go-to” effects and add stylizations that make your image look like a pencil sketch, pen and ink sketch and more. There is also the ability to focus on one color to create impact.

Pixlr offers in-app purchases available for higher functionality.

Pixlr’s complete list of features:

  • Create photo collages with a variety of choices for layout, background, and spacing.
  • Balance color in one easy click with Auto Fix.
  • Layer multiple photos and blend them together to get a unique look, using Double Exposure.
  • Stylize your image to look like a pencil drawing, an ink sketch, a poster, and more.
  • Make your selfies beautiful with simple tools to remove blemishes and red-eyes or to whiten your teeth.
  • Focus on one color with Color Splash or add impact with Focal Blur.
  • Choose from a pool of effect packs to give your image the look and feel you want.
  • Adjust the mood of the photo with overlays – amplify the tone, cool it down, or add surreal shades.
  • Mask your photo with captions or overlay it with text. Choose from a variety of fonts.
  • Finish off your editing process with the right border – pick a style that suits you.
  • Keep things fresh with our growing catalog of additional effects, overlays, and border packs.
  • Keep track of your favorite effects and overlays with the Favorites button.
  • Resize images quickly and easily after editing.
  • Share your photo directly with friends through Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, or email.

Snapseed

My favorite editing tool for Instagram is Snapseed, a Google application.

Snapseed’s “Details” tool is like the equivalent of sharpening in Photoshop. It can come in handy when you’d like to see more sharpness in the details of an image. “Curves” is also a professional tool in Photoshop that allows the adjustment highlights and shadows. The Perspective tool is fantastic for architectural images that are not quite perpendicular and enables corrections to look perfect.

The HDR tool is amazing though some users have a tendency to over-process their images with it. It affects the entire image and makes colors and details pop and especially affects shadow and highlight areas. It can turn clouds into a tumultuous sky. HDR can surprise you because you discover things in the image that you didn’t even know were there.

Snapseed offers

  • 29 Tools and Filters
  • Opens JPG and RAW files
  • Save your personal looks and apply them to new photos later
  • Selective filter brush

list of Snapseed tools and effects

  • RAW Develop – open and tweak RAW DNG files; save non-destructively or export as JPG –
  • Tune image – adjust exposure and color automatically or manually with fine, precise control
  • Details – magically bring out surface structures in images.
  • Crop – crop to standard sizes or freely
  • Rotate – rotate by 90°, or straighten a skewed horizon
  • Perspective – fix skewed lines and perfect the geometry of horizons or buildings
On the left, the ceiling of the Grays Harbor Courthouse is not square or symmetrical and had to be rotated. On the right, the perspective was corrected and adjustments were made to brightness, color, etc.
  • White Balance – adjust the colors so that the image looks more natural
  • Brush – selectively retouch exposure, saturation, brightness or warmth
  • Selective – the renown “Control Point” technology: Position up to 8 points on the image and assign enhancements, the algorithm does the rest magically
  • Healing – remove the uninvited neighbor from a group picture
  • Vignette – add soft darkness around the corners like a beautiful, wide-aperture would do
  • Text – add both stylized or plain text
  • Curves – have precise control over the brightness levels in your photos
  • Expand – increase the size of your canvas and fill up the new space algorithmically
  • Lens Blur – add a beautiful Bokeh to images (background softening), ideal for photographic portraits
  • Glamour Glow – add a fine glow to images, great for fashion or portraits
  • Tonal Contrast – boost details selectively in the shadows, mid-tones and highlights
  • HDR Scape – bring a stunning look to your images by creating the effect of multiple exposures

Additional Options

  • Drama – add a hint of doomsday to your images (6 styles)
  • Grunge – an edgy look with strong styles and texture overlays
  • Grainy Film – get modern film looks with realistic grain
  • Vintage – the style of color film photo from the 50s, 60s or 70s
  • Retrolux – go retro with light leaks, scratches, film styles
  • Noir – Black and White film looks with realistic grain and the “wash” effect
  • Black & White – classic Black and White look straight out of the darkroom
  • Frames – add frames with adjustable size
  • Double Exposure – blend two photos, choosing from blend modes that are inspired by shooting on film and by digital image processing
  • Face Enhance – add focus to the eyes, add face-specific lighting, or smooth skin
  • Face Pose – correct the pose of portraits based on three-dimensional models
  • Shared directly from the application to your social media channels

Try it, you’ll like it

It’s undeniable that most every image can be improved in some way through an editing app. I’ve tried dozens of them, as well as dozens more of specialty apps because each offers something different, but I always come back to Snapseed. In discussions with other Instagrammers, it seems to be one that is widely used and valued.

Both Pixlr and Snapseed are free (again, some Pixlr extras are available only via in-app purchase), so download both and see which one you prefer. Either way, apps such as Pixlr and Snapseed will help you make  Instagram images better.

I’m curious to know what you think. Which is your favorite?

For more information about photo editing, check out How to Use Filters to Improve Your Photos

_______________

MORE ABOUT TERRI:

Her store on Alki Beach: Alki Surf Shop
Terri Nakamura Design
Terri Nakamura on Twitter
Alki Surf Shop on Twitter
The Horsfall House on AirBNB
Terri Nakamura on Instagram 
More by Terri Nakamura

Transparency Matters for Your Personal Brand

Instagram Transparency Matters

What if you didn’t know the real names of your doctor, lawyer or accountant? Transparency matters!

Most social media acquaintances aren’t exactly on a parallel plane with professional or collegial relationships — but how about your friends?

In 2008 when I began on Twitter, it wasn’t unusual to see people using descriptive monikers instead of their real names. I viewed it as a holdover from the days of bulletin and message boards. When the internet was young, “screen names” were de rigueur. This practice is still somewhat true on Instagram.

In the early 2000s, major personalities on social media who were using pseudonyms realized they were gaining traction, and their major growth was still ahead of them. Instead of building recognition in an abstract name, they started to use their real names. It enabled them to build equity in their personal brands.

It’s about trust

I think most of us appreciate it when connections on social media are transparent about who they are.  If I’m being honest with someone, I appreciate when they afford me the same courtesy.

A cloak of secrecy signals more than mystery. There are reasons people want to remain anonymous. It could have something to do with their pasts or their concerns about how their opinions could reflect on their jobs. But generally speaking, withholding one’s real identity is a form of deception.

There is a trend among millennials I’ve noticed where many of them use pseudonyms. When I’ve asked why, they’ve given a variety of reasons, but the main one seems to be they don’t want to be identified, judged or held responsible for the content they post. In other words, they don’t want to be held accountable.

How people perceive your brand 

Transparency matters when you’re establishing yourself as a brand. Your name and avatar and consistency are important. Your behavior both on and offline matters. When using your real name, you invite people to trust you. And by maintaining a consistent and positive presence across channels, you can build relationships with people, and reinforce the belief that you can be trusted.

People acting on behalf of a company will often append their initials for identification purposes. Knowing who is tweeting is a good thing. Most people would rather tweet with a person, and there is also an element of accountability. In this era where it’s possible to engage in a customer support call with a chatbot, it’s nice to connect with humans.

Descriptive moniker + plus + your name 

Highly recognizable and respected people very successfully use screen names but self-identify using their real names. Reg Saddler, or @zaibatsu  is well-established across social media channels. He uses a memorable handle that evokes a strong image of his brand.

If you’ve been using a name for a long time and have earned recognition in it, it makes sense to maintain it.  But it’s helpful and important to include your real name somewhere in your profile. Here are several reasons why:

  • First —You are creating a climate of trust by using your real name.
  • Second —It allows people who know you to find you by name. or by moniker.
  • Third — exchanges with someone whose name you know is more personal and engenders the creation of relationships.
  • Fourth — By using your name, rather than building equity in a pseudonym, you are building equity in the recognition of yourself and your personal brand.

At the end of the day, in all social media, recognition is a form of currency. If a brand wants to enlist your collaboration as a micro-influencer, it needs assurance they’re working with an authentic person with a respected reputation.

Short and easy versus long or difficult 

Clever handles can be fun, but if they are not exactly memorable, it can be problematic. This is particularly true if you don’t include your real name SOMEwhere. For example, I had a Twitter friend who lives in the Baltimore area. I was there on a business trip in 2016, so we met for dinner.She was from Ethiopia and had an unfamiliar name, plus she didn’t use her real name on Twitter. So we have lost touch and I have no way to find her.

The substitution of numbers for letters may be good for building a password, but expecting others to remember quirky configurations is unrealistic. Also—adding characters that require changing case on a smart device (phones, tablets) makes it inconvenient for someone to type your name on a device. (Included are underscores and numbers or other special characters.) Some applications will “autofill” a name if it’s previously been typed once. But still—isn’t it easier to simply avoid extra keystrokes?

Changing your moniker 

Once you’ve established your handle, try to keep it. If you change it, your account will retain your friends and followers, but unless you’ve prepared them for the change, they may not recognize you.

Help your followers recognize you by posting something in your profile. You could include “formerly @whatevermynamewas. You can also post something that announces your intention, tagging both names in the caption. People who are searching for you by name or former name will be able to find you.  Success depends on whether enough people will remember your name in the first place. So remember—use a name that is short and easy to remember.

Maintaining consistency 

Establishing a consistent presence across social media channels — with hope, both in name and avatar — reinforces the identity and recognition of your brand. Think of it this way—your avatar is your social media logo. If “Starbucks” changed its name or logo from location to location, how would you recognize it?

You might know someone on Twitter by “@whatever,” but if they send a friend-request on Instagram using another name, they undermine the chance of connecting.

Across the majority of my social media accounts, a version of the lime green avatar below will be associated with my brand, and since it is my “Gravatar,” it appears here on my blog. The lime green was strategic. When my avatar appears on the feed, it is instantly recognizable. I don’t use the branded version on personal accounts where friends and family are present.

Twitter, LinkedIn, Google; others
Gravatar, Tumblr; others

Trust is the foundation

By using your real name, you are inviting people to trust you, too. By building recognition of your name and avatar, you establish a “brand promise” that sets up what others can expect when they encounter you or your company online.

Relationships matter in personal life and in business. People DO want to know who they are dealing with. By being transparent, the potential gain is greater than the risk.

Do You Think transparency Matters?

Are there good reasons for obscuring one’s identity? I’d love to hear your thoughts.

Read more about engagement with Likes and Comments on Instagram: How to Engage Your Followers

_______

Photos by Nadine Shaabana on Unsplash

and by Oleg Magni on Unsplash

@terrinakamura avatar photo by The Milkie Studio, Seattle

This post was based on Why Transparency Matters: Building Equity in Your Personal Brand

_______

MORE ABOUT TERRI:

Her store on Alki Beach: Alki Surf Shop
Terri Nakamura Design
Terri Nakamura on Twitter
Alki Surf Shop on Twitter
The Horsfall House on AirBNB
Terri Nakamura on Instagram 
More by Terri Nakamura

How to Use Tools to Automate Your Instagram Scheduling

 

Instagram Scheduling

For a long time, it wasn’t possible to use automation for Instagram scheduling.  People could use an application called Buffer that would send reminders that it was TIME to post an Instagram update, but that was as far as it went.

Other applications got into the game. One of the main issues is, it is hard enough to manage content on your phone, so apps like Buffer made it possible to control things from your PC. It was a big game changer as it also allows collaboration by members of a team.

It has been shown a regular posting window can be beneficial in terms of one’s audience on Instagram. You begin to encounter some of the same users in a specific time window. For example, I have a tendency to post pretty late at night (anywhere from 9 PM up until midnight), so that means many of my followers and those with whom I most actively engage are either night owls in the United States (except Hawaii, which is 3 hours earlier!) or those in Asian, Europe or even in the southern hemisphere.

So predictable posting times can work in one’s favor if cultivating a dedicated audience is one of your objectives. Buffer is able to schedule   photo posts as well as video updates including captions and hashtags.

Deck Platforms

There are scheduling and monitoring/engagement “deck” platforms similar to Twitter’s Tweetdeck, with Hootsuite being a long-established and versatile application for scheduling/monitoring; engagement with content; and allows oversight of specific account streams, hashtags and more.

Hootsuite is an expansive tool and allows connection to myriad social accounts if you have a paid subscription. Otherwise, free account users are allowed three connections and basic analytics reporting and message scheduling. Some of the additional social profiles that can be used with Hootsuite include  Facebook profiles/pages/groups, Twitter pages, LinkedIn profiles/groups/companies, YouTube, WordPress and Instagram accounts. It’s also possible to connect to Tumblr, Flickr and others.

A few other  Instagram scheduling apps you might wish to explore include SkedSocial, OnlyPult, BufferGram (soon to relaunch as BUSY.IO) and AutoGrammer.

https://skedsocial.com/

 

 

 

https://onlypult.com/

Again, Buffergram has announced on its website that it will be relaunching as BUSY.IO

http://buffergram.com/

https://www.autogrammer.com/

One or more team members, or accounts?

If you are new to Instagram, or work as a social media assistant to a small business, it is important to note many apps have free versions for a single user.

If you are working with a team with numerous people curating content, it may be worthwhile to investigate Enterprise or Team options. Also, depending on your needs, services such as Buffer and Hootsuite allow scheduling and monitoring across many platforms. Click the links to find out more.

For information on other useful tools, check out How to Monitor Your Instagram.

Feature Photo by rawpixel on Unsplash

MORE ABOUT TERRI:

Her store on Alki Beach: Alki Surf Shop
Terri Nakamura Design
Terri Nakamura on Twitter
Alki Surf Shop on Twitter
The Horsfall House on AirBNB
Terri Nakamura on Instagram 
More by Terri Nakamura

Do Instagram Captions Make a Difference?

Do captions make a difference?

For the most part, I would say 90 percent of those I follow provide informational captions, identifying what is in the photo, or maybe adding a few hashtags. So I’ve wondered — do captions make a difference?

Those who delve into more storytelling generally garner a greater response from their followers.

But the single thing that makes the most difference (in my opinion), is an acknowledgment to any comments that are made.

Let’s take a look.

@sensastone

Sensastone

@Sensastone is in Sweden, and he has become one of my favorite friends on Instagram. We have some really great conversations about the world and the forces at play, whether environmental, political or otherwise. He has fewer than 3,000 followers today, but here is something amazing — the center picture above has 688 likes and 216 comments, which is phenomenal engagement. He responds to comments in such a thoughtful way, it blows me away sometimes. In fact, his engagement was so epic that I realized I needed to something to change up the way I was sharing.

Here is the caption and hashtags that accompanied the center photo:

sensastone

The Abominable Snowman😆😆😆 :
:
#winteriscoming #winterishere #winterday#winterpic #winterwonderland #picoftheday#ice #sun #sky #photooftheday #instagood#feelgood #freshair #weekend #snow#instapic #instapics

Influencers and Captions

My wonderful daughter-in-law, @queenhorsfall, along with the next three people are hugely successful influencers on Instagram. @queenhorsfall has more than 60,000 followers. She, along with @ryanintheus, @helloterumi, and @shilpiboseofficial collaborate with sponsors in various capacities.

In addition to posting sponsored or personal content, @queenhorsfall consistently posts Instagram stories and they are available to view in the category circles you see on her profile. (Examples above: Cooking, Apps, Malta, 2 Days, Sale Alert, Netherlands, Shop, etc.)

Captions are necessary when posting content that has been sponsored by a company or entity and in the U.S., are required by the FTC. (Federal Trade Commission)

Queen Horsfall

@queenhorsfall will sometimes write an extended caption and enjoys tons of positive feedback no matter what she shares. In this instance, she received 3,243 likes and there are 73 comments on this post. The caption and hashtags that accompanied it:

queenhorsfall

Love this photo of me & my partner in crime @andreeabirsan_ 👭Tag your favorite bestie for an inspiration 📸 #bffgoals #pfw #lfw #jfw #sfw #mfw #bfw#twinsisters #streetstyle #winterfashion

@queenhorsfall

RyanintheUS

Seattle via Australia friend, @ryanintheus tells epic stories on his Instagram, and his case, captions make a difference.  Also, note the small black circle in the lower left corner of the image below because it signifies he has tagged a person (or persons) in the post. He received 1,949 likes and 182 comments. The #sponsored hashtag means he has posted this in collaboration with a sponsor.

Note: when viewing Instagram on the web, you can hover over an image to quickly view the likes and number of comments, as shown below. This is a post by Ryan that had amazing engagement. It appeared with the italicized caption below it.

ryanintheus

Excerpt: A lot of people talk to me about the importance of the father, daughter relationship given I’m a single dad with 50% custody of a seven and a half year old daughter. As they should. With all that’s going on in the world, more than ever we need dads to be modeling to their daughters what a real man looks like, so that when they grow up, they know what to look for… (For complete post, click here.)

HelloTerumi

Another Seattle friend, @helloterumi, below shares a sponsored post for Fage yogurt. Terumi and I have partnered with #VerizonWireless as #brandpartners. On the post below, she received 423 likes and 32 comments, which I’m sure will make Fage happy because of the engagement, and also the earned media this mention adds to the share.

The FTC has pressured companies who partner with social media influencers to ensure their content is labeled as an ad, promotion or otherwise sponsored post. Note the first hashtag in her caption below.

helloterumi

#ad Are you making health a priority in 2019? I am! And I’m so glad FAGE Total Split Cups are helping me with this-especially now that the have 30% less sugar too. Find out more about the “less is more” philosophy I’m working on this year on the blog☝️and I’d love to hear about your goals for this year too! 👇 @fage #SplitCups#30PercentLessSugar #FAGE

ShilpiBoseOfficial

The final example is @shilpiboseofficial. Shilpi and I have been friends on Twitter for more than 10 years. Shilpi is and has always been a beautiful woman, mother, wife, and friend. Who knew she would become “Mrs. India!” Since then, her  Instagram feed grew so significant that there was a need to create an offshoot account for her fans.

Shilpi’s post garnered 3,246 likes and 81 comments

shilpiboseofficial

This year 2018 has created a big impact in my life. Followed my passion, worked extremely hard, been upset, tried to give up, went through ups and downs, highs and lows. Achieved success, some dreams came true. Been genuinely happy, learned to find happiness within myself. Learned so much about people and how only few people are real and good to you. If you’re there in my life, believe me I value you. 
2018 will always be close to my heart & I am grateful.
Sporting a @sheinofficial @shein_in tee! Never a basic girl!
Photo courtesy: @dhavalgajjarphotography .

To caption or not caption?

Since I began posting extended captions to my instagram posts, my engagement has increased ten-fold. I attribute the increase to a couple of things:

  • Stories that are personal, interesting or informative can be rewarding and invite connections with fellow IGers.
  • By asking those who are viewing whether they have thoughts or experiences that are similar or different can cultivate conversations and also grow the relationships you create on Instagram.

So for me, captions make a difference.

Strategy

In many cases, micro influencers who are being compensated in some fashion have received suggestions regarding possible content points to make in a given post. Sponsored content will often read more “ad-like” than a personal post. @RyanintheUS is definitely exceptional!

I’ll often have no idea of exactly what I will say when I post on Instagram, but I try to tell a story where the images are there to draw in viewers. The images don’t necessarily relate directly to the captions. I line up the photos (usually I post 2 or more photos in a series), then write on the fly.

It has been great for me, but it can take a while and probably won’t work for everyone.  It would likely be easier if I composed the caption in a text document, then pasted it into Instagram.

But if you make a note of @sensastone’s very brief caption that perfectly reflects his personality and sense of humor, you’ll see you don’t need to write a novella. At the very least, take a moment to say SOMETHING about your images. It provides insights to viewers about what they are viewing!

Most important advice in captioning: be genuine.

_____

Check out this post for tips on how to Build Your Instagram Following.

MORE ABOUT TERRI:

Her store on Alki Beach: Alki Surf Shop
Terri Nakamura Design
Terri Nakamura on Twitter
Alki Surf Shop on Twitter
The Horsfall House on AirBNB
Terri Nakamura on Instagram 
More by Terri Nakamura