If you were to tell a teenager three years ago that one day they’d be able to generate a six-figure salary from uploading photos of themselves on Instagram, they would have laughed in disbelief. However, for many teenagers today this is now a reality. The power of social media has come on leaps and bounds over the past decade, with platforms such as Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr, and Instagram now proving to be valuable marketing tool for brands worldwide. For young people in particular, photos are now essentially used as status updates – even I had found myself scrolling through my feed before bed with the likes of “just ate an ice-cream” or pictures of last night’s party populating my timeline.

Choose a theme

Yes, your Instagram account can be dedicated to one sole topic! You need to have a unique selling point to stand out from the crowd. If you love coffee, for example, you could take photos of all your morning beverages and upload them with quirky hashtags such as #cupofjo #morningslikethese #coffeelove. The possibilities are endless – just make sure your theme is clear enough that other people will understand what you’re about. The more you post, the better your chance of receiving likes and followers. So it’s time to stop dilly-dallying around and get your social media game on point!

Make it pop

When taking photos, invest in a decent camera and lighting setup to achieve the best quality images possible. Even if you’re only uploading smartphone photos, various filters and editing apps allow you to make your images really pop. We all know that in the world of social media it’s about who you follow and what hashtags you use in a bid to make yourself stand out from the crowd.

Get sharing

The more you post, the more likes and followers you’ll get. So make sure you dedicate at least half an hour of every day to uploading content! If social media is a big part of your life, consider scheduling your posts ahead of time using an app like Hootsuite to make the process even quicker.

Interact with others

The most successful social media stars are those who interact with their followers on a regular basis – not only does this keep people engaged but it’s also really helpful when you want to boost your followers. For example, if somebody comments “nice photo” or writes a witty meme underneath one of your pictures, the chances are they’ll be more inclined to like and comment on any future posts you upload.

Stay consistent. It’s important that you don’t stop posting photos and videos once you hit 10,000 followers; Instagram video views are on the rise, so if anything, you should increase your output.

People choose Instagram to follow people who are like them in some way; what better way than by uploading selfies every day into an “About me” section? That’s exactly what this blogger did – within hours of uploading her first photo, she had over 100 followers. Within two months, she had over 10,000!

Building an enthusiastic community on Instagram takes more than posting selfies – but if you follow the above steps you’ll be well on your way to Instagram fame in no time…