How to Get More Instagram Likes than Ever During Your Next Trip

We all want more Instagram likes, but it’s not as simple as posting a photo from a cool location and adding in a few relevant hashtags. For a better shot at becoming a travel influencer during your next trip, try these tips.

The Rule of Thirds

An art trick adopted by photographers, the rule of thirds ensures your photo subject (likely yourself) gets ample camera space, but also guarantees an interesting background. To master the concept, just pretend your photo is separated into nine boxes by four equally spaced horizontal and vertical lines. Then, make sure the subject of your photo is placed at the intersection of two of these lines. Some apps will provide the lines for you as you take your photo, but, if not, it’s not hard to imagine.

Don’t rely too heavily on the rule of thirds, though. Mix up your style and go with a fully centered photo every once in a while. When you do, just make sure your subject actually is centered, harder than it seems.

Hashtags

Mastering hashtags isn’t as easy as throwing up two or three related to your destination. Take a look at your favorite and most successful Instagram influencers and the hashtags they use. It’s likely there are a few in there you don’t recognize, but that get a lot of traction, attracting new likes and new followers, with exponential growth possible in the future. Use broad tags as well as niche tags. To find the most successful niche tags, again, look at what successful influencers are doing and follow their lead. You can then compile a series of hashtags to use over the entire course of your trip and save them in your phone’s Notes app, for a quick copy and paste every time you post a photo.

Tag Away

This is another instance where you can take a cue from other influencers. Don’t feel bad or awkward about tagging brands and companies in your photos. Tag everyone from the designer of your sunglasses to your airline to your resort to the destination’s tourism board. It gets more eyes on your photos, and more eyes mean more likes and followers gained.

Consistency

Find a look or filter you like and then stick with it. It may take some tries, but finding a style of photography you like can add a more appealing aesthetic to your overall Instagram. Then, when people stumble across your account because of your expert hashtag usage, they’ll want to stick around for the long haul, because you clearly know what you’re doing.

On the same note of consistency, aim for consistent posting. While it may be tempting to post all 10 of your photos from your day out in Paris at once, pick your best shots and try to limit it to three per day (after all, once you get back home, there’ll be plenty of time to post all the other photos), as research shows accounts who do so gain the most engagement.

Editing

Lastly, don’t just settle for the in-app Instagram filters. Most influencers still enjoy the old standby, VSCO, a free app that’s easy to use even for beginners. You can also use apps like Canva to turn your post into a cool postcard-inspired shot featuring a collage, inspiring quote or travel slogan.