Getting Instagram “likes” and followers requires a strategy. Want to boost your Instagram game but aren’t sure how to?
Everyone wants a killer Instagram feed, and the way to get there is by posting awesome content. What kind of content will your followers enjoy? Just think of the most popular influencers, they all post similar things, and we’ve broken it down for you. Here are the best Instagram photo editors and apps you can, and should, be using to boost your Instagram likes and following.
Though the selfie is a crucial element to a killer Instagram feed, many people avoid taking them for the exact reason they’re popular – they’re up-close and personal. Luckily there are incredible editing apps that can help you feel confident about posting your selfies (which almost all big influencers utilize).
One of the most popular apps for selfies is Facetune. The iOS and Android app is backed by Lightricks, which creates professional grade, web and mobile, photo editing products. Facetune lets you retouch and add artistic flair to selfies with advanced, yet easy-to-use editing tools. You can smooth your skin, remove a pimple, change the color of your eyes, or anything else you want to make you look your best before posting a picture. It’s used by millions, has 5-star ratings, and is the #1 photo and video app in 127 countries.
The perfect way to share your special or meaningful moments is with the right photo. This should be a photo that captures the element of the post: the why. Many Instagram influencers like to use black and white photos for deep posts.
BLACK is an app specifically for black and white photos, and it’s one of the best Instagram filter apps for creating vintage, moody, or throwback-style photos. It mimics specific black and white film, and you can adjust the photos according to your preferences. Apps like BLACK turn your photos into beautiful black and white images, and are great for giving your photos an abstract and artsy veneer.
If you’re a words or quote person, check out Over. It’s an editing app that lets you put text on top of your images. You can take a blank image and put a nice phrase on top, or take a regular picture and write something on it. The options are endless, and using this app can make your pictures look really professional.
A slightly easier route for creating impactful images is using an app like Afterlight. With 79 filters, 78 textures, and 15 adjustment tools to choose from, the app has tons of options that will help you create a beautiful photo in seconds.
iPhone users may not even realize the untapped potential of their smartphone cameras. That’s where Camera+ comes in. This iOS app (sorry Android users) is perhaps one of the best Instagram filter apps, though it does much, much more than mere editing. Camera+ 2 improves your phone camera’s shooting capabilities as well with features like raw capture, portrait and depth capture, and slow shutter modes to help you take professional photos from your iPhone. The editing capabilities are just as impressive: in addition to filters and exposure corrections, Capture+ 2 offers advanced photo-editing capabilities like a 1-click clarity tool and depth editing for tint, shadows, and background desaturation.
Every so often, take a look at your feed and see what it could use. If you have a lot of pictures in a row, try uploading a video. Switching things up keeps it interesting and keeps your followers engaged. You can also try an app like Hyperlapse from Instagram, which is a great tool for anyone wanting to create timelapse videos easily. Because it’s created by Instagram, it all works smoothly, and the video size is always right.
Another great Instagram video-editing app is Boomerang from Instagram, which lets you create loop-videos. Boomerang videos are fun, whimsical, and creative. Experimenting with Boomerang can be as fun as the end result is eye-catching, and the results are sure to attract attention on your feed.
If you have several photos from a trip and want to share them as one nice picture, try creating a collage with Layout from Instagram. You can include as many pictures as you want, resize them, and reposition the photos in any way. A collage is a fun and creative way to share a snippet of your life with your followers, and show them what you’re up to.
VSCO is a high-grade photo editing app with a social element to it. Though there is a charge for a full membership, VSCO offers a free version with enough editing tools to keep you glued to your phone. You can edit your pictures with a ton of tools and features, and then create a profile to follow friends, share images, and explore other people's content. If you’re an advanced photographer, you can purchase more filters and editing abilities to get your pictures just as you want them.
If you’re on vacation and want to share some photos with your followers, there are really good tools out there to elevate your photos to the next level. Snapseed, one of the best free Instagram editing apps, is created by Google and lets you fine-tune your photos and precisely edit elements. Users also rave about the saturation feature which allows you to mark a section of the photo with your fingertip, say the sky, and its colors automatically pop. The app works wonders on beach and outdoor pictures.
Growing your Instagram following requires a strategy and a structure. It’s important to post consistently, but it is equally important, if not more so, to post the right content. Give your followers and potential followers a feed they love looking at. By posting selfies and meaningful moments, taking followers through life with you, and switching up your content, you’ll have thousands of followers in no time.
