5 Easy Steps to Perfect Your Instagram Feed + Gain Real, Engaged Followers Quickly!

I absolutely love social media. From Pinterest-inspired DIY projects to Facebook contests, the world of social media has provided me with a web of amazing things. One platform that really stands out in a creative sense is Instagram, I love how inspired I can get after flipping through some amazing feeds and I really love when I can inspire others with my own feed.

So that's what I've been working on lately, trying to "perfect" my Instagram feed in a sense. You may have noticed this if you follow me (ahemmmmm, if you don't follow me then you probably should, so just go ahead and click here). I'm trying new things out, using creative new ways to enhance my images and just really trying to make sure that I put my best foot forward on that platform, I even changed my profile and updated my profile picture.

Then I realized, there's lots of Instagrammers out there trying to gain a following as well. We all love sharing photos on Insta, that's why we use it, right? Well, today I want to share five steps to perfect your Instagram feed and gain real, engaged followers quickly.

Step 1 -  Get a Clear Focus + Establish Your Aesthetic: This step is a combined step because both parts of it are so easy to accomplish. Getting a clear focus for your Instagram profile over all will help you establish a following and guide you on your photo taking journey, but in this case I'm talking about choosing what the focus of your camera is on. All you have to do to adjust the focus and hopefully make your subject more vivid and clear is touch where the subject is located. Now, on to establish your focus on your actual profile, this is establishing your aesthetic and is so important! Whether you want to establish yourself as a pupparazzi for your new puppy and only post pictures of your pooch or serve up only fitting room fashion photos, it's up to you. Personally, I post about a little bit of everything but my food, fashion, and fitness posts seem to be the most popular.

Step 2 - Follow The Light: This step is even easier than learning to focus your camera, all you have to do is "follow the light". What do I mean by this? Simply take your photos in natural light whenever possible. If you are photographing food, set it on a window ledge or on your patio table. If you are photographing people, I suggest taking pictures around twilight so it's still light out but you don't have to worry about squinty eyes or the like. No matter what you are taking pictures of, know one thing, it's going to look a thousand times better in natural lighting!

Step 3 - Use Hashtags Correctly: Using hashtags is an art form. Whether you think they are annoying or not, they actually serve a very real purpose and can connect you with other people and maybe even companies you love. Some of the hashtags that I've been loving lately include: #NothingisOrdinary | #ThatsDarling | #ABMlifeiscolorful | #LiveColorfully. If you are looking for more hashtag inspiration check out the Tags for Likes or other fun hashtag apps!

Step 4 - Be the follower you want to gain: This is a bit like the famous quote, be the change you wish to see in the world, adapted for Instagram. You want followers that are interactive, that comment and like your content, and that genuinely want to get to know you. You need to be that type of follower in return, like photos, comment, and follow like it's going out of style and you'll notice you'll get some love in return.

Step 5 - Stay Consistent But Stay True: If you browse some of the most followed 'grammers you'll notice that their photos stay consistent to their style. Whether they are a rainbow themed account or a mainly muted pastel based account, you'll notice that a lot of the best accounts seem to edit each and every photo in the same fashion and they typically post similar content everyday. While posting similar content seems to drive in more followers and likes, always stay true to you...

#Love is all you need. 💞💋 #valentinesday #sprayroses #nothingisordinary #my_365

A photo posted by Lauren Paints (@sunkissed_sweetheart) on Feb 14, 2015 at 9:54am PST

Now that I've shared some of my instagramming tips today, I'd love to make some insta-friends! Leave your username in the comments below, or you can always follow me on the gram (and let me know how you found me) and I'll follow you back!