Do you guys even remember the days before Instagram? I mean, of course you do — but really, where would we fashion bloggers be without it now?
Despite some perceived hiccups like being purchase by Facebook and changing their privacy policy and terms of service, Instagram has continued to be a mobile photo-sharing juggernaut in a way that no other app has been able to touch.
While celebrities like Kim Kardashian may have the lock on extreme numbers of followers (she's got over 5 million), some fashion bloggers have reached wildly impressive amounts of followers as well, numbers that far exceed their Twitter or Facebook counts.
So what's the secret to Instagram fame? For our favorite fashion bloggers, the exact formula varies, but always seems to have these elements: good captions, sharp detail or still-life photos and lots of outfits. Let's take a closer look.
Aimee Song, @SongofStyle
Aimee has some kind of magical Instagram power. Almost every photo she posts makes it to the “popular” page, and her photos garner as many as 36,000 likes and hundreds and hundreds of comments. The validity of each and every engagement certainly may not be authentic, but the numbers are still incredibly impressive.
- Followers: Over 590K
- Average photos per day: 3 to 5
- Images are usually: full-body outfits, accessory details, shoes
- Potential secret sauce: She doesn't always use a filter, but it's usually Valencia.
Jessica Stein, @tuulavintage
I think it would be hard not to like this beautiful and blonde Aussie blogger's feed. She appears to spend most of her time bouncing from tropical beach to Australian sunset to Europe and back again constantly. She has a feminine sense of style and a very photogenic face – which doesnt hurt at all.
- Followers: Over 354K
- Average photos per day:
- Images are usually: pretty dresses in tropical locations, taken with a DSLR for her blog
- Potential secret sauce: All those gorgeous beaches, all year round.
Nicole Warne, @garypeppergirl
If there's one Instagram account I could get inside and live forever, it would be Nicole's. She travels the world and creates photo shoots for her blog with her photographer boyfriend, and her images are rarely not totally stunning. From outfits to amazing vistas, sunsets and locations – her consistency in flawless and lovely images is admirable. Her photos get as many as 30,000 likes, and frequently appear on the “popular” page.
- Followers: Almost 340K
- Average photos per day:
- Images are usually: heavily colorful scenery and outfit shots, travel images
- Potential secret sauce: Her boyfriend is a photographer, and those continually exotic locations.
Leandra Medine, @manrepeller
Leandra's Instagram feed follows a similar formula to her blog: it's mostly about fashion, with no shortage of humorous moments, famous friends and runway coverage during NYFW. She gets her fair share of spam comments as many of the top Instagrammers do, but it's clear that many of her followers really love her point of view.
- Followers: Over 249K
- Average photos per day: 2 to 4
- Images are usually: mirror shots, scenes of New York City or party pictures with fashion industry friends
- Potential secret sauce: Humor and high fashion.
Julie Sarinana, @sincerelyjules
When I think of California cool style, I immediately think of Julie's boho-meets-fem-rock-and-roll style. With a playful mix of hair-centric selfies, outfit photos and lots of envy-inducing brunch spreads, it's easy to see why her feed is so popular.
- Followers: Over 238K
- Average photos per day: 3 to 5
- Images are usually: selfies, outfits and food still life shots
- Potential secret sauce: Her amazing hair.
Jamie Beck, @_frommetoyou
We shouldn't be surprised that Jamie is so beloved on Instagram, she's a professional photographer after all. Her feed chronicles her work on photo sets and her frequent travels, glamour shots of New York City and her own beauty and style, which has a feminine, Old Hollywood flare.
- Followers: Over 72K
- Average photos per day: 3 to 5
- Images are usually: travel shots, behind-the-scenes at photo shoots with @theglamourai, coffee
- Potential secret sauce: She's a professional.
So where does that leave the rest of us, who aren't professional photographers, don't frequently travel to exotic locations or happen to have the Internet's most beautiful hair? All is not lost! You don't need a tropical vacation, model-esque good looks or even a DSLR (which is kind of cheating, anyway don't you think?).
Here are 4 take-aways that we can all employ to give our Instagram feeds a boost:
1. Post frequently! These bloggers are all posting at least twice a day, if not five times a day. Consistency like this keeps your followers engaged.
2. Pay attention to your captions – they make a difference. (We've got tips right this way.) Mention brands, use appropriate hashtags and add humor or emotion whenever you can!
3. See the beauty in wherever you are. Keep your creative eye on your surroundings, look for history, color, nature, and character all around you. Get creative – there are gorgeous locations from Cleveland to Canada, the biggest cities to the smallest towns.
4. Showcase your style. Instagram users love to see your fashion, so embrace the #OOTD hashtag and share your personal style with your followers all the time. Try different angles, have a friend snap a quick picture for you, and embrace fancy mirrors.
[Image credits: songofstyle; Garypeppergirl; tuulavintage; sincerelyjules; manrepeller;Â _frommetoyou]
I like your take-aways – good tips! Here’s a funny read by Leandra on Instagram filters and what they say about you. http://bit.ly/VMS7gt
chicgiftguide.com
I am in love with the photos that Song of Style posts. She always has great pictures of her outfits, but also great backgrounds. They add so much interest to the picture.
theinclub.blogspot.com
I follow a few of these fashion bloggers but for some reason I hesitate in posting more than 1 or 2 pictures because I feel like my followers will get a feeling of “post overload” what is everyone else’s thoughts about that?
Very useful post as always. My aim is to definitely start posting more frequently.
Adela xx
I feel like the only blogger on earth who doesn’t have Instagram. I would love to have it, but if I’m right, I have to have a smartphone, and I don’t. Unfortunately I can’t afford the data account right now. I’m actually quite a good photographer, though, so maybe I’ll start posting some of my landscape and nature photos on my blog. I never thought people would be so interested in things like that. I think that soon I’ll be able to afford a smartphone data plan. I hope that Instagram is still popular!
Donna
www.prettysparklythings.blogspot.com
You could always get an ipod touch and use your existing internet connection to upload the photos when you’re at home. I’m not sure how eager you are to be in instagram, but that could be a solution without buying a data plan.
I just got on Instagram during the 2012 christmas season so I am pretty much still feeling my way. So far Iove it and these bits above and (now following the top bloggers mentioned) will definitely give me more direction.
Barbara
http://barbsiesmusings.blogspot.com/
Lagos, Nigeria
Amaazing, amaazing post! 😀
www.agirlsfancies.blogspot.com
Thanks for this article Taylor, new at blogging and fairly new at instagram too.
I couldn’t imagine that maintaining a story in all tour pictures as well as tag line could be so important. I only use hash tags till now.
Now I am going to give instagram some share of it’s due thought too.
The Creative Bent
Thank you so much for this! I recently got an instagram account and have been posting my style more and my followers love it x
Great tips! I love Instagram more than any other social site out there!
Thanks for the tips! I’m a new Instagrammer as of this month 🙂
Love these tips & each and every one of the fabulous bloggers… but I think you might have missed “Average photos per day:” for a couple of them up there 🙂 it’s just blank.
Nonetheless, great info! xx
Thanks for this recommendations! Just added them all, stunning ladies.
For me it is quality not quantity. Some how these lovely ladies all have beautiful high res looking images on their insatgram sites. Now we are all told you can only put images taken from your smartphone or ipad etc on there but they have found a way around this. And I would love to know the answer to this secret. I have search and searched for the answer but have yet to find how they do this. But one thing I know for sure is that their images were not taken with their phones or ipads, the quality is just too good. Xxxx
You can always upload the pictures to your computer and then onto your cell phone. Not sure if that’s what they do but there’s a suggestion.
When you take a picture with DSLR or a pro camera for instagram, try taking it from far away so that what you want to show can fit into the instagram cropping window. When you’re done taking pictures, email them to yourself, login to your emails from your phone/ipad and download the pictures. Then upload them on to instagram. Remember to take pictures from a little bit far away. All the best!
Thanks for the great tips! I’m gonna try them out. 😉
@Fashionistable, you can take pics with your DSLR and email them to your phone. Or once you have uploaded to your PC you can drop them into dropbox and retrieve them on your phone. You can then instagram from there.
“The validity of each and every engagement certainly may not be authentic, but the numbers are still incredibly impressive.” <=== What exactly does this mean?
I was asking myself the same thing. I think it means that she has hired/created fake accounts and writes to herself?
When buying a new phone a couple of years ago I was torn between the iPhone and Samsung but it was the fact that (at that time) I could only get Instagram on iPhone that swung it for me! That is one powerful app.
If anyone wants to follow me my username is @asimplehello – I post lots of images of London, outfit shots, food photos, and the occasional animal-related snap 🙂
Great article, as always, Taylor!
A friend today just asked – as many have – why I don’t use Instagram. I’ve even spent a few frustrated minutes trying to find if there’s any way I can use it on my MacBook Pro. I CAN”T use Instagram, because my phone is a Samsung, not an iPhone.
Besides, I find it’s so much quicker and easier to use LookBible (www.lookbible.com). When you join it automatically sets you up with this thing on your bookmark bar, and it’s just one click and it links back to your site – so if I want to ‘extend’ my viewership – which is really what the bloggers are doing here, expanding their brand – it’s so much easier.
Tagging is so important on Instagram. It really makes a difference in who see’s your photos.
What are some hashtags you use and see results from? I love the #fashionblogger I get TONS of likes from using that. Still working on growing followers though.
I use instagram the most out of any other social network.
ig: @sheslikearobot
I personally know Jess from Tuula and Nicole of Gary Pepper and they are both as sweet and lovely as their instagram pictures appear. Yes they’re both tremendously lucky to be able to get paid to travel and attend fashion weeks and work with amazing brands, but they’ve also worked hard for it.
It’s all about finding your niche and keeping your instagram photos consistent with your blog image.
@lil_blackbook
Thanks for inspiration i will work harder now on boosting activity on Instagramm..)))
www.fashionpeekaboo.com
Check it out.
Met one direction
Lush reviews
MotelRocks.com
and more 😉
sparklemefree.blogspot.com
Great tips! I’ll admit that I get a bit lazy with the Instagraming but hopefully I can use these hints as a bit of inspiration to post more often ; )
Great tips! Inspiration to start posting regularly!
Awesome post! Check out my blog guys? Its a Runway fashion blog,i do both mens and womens fashion show reviews. and some trend reports and chic outfits! please check it out. xo
I’m not a big fan of instagram I have to admit, I don’t really know why, I just think it somehow takes the talent away from super-talented photographers.
Does anyone else agree?
missassay.wordpress.com
You forgot Chiara Ferragni 😉
Great tips!! I HAVE to do more of this. Not like I’m already an Instagram addict! 🙂
I am not so in Instagram, i mean, i was not, but since I have started my street style project, I am not sure how will I publish it. When i saw this article, i decided, that Instagram is the thing what i need more than Chanel 2.55. Thanks a lot!
nicole is my fav!!
btw follow my intagram @christianbelvin
http://christianbelvin.blogspot.com/2013/03/phresh-out-runway_5.html
These are some great bloggers! I am trying to grow my instragram and blog. Please if you get a chance please check it out. I just started and it’s a lot of work! That is for sure. Nice article. Thank you! xx Bisous
Blondalice *
I absolutely loved this post! My instagram is zaynalqahtani, and I will definitely be following some of these tips to gain some exposure!
Am fairly new to blogging and instagrams are new to me, but thanks for this great post about the subject, it looks like something I should certainly give a good try.
Love the kingdom of style. I am a total fashionsta and im really young.
this blogs are really nice!I have just started with instagram=)
instagram : natalyapril
I used to love Instagram but I’m so glad I deleted it. I think too many social media network profiles is unhealthy for you.
For anyone interested, I’m holding a MAC giveaway on Friday for my birthday!
http://thescienceofhappy.blogspot.co.uk/
Thanks! Awesome I’m a Fashion Photographer with a sweet Instagram and not many people know I exist. This may increase my followers?
X
If you want more Instagram followers then you can use this and get more and more likes and followers. here are the best software and easily use this.
Some great profiles here! I already follow @sincerelyjules and her photos are so cool she is one of my favourites, another great account is @fashionhippieloves she has the most amazing photos! My account is @misshollyamber.
http://caramellacouture.blogspot.co.uk/
Holly xx
in looove with nicole warne’s photographs 😀
they are just wonderful and . . . alive
http://www.rizunaswon.blogspot.com
Very nice post. Can you tell me which is the best shapewear for women on the market?
Jennifer
great tips
great tips! i follow aimee and julie and they have the most aesthetically pleasing instapics. it definitely helps that they carry and wear the most amazing clothing/accessories but i also feel that they take good advantage of background, color, and props which are all always eye-capturing.
this is gonna sound so sad but it’s hard to post consistently when you really don’t have anything going on in your life haha
http://lazyobsession.blogspot.ie/2013/06/black-and-blue-jeans.html
Great advice, and we can all take notes from these successful ladies.
But, between creating content for our own blogs…and keeping ALLLL of these social media sites continually going, when are people finding time to ACTUALLY live their lives?! Rather than just snap photos, hashtag, upload, etc.
It seems we’re all faux-living through these updates and almost missing the point of living entirely. I’m exhausted from just thinking about all of the Twittering, Facebooking, Instagramming, Emailing, Blasting, that I need to be constantly doing all day after or in addition to actually writing my own material.
How much is TOO much? When does social media take the place of really living and being present and content in this moment?
OK, Rant over! Just some thoughts!
xoxo,
Olivia
Sometimes I can get a bit self-conscious when promoting my blog through Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, etc. But I know that if I want my blog to grow and prosper, I have to get over this.
Have you seen Chiara Ferragni on Instagram ??? She has 1,137,000 followers!!!!!!
Daisy, thank you for saying that because it is SO TRUE. It’s one of the reasons I hardly come on IFB anymore, I actually just logged in to reply to you and say GO GIRL!
If you want to be a successful blogger, just be YOU, be as much YOURSELF as you can be, and if success and fame follow, bonus, but if it doesn’t at least you were true to yourself.
I totally agree. I would have expected content to be the main role. This is what worries me the most when I started my blog. I blog about DIY projects but I keep being told/pushed to do ootd.
Great tips. I am looking to focus more on my blog to one day make it into a career. I’ll definitely use these. 🙂
Not only did I gain great pointers for posting on instagram, I found some really awesome new blogs to follow! Thank You for posting this.
xo
Maggie
Love Mavin
Completely agree with you…I feel blogs can be about so much more, yet so little of it gets used for something more…shame…loved this comment!! x
All these bloggers are gorgeous and I also find the amount of likes they get is so impressive!!
Layla xx
www.sprinklesofstyle.co.uk
I’m following most of the famous blogger instagrammers, I looove Song’s of style instapics, there always interesting! Thanks for the handy tips 🙂
x J. iatenoodlesforbreakfast.blogspot.com
Love love love Leandra! It’s original!
I follow all of these lovely ladies and agree, they have amazing and truly inspiring Instagrams.
Ah, this looks so heartifb ! You bad student, you, not doing your homework, However, I think you look amazing! Favori Fashion !!
I follow a few of the popular bloggers you have listed. The only challenge I foresee is the frequency since I haven’t transitioned to being a full time blogger. This is fantastic insight though into what can make a successful blogger. Love it!
Bellisima Fall Style Digital Colors: valette danae lazawn kamico vaughn
Since Im looking for more interesting blogs to follow on instagram, I find this blog quite useful. And a great list you got here. Thanks a lot.
i am an IRANIAN girl.i love u re pics a lottttttttttttttttttt
hi
guys its image is very nice. i am convince by this image.
Lovely tips! Enjoyed reading the post 🙂
Mode Leben – http://dasmodeleben.blogspot.com/
I love all of the fashion bloggers you mentioned. Also Chiara Ferragni of the blonde salad is a good blogger to follow on instagram. Don’t know how fashion bloggers survived without instagram before ! Its a great way to keep in touch with what your favorite bloggers are up to.
Xx Elle
Amazing blogs but one thing i noticed is that most of them dont have overwhelming ads on their blogs like some bloggers do. I am impressed and inspired by them.
I lost hope with my lifestyle blogging cos of all the cliques within lifestyle blog (i wont mention their names they know who they are – mainly the home decor lifestyle ones – most of them so snobbish you comment on their site with nice compliment and ask for them return pleasantries and they ignore you – and they dont even have but less than 15k followers) and treating newbies like non entities and that you dont belong to their click. I am going to shush my blog and start blogging again. I wont give up this time.
I am impressed with what i read on this thread, i checked out each and everyone of them, the key is great photos, responding to your visitors on comments and keeping it simple, not many ads and stuff, I like this a lot.
Amazing tips!
I’ll do it!
Thanks.
I have just started my instagram account but I can already tell the numbers will be different there instead of on my Facebook page. Thanks for the great tips!
Peace and Balance
Luv Lee
http://reallydarnlovely.blogspot.com
Hi, I’m writing my university dissertation on the relationship between fashion magazines and fashion bloggers. I’d love for some of you guys to get involved and tell me your thoughts. Please fill out this quick survey for me- it will take 2 minutes and I know that you guys will have plenty to say about it!
https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/RCDVNQR
Thanks, Emma Rose
xxx
Compared to Twitter it can be really difficult to build a quality following on Instagram! There are some great accounts to follow here… Thank you for the tips! xx
These are great tips. If you guys are looking for a great interior/home design blog – look at “OhJoy” – she has great posts, and now a Target party collection!
Please check out my instagram: instagram.com/dashingindisarray.
I like instagram very much. It’s too user friendly. I absolutely love this post.
Great tips!
Great tips! Thanks!
What a fantastic article! Thanks for this – keep up the good work!
I feel like 5 is alot, no?
Great tips, and great instagramers omg !
I find instagram so stressful which stops me from posting very often
Anybody else has that problem?
Oh gosh i just checked their instagrams out, they are amazing, wish my instagram feed was as awesome and inspiring as theirs! i thought the instagram trend might be dying soon, but apparently not.
http://mowo.bloggersdelight.dk/
I loved this post!! I am new to the fashion blogging world but I am loving every minute of it. Fashion inspires me daily an I use it to express myself through my sense of style. I don’t think the instagram trend will be dying out anytime soon it is a great way of gaining followers!
-Roxanne Carmen
http://www.myfashionontherox.com
This was a great read, short, simple, and sweet; and still informative. As a previous insta-only blogger I had often thought about the breakdown of successful bloggers IG feeds before and honestly I use to get a little discouraged, because I (like many others) don’t necessarily have the same kind of access to DSLR cameras, designer clothes, or high-profile celebrity events. So you can help but second guess your self and think, “Why not me?” But then I switched up my mentality: “Why NOT me?” I started getting more creative with angles and filters and content, hash-tagging more, getting more descriptive, and definitely saw a difference in my follow/readership by expanding to a broader audience… Anyway. I love the take-aways you have listed here. They’re akin to what I was trying to employ before, but I’m definitely going to think/sit on them more. Definitely a useful article here! Thanks so much for posting it!
xx Coco Kailee
The elegance in handling details can make a man and a woman different from the crowd and they are distinct. Having the idea to make a personalized gift makes the cufflink for anyone who receives it unique.
Great advice thank you xx
I love the tips..im just starting out as a Fashion blogger..Check out Lux life Fashion daily & Haute Black Stilettoes on Facebook..coming soon to Instagram and twitter..
wow… really great to know. Since I’m a really beginner blogger (not sure even I can call myself so yet) I’ll immediately follow them all! Thank you so much for the tips♥︎
I can’t believe I follow all of them!! I just opened an instagram account for my blog and I’m trying to get more followers. This is great advice to achieve that goal. It’s been hard, though. I cannot remember how I got the followers I have with my personal account, but then again, I guess it’s all people I know. Any advice on how to get more followers?
xx
Taylor, thank you for the insightful and entertaining article! Although, it’s taken me 2 years to view this (sloth problems)…You’ve highlighted habits that I will definitely attempt to adhere to. Instagram has proven to be a powerful platform for all of us fashion bloggers. And, yes I do agree with the fabulous ladies who commented earlier about staying true to yourself. I think Chiara Ferragni is an excellent example of this, and ahem, she just happened to make $8 Million in 2014.
As Big Willie from Masterchef said, “Your attitude determines your altitude.”
Let’s keep aspiring to be better and share our passions to all those that are interested.
Feel free to connect with me!
I love this post!
I follow many bloggers on IG and I always want to have the same impact with the audience… Thanks for sharing with us 🙂
www.marisolflamenco.com
After reading this post, I feel like I need to up my Instagram posts, I’m lucky if I post 1 picture a week, let alone 2-3 a day! I worry people will get sick of me posting if I do it constantly! Also ive never heard of any of these instagram accounts, but I’m going to check them out right now!
These Fashion Bloggers always introduced new something we often visit on their profiles to found some different on their new look fashion style
what a great summary! I started with blogging only a month ago as a way to capture all what inspires me and to share it with others. If it makes a difference with anybody else great, I am so happy.
Starting this I was of course faced with all the social media (i mean you need a list of your passwords and other data just for that) and instagram is very interesting. They say, being popular on instagram is like being rich in monopoly. For sure you can fake a lot…but still I also enjoy in some great creative moments captured by some rare users I follow. The rest is just to filter filter filter and put anybody out who seems narcissistic and does not add any value…
I post something when my eye detects something interesting, beautiful or worth of memorising. Do not count my publications per day so lets see where it takes me…:)
glowhunters.com
love this post!! x
http://loveheartsandprettyflowers.blogspot.com.au/
What a great article. We absolutley love it!
I feel like the only blogger on earth who doesn’t have Instagram. I would love to have it, but if I’m right, I have to have a smartphone, and I don’t. Unfortunately I can’t afford the data account right now. I’m actually quite a good photographer, though, so maybe I’ll start posting some of my landscape and nature photos on my blog. I never thought people would be so interested in things like that. I think that soon I’ll be able to afford a smartphone data plan. I hope that Instagram is still popular!
Donna
I am also a blogger belongs to fashion background. This is very helpful and informative blog. I have learned many things from this blog. I’ll definitely acknowledged all the things.
Check out my blogs also on The Fashion Yard Website.