6 Tips for killing it on Instagram. (Not your average social media blog post)

If you hate bunnies, and just want to hear the Instagram tips – hop (pun intended) down to third paragraph.

Hi! My name is Chantal and I am a digital designer/creative working at OBM, the Dutch department of 24SevenSocial. For two years, my house has been enlightened/destroyed by two bunnies; Bilbo and Ragnar. Bilbo and Ragnar are free roam bunnies. This means that they don’t have a cage, and walk freely around the house. (I know what you’re thinking, and yes, they are potty trained) Because contrary to popular belief, bunnies are intelligent creatures. They can learn tricks, be potty trained and sometimes even outsmart you.

Bunnies are the living, breathing definition of cuteness and are very photogenic. To prevent my friends and family from stalking them with adorable bunny pictures, I created separate Instagram accounts for them. This way I could save and show pictures without overloading my phone and friends. Little did I know I’d go down a rabbithole and be inside the wonderful world of #bunny.

The hashtag #bunny has been used over  6.377.937 times (and counting). And no, it’s actually not flooded with Playboy Bunnies. You will find numerous wonderful accounts dedicated to people’s bunnies. Some accounts have even more than 800.000 followers. Other bunny owners have made a business out of their bunny just like a human celebrity; magazine covers, events, virals and so on.

Through #bunny, I have learned precious Instagram lessons that I teach my clients. Here are some tips:

• Post regularly. You need to be top of mind. My best experience is to post a minimum of three times a day (yes, I am fully aware that it seems that I have no life).

• Use the right (amount of) filters. The most popular filter on Instagram is Mayfair, the least popular is Hudson. Never set your filter opacity to 100%. You need it to complement the picture, or else it looks fake

• Hashtags are a great way to be found on Instagram. Use a couple of popular hashtags, and create your own! But don’t use too many hashtags, or it will become unreadable for your followers. Use hashtags that will increase your chances of getting regrammed, which will lead to more followers.

• Communicate! Instagram is a community, not a one way street. Interact with your followers: ask them questions, set up challenges, follow other accounts, tag people (or bunnies) in your photos, be creative!

• Stay original. In a world of countless similar accounts, you will have to make your mark. You can stand out with original photography, your tone of voice, giveaways or creative use of your Instagram grid
• Don’t want to wait your pictures to go viral, or your account to grow organically? Use Instagram ads, and run them with 24SevenSocial. Our clients still see low click prices- and great boosts in new followers when ads are run.
• Have fun! Experiment!
  

Follow my bunnies Bilbo and Ragnar, because they are small enough to be cute and cute enough to take over the world!