6 tips for 'Instagrandmas' on how to become popular on Instagram

Step away from Facebook and get off Twitter: when it comes to social networks, Instagram is the fastest-growing of them all, and the only place to see and be seen (or post and be tagged, in online parlance). But it is no longer the preserve of snap-happy tweenagers.

Last week, US presidential candidate Hillary Clinton joined the photo-sharing site with a debut shot of her trouser suits arranged in patriotic red, white and blue.

We shouldn’t be surprised that 67-year-old Hillary has embraced it so enthusiastically. Now Instagram is five years old, with 300 million members, it has become all grown up. It’s not just underwear models, Katy Perry and the Kardashians posting selfies. Oh no. But Instagram has its own unwritten rules and etiquette.

Here’s how to rise above the masses and become popular — or, in the case of Hillary Clinton, the First Instagrandma.

1) Delegate, delegate, delegate

Do you think Hillary Clinton ironed those trouser suits herself, casually snapping a pic before uploading it to Instagram? Of course not. It took 18 hours’ worth of strategy meetings to plan the First Photo.

Writers threw away dozens of drafts before deciding on the perfect caption (“Hard Choices” - the name of her book, see what she did there?) and lighting specialists were called in to create that warm ambience. Hillary is a busy woman, after all, without time to fret over such details.

If you don’t have any interns to hand, enlist a social media-savvy grandchild to show you the ropes and point out the right people to follow.

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2) Go easy on the special effects

There are 19 different Instagram filters that can add special effects to your photos.

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That was the appeal of the social network in the early days — your terrible snap of a tree could be transformed into a David Hockney. But Coco Chanel’s fashion maxim (“Before you leave the house, look in the mirror and take one thing off“) also applies to social media: remove at least one special effect before you post a photo.

Don’t overload on the hashtags, either, as this will make you look like an over-eager teenager. Stay classy with one or two — #love and #beautiful are the most popular choices, if you’re stuck for #inspiration.

3) Avoid the dreary

Instagram isn’t reality. It’s not even a photogenic version of reality. So go easy on the quotidian. No one wants to see your daily shopping or daily medication. Though this rule can be broken if there is a dash of drama to your hospital visit.

Dave Grohl, the 46-year-old lead singer of Foo Fighters, who fell off stage mid-gig last week, uploaded an X-ray of his broken leg.

If in doubt, pets and children are ludicrously popular. Hillary has already uploaded two childhood snaps and an adorable note from a nine-year-old. That’s the spirit.

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4) But don’t overdo it

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Hillary, you are oversharing! Twenty-four pictures in your first week is pushing it. The worst Instagram faux pas — the one most likely to lose you followers quicker than Bill Clinton denying sexual relations — is to post too many pictures. Three a day is plenty, especially if it is another shot of Hillary at a podium. #Yawnsville.

5) Share the Instagram love

Instagram is a bit like being stuck at a rainy Wimbledon Centre Court when Sir Cliff is “entertaining” the crowd.

The only way to cope is to stay positive and pretend it’s all marvellous. That means “liking” lots of other people’s photographs. Be generous with your support, and hit the “like” button for any image that’s vaguely well lit, or has a child riding a bicycle.

And, by the way, Hillary only following one person is very poor form. How can you be part of the conversation if you are only talking, not listening?

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6) Beware tagging

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UK Prime Minister David Cameron became a victim of Instagram “friends” when his sister-in-law uploaded a photo that showed him barefoot and fast asleep in the background of the shot. Emily Sheffield had meant to make the photo private and share it with just eight people, but unfortunately, the image went around the world.

For damage limitation, keep an eye on the “photos of you” tab on your profile, which shows pics that others have tagged you in. You can request to hide photos from your profile but, if the image is unspeakably awful, you’ll have to ask the user to remove it from Instagram entirely.

The only way to be absolutely safe from bad hair pics on Instagram is to make sure you’re perfectly coiffed at all times. But surely that’s par for the course for any tech-savvy Instagrandma.

The Daily Telegraph

18–06–2015