3 tips on how to make the most of your Instagram Feed

Being a visual person, Instagram is by far my favorite social media channel. It doesn’t only provide the chance to connect with like-minded individuals from all over the world, but it lets you stalk your next employer from an insider point of view, or it can also be a huge source of inspiration when it comes to travelling and discovering new places. Even with its limitations, it can widen your horizon in many ways. From unknown holiday destinations to new job possibilities, there’re so many ideas you can gain from this online community.

1. Look up your future employer/employee

When sending your job application to a new company, you are curious about a thousand things. Besides the salary and the vacation scheme, you’re also keen on knowing what types of colleagues are there, and what’s the general vibe in the office. That’s why after sending in my resume, I dive right into the given company’s Instagram feed. This tactic probably works best with startups, but can also be applied to bigger companies. Most businesses use Instagram as a channel to offer a sneak peek into their social events and company culture, making it a perfect place for outsiders to get a feel of the brand and the people behind it. A great example of this is IDEO or Lunar.

IDEO’s Instagram Feed is a good example of strategic employer branding.

Needless to say, it also works vice versa. Whenever I am doing recruitment, I tend to stalk the relevant candidates on Insta, see what they are into in their everyday life, and most often follow them through our company profile. This way recruitment can also help our company’s follower base grow – from the relevant crowd.

2. Get major travel inspiration

Got yourself into the holiday mood, and you are free to pick the destination? Do yourself a favour, and before you land on Skyscanner with all of your excitement, conduct a 20-minutes inspirational research on Instagram. This can be done in various ways. If it is a last-minute trip that you’re boarding tomorrow, you can browse through the live stories by location or relevant hashtag, to see what is going on in your desired area.

If it’s a vacation where you get to decide on a destination and able to do some planning in advance, then dive into the feed of your favourite travellers and travel blogs. Accounts like @whatifwetry or @tranatravels are a major inspiration of mine. When I really want to go off the beaten track, I usually follow the steps of @nicischindler or @hobolaptop, some of my favorite wanderlusters. When you search for hashtags, make sure that you are specific (and creative) enough to get some relevant results. For example, instead of #italy, try to look for #cinqueterre, instead of #holiday, try to type in #girlslovetravel or #sunsetlovers, and so on.

By using Instagram as a kind of travel guide, I already ended up in a hobbit village just 20-minutes from downtown Copenhagen, a beautiful thermal spa in Budapest, or a magical spot in medieval Bruges. And I wouldn’t know any of these places if it wasn’t for my Insta Feed.

3. Be part of a community of like-minded people

In general, hashtags focus attention, increase commitment and the effectiveness of posts, profiles, and marketing campaigns. In a world where we tell our stories through them, #liveauthentic, #traveltheworld, a strategic approach to hashtags is crucial to fully exploit their potential. General hashtags might have bigger search volume, but they also mean more noise and competition. Don’t get lost in the hashtag factory, choose your tags accordingly to your specific goal.

Western Australia with #passionpassport.

Take advantage of the fact that these days it is possible to follow not only users, but also hashtags on Instagram. This feature enables you to follow handpicked topics, specific moods and styles, not to mention that it is also a great tool for keeping track of your competition in a particular niche.

In the case of a strong and beloved brand like Envii or Daniel Wellington, the name of the brand used as a hashtag itself can bond a larger community. However, if you view from an SEO perspective for your profile, it's more ideal if you find (and successfully distribute) a search tag that binds users of similar topic to a particular subject. Good examples of this are #passionpassport, #darlingescapes or #enviime.

Now tell me, who else should I follow? This is your turn to throw in your IG accounts!