8 Things You Should NOT Be Doing on Instagram

By   Rob Nightingale  

With its myriad features, it’s no surprise that nearly one billion people now use Instagram to share their favorite photos and videos.10 New Instagram Features You Need to Know 10 New Instagram Features You Need to KnowInstagram initially made a name for itself with its filters, but the social network keeps adding new features -- and some of the latest ones look awfully familiar.READ MORE

The app has become a firm favorite for photographers, artists, foodies, and travelers to share their best work. And it’s a place where millions go to find creative inspiration and behind-the-scenes glimpses that are unique to Instagram.

When done right, Instagram can provide you with a mass, captive audience who can’t wait to see your next post. “Doing it right” means knowing how to:

• Take a great photo
• Attract more likes and comments
• Discover the best hashtags for your niche
• Build a real following

When it comes to figuring out how to have more than just your friends and family follow you on Instagram, however, knowing what you should be doing is only half the picture. You also need to know what not to do. Keep these Instagram rules in mind to see your profile become more popular.

1. Don’t Post Sub-Par Photos

This isn’t to say each of your photos needs to be worthy of a place in National Geographic. It’s more a matter of looking at your shots, critiquing your photos, and developing an eye for what’s actually Instagram-worthy.

Your shots should invoke emotions and show people something new: unlikely to be found elsewhere. Food photography should make people hungry. Travel photography might give people wonderlust. Behind-the-scenes photos should leave an impression. A feed full of these kind of photos is a feed worth following. 

If you’re feed doesn’t look like this so far, don’t worry. Starting today, be more particular when picking photos. Alternatively, you can always archive photos that you don’t think are up to par.

2. Don’t Go Too Off-Brand

If you’re simply using Instagram to share photos with friends, post whatever you like. But for wider appeal, you’ll need an overarching theme or style so people know what to expect.

Roel van Wanrooy, for instance, exclusively posts stunning photos of abandoned buildings. Laura and Nora of FoodStories have their own, unique style of food photography (see below). Mark Brook usually posts images of his comic book art.

Popular feeds like these have their very own aesthetic. If other users get that aesthetic, hitting follow suddenly becomes an easy decision.

3. Don’t Forget to Caption

It’s no secret that posts with captions attract more engagement than those without. Just adding a little context, like Peter McKinnon does, is all that’s needed. You could also ask a question, share a story, or include a call to action. But whatever you do, don’t leave the caption blank.

Image Credit: @PeterMcKinnon

This is one of the most basic Instagram rules; blank caption gives no incentive for people to interact. Plus, it makes it less likely that people will just happen on your profile while browsing Instagram.

4. Don’t Ignore Hashtags

Always including a caption doesn’t mean just hammering out a ton of popular hashtags, hoping a few more people will see your shots. Going overboard on some of these non-specific hashtags (#love, #instagood, #like4like, etc.) will usually result in spam comments and followers.

Instead, only use hashtags that are relevant. By this, I mean those that you’re confident your ideal audience will be keeping an eye on. Don’t start turning #every #word #into #a #hashtag. And don’t start #inventingyourownhashtag.

There are no concrete Instagram rules about hashtags; around five relevant hashtags is the general rule of thumb. Some people say over 10 is overkill, but there is no conclusive evidence that you’ll see any downsides from including 20, as long as they’re relevant.

Check out this list of 100 popular hashtags to see if any are closely relevant to your own style of photos (if they’re not, don’t use them). Otherwise, just try typing a range of hashtags within Instagram. You’ll then be given a selection of related hashtags to choose between, along with the number of posts that include that hashtag.

5. Don’t Ignore Your Followers

If you’re receiving genuine comments on your Instagram posts, don’t ignore them! Become comfortable with interacting with your followers, and they’ll soon become true fans, perhaps recommending their own network to follow you too.

As your profile becomes more popular, people may reach out with collaboration or interview requests, and their questions and insight could fuel your creativity.How the Internet Can Make You More Creative than Ever How the Internet Can Make You More Creative than EverMany say that the Internet is killing our creativity. But isn't creativity a choice. Thanks to the array of tools available to us, the choices are unlimited. Motivate yourself to creativity with these ideas.READ MORE

6. Don’t Be Inconsistent

Too many Instagram users pepper-spray their followers with a ton of posts all at once, then fail to show up for a week or two.

This might be more convenient for you, but it infuriates the hell out of your followers. One day, a ton of your photos are clogging up their feed. Next day, you’re gone. When you finally reappear, they’ve forgotten who you are, and decide to unfollow you. Not cool.

Instead, be consistent with your posts. Upload one or two posts per day (anything over three tends to be too much), so your followers have a chance to get to know you and your style of posts. The most convenient way to do this is to schedule your Instagram posts in advance. My favorite way to do this is with Buffer.4 Easy (and Legit) Ways to Schedule Your Instagram Posts 4 Easy (and Legit) Ways to Schedule Your Instagram PostsWhen you hear the term "Instagram Scheduling" it means sending you a reminder to post the image. There are a number of reputable apps that offer this function. The top four are detailed below.READ MORE

7. Don’t Follow People You’re Not Interested In

An overused way to grow an Instagram following is to follow a ton of people, hope they follow you back, then unfollow them. It may work to an extent, but it’s hella time-consuming, and completely disingenuous.

Use Instagram how it was meant to be used. Search for creative, fantastic profiles. Follow the ones you love. Ignore those you don’t. Curate a feed you can’t help but browse.

This is thankfully how most people use the platform. They use Instagram’s discoverability features to hunt out new profiles to follow. So don’t try to game the system. Just create a feed worth following, and give it a helping hand by linking to it on your other social profiles or website.

8. Don’t Ignore Analytics

If your Instagram account is a business account (you’ll need to link your account to a Facebook Page for this), you have access to some basic, but useful analytics.

You’ll be shown a breakdown of your follower demographics (sex, age, and location), including when they are most active. You can also see the impressions and reach of each of your posts, to see which ones really resonated. Keeping an eye on all of this will help you to more consistently choose the right kind of posts for your followers.

Follow the Instagram Rules to Become a Pro

Unless you’re a popular celebrity who attracts fans wherever they set up a social media profile, you’ll need to stick to a few basic rules, and avoid some gaping mistakes like these, to really succeed at Instagram.

Fail to do this, and you’ll only ever have your mates and siblings liking your photos. If you’re happy with that, that’s fine. But if you’ve read this far, I’ll assume you want to take your Instagram profile to the next level. I which case, heed this advice, be patient, be persistent, and always try to improve on what you’re publishing. You can’t go far wrong.

What mistakes have you made on Instagram that other people should avoid? And what have you done that’s helped you to take better photos or to grow your following?

Source: www.makeuseof.com

This Is How You Gain Followers on Instagram

By  Anya Zhukova 

Among all the social media networks available today Instagram is probably the most exciting one. People sharing and exchanging pictures of beautiful moments and things in their life. What could be more positive and inspiring?

How to Use Instagram for Photography Inspiration (And Who to Follow) How to Use Instagram for Photography Inspiration (And Who to Follow)Check out these 10 famous photographers from all over the world who regularly share their creative content on Instagram. If you enjoy art and aesthetic beauty, you're going to be impressed.READ MORE

However, if you’re new to Instagram, posting pictures and receiving nothing but a few likes and comments from your (Facebook) friends can quickly become a depressing experience. But of course, it doesn’t have to be like that. Time to upgrade your strategy. These 10 amazing hacks will help you get more followers and become an Instagram star:

1. Identify your niche and create your own unique style.
2. Post the right content at the right time.
3. Get other users’ attention by using creative captions.
4. Always stay on top of your hashtag game. And don’t forget to mix them up.
5. Engage your target audience.
6. Get your friends to help you grow your following.
7. Connect with big influencers in your niche and learn from them.
8. Use call to action to engage your Instagram followers.
9. Know your local community’s interests and use this knowledge to your advantage.
10. Cross-promote your Instagram on all social media channels.

It might be a lot to take in at once, so let’s begin with baby steps. There are some core rules you should follow in order to make your Instagram account stand out, and therefore attract new followers.How to Make the Perfect Instagram Profile How to Make the Perfect Instagram ProfileWant to create an Instagram profile that stands out and gets lots of followers and likes? Follow these simple steps to start killing it on Instagram!READ MORE

What to Do If Your Instagram Isn’t All That

Today Instagram has become a rather tricky system. With things and “rules” constantly changing, there’s not always an answer on how to make the most out of your experience on the website. That’s why we regularly find and test new and improved methods to get more (real) followers on Instagram.

Start Treating Your Instagram Seriously

Forget the low-quality pictures. Dress your feed to impress other Instagrammers: only use the photos and graphics of consistently high quality. No one built a big following on the platform with dark grainy photos from a Saturday night out.

Be consistent

Don’t leave it days or weeks without posting. Instagram favors accounts that produce new content regularly. Make it a rule to post on certain days of the week and never break it. You can use a planning app to help you stick to your new schedule. Some examples of those are Buffer, Plann, Planoly, and Later.

While following these two rules is a good start, it won’t make you the king (or queen) of Instagram. But we all know that getting a ton of followers will.

How to Get Followers on Instagram

We’ve put together a 10-step strategy on how to gain real followers on Instagram. Of course, you don’t have to follow all ten of them in order to thrive on the platform. Choose the ones that suit your style/theme/genre/niche most, and don’t forget to experiment!

1. Identify Your Niche

Finding your “niche” — your feed’s main topic/style/voice — is the first and most important step in gaining followers on Instagram. And I’m afraid that choosing “travel photos” as your niche isn’t enough. There has to be something special and unique about your photos, whether it’s certain colors, shapes, or your photos’ subjects.

James Frew, Instagram manager at MakeUseOf, says:

“An account that is all over the place, posting without a theme, is less likely to get a following. People enjoy niches, so it pays to find yours and then post consistently about it. Going off topic every now and again — especially in the Stories — is fine, but the majority should stick to what people expect.”

Once you get your theme down, you can start following accounts that are aligned with yours. It will help you gain followers interested exactly in what you’re posting, and it will be easier to engage them in what you share.

Note: You can only follow 30 Instagram accounts per hour without risk of being banned.

2. Timing Is Everything

We mentioned being consistent and posting only high-quality content as two of the main rules to growing your Instagram following. But there’s more to that.

Some researchers tried to find an answer to the question of what kind of photos to post to get the most engagement from your followers. Some suggest posting photos of everything blue, and the ones with the most light in them, other social media scientists advice to use more faces in the photos.

No matter what you post, research shows that the best times for it are 2am and 5pm EST. If you’re not planning to share photos every day, make sure you post on Wednesday to get the mid-week visibility, and on Sunday, as there are the fewest images posted on that day.

3. Use the Power of Storytelling

You know what to post and when to post it. It might be enough to keep you going on Instagram, but it’s not enough to turn you into a network’s superstar. There are a few ways to enhance the content you share — one of them is captions.

Use captions to tell a story about your picture. Ask your followers a question. Ask for feedback, tips, or advice. Or, on the contrary, share your own insights. All of those things are bound to get you more engagement with other Instagrammers.

James Frew on Instagram tools:

“Instagram seems like a fairly simple app — a main feed where you post your best pictures, and stories where you can post anything you want and it’ll disappear after a day. However, there are so many different ways that you can use the features to your benefit. The best way to learn new techniques is to follow other Instagrammers and see what they do.”

4. Stay on Top of Your Hashtag Game

Master the use of hashtags — besides great pictures, they might be the most important tool for gaining followers on Instagram. Use hashtags that are known to help increase followers like Follow Friday (#FF), #l4l (Like for like), #instafollow, and #followback.How to Find the Best Instagram Hashtags to Get More Likes and Followers How to Find the Best Instagram Hashtags to Get More Likes and FollowersHashtags are how your photos show up in the "Discover" tab, how other people find pictures, and they lead to more likes. But you probably need some help on using the right hashtags.READ MORE

It’s also important to research your hashtags have a mix of more popular and less popular ones. While your goal is to reach as many people as possible, you also want to use hashtags specific enough they will reach the audience you’re looking for.

For example, there’s no point of using #instagram that has over 131 million posts. Your post will last on a user’s feed with that tag for about 0.001 seconds. You want to find hashtags with the number of posts in tens of thousands (ideally, anything from 20,000 to 100,000 posts). It both has enough posts to have a decent reach and is precise enough to limit its reach to your target audience only.

Note: Use the full 30 hashtags and post them in your first comment rather than in the caption.

5. Build Your Tribe

Another very important aspect of growing your following on Instagram is how you engage with your followers. Instagram ranks accounts that get a lot of likes and comments in the first 15 minutes higher. It also gives preference to posts that users share with each other via DM.

Always aim to have great content that people will love and want to share, like, and comment on. But don’t be afraid to reach out yourself first by commenting, saying Hi, or liking other people’s stuff.

Author Neil Patel suggests you like hundreds of random photos from people in your target audience. Using this strategy he found that for every 100 likes he did, he received 6.1 more followers.

6. Get Your Friends to Help

Ask your friends that you already have on Instagram to help you get more exposure. All they need to do is like and/or comment on your posts in the first 15 mins after the content being posted.

The aim of the game is to boost your posts up and create more chance for them to appear in the Explore section for even more exposure to new followers.

7. Think Big

Instagram is great for networking. You can use hashtags and tags to connect with big influencers in your niche and learn from them. It could be individuals with an extensive Instagram following, big companies, brands that you’re using, magazines, or photographers.Learn from the Best: 14 Brands Killing it on Instagram Learn from the Best: 14 Brands Killing it on InstagramThere are many brands making the most of Instagram and offering up some great content in the process. We've put together a selection of 14 of those brands, listed below in no particular order.READ MORE

Note: Be a little cheeky and ask an influencer to mention or tag you (or your product). While there’s no guarantee that this will work, if it does it will likely bring you many new followers.

8. Excite Your Followers With Clever Calls to Action

Like other social networks, Instagram is built for a dialogue. Don’t just broadcast your content, find ways to get your followers’ response. What do you want people to do with your posts?

Once you figure that out, try and make it sound fun or clever (or both). If used right, call to action can be a great way to get your Instagram content shared and even go viral.

James Frew on engaging the followers:

“Running giveaways/shoutouts/requests for comments and then posting the best in your stories and tagging the users means that people get excited by your content and the allure of maybe getting featured keeps them coming back.”

9. Act Local

Get to know your local community’s interests by using geotagging in your posts. When you geotag your photos, you’ll get noticed by other Instagram users in your region. A great way to get the attention of local Instagrammers.

If you go to the Search page and choose Places tab, you can also see what’s trending right now in a specific area. That could be your neighborhood, your city, or an event in a certain location.

10. Cross-Promote Your Instagram

There are countless ways to promote your Instagram online, and for free.

Start by syncing up your Instagram with your Facebook page, Twitter, Youtube channel, etc. Mention your Instagram name across your other social media accounts, and in your email newsletter (if applicable). Create your own branded hashtag and encourage your followers to use it both on Instagram and other social media channels. All of this will lead to more exposure and, ultimately, more followers for your account.

Putting Theory Into Practice

With that knowledge in your pocket, we’re confident you can win the hearts of thousands of Instagram followers in no time at all. Whether you’re new to Instagram or already have some experience of using it for marketing purposes, we’d like to hear from you before you go.

How popular is your Instagram account? How many followers do you have and hope to reach in the future? How do you get followers on Instagram? Did it help you increase your following? Share your experiences with us in the comments below.

Source: www.makeuseof.com

Social Media vs. Boredom: Never Waste Your Time Again

By Christine Chan  

Even though there are so many things available to us through just our fingertips these days, it’s only human nature for us to get bored. Fortunately, we have social network sites that allow us to broadcast our boredom to our friends and family, or even remedy the problem.

But where do we even start? There are many popular social networking sites, such as Twitter and Facebook, and each one has their own set of things that you can do to entertain yourself or even become more productive. Thankfully, we’re here to help.How to Use Twitter How to Use TwitterTwitter can be overwhelming at first, but we're here to help you make sense of it. Here's a complete guide to using Twitter and understanding how it works.READ MORE

Facebook

When you think of social networking these days, the first thing that may pop up in your head is definitely Facebook. After all, Mark Zuckerberg is one of the richest people in the world, and he accomplished that by creating one of the biggest social network phenomena around.

However, with Facebook, you may think of it as just the place where your family and friends post random status updates or photos from their latest get-together. But it can be so much more than that, and even a great place to learn new things.

Join Groups

We all have various interests and hobbies, and chances are high that there’s a Facebook group for whatever it may be. You can look for groups just by typing in a key term in the Facebook search bar.

With Groups, you can think of them as mini-communities within Facebook. People in a group can communicate with other members of the group through posted discussions and photos, share related content, and even organize events and activities. It may seem like just another thing that may clutter up your News Feed, but Groups can be a valuable information resource, as well as another way to socialize with other like-minded individuals.Folks, It's Time to Delete the Facebook News Feed Folks, It's Time to Delete the Facebook News FeedIt's time to get rid of your News Feed. It's more a distraction than anything else. Here's how (and why) you can delete it.READ MORE

For example, when I got my Instant Pot, I found the official Instant Pot Community group (with over a million members) to be a great group for recipe sharing, tips, and tricks for my handy kitchen appliance. I’m also in another group for my car, and I’ve gotten ideas for improvements to make down the line, how to DIY certain things, and other discussions.

If you spend any time on Facebook, then joining some groups can be a productive way to pass the time.

Watch Facebook Video

When you don’t feel like being productive and just want to pass the time, then Facebook Watch is the answer. To access videos, just tap or click on the “Video” button in the tab bar or side menu.

In Facebook Watch, it consolidates all of the videos from friends and pages you follow. This is a lot easier than trying to find them in the News Feed, because let’s face it, the Feed sucks and is a mess.

You’ll also find sections like Most Talked About, What’s Making People Laugh, Popular Now, and more. There’s even suggested videos based on your viewing history, so it’s like a rabbit hole effect.

There’s even some Facebook original content that’s only available on Facebook Watch. It may not be the highest quality entertainment out there, but when you’re bored, it’s interesting enough.

Check the Marketplace

When we’re bored, some of us like to shop. Facebook’s solution for that is the Marketplace. Think of it as Facebook’s own version of Craigslist, and you can do it all without ever leaving Facebook.15 Ways You Can Use Craigslist to Make Money 15 Ways You Can Use Craigslist to Make MoneyCraigslist is a massive site with tons of opportunities for making money. Here are 15 of them, from totally sensible to borderline crazy.READ MORE

As you browse the Marketplace, you can set the range for listings that you view, from two to 100 miles. Honestly, I like checking out whatever listings by default since I’m not looking for something in particular, but you can filter results by category and price. Item listings usually include at least one photo, and if you’re interested in something, you can click it to view more detail and contact the seller.

With a new year ahead of us, it may be time to get rid of junk you no longer need. Using Facebook Marketplace is a great way to do that. Facebook makes it easy to list an item for sale, so you can start going through your home and post things within minutes. Who doesn’t want to get some extra cash, am I right?

Instagram

Instagram, which is now owned by Facebook, is the social network for photographers.10 Things You Didn't Know You Could Do On Instagram 10 Things You Didn't Know You Could Do On InstagramWhile Instagram's main functions continue to be easy to access and use, there are several options, tools, and third-party apps that most of us don't even realize are out there!READ MORE

While you can always post your own photos (our guide to creating the perfect Instagram profile), you may end up spending more time browsing than posting. After all, Instagram is a great place to find inspiration for your own future creative photos.

However, ever since Facebook bought it and changed the algorithm so that posts are no longer in chronological order, it can be a mess to go through. You may find yourself seeing posts from friends that you’ve missed from a few days ago, and then there are the sponsored ads. Boredom may occur. Fortunately, there’s plenty to see on Instagram.

See Your Friends Stories

Instagram likes to constantly remind you that it has the Stories feature because it’s a persistent ribbon at the top of your Instagram feed. While you certainly don’t have to make your own Stories (though we have some tricks you should know about), it may be worth checking your friends’ Stories.How to Use Instagram Stories Effectively: Basics, Tips, and Tricks How to Use Instagram Stories Effectively: Basics, Tips, and TricksInstagram Stories is the photo-sharing giant's take on Snapchat. The purpose is to add a new layer of fun to your images and videos. Here's everything you need to know.READ MORE

The ribbon at the top shows you which friends have posted a Story recently. Since Stories are only available for 24 hours, the ribbon shows you their Stories in chronological order from newest to oldest. Just tap on the one you want to look at, and then it will start going through all of the moments in the story before moving on to the next one.

Sometimes you’ll follow accounts that are starting a live stream. If you happen to catch them when they broadcast, live streams also show up in the Stories ribbon but have a “Live” tag. Watching these helps remedy the boredom issue.

Use the Explore Tab

As you’re on Instagram, you’ll probably end up liking many posts that you see in the timeline. Instagram uses this information to personalize the Explore tab for your tastes.

In Explore, Instagram shows you a Stories ribbon of top live streams and Stories based on your locations and interests. You’ll also see an assortment of images and videos that Instagram thinks you may like, and scrolling through is like a bottomless pit, as it loads indefinitely as you get to the bottom. When you’re bored, it’ll be easy to lose yourself here for a while.

Instagram also allows you to search in the Explore section as well. With the search bar, you can search by people, tags, and places. After you use the search feature, the “Top” section remains populated with both suggested and recent searches, letting you know if there’s anything new. When you search for tags, you can follow them specifically, which is nice when you’re looking for certain images or themes.

Snapchat

While Snapchat’s incredibly popular with the teens, that doesn’t mean adults can’t enjoy it too. In fact, it’s a fun network for anyone to be on who enjoys sharing their daily lives with others, and we even have some tips for new users, along with some tricks you may not have known about.7 Reasons Snapchat is a Teenager's Favourite Social Network 7 Reasons Snapchat is a Teenager's Favourite Social NetworkThe latest craze amongst the adults of the future is the secretive photo-sharing service Snapchat. Why do they love it?READ MORE

But if you’re bored, you may not have anything interesting at the moment to share with your Snapchat friends. Fortunately, Snapchat can still entertain without requiring your participation.

Discover New Content

Snapchat is actually full of great video content that you may not be aware of. To get to this content, just swipe to the left from the camera view, or tap Stories.

Your friends’ recent updates show up here as well, but underneath will be all of the Publisher Stories and Shows, along with Our Stories, created by the Snapchat team themselves. You can browse by Featured, Shows, Our Stories, or Daily Stories in Netflix-like ribbons.

Another option is to swipe left once more for Discover, which gathers up all of these video clips into a more magazine-style interface.

When you find a Story that you want to watch, just tap on it. If the publisher used multiple clips to create it, you can tap on the screen to navigate through them.

Step Up Your Selfie Game

If you’re on Snapchat, you probably care about selfies and aren’t there just to watch other videos. Even if you’re bored and have nothing else to do, trying to capture your next perfect selfie is one way to stay busy.

The best part about Snapchat is that the selection of filters and lenses changes daily. That means something new every day, and a lot of Snapchat’s augmented face lenses are downright wacky. When you’re bored, taking selfies just comes naturally with the territory, and Snapchat makes it unique and interesting.The Full Snapchat Filters List and the Best Ones to Use The Full Snapchat Filters List and the Best Ones to UseIf you want to pick the best Snapchat filter for your photos, you should know what options are out there -- and we've got you covered.READ MORE

It’s also worth noting that there are hidden Snapchat filters too, so keep an eye out for those.

Twitter

When Twitter originally started in 2006, it was that social network where people posted pointless status updates. You know, the ones where you tell the world about that sandwich that you just ate for lunch.

Flash forward more than 10 years, and Twitter has evolved into something a bit different than its beginnings. Crafting the perfect tweet is an art in itself, and now it’s probably one of the first places online where news breaks.Do You Know How to Create the Perfect Twitter Post? Do You Know How to Create the Perfect Twitter Post?Almost everyone knows how to use Twitter. But what if you're trying to kickstart a new Twitter account? What if you're trying to break into a new field and need to meet some like-minded folk?READ MORE

There are plenty of interesting and popular people to follow on Twitter, but what if that’s not enough? Boredom can strike anywhere, anytime, even on a microblogging network.

Check Out Twitter Moments

If you use the Twitter website or official apps, then you’ll have access to Twitter Moments. With Moments, users get curated stories that showcase what’s happening on Twitter right now. Think of it as getting the news from Twitter, without having to follow individual news accounts.

When you view Moments, by default you end up in the “Today” section. This highlights the popular moments from the day and is a great way to get caught up on the things that everyone’s talking about. If you’re bored, then a peek here’s guaranteed to kill some time while learning something new.

If you’re more interested in checking out what’s hot in specific topics, there’s “News,” “Sports,” “Entertainment,” and “Fun.” Just diving into these sections is like a rabbit hole, so get ready to discover something new, useful, trivial, or pointless, depending on your perspective.

Other users (relatively few are from Twitter themselves) create Moments, but need high engagement to show up on the front page for everyone to see. The Moments displayed are also constantly changing, so if you’re still bored, check again for new content.

For those who have more time available, you can even make your own Moments. Just give it a title, description, and add in your own images, videos, and tweets. For tweets, you can throw in tweets you’ve already liked, or add by account, search, or adding a link.Use Twitter Moments to Curate Great Stories in Tweets Use Twitter Moments to Curate Great Stories in TweetsWith Twitter Moments you can do tell your story exactly as you wish: creating a slideshow of tweets that tell a story that you want to share.READ MORE

Reddit

You may or may not have heard of Reddit (our complete guide), which describes itself as “a source for what’s new and popular on the web.” Essentially, Reddit boils down to being a collection of links on the internet, and one of the best ways to find interesting content.

If you’re bored, then Reddit is one of the best places on the web that you can go to. There’s plenty to see and do here, but let’s break it down.

Find Subreddits

As you know now, Reddit is a giant collection of links and media. The front page of Reddit shows what’s trending from the more popular Subreddits, such as r/funny and r/news. But the real fun with Reddit are the sub-communities that it consists of, also known as subreddits.

Think of subreddits as forums centered around a specific topic. In a way, it’s similar to Facebook Groups that were previously mentioned. These are communities of individuals who have a common interest and share things that they think others would enjoy, as well as join in discussions with one another.

Anyone can sign up for a Reddit account and submit a post, but you’ll need to submit it to a specific subreddit first. No matter what interests or hobbies you have, chances are there’s a Subreddit for it. Each community has their own set of guidelines and rules for new submissions and comments, so make sure to check them before you post.

Once you find some subreddits that match your needs, it’s easy to become absorbed into them and browse for hours.

Subreddits to Check Out

If you need some ideas on subreddits, here are some of my favorites:

• /r/Apple: A community for all Apple news, rumors, and discussion
• /r/gifs: Links to amusing, interesting, or funny gifs from the web
• /r/technology: Where Redditors share and discuss latest developments, happenings, and curiosities in the world of technology
• /r/aww: A Subreddit for cute and cuddly pictures that make you go “aww!”
• /r/EatCheapAndHealthy: Are you on a budget but want to eat healthier? This community can help you out with delicious meals that don’t break the bank
• /r/InstantPot: Where Instant Pot owners can discuss, debate, divulge, digress, and digest
• /r/Wallpapers: When you need gorgeous new desktop wallpapers, this Subreddit has a ton of good ones
• /r/videos: A place for video content of all kinds

Hopefully, those have given you a good start on thinking about the Subreddits you’d want to check out and subscribe to. We also found some of the kindest communities on Reddit too, in case you just want some positivity in your life.The Kindest Communities on Reddit The Kindest Communities on RedditThere are a lot of really great people on Reddit – here's where you can find them.READ MORE

Get Randomized

Whether you’ve already subscribed to some subreddits or not, Reddit’s Random feature is a fun way to discover something new.

With Random, Reddit will randomly pick a subreddit for you. These random picks may lead to something weird, interesting, amusing, entertaining, or even educational — you just never know. If you don’t mind the element of surprise, then Random is a great way to get rid of boredom.

If you’re part of some subreddits but don’t know which one to visit, you can also use MyRandom. This option randomly picks one of the subreddits you’re subscribed to and takes you there. It’s a good way to rediscover a community that you may not have visited in a while.

Still Bored?

Boredom can be a curse for some, but thanks to social networking sites, it can be easily remedied. One may think that there’s nothing left to do on these networks besides the usual, but there’s a ton of options out there, especially if you want to learn or discover something new.

What are your favorite things to do on social networks when you’re bored? Have any other boredom-killing tips for others? Let us know in the comments!

Image Credit: SIphotography/Depositphotos  Source: www.makeuseof.com