The fishing community is growing stronger every day on Instagram, and it’s a great way to show off your catches to people who actually want to see it!

So if you are looking to grow your fishing based Instagram account, I have some simple suggestions that should see some steady growth.

1. Like other peoples photos: One of the easiest ways to get people to interact with you, is to interact with them! Jump on and start liking other peoples fishing photos, it’s that easy.

2. Leave positive comments: People love when you take the time to leave them a comment on their photos. Instagram is a very visual and positive environment and one of my favourite social media networks to be apart of. Leave a comment and people will more than likely comment back and potentially follow you.

3. Follow for a follow: Jump into the community, use hashtags to discover people who fish on Instagram. People are more likely to follow you if you follow them.

4. Be active: When ever you go fishing, put up some photos! It doesn’t take long, but put a little effort into the photos and you’ll more than likely receive some praise from the community for your efforts. It doesn’t matter if it’s a small fish, a photo of your reel and rod, scenery or a sunset, just keep it interesting. If it’s based around fishing people will find it! Also make sure you put up a little story about your photo, but keep it short.

5. Use #hashtags: There’s no easier way to be found than using appropriate hashtags on your photos.  Don’t over do it, try and be selective and use a maximum of 6 hashtags. Also try creating your own hashtag (ours is #lureaddictscom) for your brand and encourage others to use it. Below is a list of my top 6 fishing hashtags for Instagram:

1. #fishing = 9,675,896 photos currently using this hashtag
2. #fishingtrip = 112,351 photos currently using this hashtag
3. #fishinglife = 111,238 photos currently using this hashtag
4. #fishingislife = 50,041 photos currently using this hashtag
5. #fishingpicoftheday = 43,055 photos currently using this hashtag
6. #fishingaustralia = 34,867 photos currently using this hashtag

6. Invite friends: Instagram allows you to find friends that already exist across social networks you have connected. Go through and find out who else you know is on Instagram and get them follow you.

I guess a 7th point would be to not get sucked into buying followers in the hope of looking bigger. Not only is it really obvious, but it isn’t a good look and most people can tell. 10,000 followers and only 50 likes on your photos? Don’t fake it!

Over the last 3 months, @lureaddictscom has gone from about 1,700 followers to now almost 4,500 real followers. If you’re reading this, than make sure you tag us in your photos and give us a follow! http://instagram.com/lureaddictscom/