This is how Instagram filters can be used to increase the number of followers.
One of the reasons why social networks like Instagram are often criticized is that, it is said, thanks to these virtual platforms “anyone can become famous”. These kinds of opinions have a grain of truth, but they miss a lot.
It is true that compared to the days when Instagram did not exist, it is much easier to gain an audience by being an ordinary person: without a spectacular talent to do something, without a lot of money, and especially, without important contacts in the world of show business, professional sports, art, etc. But at the same time, it cannot be said that the great influencers we know today are by chance, by a stroke of luck.
What happens is that, since social networks are something recent, these people have carved out their audience using new strategies. Strategies that most people don’t even notice or recognize as ways to gain followers… like Instagram filters . If you want to know to what extent these can be used to gain followers on Instagram, keep reading.
The psychological keys by which using filters helps to gain followers on Instagram
No, Instagram filters are not just an entertaining functionality or one that only serves to make us feel pretty. They are an example of how Augmented Reality (the technology that allows us to modify the images captured by a camera or add details) can be used to achieve objective benefits. So, let’s see what are the main reasons why Augmented Reality resources such as Instagram filters and effects help gain followers.
- They help tell stories that connect with followers
Instagram filters and effects are another narrative resource. What does this mean? Well, thanks to this, in fractions of a second we can start telling what we want to express, simply by modifying the image of what our smartphone’s camera captures. For example, thanks to Augmented Reality we can create short stories embodying, ourselves, various characters in dialogue with each other.
There are also cases in which, thanks to Instagram trends, both the users who participate in them and those who have developed the filter used in that fashion gain followers. An example of this: the helmet brand Livall creates a raffle based on using its Instagram filter and, from this, a trend is generated that still lasts: people begin to use that virtual helmet to explain moments of their lives in those who had to face difficulties (hence the need to wear protection): for example, when they finished their degree and faced the world of work, when they turned many friends against them for giving an unpopular opinion, etc.
And it is that Instagram trends also serve so that, by relying on something that has become popular and that users already know how to interpret, we can create original content adapted to our way of being, exposing our Instagram profile to many other people . and maximizing that what we do becomes viral . In this way, taking advantage of a trend that people already understand in advance is combined with generating interest and expectation when asked what will be our way of versioning that fashion.
- They can be used as virtual makeup to improve our image
It is no secret that in social networks, the image is very important; On many occasions, the ability to retain the audience that visits our profile or our publications is a matter of a couple of seconds , in which people decide whether to continue viewing an Instagram Story or move on to the next.
But that does not mean that we should always conform to specific beauty canons through filters; The important thing is that thanks to Augmented Reality we can find the look with which we feel most comfortable, and this is expressed in the confidence with which we express ourselves and the perseverance with which we can generate content for our followers.
- They can be used to offer a layer of anonymity
The filters that we apply to ourselves through Augmented Reality can not only influence our behavior by making us feel more favored; They can also make us feel more sure of ourselves by giving us an “extra anonymity” if we modify the appearance of our face. The possibility of being able to put on dark glasses or even a mask without having to buy a real one encourages many people to create content without giving in to the fear of showing themselves to thousands of people.
And this not only makes it possible for those people who would not even consider it if they had to clearly show their face to gain many followers; In addition, it allows you to express yourself with greater self-confidence and without the limitations of “what will they say”, which is one of the keys to connecting with the audience.
- Some filters offer content based on gaming
If we do a little memory, we will remember that one of the keys to the success of streaming platforms like YouTube during the time when it was making its way and was basically known by young people (it still did not appeal to people of all ages or was considered an alternative to television) was gaming content, videos about video games.
Something as simple as playing a video game could make us gain a large audience in a short time. And today, there are many influencers who dedicate part of their day to day to broadcasting their games live.
Why is this happening? Because it is relatively easy to do, it helps to create original content by relying on virtual environments designed by professionals (and designed to attract attention and “enter through the eyes”), and generates a tension between the viewer and the screen, by empathizing with the player before the challenges that the game proposes.
Well, this logic also works on Instagram, albeit in a shorter and more compact format. Another of the characteristics of Augmented Reality applied to social networks of this type is that many of its proposals are, plain and simple, fun, and allow you to create “engaging” content in just a few seconds .
A clear example of this can be found in the filters that have been designed as small video games in which we play with facial movements, facial expressions, etc. In fact, these “mini-games” can practically be adapted versions of very famous games, such as Flappy Bird, Pong, and other proposals in which the playable mechanics are simple.
- It is relatively easy to create filters adapted to what we offer
Finally, and although this is not yet an option that is taking full advantage of it, we must not forget that creating an Instagram filter or effect is not very complicated, and there are already several companies with specialists in creating them on request, and proposals such as Filtroo , the only platform that rewards users for using Instagram filters.
Thanks to this, we can have Augmented Reality resources adapted to what we are looking for, which are in line with our aesthetics and allow us to offer our followers content adapted to what they expect from our social networks, going beyond the limitations of the physical world. . Something as simple as, for example, putting on a “virtual” hat in which our logo or Instagram username is visible, gives those who follow us constant reminders about who we are and where they can find us on the Internet .