14 Instagram Accounts That Will Feature You For Massive Exposure

7 min readOct 16, 2015

Instagram is for sure the most effective visual advertising channel right now. With their impressive growth in the last few months, they got every marketer’s attention. The platform itself is build to drive more engagement than any other social platform. One of the most effective ways to get the attention of as many users as possible is to get featured on one of the popular Instagram Feature Accounts.

WHAT IS AN INSTAGRAM “FEATURE” ACCOUNT?

The “feature accounts” are on a mission to discover and share unique photography in niche communities. These curators search for hidden gems through hundreds of photos each day. There’s no doubt that their purpose is to find the best of the best and inspire their audience to create more similar art.

Everybody can join these communities. You just have to use their hashtags, tag their account or sending your creations, depending on the guidelines.

Even if your picture is not featured, by using their specific hashtags, your photos will be discovered by thousands of people interested in content just like yours.

The trick is to use the hashtags that are relevant to your content and to be perseverant.

BUT, HOW TO MAKE SURE YOUR PHOTOS ARE GETTING FEATURED?

1. HAVE A CONSISTENT FEED

For a clean and consistent look, try to stick to the same filter for your photos. It will take a lot of try and error and creativity process, but when you finally get it stick with it.

To find out which filter works best, you can use tools like Iconosquare and see what type of posts get more engagement and do more of that.

Another way to ensure consistency is to find the niche or topic that best suits you and post the majority of your content in that niche. Don’t spread yourself too thin.

2. IMPROVE YOUR PHOTOGRAPHY SKILLS

Invest in a good editing app. You’ll be impressed how much you can improve your photos with a simple filter. While you’re at it, learn a few editing tricks and improve your technique.

3. STUDY OTHER INSTAGRAMMERS THAT GET FEATURED

See what type of photos they post, the colors they use, filters and composition. Engage with them and try to learn from the best. Also, study the curation accounts in your niche. See what are their favorite types of photos and what they prefer to share with their audience. They want to keep their feed consistent, so if your photos are not in line with what they already share you will not be featured.

4. POST YOUR CONTENT AT THE RIGHT TIME

When you’re competing with hundreds of talented Instagram users for a spot on a feature Instagram account, the time of your posting in extremely important.

First of all don’t try to submit old photos because Instagram displays the tagged photos in chronological order. So your photos will not show up when people search for a specific hashtag.

Then, use a monitoring tool like Iconosquare to figure out what are the best times to share your photos. As you can see in the screenshot below, Iconosquare tells you what your posting habits are and when you should post based on the engagement you receive for each post.

Once you know when to post, it’s easy to create scheduled campaigns using tools like Mass Planner and share your photos at the perfect times.

Now, let’s see some of the most popular accounts that can get you featured and drive your own account to explosive growth.

1. @INSTAGRAM

The Instagram team is sharing each day the most inspiring pictures from the community. On top of that they have weekly challenges that they announce each Friday. On Monday morning, the team chooses nine favorite pictures tagged with he Weekend Challenge hashtag, and they share them with an audience of over 102 million users. That’s an impressive exposure for the lucky few. So, keep an eye on the challenges and submit your best work.

2. @INSTAGOOD

To submit a photo to be reviewed and featured by the Instagood team, you need to use the hashtag #instagoodmyphoto. The team behind the Instagood account is in a continuous search for creative, conceptual art, unique composition and use of colors. Each month they select a team designated with the searching and sharing the best pictures from the community.

3. @2INSTAGOOD

2instagood is a second account managed by the same team behind the Instagood account. They have pretty much the same rules: a specific hashtag #2instagoodportraitlove to use for the submitted works. Just like for Instagood they choose a team of curators from the community (you can be one of them!). The difference is that this account focuses on portraits and fashion photography. If your content is in this category, go ahead and tag your best work!

4. @JUSTGOSHOOT

The JustGoShoot team is on a mission to provide exposure to talented, underrated photographers and to develop a growing community. To join the community, you need to use the #justgoshoot hashtag.

5. @THEPEOPLESCREATIVES

Thepeoplescreatives is another feature account that shares people’s creative pictures each day. Like the say in their own description: “You create. We curate. “ Use the hashtag #peoplescreatives and you get the chance to get featured and get tons of exposure from their community of engaged creators.

6. @THEVISUALSCOLLECTIVE

The Visuals Collective team tries to bring the concept of visual storytelling through unique photographs shared by adventurous travelers. Let your imagination run free and come up with the most impressive visual stories and tag them with #exploretocreate to be featured.

7. @PASSIONPASSPORT

As you could easily guess this is a community of travelers, that love to share their memories and inspire other people to travel too. Their feed is full of unique places to visit and experience. Tag your own travel memories with #passionpassport and your pictures will get in front of a large travel community.

8. @DISCOVEREARTH

This is another Instagram account that focuses on travel photography. To share your photos, you need to tag them or contact them via e-mail. The advantage of the existence of so many travel feature accounts is that you can submit the same photos and increase your chances.

9. @THEOUTBOUND

The Outbound Collective is dedicated to outdoor activities and adventures. You simply need to tag your favorite adventures with #theoutbound and get featured by the outbound team.

10. @FOLKMAGAZINE

Another account for your authentic travel memories. Tag your creative visual stories with #livefolk and get featured.

11. @LIVEFOLK

Live Folk is similar to the Folk Magazine account. They share unique, authentic stories from around the world. To submit your photos, you need to use the #lifeofadventure hashtag or tag their account.

12. @BESTVACATIONS

While you’re at travel photos, here’s another account that might feature your creations. Capture new places or old places but from a different, unusual angle and tag them with #BestVacations.

13. @WORLDTRAVELBOOK

World Travel Book is the last travel photography oriented Instagram account on our list. Their hashtag is #worldtravelbook and for more exposure you can use more related hashtags. The account’s authors surely won’t mind as long as you submit original photos.

14. @MONOART

The travel, landscape, and colorful photography is certainly the most popular category on Instagram right now. But here are a few brave artists that want to express their stories in black and white. It’s difficult not to rely on colors when creating impressive compositions, but it’s not impossible. If black and white photography is your thing, then you should follow the Monoart account and try to get featured. Use the #monoart_ hashtag and you will find other photographers passionate by monochromatic photography.