According to eMarketer’s recent forecast, revenues from Instagram s mobile ads may reach $2.81 billion two years from now, surpassing Google and Twitter. If this prediction comes true, the photo-driven social network site can soon become the next mobile marketing giant. Naturally, this will call for new digital marketing strategies from online businesses who seek to become more competitive.

As Instagram makes itself a more attractive platform for digital advertising, additional features will be rolled out to cater to users growing demands. These new marketing tools include direct response, ad buying, and audience targeting features. Instagram s parent company Facebook will be lending a number of features to make the site more advertiser-friendly.

While brands would surely celebrate the new advantages of this emerging trend, this also translates to an even stricter competition. Are you confident with your brand s Instagram advertising strategy? Follow these tips to help you get more likes and followers on Instagram.

1. Use bright, filter-free photos.

On a study of almost 1.5 million photos on Instagram, social media expert Dan Zarrella found that photos that look bright get more likes than dark photos. Although he didn’t analyze why, we could speculate that this has something to do with clarity. Photos that didn’t use a filter are also more popular than those that used one. If you really want to use a filter, however, like-generating ones are “Willow,” “Valencia,” and “Sierra.”

2. Call-to-action captions work best.

Mobile marketing is all about motivating your online customers. If you want to engage your Instagram followers, encourage them to interact with you by adding a call-to-action prompt in your captions. Simple, direct lines that urge them to like your posts or comment on them can do wonders in getting your customers to respond.

3. Tagging people helps.

Instagram allows users to tag up to 30 people in a single photo. The same study by Zarrella found that the more people you tag, the more likes and comments the photo generates. So why not maximize this feature to level up your Instagram advertising approach? Tag people who may be interested in your post. They might not just “like” it, they may even share the content with their friends.

4. Images with faces get more likes.

In his study, Zarrella used a face detection algorithm and found that photos with faces generate more “likes” from Instagram users. Perhaps this has something to do with how we crave social interactions as human beings, or it just makes photos more interesting and relatable. So, make sure to incorporate a human element in your Instagram posts whenever possible.

5. Cool colors, such as blue and green, are easier to the eye.

Don’t overuse highly saturated photos. Although they are catchy, more users still prefer cool colors that are friendly to the eyes. Shades of blue and green are generally more inviting and easy to look at. Thus, they are more effective in drawing viewers’ attention.

Instagram advertising will be the center of all mobile marketing activities a few years from now. The basic tips given above will help you create a user-focused approach to boost your ad strategy, gain more likes, and get more followers.