Month: September 2015

Some people might see this is a bit of a controversial post. I mean, people who crave lots of likes on social media outlets like Facebook and Instagram are often called horrible names that I won’t repeat here (hint: it rhymes with ‘likeBORES’). But there’s nothing wrong with making sure more people see your post and appreciate it. With my guide to getting more likes online, you’ll be doing so totally legitimately. You won’t be flashing the flesh (unless you want to) or buying them from a dodgy place that deals with fake accounts. Here’s my guide to getting more likes online:

Research Peak Times for Each Platform that You Use

When you know the peak times for each social platform, you can post during these times. More people will see your post, and hey presto, you’ll get more likes! There’s a little contradictory information on the web on the actual peak times, so it’ll be up to you to test the theories and see what gets the best result from your friends and followers. It shouldn’t be long before you know the best time to change your profile picture or write that hilarious status!

Use Humour

Use your sense of humour in the things you post. Don’t take yourself too seriously. I much prefer using humour to taking my clothes off and posting sexy pictures to get likes. Anybody can take their clothes off and strike a seductive post. How many people can make a witty remark and make you laugh? It’s much harder to do that, so I value it much higher. You can even use things like the social meme generator to get something funny across!  

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Be Yourself

Don’t try to be anybody else but yourself. Think for yourself and post for yourself. It’ll be so much more satisfying when you see that people like you for you rather than the person you pretend to be, or somebody that you copy.

Hashtag Your Posts Accurately

When posting on Instagram and Twitter, hashtags become more important. It amazes me that to this day, people still don’t know how to use hashtags properly. Hashtags help to classify and basically label your posts so that people looking for something in that category can find it. Let’s use a pair of new black, knee high boots as an example. You take a great picture to go on Instagram, and then you begin tagging. You’d want the picture to be in categories like #Blackboots and #Kneehighboots, you could even put it in broader categories, like #boots. People who look at these hashtags will find your boots, and it could be helpful for them. However, if you hashtag things like this: #Black #Boots #Knee #High #Boots, you’re not going to get anywhere and quite frankly, you’ll look stupid. Your boots will then be in the categories, #knee, and #high. What have those individual categories actually go to do with your new boots? Nothing. Your boots will be in the midst of pictures of knees….and high things? What sense does that make? It isn’t about hashtagging every single word or having the most hashtags, it’s having the most effective hashtags.

*I don’t know how popular the hashtags I’ve used here are. I used a random example to make my point!

Like/Comment Other People’s Posts

If you comment and like other people’s posts, they’ll be more likely to comment and like your posts. More people will also find you this way. The stronger your presence, the more your profile will be viewed and have potential to get likes. Try to comment things that could be helpful. At least comment something genuine. I get lots of comments on my Instagram pictures saying things like, ‘great!’. That’s not relevant to my specific post, and I just know they’ve commented the same thing on other pictures. Make a valuable contribution to a post if possible!

DON’T Be Cringey

Whatever you do, I beg you not to be cringey. If you’re over the age of 15, do not ASK for likes. Actually saying ‘like for like’ is a little bit desperate. I know some bloggers and Instagrammers do shoutouts for each other, and that’s fine. But commenting on things saying ‘like my pictures’ is taking it too far. Spamming people with likes yourself probably won’t work either. Try to be as genuine as you can.

Hopefully this post helps you to begin getting more likes than ever before. Your pictures and posts will begin getting the attention they deserve!

Do you want to improve your cooking skills? I’m not one to toot my own horn (most of the time) but I’m pretty good in the kitchen. I don’t know how. I’ve never had lessons. Maybe it’s something that was passed down to me from my nan, who is also brilliant in the kitchen. I’m not Jamie Oliver or anything, but I just already seem to know how to do things and what will taste good with what. I might not be able to use the washing machine, but I sure can use the oven! You can become a whizz in the kitchen too, by using my fave tips:

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Start With Simple Recipes

Don’t try to start with something out of your depth. Instead, start with something fairly simple. You can find loads of recipes online that have few ingredients and only a few steps, so you don’t need to do much at all. Then, when you feel ready, you can move on to more complicated recipes. I think following recipes is really easy, and the only hard part is getting the timing right so that everything is ready together. Keep on challenging yourself and you’ll improve your skills!

Search for Tutorials Online

There are a ton of tutorials you can find online. Video tutorials will allow you to see what to do for yourself, rather than just read it from a recipe. The internet has all of the answers when it comes to learning how to cook!

Add Your Own Spin on Things

When you feel a little more confident, don’t be afraid to put your own spin on things. Is there a particular herb or spice you feel would go nicely in a dish? Then put some in and see what it’s like! Experimenting is one of my favourite things about cooking, and I always love to add unusual things to dishes to make them my own. Just make sure you measure certain ingredients out. For instance if you want to add garlic to a dish, don’t add so much that it’s overpowering. Some ingredients can be potent!

Invest in Decent Kitchen Tools

It isn’t always about the tools you use, but they can be a big help when it comes to the outcome of your efforts. You can see what the best kitchen tools are from places like www.toprateten.com. It’s worth investing as they’ll make your life easier and your dishes so much tastier.

Use Fresh Ingredients Where Possible

If you can use fresh ingredients rather than frozen or dried, then do so. Fresh citrus fruits and herbs will always be better in dishes than their dried/frozen/juiced counterparts. That doesn’t mean dishes without fresh ingredients will be bad, it’ll just help you to get the best results! They also look brighter and prettier, and you can garnish with them too.

Don’t Underestimate the Power of Salt

Salt should be used in all of your cooking endeavors to a certain extent. So many people don’t realise the importance of it; it really helps to bring out flavours of savoury dishes and even some sweet dishes. I never use table salt though; sea salt all the way for me! It’s natural and so much healthier. Sea salt tastes better than table salt too, in my opinion!

Focus on Presentation Too

Not only should you focus on the taste of the dish, but presentation too. You need to remember that if something looks gross, no matter how good it tastes, people probably won’t want to eat it. People eat with their eyes before they put anything in their mouths, so it must look nice! There are no real rules to presenting your food, so feel free to practice and get as creative as you see fit when you put your dishes together. I will say one thing though: white plates make all food look better! Plates that are too busy will take away from your presentation. Large plates, and plates of an unusual shape can make your food look much more interesting. You can stack food to avoid taking too much room up on the plate. Making sure you haven’t tried to make the dish too ‘even’ will work too. Where’s the fun in being neat and even?

I hope these tips have helped you and you feel confident enough to start cooking. The only way you’ll improve your skills is if you practice, so get started! Leave your thoughts below. Thanks for reading!