Social media can be a powerful marketing tool, and a strong example of that is Instagram.

It is a widely popular app that enables users to post pictures, add hashtags, and quickly share posts with others.

Part of Instagram’s appeal is it’s visual, free, and really easy to use. This allows for better interaction.

“Social media is something you have to do. If you’re not doing it, you get left behind,” says Seth Hill, former pro snowboarder and now action sports videographer and filmmaker.

Hill lists a few tips to find Instagram success:

• Find a niche. Instagram users are passionate, typically more passionate than other social media participants.

• Use hashtags. “People search with hashtags,” Hill says. Hashtags help people find you. When you’re first starting, use hashtags to find influencers to follow. You’ll stay abreast of your market and industry, and many people will often follow you back, helping you build a following.

• Interact with influencers. On Instagram, users are involved with people they follow. If you have “influencers” who love your products or services, leverage their reach and impact.

• Time your posts. “The biggest thing I’ve noticed to doing well on Instagram is timing,” Hill says. “It doesn’t really matter what the photo is. If I hit it at the right time, I get more likes. I could post exactly the same photo at different times of the week and get 75 likes or 150.” Hill tends to post before 9 a.m. on weekdays, when people are checking their phones before they go to work.

• Post regularly. “Post at least once a day to build a following,” Hill says. “That shows you’re always active. You don’t necessarily have to be posting what you’re doing at that very moment. You can post a pic from another day. It doesn’t have to always be live.”

• Keep it interesting and on topic. When followers visit your account, they see your six most recent pictures. “Rotate those pictures to keep them interesting,” Hill says.

• Use video. “Video does really well,” Hill says. According to Instagram, users’ video consumption has increased by 40 percent in the past six months. The site recently increased its video length limit from 15 seconds to one minute.

• Don’t get too hung up numbers. “If I post a photo that is more brand-oriented, like a snowboard or outfit from one of my sponsors, that gets fewer likes. But it’s definitely being seen,” Hill says. “It gets the same number of eyes. It shows up in my followers’ feeds.”