Unless you've been living under a rock, you know what Instagram is. This photo sharing app allows you to showcase the highest points of your life. Even if you aren't an Instagram-obsessed millennial, you can't not care about the number of likes you get on a picture. You posted that picture because you thought it was cool, so let's hope other people share that opinion.

Here are some tips to help you step up your Instagram game.

1. Post at the most optimal times.

While there is no one time when all of your followers will be on Instagram at the same time, know their time zones. For example, even if you?re travelling in Europe, you have to post at a time optimal for people back home. Based on research, there are some general recommendations to use as a guide:

-Anytime from Monday to Thursday except from 3 p.m. to 4 p.m.

-Wednesday at 5 p.m.

-Weekdays between 6 a.m. and 12 p.m.

Generally speaking though, if your picture is genuinely interesting content, it will gather likes?just depend on when you?ll get the rush of likes.

2. Try using a Boomerang.

Videos can be annoying, and some people won?t have the patience to wait for a long clip to load. However, with Boomerang, you can record video burst of up to 20 frames. The app then speeds and loops these clips, creating a fun, fast-forward-rewind effect. Use a Boomerang to capture motions such as beach waves, dance moves, or funny faces. This?ll add movement to your feed. Another bonus is that ?unlike picture posts, Boomerang shows the number of views but not the number of likes; that?ll take the pressure off for you.

3. Use editing apps like VSCO.

Editing can make a huge difference, especially with landscape photos. With a little bit of extra exposure, contrast, and saturation, those trees taken in your background could like they?re from the Amazon rainforest in Brazil. However, there?s a fine line between editing that simply enhances and editing that completely changes. People will notice if you used Facetune to erase all of your pores; no one is made of porcelain. People will also notice if your dark brown mountains are an unnatural orange shade. Keep it real, folks.

4. Maintain an aesthetic that shows your personality.

UNUM is a free application that helps organize all the photos you want to post before actually uploading them to Instagram. With free square grids on your feed, you can see if the photo matches your flow. When creating your aesthetic, make sure it?s true to yourself: have original captions and showcase pictures that reveal your interests.

5. Don?t be basic.

While the pink Paul Smith wall on Melrose is cool, odds are that your followers have seen it many, many times before. Of course, everything you post can?t be completely eye-opening, but you can try to surprise your followers. Instead of posting a classic picture in your swimsuit at the beach, why not post a picture of you rollerskating down the boardwalk? Post pictures of you doing ?unconventional? things.

Custom Tobacco gives you the opportunity to customize your very own cigars. The cigar band is completely unique to you. Make plans with your friends to design cigars and go to your favorite spot to smoke them. That picture is guaranteed to be original!