Making Instagram pop

Instagram features enough pictures of food and puppies for a lifetime, and that's just fine. Many people use it specifically to share family snaps with loved ones and keep their accounts private.

But for those interested in the more social side of the photo-sharing app, Instagram enthusiasts interviewed for this story offer a few tips for making your photo stream more intriguing:

• Snap photos that illustrate your life and tell a story. Give people a behind-the-scenes glimpse of your hobbies or vacation or (with the boss' OK) your job.

• Use hashtags in captions to draw more people to your photos or to find others you'd like to follow. For instance, adding #minnesota or #sunrise to your photo will group it among those that pop up if someone searches those terms.

• Be friendly and share your enthusiasm for others' pictures by "liking" or commenting on their shots, even if you don't know them personally. In turn, other Instagram users -- sometimes total strangers from the other side of the globe -- will likely do the same for you.