Instagram can be a difficult beast to master, especially for those new to the platform. If expanding your reach and growing your following are among your goals, it’s helpful to turn to the pros for Instagram tips and guidance.
Since the app first burst into our lives in 2010, its popularity has been so massive that it’s created an entirely new job title for creatives looking to share their work: the influencer. While it’s a running joke in pop culture to determine precisely what influencers are paid for, their continued success has shown that creating content can be a legitimate career.
Whether or not you’re looking to make Instagram your main source of income, the fact is that influencers have cracked the code on what it takes to be successful in this app. This guide brings you all his secrets, tips, and tricks so you can post like a pro.
Instagram Growth Tricks
Do you have difficulties increasing your number of followers? Try implementing one of these Instagram tips into your social media strategy.
Tip 1: Get notified when your favorite people post
Instagram is all about engagement, and the current algorithm favors accounts that are actively using the platform. Go beyond replying to comments on your posts and ensure you regularly engage with your favorite accounts by setting up post notifications.
This is how you do it:
- Open Instagram.
- Navigate to the account profile you want to receive post notifications from.
- Open a recent post.
- Tap the three horizontal lines at the top right of the screen.
- Select Turn on post notifications.
That‘s it ! You’ll get a direct notification every time that account posts a new post.
Tip 2 – Follow Feature Accounts
A great way to get your content in front of more people is to post it to a featured account. These profiles collect and curate content from other profiles based on a specific hashtag or niche. They tend to have large following and high engagement rates, which can be great exposure for accounts with smaller audiences.
Find feature accounts that represent your niche and follow them. Turn on post notifications to comment, like, and share your content regularly. Many of these accounts will ask you to send them a direct message if you want to be featured or to use your account’s hashtag.
Tip 3 – Add a keyword to your name to show up in more search results
This simple trick can lead to great results as long as you narrow down your niche.
Instead of using your first name as your Instagram profile name, use it as an opportunity to expand your reach by adding a keyword. So instead of “Joe Smith,” you could use “Joe Smith, New York Portrait Photographer” or “Joe Smith Travel Photos.” It’s only 30 characters long, so use your keywords wisely. Here’s how to change your Instagram name to optimize it for search.
Tip 4: Take advantage of related account suggestions
Many people discover accounts to follow through Instagram’s Suggestions for You feature. To earn a coveted spot in this section, you need to follow accounts related to yours in terms of location, niche, and content.
For example, if you’re a Los Angeles wedding photographer, you’ll want to follow ( and interact with ) other Los Angeles wedding photography accounts.
Tip 5 – Stay active on the app during algorithm peak times
As many professionals know, the Instagram algorithm loves to see accounts engaging on the platform within the first half hour of posting a new post. Many influencers have “breached” this pivotal moment by engaging with other posts 15 minutes before posting and 15 minutes after.
However, avoid using this Instagram tip fraudulently. Only engage with accounts related to your content or content that your followers might like. I like posts, follow accounts, and leave thoughtful and intentional comments. Instagram will see right through the accounts that comment “great!” on many posts before posting.
Instagram Story Tricks
Stories have given influencers a whole new way to showcase their personalities and give their followers deeper insights into their lives. Because Stories can be so popular, it makes sense to take a few ideas from the influencer Stories manual.
Tip 1: Zoom with one finger
Have you ever had trouble zooming in on your subject while recording a video through the Instagram Stories camera? Struggle no more with this time-saving zoom trick:
- Open the Instagram app.
- Open the Camera of Stories located at the top left of the screen.
- Press and hold the shutter button at the bottom center of the screen to start recording a video.
- Slide your finger up on the screen to zoom in and slide your finger down to zoom out.
And that is! Thanks to this trick, you can say goodbye to the awkward two-finger pinch method.
Tip 2 – Access the entire color wheel
A true Instagram professional is not limited by the default color palette provided in the story editing tool. Follow the steps below to Tips the entire color wheel:
- Open the Instagram app.
- Open the Camera of Stories located at the top left of the screen.
- Shoot with Camera Stories or upload your content from Camera Roll.
- Press the text or drawing button at the top right of the screen.
- Tap the color wheel at the top center of the screen.
- Long press on any of the color options below.
- Slide your finger across the color gradient and release when you find the color you want to use.
The first row of colors will give you a full rainbow and a vibrant range of tones, the second will give you more muted tones, and the third will reveal a larger grayscale to choose from.
Hashtags are just as important in your Stories as in your posts. And while you may not see them, influencers use them all the time; they have become very good at hiding them.
Follow these steps below to hide hashtags from your story:
- Open the Instagram app.
- Open the Camera of Stories located at the top left of the screen.
- Record with the Stories camera or upload your content from the Camera Roll.
- Press the text button at the top right of the screen.
- Write your hashtag.
- Move and resize the text to fit a part of your photo with a solid color.
- Highlight the text.
- Tap the eyedropper icon at the bottom left of the screen.
- Move the eyedropper to match the color of the photo.
And voila! The hashtag will blend in with the color and be invisible to your viewers as you expand your reach.
Tip 4 – Post Multiple Photos to a Story
Have you ever wished you could share multiple photos in a single story? This trick will let you do it without using a third-party design app. That is how:
- Open your Camera Roll.
- Select one of the photos you want to use.
- Hit the share button at the bottom left of the screen.
- Select Copy Photo.
- Open the Instagram app.
- Open the Camera of Stories located at the top left of the screen.
- Select Create from the list on the right of the screen.
- Tap the text box.
- Hold down and tap Paste.
You can use this trick to display as many of your photos as you like or to create an artistic collage effect. The result is up to you.
Tip 5: Use the background color you want
Just as you are not limited to a standard color wheel in your story texts and drawings, you can use any background color you like.
Here’s how to change the background color of your story:
- Open the Instagram app.
- Open the Camera of Stories located at the top left of the screen.
- Shoot something random with the Stories camera or upload a photo from the Camera Roll. Just make sure the image includes the background color you want to use.
- Press the drawing icon at the top right of the screen.
- Hit the eyedropper tool at the bottom left of the screen.
- Hold it over the color you want to use.
- Quickly tap your finger on the color once and hold it down.
If you follow those steps, the entire background of your story will change to the color of your choice.
Instagram Posts and Bio Tips
Posting consistent, professional, and aesthetically pleasing content is the golden rule of Instagram. However, you can use some additional strategies to bolster your posts and profile to attract more followers.
Tip 1: Manage your Instagram filters
Have some filters you love (or ones you could live without)? This tip will show you how to manage your Instagram filters, so the ones you use most often are front and center:
- Open the Instagram app.
- Press the + button at the bottom center of the screen to create a new post.
- Upload your post.
- Tap Next.
- Scroll right through the filters until you reach the end.
- Tap Manage.
You can drag and move the filters in any order you like. You can also press the check mark to the right to remove or add filters from your list.
Most Instagram users know to save their hashtags ( or any additional hashtags they want to use ) for the comments section of their posts. But did you know that you can hide them from your viewers entirely?
That is how:
- Open the Instagram app.
- Navigate to your profile by pressing your profile picture icon at the bottom right of the screen.
- Select the photo you want to add hashtags too.
- Hit the comment button.
- Add five periods and press return after each one to create a line break.
- Hit back one more time and add all the desired hashtags there.
- Press Post.
Doing this will put your hashtags inside the overflow area that Instagram uses to hide extra characters in comments and captions. A viewer can still hit the […] symbol to see all the hashtags, but at least it removes them, so they don’t appear directly below your post.
Tip 3 – Use the pinned comments feature to expand your caption.
Instagram limits captions to 2,200 characters, and sometimes that’s not enough.
Many influencers use the comments section to amplify their captions. The problem is that the extra text can get lost in a sea of other comments. Keep this text front and center by pinning your comment to ensure it appears above all others. That is how:
- Open the Instagram app.
- Navigate to your profile by pressing your profile picture icon at the bottom right of the screen.
- Select the photo you want to pin a comment to.
- Swipe right on the comment.
- Press the pin button.
You can pin up to three comments on your photo. Instagram allows 300 characters per comment, so that’s an extra 900 characters for you to use.
Tip 4: Don’t litter your photo with photo tags
You already know how important it is to tag relevant accounts in your photos. But to keep them from looking less cluttered, do what influencers do and keep all of your tags in one corner of your image. This gives it a cleaner, more professional look for your followers to see.
Tip 5: Add line breaks to your caption
Line breaks rank high among the underused features that separate amateurs from professionals. Lately, Instagram seems to have allowed line breaks in post captions without any extra effort. But if you still can’t add them, follow these steps:
- Open the Notes app on your iPhone.
- Type your title with as many line breaks as you like.
- Select your title (line breaks included).
- Open the Instagram app.
- Press the + button at the bottom center of the screen to create a new post.
- Upload your post.
- Tap Next.
- Choose a filter if you like.
- Tap Next.
- Tap the title box and select Paste.
- Press OK.
- Fill in any other post details and hit Share.
While it may seem like influencers with 500,000 followers and brand deals have the whole social media thing figured out, the truth is, it’s anyone’s game.
As long as you are consistent, active, and authentic in growing your audience, your chances of “making it ” are as good as anyone else’s. Try the Instagram tips above, get creative with your content, and followers will follow.
