Now if you’re new to instagram or you’re just trying to understand it better, you are in the right place.
If you’re a visual learner, I have a video up as well!
When you open the app, it first takes you to your feed. This is where you’ll find photos and videos from people you’re following as well as advertisements. Unlike Facebook which gives you recommended posts, your Instagram feed is only based on the people you’ve chosen.
On the top of your feed, you can see Stories. These are a fantastic way to connect with your audience. Stories stay up for 24 hours at a time.
When you reach 10,000 followers, you’re able to add a swipe-up link to your stories!
Instagram in the upper left hand corner brings you back to the news feed.
New Post
On the right side, the plus sign is for a new post.
Once you add your photo, you can add filters, edit the lighting, etc. this hasn’t changed much through the evolution of Instagram.
When you hit next, you can add your caption, location details, and tag other accounts. You can also add a business partner if you’re working with a brand in the post and have your IG business account set up. (I have a whole video on this right here!)
Don’t forget to put a “.” or emoji between the lines of your caption. For example:
I’m over here doing a tutorial on the IG interface!
.
Comment below and say hey!
You can also use up to 30 hashtags. From what I’ve found, it’s best for the algorithm to leave them in the post rather than using in the first comment.
You have the option to crosspost to other platforms as well!
Activity
Next to the plus sign is a little heart.
This is where you will find all of your notifications. New followers, likes and comments show up here in chronological order.
Chat
This is where the one-on-one conversations can happen. Messages are split up into Primary and General, so you can organize your messages based on whether you talk to someone a lot or if they had a one-time question.
Message requests are from people you aren’t yet connected with. You can accept or deny any message requests.
Explore Page
The little search bar icon brings you to the explore page.
This is the discovery feature of instagram. This is based on your individual activity and what you interact with on the app. You can also go further into a specific category.
Scan code
This is available if you want someone to easily access your account. You just hold this up to their phone and the link will come up.
Reels
These are Instagram’s version of TikTok that just rolled out a few months ago. Reels are a great way to make fun, informative content for your audience. You can do challenges, new funny trends, etc. you can also save a reel for inspiration by clicking the 3 dots under and hitting save!
Instagram is really pushing Reels in the algorithm, so they can definitely help if you’re looking for growth.
Shopping
This is again based on brands you follow and engage with. You can easily access the website from this. It’s great to utilize if you have a product or online store!
Profile
And lastly is our profile.
The username is where you may switch accounts if you have multiple pages that you manage.
The plus sign is to create a new post again. It could be a feed post, story, story highlight, IGTV video, reel, or guide.
The three lines are the ins and outs of our account.
When there’s a circle around your profile picture, it means you have a story up.
Your biggest POW is in your first few lines of your bio. You want to tell someone about you with a quick glance at their page! Try to stray away from having to click ‘more’ to read your whole bio.
Edit profile is pretty self-explanatory.
Promotions and insights are other features of the IG business account.
All the circles are Stories Highlights. As I mentioned before, stories only have a 24-hour shelf life, so if you want to keep them relevant, you can save them to a story highlight.
Your page is then divided by your own grid, your reels, your IGTV, and your tagged photos. The feed is very important to establish your brand.
I highly suggest making a brand board that decides on a few fonts, colors, and an overall look and feel.
You can decide whether or not Reels and IGTV videos show up on your grid. I suggest posting them on your feed because they will get much more traffic!
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