If you are using Instagram for promoting your business, you must stay updated with all its features. Social networks change all the time. By the time you get comfortable using the existing features, some new update occurs and you have to change your social media strategy accordingly. Nevertheless, these features are important if you want to reach towards more audience and create engaging content.
You don’t always have to begin with buying Instagram Followers to make your account engaging. If you use the Instagram features right, you can build an engaging profile whether you are running an individual or business account. Here are some Instagram hacks and features to hold on to:
- Use the carousel style posts for showing off your products
This feature has been around for a while, but if you haven’t used it yet, it is time you do. If you are launching a new product or collection, then you can share multiple photos and videos of the product in a single post. This is how you can add a carousel post:
- At the bottom of your screen, tap on the ‘Plus’ icon for uploading a photo or video
- You can add multiple photos by tapping on the ‘Select Multiple’ icon.
You are free to use a mixture of photos and videos for increasing engagement on your Instagram posts.
- Use full-size images
You can also add landscape or portrait photos and videos on your news feed.Pick the right image size for your products to stand out from the crowd. It is recommended to see what size and style work best for your audience. Normally content management systems like WordPress have mechanisms to resize your image to standard sizes.
- Customize your Instagram stories with colors
Instagram stories are a great way of showing your business personality. You may already be using it for promoting your campaigns, events, and products. Did you know that Instagram also lets you customize the story colors? Here is how it’s done:
- On the upper right-hand corner of your screen, tap on the ‘Aa’ icon. A brush tool will open up.
- You will see a color slider at the bottom your screen
- To choose a custom color, swipe across the slider
You can also create a solid color for the background of your stories. Here is how you do it:
- Tap on ‘Aa’ icon, select a color and tap and hold the screen for 1 to 3 seconds till the screen’s color changes
- Create story highlights to show stories for a long time
Your followers can see Instagram stories for 24 hours only. But what if you have a story that deserves some more time and attention? Fear not, use stories highlights for this purpose. This feature lets you save stories in the same space on your profile page. Wondering how it’s done?
Just click on the ‘New’ button with the plus icon below your profile image. Now, select the past stories from your album. Give it a cover photo and a name to display it on your profile page. To remove the highlights, just tap and hold the story down.
- See the posts your followers/friendsliked or commented on
This is a remarkable feature for a business. It will help you discover new people to follow too.
To view the liking and commenting activity of your followers, tap on the heart iconon your screen below. Click on the tabnamed ‘following’ to see the activity of the users you follow.
This will give you a clear picture of what kind of content your followers want to see and then you can target them accordingly.
- Use Instagram as a photo editor
There lots of Instagram filters that let you edit photos your way. Before using the photo editor, go into your Instagram’s ‘Setting’ and turn on ‘Save Original Photo.’So, upload the photo, edit it and then click ‘share.’
- Drive traffic towards your website
Those who are marketing on Instagram often complain that they are not allowed to use clickable URLs expect in the bio. Even if you add a URL in the photo’s caption, it will appear as a plain text. The user will have to copy the URL in the browser to open it. But what if I tell you there is asneaky way to still drive traffic to your website? Just get people to visit your Instagram profile. For that, you will have to write such a caption that your visitors can’tresist visiting your profile. You will have to keep on updating the URL likes Smmpoint.com in the bio to point yours to the intended product, video, content or offer.
- Pin Instagram posts to Pinterest
Except for Facebook, Instagram does not give users the opportunity to integrate their account with other social media accounts. But you can still pin your Instagram story to your Pinterest. Here is how you do it:
- Tap on an Instagram post to view it fully.
- Now tap on the 3 dots at the right of the image.
- Choose ‘Copy Share URL’ for attaching the link of your picture to your clipboard
Open your Pinterest app in mobile, select the ‘+’ icon to add a new pin.The menu there will show you the option of adding ‘Copied Link’ to a new pin. And you are done.