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Instagram Features You May Not Know About

instagram features

Instagram is becoming an increasingly important tool for marketers and influencers. The number of monthly active users is more than 1 billion, and they upload over 100 million photos and videos every day, according to Omnicore. For regular users, that means a steady stream of diverse and exciting content, while for marketers it means a massive potential to promote a brand. However, the huge amount of content on the platform means it’s increasingly difficult to make Instagram marketing stand out. Now, more than ever before, it’s essential to know every feature the platform offers that may grant you an advantage.

On the surface, Instagram seems like a very simple platform to use: Take a photo, select to add it to your feed, set a filter, add a comment and post. However, the platform is rich with features, and even people who have used Instagram for years may not be aware of all the functionality available. Take the time to learn some of the lesser-known features to help take your Instagram marketing to the next level.

1. Features to Build Your Brand

For influencers and marketers, Instagram is a golden opportunity to build a brand. There are many features available to enhance your profile and ensure your posts look great while finding a wide audience.

Using the Right Type of Account:

Instagram offers three different types of account. In addition to the personal user account type, there are options for businesses and influencers. If you convert a personal or business account into a creator account, you gain access to tools for measuring engagement and growth.

To convert your account, open the menu from your profile page by tapping the three lines in the top right corner and then select “Account.” If you have a personal account, select “Switch to Professional Account” and then select “Creator.” If you have a business account, select “Switch to Creator Account.” To complete the account migration, add any other information, such as contact details and the category that best describes your field of expertise. The same process lets you switch from a personal account to a business account, or to switch back to a personal account.

Making Your Bio Stand Out:

Your account bio is your calling card. It needs to be succinct and snappy, providing all the key information so visitors know what you do and why they should care. You don’t get a lot of space to shine in the bio, so take advantage of every single character by using these features:

Link Your Account to Facebook:

If you have a Facebook page, try linking it to your Instagram account. Whenever you post new content to Instagram, the same content appears on your Facebook timeline. This is a useful way to improve the reach of each new post. However, you need to be careful not to use content that’s specific to only one platform, such as Instagram-based hashtags.

To link your Facebook account, access the menu from within your Instagram profile page. Select “Settings,” “Account” and then “Linked accounts.” From this screen, it’s possible to link Instagram to Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr and other social media accounts. Just select the relevant platform and complete your log-in details. Once you’ve linked a Facebook account to Instagram, you have three options:

Hashtag Search:

Hashtags are vital for improving post visibility. Users have the option to search for specific hashtags or follow hashtags to populate their feed with content from different creators. Instagram lets you add 30 hashtags on every post, so you have plenty of opportunity to extend a post’s reach. The important thing is to choose hashtags that target the right audience. Many programs are available to help you select the best hashtags for your marketing goals, but it’s also possible to use Instagram’s own features:

Search suggestions:

Open the search function in the Instagram app, select to search for tags and then enter a short keyword. Instagram suggests a list of tags that include your search text, along with the number of posts that have used that tag.

For example, you may want to use the hashtag #game. As you start to type this in the search engine, the app makes numerous suggestions starting with the same letters. Suggestions include #gaming (over 35.3 million posts) and #gamer (over 31.4 million posts).

This feature helps you to come up with keyword suggestions you may not otherwise have thought of. It also helps you to establish which keywords are popular.

Related keywords:

If you tap a hashtag, Instagram takes you to a feed populated by content using that tag. Along the top of the feed is a selection of “related” hashtags. These are all tags that Instagram has identified as relating to the tag you already selected, even if they use different words. For example, if you visit the #game feed, related hashtags include #gameplay, #bestgame, #programer, #players and #xbox360.

Essentially, Instagram is identifying that people who search for your chosen keyword may also be interested in (and potentially following) some of the related hashtags. This is a particularly useful feature for identifying your audience and finding new keywords.

Filtering Instagram Comments:

When you’re trying to build a family-friendly brand, you don’t really want abusive or offensive comments on your posts. As your brand grows and you have more work to do, it isn’t easy to manually go through comments and delete the negative ones. Instagram has filtering options to help you stay on top of the comments and ensure your comments section is a safe space for everyone.

To switch on Instagram’s automatic filtering system, access the menu from your profile page. Tap “Settings,” “Privacy” and then “Comments.” Tap the “Hide Offensive Comments” toggle to activate the filter. This feature uses Instagram’s own list of “banned” words to police the comments. If you have other words and phrases you would like to block, use the “Manual Filter” option.

Using Multiple Accounts:

If you’re trying to build a brand, you may be running several Instagram accounts concurrently. For example, you may have a personal account, an account for your business and then one for each of your product lines. Managing that many social media accounts takes up time, especially if you have to keep switching between accounts to make several posts a day. Fortunately, Instagram makes it easy to use several accounts on a single device.

Open the Instagram app on the device you use and select the menu option from your profile page. Select “Add Account.” Add the details of your other accounts or create new ones as required.

2. Features to Improve Your Posts

As of January 2020, users have shared over 50 billion photographs on Instagram, according to Omnicore. Users have access to a constantly changing stream of content, and competition has never been fiercer. Every piece of content you publish should grab attention and engage audiences. To this end, it helps to know a few tips to improve your posts.

Better Editing:

Instagram makes it easy to snap a photograph, apply a filter and upload it for the world to see. This convenience means many people don’t make use of the readily available editing tools within the app, even though they’re not a hidden feature. If you’re trying to make the best Instagram feed possible, it’s worth spending a little more time exploring the editing options available.

When you add a post, at the point you select an image, the “Filters” tab in the editor is the default option. To bypass filters and apply your own editing techniques, select the “Edit” option from the bottom of the screen. This opens a range of options to experiment with, including brightness, contrast, structure, warmth, saturation, color for shadows and highlights and tilt shift.

Not sure what these options do? Just select an image and then try a few different editing techniques. You may hit upon something you really like the look of. There’s also plenty of advice online for professionally editing your posts.

More Filters:

While doing your own image editing often yields the best results, sometimes it just isn’t possible to invest the time. In those situations, Instagram’s filters are a suitable substitute. However, you don’t have to settle for “Clarendon” or “Gingham.” Scroll all the way to the end of the list of available filters and tap “Manage” to access even more options.

Hiding Hashtags:

Carefully chosen hashtags improve your brand reach and visibility. But if you use lots of them, they may make post descriptions look cluttered. There are two simple ways to reduce this concern.

Hide tags in the comments:

You don’t have to put your hashtags in your post description. Instead, post your content with a simple description. Once the content is live, create a comment and add your hashtags there.

Hide tags below the description:

It’s possible to separate hashtags from your post description by using line breaks. At the end of your caption, tap the “123” key and then tap “Return.” Enter a dash and then repeat the process several more times to create a gap. Instagram automatically truncates long post descriptions. If the gap is large enough, your hashtags won’t be visible.

3. Features to Get the Most Out of Instagram Stories

Instagram Stories is an exciting feature that revolutionized the way many people used the social media platform, especially influencers. The feature lets you post photographs or short videos in a slideshow that disappears after 24 hours. It’s possible to create an ever-changing diary of your events, and this offers a wealth of benefits for building a brand and driving engagement:

Stories was an instant hit, acquiring 250 million daily active users within its first year, according to Facebook. However, despite this popularity, there are still some creators and marketers who aren’t using it to engage with their audiences. Even those who are using it may not be aware of some of the functionality that makes it possible for videos and images to stand out.

Posting Stories:

Instagram’s co-founder, Kevin Systrom, has suggested that Stories is almost as important as Instagram’s main feed. The feature has increased the amount of time people spend on Instagram to 28 minutes, according to Mediakix. This popularity makes it clear that marketers and influencers should use Stories as much as possible.

Everybody with an Instagram account has the option to add Stories. The process is very simple:

Adding Story Links:

Instagram Story links provide exciting opportunities to drive engagement with your fans. A link of your choosing appears at the bottom of each Story as a “see more” option. When users swipe up on this option, they open the link, accessing your home page, web store or social media page. This has numerous applications and benefits, including:

While everybody has access to Stories, you may not have access to the link feature. You’re eligible if you:

If you’re eligible, you can easily add a Story link when you create your Story. After you tap the camera icon to access the Stories feature and select your content, tap the chain icon at the top of the screen. Select “+ URL” and then type in the URL you want to direct viewers to when they swipe up on your content. Finally, tap “Done.” If possible, use a link that tracks clicks to help you analyze the success of your marketing.

Adding a Call-to-Action:

You put a lot of time and effort into attracting people to visit your social media account. But, after they view content, many viewers click away to find something else that interests them. It’s up to you to keep them engaged. A call-to-action (CTA) is a simple instruction that encourages visitors to stick around and interact.

It’s very easy to edit Stories to include a CTA. Select your content and tap the “Aa” icon in the top right of the screen. Enter your text, select a color and then tap “Done.” It’s possible to resize and reposition the text within the Story using pinching and dragging movements.

A CTA works particularly well in conjunction with the Links feature. Use a clear, well-worded CTA to draw a viewer’s attention to the fact more information is at his or her fingertips. Consider these CTAs to enhance your Story and highlight the interactive link:

Uploading Different Media:

The most common Instagram Stories feature photographs that display for five seconds or videos up to 15 seconds long. If neither of these options are suitable for your needs, there are other options available:

Editing Stories Like a Pro:

So, you’ve got a cool video or photograph, you’ve added your link and put in a bold CTA. What else can you do to make your post as engaging as possible? Consider these cool tricks and tips for adding interest to your posts and ensuring your viewers keep coming back for more:

Making Your Story Last:

Stories usually only last for 24 hours. The ephemeral nature of the content is one of the most compelling aspects of the feature. But it’s also something that may hamper the reach of a particular message. Here are several ways to make your Story last longer:

4. Features to Personalize Instagram

Instagram has more content than you could possibly view in a lifetime. It makes sense to personalize your online experience so you see more of what you want to see. This is useful for anyone using social media for fun. It’s even more useful for marketers who want to make the right connections and keep up to date with the latest trends.

Getting Post Notifications:

Selecting to follow someone, or follow a particular hashtag someone uses, doesn’t guarantee you see all new content from those sources. To make sure you never miss a post from your favorite creators, you need to activate post notifications. Here are two ways to achieve this:

Modify Data Usage:

Instagram incorporates a data-saving mode for people who are on a data plan. When data saving is off, images preload for faster access. When data saving is on, images take longer to load, but you don’t burn through your data as quickly.

To access this feature, open the menu option from your profile page. Select “Settings,” “Account” and “Mobile data use.” Tap the “Use Less Data” toggle to switch the feature on or off.

Remove Tags from Photos:

Sometimes people tag you or your brand in their photographs. If this is something you would rather avoid, it’s possible to remove tags. Open the post where you’ve been tagged, tap the image and then select “Remove Me From Post.” You’ll also find an option that says “Hide From Profile,” which keeps the tags intact but hides the image from your profile’s tagged photos.

See Recently Liked Posts:

When you’re scrolling through your feed, it’s likely that you’re going to like many different images and videos. Liking helps Instagram to feed you more of the content you prefer, and it lets creators know if their content is being well-received. It’s also a good way to bookmark content, so you can return to it at a later date.

To find posts that you liked, click the menu option from your profile page. Select “Settings,” “Account” and then “Posts you’ve liked.” This displays 300 of the posts you most recently liked.

Clear Your Search History:

Like other search engines, Instagram remembers your search history. So, when you start typing a search term, Instagram draws on your history to auto-complete the search for you. Over time, it becomes much quicker and easier to run searches for commonly used keywords. However, as your interests change over time, you may decide you want to clear your search history.

Clearing the search history is very straightforward. From your profile page, select “Settings.” Tap “Security” and then tap “Clear Search History.”

Archive Old Posts:

Want to remove a post from your profile? It’s possible to delete posts, but if you do, they’re gone for good, along with any comments and engagement figures associated with them. To remove a post while preserving essential marketing data for future use, Instagram offers an archive system.

To archive a post, open the post, tap the three dots in the top right corner and then select “Archive.” To view your archived content, open the menu on your profile page, tap “Archive” and then tap “Posts.”

Mute Other Users:

It’s always possible to unfollow or even block other users if you don’t want to see their content. However, you may decide you don’t want the users to see you’ve unfollowed them. The solution is to use Instagram’s mute function.

To mute a user, press and hold that user’s profile image in the Stories bar at the top of your feed. After a few seconds, a pop-up appears containing a mute option. Tap on “Mute” and then select to mute the user’s Story or Story and posts.

Hide Your Online Status:

To hide your activity status, first open the menu from your profile page. Tap “Settings,” “Privacy” and then “Activity status.” Use the “Show activity status” toggle to determine whether your activity on the platform is public or private. Be aware that if you hide your activity status, you also lose the ability to view the activity status of other users.

In Conclusion: Finding Insta-success

For marketers and influencers, Instagram is a highly competitive arena. So, it’s essential to leverage every possible advantage to make more of an impact and stand out. The platform is constantly evolving to meet the demands of the growing user base. Even this article doesn’t cover all of the available features that form part of a large, powerful tool set for marketers and influencers.

It pays to follow new developments so you’re always at the cutting edge of the tech and one step ahead of the competition. When you know everything Instagram has to offer, Insta-success for your content marketing strategy is within your grasp.

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