Instagram is the trendiest social media platform in the world. It allows users to upload photos and images via a mobile app. The word Instagram is a mixture of “instant camera” and “telegram.” Facebook has officially purchased Instagram for $1 billion in 2012. Now the platform has 1 billion active users per month and 500 million users per day.
Whether you’re on Instagram or who have never used the platform before, here are 25+ Instagram tips, and features everyone should know about that will help take you to the next level.
1. Add Special Characters To Your Bio
On your Instagram bio, you can add a different character that will enhance your brand. Using your mobile, you can download the free app like a character pad. It helps you can access every character and symbol you might need. You can add some symbols to your bio by using these steps:
- Open the character pad app.
- Find the character you want to add to your bio.
- Copy this character to your phone’s clipboard.
- Open Instagram->tap edit profile->paste your special character on bio->click done.
2. Get Notification When Someone Post
You can get a notification every time a specific user posts unique content. To turn on notification, visit a user’s profile, click the three dots in the upper right corner, click notifications, enable the posts and stories option from the menu that appears. Also, you can turn off post notifications in the same way.
3. Schedule Future Posts
Instagram offers a scheduling feature to save your time. You can schedule your Instagram posts by setting day and time in the future. If you have an Instagram business account, you can use a social media scheduling tool like HubSpot. If you have a personal account, you can switch to a professional account to schedule your posts.
4. Make a Collection Of Saved Posts
On Instagram, you get the option to save or bookmark certain posts in collections. In this saved tap, you can view all of the posts you’ve liked.
- Go to your Instagram profile
- Tap settings icon->click saved-> press + button and add name to your collections.
- Click next and select images from your saved section.
5. Add Multiple Pictures In One Post
Instagram offers the new feature for users to include up to 10 pictures in a single post. Press the + icon, tap select multiple button option on the right, select the pictures you want to publish, press next to add filters. Again press next to captions to your posts and click done.
6. Add Border On Your Image
You can add a border to your image by double tapping a filter icon. The right of the intensity slider is a box-like icon, which helps to add a border to the picture. Tap that icon to add different borders to your photos that look more attractive.
7. Obtain An Image URL
On Instagram, you can easily find a direct URL to any image on the website. But it is available on a desktop or laptop. Right click on the picture you want to find a URL, select the view page source option. This will open a new tab with the page source code. On this tab, you can easily find a direct link to the image.
8. Share Story To Instagram Main Feed
Instagram stories feature provides the option to share your content to your main feed. To share stories on the main feed,
- Open your story
- Click 3 dots in the lower right corner.
- Click share as a post option.
Now you can edit and add a caption to your posts and publish it as a regular post.
9. Stories Highlight Feature
Instagram stories feature similar to Snapchat, and it appears only 24 hours. It automatically deleted after 24 hours. Instagram offers a story highlight feature that allows you to save stories on your profile page. When someone enters your profile page, the highlights will appear at the top of your profile permanently.
10. Post Other Users Content
Instagram stories are a great way to show your content on your follower’s homepage. With the stories feature, you can share inspiring posts from other Instagrammers to your stories feed. In this way, you will get a chance to receive Instagram story views from non-followers, and you can get more engagement within a short span.
11. Delete Comments On Your Posts
You can delete your post comments by tapping the speech icon below the comment you want to delete and swipe left over this text. Select the garbage can icon to delete this post. You can also do this to your own comment.
12. Clear Instagram Search History
You can delete your Instagram search history through the following steps:
- Go to your Instagram profile
- Click settings
- Click security
- Tap “clear search history” at the bottom of the screen
13. Insert Link Breaks
When you write a caption on Instagram, you don’t have the enter or return option on the keyboard. It is the same for your bio. You can add the link breaks in there by pressing the 123 key in the bottom left corner of the keyboard, and the return key will appear on the bottom.
14. Add Instagram Business Account
You will need an Instagram business account to promote your products. You can easily switch your Instagram personal account into a business account by the following steps:
- Go to your profile
- Tap the hamburger menu in the top right corner
- Tap account setting->switch to Instagram professional account->choose a business account.
15. Link Other Accounts In Your Stories
Instagram stories offer different features, and the great feature is you can link to other users’ profile into your stories. While making a story, you can get a list of accounts to add to your stories. Find the perfect one you want to link, you can link up to 10 different accounts per story. It helps to show your content more engaging and authentic.
16. Add Another Instagram Account To Your Bio
If you have more than one Instagram account for your brand, you have the option to add one Instagram account to another in your bio section. You can include the account simply by type the @ sign in your bio and add the account you did like to tag and click done.
17. Search Users Without An Instagram Account
If you want to search users without an Instagram account, you can use two ways to search people:
1. Entering a username at the end of Instagram URL like “www.instagram.com/.”
2. Simply search their name in a google site search like site:instagram.com[name of the user]
In this way, you can find the people, their business, product results, and brands. So, you can easily find people without an account, and you can see if it’s worth signing up.
18. Set Up Two-Factor Authentication
When it comes to digital security, you can never be too cautious. If you want to add effective protection, you can enable two-factor authentication by following these steps:
- Go to your profile.
- Tap the three dots at the top of your page.
- Tap account settings and click two-factor authentication.
- You will move to the next page with the labeled required security code.
- Instagram will text a security code to your phone every time you log on.
19. Hide Extra Hashtags
If you want to share your content on Instagram, you should use hashtags. Instagram allows up to 30 hashtags per post. But more hashtags can get a negative impression, so you can avoid unnecessary hashtags. You can use line breaks to hide three lines after the text. If someone clicks the more option, they can view all the hashtags used.
20. Manage Instagram Filters
On Instagram, you can track which photo filter receives the more engagement. When you make a new post, you can get a list of Instagram filters and organize your filters based on repeatedly used. Swipe the list of filters until you reach the end, and click the manage button. This will take you to the next page to reorder the filters as you need.
21. Link Your Facebook Account
Instagram provides an excellent feature for you to link your Instagram account to a Facebook account. You can follow these steps to link your account:
- Go to your Instagram profile.
- Tap settings icon->account->linked accounts->Facebook->log In.
- You can log in with your Facebook details.
22. Reels Feature
Instagram recently launched the reels feature, which is similar to TikTok videos. It is a new way to create and present short, entertaining videos on Instagram. Reels can be recorded in a series of clips all at once. You can create reels by opening the Instagram app, tap the camera icon, select reels at the bottom and start creating 15 videos and add music, filters, and effects.
23. Mute Instagram Stories or Posts
Go to your profile page, tap following, and select mute. Then you will get the option to choose whether you want to mute just Instagram posts, stories, or both. You can also follow these steps to unmute stories and posts.
24. See Spending Time on Instagram
On Instagram, you can get alerts about how much time you spend on Instagram. Go to your Instagram profile, tap the hamburger icon at the top right corner, and select the activity tab. It will display, on average, how much time your followers spend using the app each day.
25. Go Live
On Instagram, you can make a live broadcast by tapping the camera icon and selecting live from the slider at the bottom of the screen and tap the Instagram live icon. You will see how many viewers your broadcast has at the top right of the screen. If a follower goes live, a pink color button icon will appear directly in their stories section, and a notification may appear as you browse Instagram.
26. Request Verification
Instagram has blue check mare verification like Twitter. If you want to verify your Instagram profile, go to Instagram profile->settings->account->request verification and fill the form. You will need to submit a government issued ID with your name and date of birth.
27. Add Multiple Accounts
Instagram offers users to add up to five accounts without logging out. Go to the settings page, tap adds account, and enter the username and password of an additional account. To switch between them, go to your profile page, tap your username at the top of the screen, and select the account you wish to view in the pop-up menu.
Conclusion :
Instagram is one of the fun, entertaining platforms in the world. I hope now you know how to use the app more effectively, to make an engaging profile, and engage with your audience to upload attractive content. These 25+ tips and hacks will help you to succeed on Instagram.
Author Bio:
Caterina Taylor is an experienced social media marketer and writer who works at PlanYourGram.com. She loves to work on content creation for social media blogs and has the potential to deliver engaging content on various platforms and networks.
