Instagram is continuously updating and adding new features to keep up with social media trends and demands. Navigating the platform can easily become confusing and overwhelming.
If you want to attract and keep a following, it’s crucial that you create an intriguing presence that will hook viewers and get them to hit that follow button. At first glance, we don’t get much room, but there’s a lot of information that can be packed into this small space.
I put together this quick guide covering Instagram’s key features and how to fully optimize them to maximize your presence on the platform. I’ve organized them following the order in which they appear on your profile. Let’s get into it!
Your username: Choosing the perfect username is hard and what kept me from making an on-brand Instagram account for a long time. So many of the good usernames are taken and you can only add underscores and dashes in so many different ways. An easy idea is to include your full name or full name + photo and bam - a username! But if you want to be more creative, aim for something that relates to your content or niche. Try and make it unique, but avoid alternatively spelled words, using numbers as letters or using alternate characters in a row as these usernames are hard to remember and not search friendly. You want to make finding and identifying your account as easy as possible. I used a zero in w0nderland since no other alternative spellings were available, but it’s confusing to communicate to others, so I’d recommend avoiding doing anything along those lines.
Your profile photo: Make sure you choose a photo that is both eye-catching and accurately represents the type of content you will be sharing. I’m not the biggest fan of selfies as profile photos, as it can be hard to tell what an account is about. However, I don’t always find logos to be the best option for personal blogs as they can look a little bit too formal and impersonal. Once you choose the perfect profile photo to represent your account, avoid frequent changes as you want people to immediately recognize your account and interact with your content.
Stories:
Instagram stories came about as Insta’s take on Snapchat. Stories are a form of photo and short form video content that expire after 24 hours unless you add them to a highlight, which we go over later in this post.
What to include: This is the perfect place to share content that isn’t feed-worthy. Show little bits and pieces of your life or business to help users form a personal bond with you. For example, I share my own photos, links to blog posts, shop updates, photos I enjoy that I think my followers will enjoy, behind the scene photos, tap to edit posts and quick video clips or photos that I don’t edit but are still related to my content. Create engagement by using polls, sliders, questions and quizzes. I suggest you always have something uploaded to your stories for viewers to click on. Don’t forget to tag relative accounts and hashtags to increase its likelihood of being viewed and shared .
What not to include: My number one complaint is people complaining. No one comes to your page to hear you complain. Who wants to see or hear that? Keep it positive. Keep it to things people want to see and you can determine what that is by taking note of what people engage with. Selfies always seem to do well, your kids, your lunch and memes might be fun, just make sure to stick to your niche.
Highlights:
Highlights are basically organized collections of saved stories that remain viewable for three years. I think highlights are the most underused feature on the platform. When you post an Instagram feed post or story it only hangs around for a limited amount of time before it gets lost in the Instagram abyss. Why spend all that time creating content and not do anything to improve its accessibility? I like to use highlights to organize content for other’s viewing pleasure, to insure my posts don’t get lost on the gram and to easily access specific information without having to scroll through hundreds of photos.
You can also edit the covers of your Instagram highlights to match your branding, add and remove stories from your highlights at any time and send an entire highlight to someone through Instagram messages. I find this really helpful when recommending or discussing specific locations.
What to to save to your highlights: Determine what content you want to showcase in a highlight that others might want to access and make an organized highlight for it. For example, I have created a highlight for each major location I’ve been to and for certain information I want to quickly access and share such as the interactive springs map, an autism awareness highlight, my shop offerings and a highlight that includes links to my individual blog posts. In addition to those, I also have one for flower photos, mushroom photos and butterfly photos, all common subjects of mine. If you’ve worked super hard on a project or campaign, make a highlight for it. A frequently asked questions highlight is also helpful if you receive a lot of the same questions.
Your name: Since my username is not my name, I like to have my name visible so people know who I am. I just find it more personal to use my name instead of a quote or a description of my account, but feel free to do what makes sense for you.
Your category: You can choose a category to appear on your profile that lets everyone know what kind of creator you are. Mine says digital creator and there are many options including blogger, public figure, photographer and other types of businesses. This is really helpful because it’s not always clear at first glance what exactly an account may have to offer. Again, if you have a service/product to sell this is a great spot to choose a fitting category. For example, a health coach’s account can be confusing. There may be fitness posts, food posts easily making that account appear to be just a weight loss diary or motivation account, without clear communication of offered services. Choose a category that fits your account and utilize this little space of advertising if you can.
A clickable link: Instagram allows you the option to post one link on your profile. If you have a blog, website, store or YouTube account, this is where you want to link that. If you have more then one link to share, consider making a link tree or similar service. link tree allows you to customize a profile that provides links to several different web pages. You then put that single Link Tree Link in your bio.
Your Bio:
Instagram only allows us 150 characters to play with in our bio. It’s not a lot considering you want to use this space to describe yourself and what you have to offer while making it as enticing as possible. Make it fun and visually appealing while still keeping it short and sweet.
What to include:
I suggest you post your location if relevant. I primarily hop around FL so that’s pretty relevant to my content. If you are a brick and mortar business or offer in person services, this is crucial for you as well. When I was traveling often, I had a line that would detail my upcoming locations. Drop a pin or flag emoji to make it extra fun.
Include a few words to describe yourself, business, brand or content that haven’t been used already in your category, name or user name.
This would be a good spot to note any specials, sales, upcoming events or projects you may be working on.
I see a lot of people use this spot to support a cause that is in line with their brand such as springs advocacy or environmental protection.
Include a call to action or prompt directing users your blog, shop, free download, YT channel etc.
I also find it appealing to use relative hashtags and emojis in the bio to further create an image for your brand.
What not to include:
Quotes are not an ideal use of your limited characters as they typically don’t tell anyone anything about you.
I would also leave anything unrelated, outdated, repeated information or information that can be communicated else wear, like your name.
I am not a fan of having a lot of information and long sentences in the bio as it’s such a small area and can easily get crowded, losing information. For easy readability, I put each of my main points of information on a separate line.
Contact options: Use as many of them as you like, but don’t leave out an email if you’re hoping to connect with others, work with brands or sell your products/services. These buttons help to make it easier for others to contact you, especially if you are unable to answer all your DMs. I personally put written email address written out in my bio so it can be easily found on both the mobile and desktop versions of Instagram.
Action buttons: If you are selling a service or product, these make purchasing a breeze. Action buttons are great for quick online ordering, gift cards or food deliveries.
Your grid : The most fun I have with Instagram! This is where all your content is shown on your profile. Check out this post for all my tips on perfecting your Instagram grid.
IGTV: IGTV is Instagram’s version of YouTube. Longer videos are able to be uploaded to IGTV than what is able to be posted in a story feed post. If uploading form mobile you can upload up to 15 minutes and from desktop, up to an hour. A one minute IGTV video previews can be shared to your feed as well. Insta allows the option to create and organize videos into a series, which is a great way to give your followers content to keep coming back to on a regular basis. Use the best cover photo you can and make the first few seconds as interesting as possible to keep viewers engaged for longer, which will signal to the algorithm your content is good enough to keep showing to other users.
Reels : Reels came about as Instagram’s take on Tik Tok. Reels allow clips of up to 30 seconds to be created with a variety of editing effects, gifs and music. Reels are really popping right now. So many content creators are preaching the growth from consistently posting reels. Since there are far fewer creators in this space, it increases the change of your reels being seen. This won’t last for long, so get your reels out!
Tagged photos: The is also an option to see all the posts you’ve been tagged in right on your profile. There isn’t really anything you can do in this tab besides making sure you are properly tagged in photos and carefully curate what posts you keep viewable.
