Instagram is one of the most popular social media platforms around today, and with good reason. The app is easy to use and allows users to share both short and long-form videos ranging from sweet to super spicy, all with simple, elegant sliders that make every post look like a masterpiece.
With over a billion active monthly users and counting, it’s the perfect place to show off your work and engage with an audience of people just like you.
So how do you make an Instagram account worth following? Let’s have a look, shall we?
Focus On The User Experience
One of the best things about Instagram is how uncomplicated it is to use. The app is incredibly easy to navigate and makes it simple to share photos and videos. Anyone can use it, regardless of technical skills, and access all the content without needing a smartphone engineer to help them figure it out.
As much as possible, you want to keep things simple, intuitive and easy to use! This means utilizing bright, simple colors and keeping your videos’ design minimalistic. Additionally, pay close attention to the way your content looks on different platforms. Sometimes, a pixel or two can make a massive difference in the looks of your video. To avoid any confusion or a broken heart, make sure you test different versions of your content to see which one works best.
Instagram Stories
Instagram Stories are the best thing that happened to Instagram. The content-based feature gives users a curated feed of content similar to what they see on their main feed. Stories serves as a bit of a hybrid between Instagram’s main feed and Snapchat’s stories, in that you can both post long-form videos as well as shorter, bite sized stories.
While the main feed shows you a broad variety of content like cute animal pictures or fashion trends, stories give you a curated look at content relevant to you and the people you follow. The best part? You can access stories even if you’re not on Instagram yet!
Once you have an account set up with your real name, it’s time to start building your profile. The next step is to follow and connect with relevant influencers. You can do this by searching for your niche (e.g. hairstyle inspiration) within Instagram and following the associated accounts.
Instagram Align
Align is a tool that allows you to reposition your media to appear more perfectly aligned. To use this tool, simply click on the gear icon in the top right corner of your Instagram page and select Align from the drop-down menu. You can also access this option on Android or iPhone by searching for “Instagram align” in the Google Play Store or App Store, respectively.
This feature can help make your Instagram account look more professional. When aligned, the media within your posts will be neatly organized and appear more evenly spaced, like you were using a grid or a template. You can also make use of tools like Square’s Canva to create a stylish logo or graphic for your account.
Instagram Geometry
Instagram’s new feature Geometry allows you to scale the size of your posts and videos based on the device on which they’re viewed. To use this feature, navigate to your Instagram account’s page and click on the three dots in the top right corner. From here, you can select either Square or Circle and choose a size for your image based on the screen on which you’re viewing it. This feature is great for when you want to post big, beautiful photos on social media but don’t have a large display to show them off on.
A few other cool things about Instagram geometry:
- You can crop your images to any shape you want, whether that be square, rectangular or even a heart (just kidding).
- Your content will scale based on the device on which it’s being viewed. So if you have a 15″ laptop, your Instagram square will appear large and crisp on a 10″ mobile device. This can help make your content look more modern and on-point.
- You can choose from a variety of background images, selecting one that compliments your images’ colors, style and content. For example, a shiny surface like metal or hard plastic can contrast nicely with an image featuring woods, plants and fresh air.
- You can determine the focus of your content by using hashtags. So if you have an image of a delicious looking chocolate cake, you can use the hashtag #foodporn to attract people interested in food photography or cuisine.
Create Beautiful Collages
It’s one thing to take a beautiful picture, but it’s another thing entirely to put that picture together in a way that creates a cohesive piece of art. Thanks to collage-making apps like Snapseed and PicCollage, this is now an easy task for anyone with a camera. These apps use a variety of images to create an eclectic, eye-catching mosaic that’s perfect for Instagram.
To create a collage, first open Snapseed or PicCollage on your mobile device. Select the images you’d like to use and adjust their size and positioning using the tools available on-site. Once you’re happy with how everything looks, hit the collage button to create a unique piece of art that’s perfect for your Instagram account.
Choose An Influencer To Follow
One of the best things about Instagram is how accessible it is. Anyone can use it and access all the content within easy reach. Naturally, this gives you the opportunity to follow influencers whose content you find interesting or valuable. Following an influencer is a great way to discover new trends, innovative ways of doing things and valuable advice from someone whose experience you may not yet have acquired.
Choosing an influencer to follow can be difficult. The best way to find someone whose content you’ll enjoy is to search for your niche (e.g. hairstyle inspiration) within Instagram’s search bar and follow the accounts associated with that search term.
Once you have a few accounts to follow, start re-watching their content. This will help you determine what you like and don’t like about their Instagram stories and how they interact with their audience. You can also check out their Twitter and other social media accounts to see what else you can find out about them.
Sometimes, finding the right fit for your product can be difficult. When choosing an influencer to follow, make sure they’re appropriate for your niche and that their content aligns with your product’s image and message. Additionally, make sure their content is relevant to your audience.
Make Your Instagram Stand Out
On any social media platform, the more you participate, the more you’ll be promoted to followers. As more and more people become aware of your account, you’ll start to gain credibility, and eventually, people will begin to take you seriously.
To make the most of your Instagram account, participate in the platform’s many benefits. Like the rest of social media, Instagram is a place where users come to entertain themselves and each other. However, you can use this forum to promote yourself and your product, provide advice and gain credibility.
Just remember: if you want to grow your account and make the most of your work, you have to consistently provide good content. Just because you have a million followers doesn’t mean you can be lazy about the content you post and expect people to keep coming back for more. Remember, content is king.
With all the different platforms and audiences out there, it can be tricky to know where to concentrate your efforts. When creating your Instagram strategy, think about your core demographic and the different markets and platforms you’re most familiar with. From there, you can determine the best places to promote your product or service and the methods by which you should do so.