Instagram is growing constantly and there is fierce competition on the platform. Currently, there are roughly 2.35 billion active users. This figure is based on its advertising reach. In the U.S. alone there are more than 168 million users. With all this competition, you need to know how to make your business stand out. Here are some Instagram tricks that will make it more noticeable.
Repost content:
Most social media platforms have ways to repost the content of other users. This is one of the keys to taking your marketing to the next level. Reposting isn’t an official feature on Instagram but there are ways to do it. When you repost, you need permission from the original poster so you can give them credit. You can manually repost photos in a few steps:
- Take a screenshot of the photo you want to repost.
- Tap on the + sign icon on Instagram.
- Hit post and select the screenshot.
- Resize the image.
- Add a caption where you can credit the original source.
When using a Mac there are similar ways to repost on Instagram. Mac users can do it by manually taking a screenshot with a tool like CleanShot X or by using a third-party app like Grids. This app is the only one that makes it possible to post Instagram Stories from a Mac.
Optimize your Instagram profile:
Your user profile can express your brand personality instantly and make people decide to follow you or not.
Add links: Instagram has recently added a free feature that allows you to add up to five links in your bio. To use this feature you need to tap on Edit Profile > Links and select Add external link. This allows you to drag and drop links in the order you want.
Add keywords: You can add keywords to your user profile in the user name or name section. These keywords will help users to know what your business has to offer them.
Pin posts to the top of your feed: You can pin up to three pieces of your best content to the top of your feed. All you need to do is select a post, tap on the three dots in the top right corner, and select Pin to your Profile.
Add captions to Instagram Stories
Adding captions to your Instagram Stories is a must. The quickest way to do this is to use IG’s native tool.
- Record your Story.
- Tap on the sticker icon and you will see a captions sticker.
- Tap on it and you will see a sample text you need to adjust.
- You can adjust the text font, size, and position. When the captions are generated they will reflect your style.
- You won’t see the captions until you upload your Story.
- Immediately review your Story to make sure your captions are correct.
As many people view Instagram Stories on mute, they can understand what’s going on if there are captions.
Upload photos without cropping
If images exceed Instagram’s maximum aspect ratio it will crop them. You don’t want this to happen because it doesn’t look good. When you create a post, select the image you want to share. Click on the Expand icon in the lower-left corner of the Post picker. If you tap the Expand icon, it will automatically adjust the image to a 4.5 ratio which is the recommended size for an Instagram post.
If you want to post a full vertical image without cropping to 4.5, you can add a background to make it into a 4.5 rectangle. You can then post the whole photo without cropping or changing the size. Using a black background is best as most Instagram users have their phones set to dark mode. A black background will blend in and make it look as if the image has no background at all.
Open more than one account
A good Instagram account must be coherent. If you want to post images that have little to do with each other, it is best to create separate accounts. If you have multiple product lines, you may need different accounts to promote them. Users on Instagram can have up to five interconnected accounts. To create a new account go to Options and tap on Add New Account. You can use the same username and password for all your accounts. It is easy to switch between your accounts.
Post multiple photos in a single post
You can add up to 10 photos in a single post.
- From the home screen hit the + icon at the bottom.
- Tap on the image you want to add.
- Tap on additional images and tap Next at the top of the screen to edit the photos.
- You can add a filter to each photo individually or to them all at once by not selecting a photo.
- After editing tap Next and add a caption for the photos.
- To change the order of your photos, tap and hold one to drag it to a different location.
- You can tag someone in each photo. Tap Tag People and swipe to find the photo you would like to tag someone in.
- Tap Share.
In your feed, the first photo will appear with a row of dots underneath. People can swipe to see the rest of the photos.
Instagram in the UK – Business stats
Talking about the user base in the UK, Instagram boasts almost 29 million users. The most fascinating thing about using Instagram for business in the UK is its reach to every age group and gender. Approx 55% of users on the app are female and 45% male.
Like in all other countries, Instagram means serious business in the UK. From the average time spent of 4 hours every day on the internet, UK users spend 40 minutes on average on Instagram. Around 80% of the users follow at least one business profile on the app and every 1 in 5 users engages with at least one business profile daily. The biggest share is for the business profiles in fashion and style, followed by beauty and food & drinks. It clearly shows that small to midsize local businesses benefit the most from Instagram.
Conclusion
The above Instagram tricks can help you to stand out from the competition. They will help you to optimize your profile, repost content, and more. Using a combination of tactics like these is proven to work and will keep your followers engaged and coming back for more.
