How To Use Instagram: A Complete Guide For Beginners

Instagram is one of the most popular social media platforms today, boasting over one billion active users across the globe.

It’s an incredibly effective tool for marketing, networking, and storytelling.

Whether you’re a business looking to engage with customers or a creative looking to showcase your work, Instagram can be an excellent platform for reaching your audience.

You can start creating beautiful and engaging content with simple steps to help you reach your goals.

This article will cover how to use Instagram to get the most out of your experience.

Frequently Asked Questions

How To Create An Instagram Account

Downloading Instagram is the first step in using the app; it’s free for iOS, Android, and Windows users.

You must either register for a new account or sign in using your Facebook account when you first use the app.

The procedure is simple; if you create a new account, you will need to provide your full name, contact details or email address, preferred username, and password.

Pick a username that is simple to remember and will enable your audience to find you easily; this might be your complete name or your company’s name.

It’s important to note that once you have an account, you can establish and switch between several Instagram profiles without logging out, which is a helpful tool if you want to maintain several accounts for personal and professional purposes.

Your profile page is the central location for all your images and videos and allows you to see who is following and following you.

You can also access your settings there.

Profile Photos

Click on the image section to edit or add your profile photo.

A circle will display your Instagram profile photo.

If you’re utilizing your company’s logo, remember to keep it in the middle of the picture.

Additionally, you should utilize a large logo mark rather than a logo with text because your profile image seems very small in the app.

Profile Information

Go to your profile in the app, tap “Edit Profile” to update your profile photo, and complete your profile details.

Your website and your bio are the two fields that should be filled.

You can edit your username here as well.

How To Enable & Disable Instagram Notifications

Making sure you are receiving the correct notifications at the appropriate times can help you stay connected with your Instagram audience and followers.

You can access this from Settings > Notifications.

You can select which push notifications the platform delivers to you.

For instance, you can opt to receive notifications when you receive likes from everyone, or you can choose only to get notifications when someone decides to follow you

Or, you could completely disable notifications.

You can customize notifications for posts, stories, comments, followers, messages, calls, reels, live broadcasts, fundraisers, and also from Instagram.

How To Convert Your Instagram Profile To A Business One

It’s very simple to switch to a business account, and it takes only a few steps:

Step One: Hit the menu icon in the top-right corner of your profile.

Step Two: Select Settings > Account.

Step Three: Choose “Switch to professional account“

Step Four: Choose your category, then include any pertinent contact information.

How To Post Photos And Videos On Instagram

After setting up your profile and optimizing your bio, you are prepared to start posting.

Here’s how to post on Instagram so that your account starts to develop and receive more engagement.

The + sign at the top right corner of your Instagram homepage will allow you to post an Instagram post, Story, Reel, or live stream.

Tap “post” to create a new post.

You can select a photo or video from your camera roll and if you want to apply a filter and alter the picture, tap “Next.”

By pressing “Next” once again, you may add a caption, tag others, set a reminder, you can add your location, boost your post, add a fundraiser, and decide whether you want to share to other social media platforms.

When you’re done customizing, click Share, and your post will be live.

How To Post Instagram Stories

Swipe right on your home feed or press the plus sign to add an Instagram Story.

You can photograph what’s in front of you, tap “Aa” to create a narrative with text, tap “layout” to add several images, or swipe up to add a picture from your camera roll.

You can also create boomerangs by tapping the infinity sign and stories by tapping the “Aa” symbol.

In the top right corner of the screen, there are buttons that you may use after you’ve submitted a photo to add a caption, stickers, current location, a discussion box, a GIF, audio, a poll, a survey, a link, a timer, and more.

Go ahead and publish one done.

How To Find People To Follow

Using the magnifying glass icon at the app’s bottom to search for people to follow is the best option.

The Explore page will then open, displaying a stream of suggested content based on Instagram’s assessment of your interests.

You can search for people using their name or username, and once you find them, you can go ahead and follow them.

You can find more people by clicking on “Suggested For You” You’ll find recommendations, and you can find more people you might be searching for.

Instagram functions more like Twitter when it comes to social interaction than Facebook.

Most of the time, you don’t need to sit tight for the other person to approve your friend request or send them one.

Instagram will ensure you see other people’s posts in your feed when you follow them.

Most of the time, others can always see whom you are following and who is following you.

Should You Schedule Your Posts On Instagram?

The quickest strategy to conserve time on Instagram so that you can concentrate on making money on Instagram is to learn how to schedule posts in advance.

A scheduling tool becomes increasingly useful as your Instagram marketing campaigns become more challenging.

You can plan, craft, and deliver consistent, high-quality content more easily when you automate some tedious tasks, regardless of whether you run a small firm or oversee a large corporation.

Instagram post scheduling allows you to review your content calendar.

If your posts are inconsistent and irregular, they will be impacted by the Instagram algorithm.

Additionally, since you don’t have to scramble to post on Instagram, you have more time to collect the resources required to produce engaging, original material.

Furthermore, scheduling motivates businesses to start developing content well in advance.

There will be more chances to engage with followers and respond to comments.

Once more, scheduling motivates brands to start creating content well in advance.

This allows marketers and colleagues to discuss which captions and creative content will work best.

5 Best Scheduling Apps You Can Use

Scheduling tools enable you to schedule and publish posts on Instagram automatically. It offers hashtag recommendations and data that make it easier to evaluate the effectiveness of your accounts and posts.

Many of these programs let you publish Instagram stories in bulk and customize the image’s size. Some of the top free scheduling tools are listed below for you to use right away:

1. Tailwind

Small businesses may schedule Instagram posts for free using Tailwind.

Even the least tech-savvy users can easily use and manage Tailwind, a feature many other applications don’t.

It features drag and drop capability and can bulk upload posts.

Additionally, you can monitor your engagement targets, trend monitoring, and profile analytics.

Additionally, it provides a simple and intuitive user interface, allows you to schedule the time and date of your posts, and mass publish Instagram and Pinterest content.

2. Combin

Combin is an Instagram scheduling tool that is free for people still deciding where to start or committing to a premium program.

With Combin, you can schedule and publish Instagram stories and posts.

Combin allows customers to change image sizes and produce and schedule bulk posts.

Users can drag and drop photographs to combine them, which lets them come up with interesting and insightful stories.

You can immediately publish them to your profile after they are created.

Users can even select followers’ locations, allowing them to geotarget their postings.

Although the program is free, you must pay to create more accounts and fully use all of its capabilities.

3. Hootsuite

Hootsuite is one of the well-known Instagram scheduling applications used by seasoned marketers.

It can also be used for marketing on Instagram and managing several social networks on powerful media workstations.

You can build your social media posts there and examine them before scheduling.

You can use this software on other platforms besides Instagram, such as Pinterest, Twitter, YouTube, and Facebook.

The dashboard lets you track every action and see every result.

The dashboard lets you track every action and see every result.

You can easily and quickly review your profitable marketing campaigns with its reporting tools.

You can integrate with over 150 apps for a more effective scheduling process.

Despite being widely used, it is more expensive and difficult than other Instagram publishing apps.

4. Sendible

Sendible is another top Instagram scheduler that enables users to schedule photos and videos for social media posts directly.

Before putting them into a scheduled lineup to be posted automatically, users can choose certain time windows.

It has an integrated inbox that lets users manage and reply to remarks and mentions on numerous social media platforms.

A CRM and team management system is also available in Sendible.

You can check the hashtags and keywords that your target market has used.

Even better, Sendible allows users to reuse and reshare their previous content.

An all-inclusive application that enables users to plan, develop, produce, and promote posts across several social media sites, including Twitter, Facebook, and Tumblr.

5. Buffer

Buffer provides a quick and efficient way to schedule and post content on many social media platforms.

It is frequently cited as a beginner-friendly tool.

Users can post immediately to Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and Pinterest and schedule posts for those social media sites.

Smaller businesses that want a convenient, adaptable tool will benefit greatly from the option to select and alter the date and time of the posts.

It enables you to publish posts at the planned time and date by allowing you to schedule them.

Basic statistics and link shortening are also available.

A simple free version is included for individuals wishing to test their services.

Similar Tutorials To Check Out

• How to Schedule Instagram Posts: Instagram post scheduling allows you to review your content, engage with your audience and improve your marketing campaign. We will teach you how to schedule Instagram posts.
• How to Grow Your Instagram: You can increase brand exposure, create connections, and attract more clients to your business by expanding your Instagram following. We will show you how to grow your Instagram.
• How to Get More Instagram Followers:Instagram followers contribute to your online community and can drive more customers to your website, boost your sales, or establish you as an influencer. This article will show you how to get more followers on Instagram.

Wrapping Up

You now know more about how to use Instagram and maximize your use of this well-known social media site.

Utilize the knowledge you’ve gained here and our Instagram advice to build a profile that stands out and helps you and your business.

Use Instagram creatively; users love seeing new, original content.

It takes effort and commitment to get started making money on Instagram.

But persevere and practice patience.

Eventually, your efforts to use Instagram will be rewarded.