Instagram Tips From Me To You
After working closely with one of Alberta's largest artisan markets this past year, I've been living on Instagram lately more than anything and have learned some handy things while doing it.
For those of you just starting a business or learning how to use Instagram for the foreseeable future, I wanted to share some of my favourite tips with you:
1. Does your content revolve around sharing?
Create a collection of saved posts by bookmarking them for later. Do this by going to your profile, tapping the book mark icon on the top-right menu above your photos and create a collection. Keep adding by tapping that same bookmark and create as many collections as you want as per your needs!
2. Annoyed with weird line breaks, comma and period placement?
Insert line breaks into your bio and captions to make your content look more organized. If you push the "123" key in the bottom left-hand corner of your phone's keyboard, the return key will pop up. Push return in-between content to get proper content breaks. This sounds simple, but you'd be surprised by how often content looks messy or unorganized on feeds, which can lead to huge paragraphs in one small space and lack of interest from followers.
3. Avoid grainy Instagram Stories
When you layer a bunch of photos, tags and emoticons into your stories, they can get graining and unfocused. Minimize this risk by ensuring the story or photo is taken directly from your story camera and for photos, use high-quality. Also make sure each is sized correctly. This handy link will teach you everything you need to know for sizing stories and Instagram posts.
4. Are you collecting Instagram footage but not using it within 24 hours?
When we create stories, sometimes we save them for later - but Instagram won't let you use stories that have been created past the 24 hour mark. Simply pop into your Apple IMovie app and edit a tiny snippet of the video - this will make it current again and available for use.
5. Are you the face of your stories?
Go hands-free for a more professional approach.
How to do hands free:
Swipe right from your home screen to go to the Instagram Stories camera
Swipe through the options at the bottom of the screen—Normal, Boomerang, Hands-Free—to get to the hands-free recording option
Tap the record button at the bottom of the screen to begin recording
To stop recording, either let the maximum video recording time run out or tap the circle again
What are your favourite tips and tricks?
Dakota is a local social media marketing and branding consultant with more than six years' experience in traditional public relations, photography and marketing. Following an education from the University of Calgary and Grant MacEwan University, Dakota went on to work for two large non-profit organizations, with the Hyatt Hotel Chain and for a local boutique public relations firm. Dakota is a native Calgarian and is an avid volunteer in her city.
Currently we are volunteering with
Doors Open is a well-established and highly successful international concept that allows people free access to buildings in order to create enthusiasm for heritage and contemporary architecture, and increase the appreciation of historic and culturally significant places and spaces.
Check them out and book your #yyc tour at www.doorsopenyyc.org
