33% of Ifrenternet users are on Instagram. 60% of instagram users log in daily. Engagement on instagram is 10X higher than Facebook and 84X higher than Twitter. That brings in a lot of exposure. If you are struggling with instagram and need some help to enhance your instagram skills then I am here to give you a leg up, and level up your instagram game.

Make your profile choice

You should make changes to your account according to your preferences and demands. Private or business — completely your choice. I could ease it up a little for you. If you own a business and want to use instagram for marketing and run ads for instagram then you certainly should switch to a business account. And if you do not own a business but your goal is to grow your engagement and followers, and instagram analytics would be useful to you, then you should definitely switch to a business account. However, if you do not wish for the same then you should stick to a private account. 

Choose a great profile photo

This is the first thing that anyone who opens your profile notices. Instagram is a photo-sharing application, so make sure you use a profile picture of yourself rather than something random and irrelevant. When you comment or follow accounts without using your actual photo, users are more likely to view you as a spam account. It’s ok to go a little casual but still remain professional. Use a higher resolution photo and make sure it is not a distance shot, go for more of a close-up.

Put up a spiffing bio

Establish a proper bio using the 150 characters that instagram provides for writing your bio. Put up a stand out skill, interest, profession or a ‘WOW’ factor that you have, or what you or your brand stand for. If you have multiple accounts, you can use the @ symbol to include a link to it in your bio. Use it when you want to use your personal Instagram bio to promote your Instagram business profile or share where you work by mentioning your company’s Instagram username. Use the right words and the most necessary information.

Utilize hashtags

Hashtags are how your posts are discovered on Instagram. Yes – there are algorithms involved, and the rules seem to change every day, but the basic premise of using hashtags to ‘tag’ your post for discovery still reigns. A few things that you should remember while using hashtags are —

• Make it relevant to the content you’re sharing
• Stop using the same hashtags for every post
• Don’t use a huge list of hashtags (30 is max on a post, 10 on a story)
• Use the data in your ‘insights’ (for business accounts) to tell you which hashtags are more effective.

To know which hashtags would work for you — you could take inspiration from other creators and influencers, try using very specific hashtags or do some research.

Be creative

Be authentic and don’t imitate anyone. Be original. The audience on Instagram is pretty savvy and can recognize someone fake it immediately.

Use quality photos and videos with high resolution. Ratify your style and portray your personality through it. Form an aesthetic for your account. Use boomerangs, stories and lives to go raw and get more authentic followers. Caption your posts and inject a bit of personality into it.

And most importantly, stay active and consistent. You cannot show up one fine day and expect to be an instagram expert. It takes patience, dedication, diligence and perseverance. If you are earnest in efforts, then you’ll surely see the results. Also, don’t get too worked up and try to enjoy your time on instagram. Let me know if this helped and share your tips too.