Instagram is the best platform for visual content creators, with various ways to create and customize your content. Whether you’re using Stories, posts, reels, or IGTV, promoting your business on Instagram takes time and patience. Staying up to date with the fast-moving platform can be difficult, so we put together some top Instagram tips and tricks to help you take control of your content.
Summary
Part 1: Top 10 Tips & Tricks to Optimize Your Instagram Engagement
1. Hashtags are the New Currency
Hashtags are a fantastic tool for not only finding the content you like but helping people find yours. However, there are some rules to using hashtags, and you must pay close attention to the tags you are using for your content.
- You can use around 10 hashtags, but don’t overdo it.
- Make sure your hashtags are relevant for your content – don’t just use hashtags because they are trending.
- Research your hashtags – many charities promote their work, and you shouldn’t use a cause to get more followers.
- Create a brand hashtag for your business or content so that people can join in the conversations you start.
2. Optimize Your Bio
The Instagram Bio isn’t particularly in-depth, so there is no reason not to have a fully optimized bio section. Many fake accounts don’t have a bio, so it’s essential to keep it up to date, or you may be seen as a bot.
- Make sure your contact details are up-to-date.
- Add a link to your bio where people can find out more about you or your channel.
- Add your branded hashtag and any associate accounts to your bio.
3. Be Active with Stories
Instagram Stories is a fantastic feature that you will either love or hate. It can take a little longer to create engaging Stories than a regular feed post, but you can also get a lot more views.
- Ask questions and use polls in your Stories to create a conversation with your audience.
- Link your shop directly to your Stories posts to enable followers to buy from you in a couple of clicks.
- Use subtitles on your video posts to create more accessible and engaging content.
4. Use Instagram Templates
There are hundreds of awesome Instagram templates at Motion Array, allowing you to create engaging Stories, posts, and reels in just a few clicks.
- Use templates for discounts, promos, and sales content. Perfect for call-to-action posts!
- Create Thank You messages for your followers and customers.
- Customize the template to match your branding with colors and fonts.
- Find a template pack with a consistent theme so your account is intentionally cohesive.
5. Quality Control Your Posts
Quality is critical with your Instagram posts, so you must double-check your content for any issues.
- Check spelling and grammar in your titles and text elements.
- Ensure you only use the highest quality images and video clips in your post.
- Use stock photos or videos when you cannot film the content yourself.
- Video is powerful on Instagram – try to use video over images when possible.
6. Create Call-to-Action Posts
A call-to-action is essential for any content that encourages the viewer to act. Whether you want someone to follow a link, buy something, follow you or sign up, you need to tell them to do so.
- Ask questions in your CTA to give your potential customers a reason to reply.
- Make sure your contact details are available in the CTA text.
- Create landing pages and promos to link your posts with relevant information.
7. Tag Others in Your Posts
A fantastic aspect of social media is the ability to tag people in your post, from friends and family to big brands. However, you must be accurate with your tagging, as many handles look similar.
- Don’t over-tag your posts – always make sure the people or brands you are tagging have a legitimate interest in your post.
- Create content and offers in partnership with other users and tag them in your posts.
- Follow accounts that inspire you or compliment your offering, and tag them appropriately.
8. Always Respond to Comments & Send DMs
Follow-up is essential in the business world, and you should set aside time to respond to your engagement.
- Use social listening tools like Sprout Social to keep tabs on your content across multiple platforms.
- Add personality to your brand by engaging with the comments on your posts. Take time to DM your followers when there is a need for longer communication.
- Always reply to comments and DMs, even just to say thanks for commenting.
9. Use Scheduling Tools
Scheduling tools like Hootsuite, CoSchedule, and Later are a fantastic way of managing your social media accounts without having to be glued to your screen.
- Save time by creating your posts in batches and scheduling them to publish later.
- If an old post, photo, or video hasn’t got many views, consider publishing again at a later date.
- Divide your long-form content into shorter vox pops and trailers to create a buzz around your videos or blogs.
- Mix your content between shared interests, selling, and about us posts.
- Keep an eye on your post schedule and be flexible when publishing your content.
10. Develop Your Instagram Live
Instagram Live might feel a bit daunting, but once you get the hang of ‘going live,’ you’ll soon begin to love it.
- Share behind the scene moments from your office or workplace.
- Join in social media challenges that are appropriate to your business.
- Introduce office pets, plants, and breakout areas.
- Create teasers and sneak peeks of your new products or services.
Part 2: 3 Creative Tips for Amazing Instagram Posts
Create Fun Letter Backgrounds
It takes a little time but you can create individual color block backgrounds for your titles. As you need to create each letter of your word/phrase separately, this technique is best saved for short messaging.
- Type your first letter on the screen and select the bold, typewriter, or classic font.
- Select the letter and tap on the A with stars icon until you have a colored block background around your letter.
- Select the color icon and choose the color picker from the menu.
- Move the picker around your image until you have the color you want for the letter background.
- Repeat this with each letter of your word or phrase, and position and scale them as required.
Use Ombre/Rainbow Text Effect
To create a Rainbow text effect, you may think you need to make each letter separately, but there is a quicker way.
- Write your text on the screen.
- Tap & hold your text to get the selection pop-up menu, and choose Select All.
- From the color menu at the bottom, choose the color you’d like the last letter to be.
- Hold your right thumb on the color until the palette opens.
- Tap & hold your left thumb over the last letter of the text.
- Simultaneously drag your left thumb to the left and your right thumb to the right. Each letter will be given a different color depending on where your right thumb is positioned on the palette.
Add Subtitles in Your Stories
The Instagram Captions function is incredibly cool, not just for creating excellent subtitles for your videos, but you can create Typography videos from audio in just a few seconds.
- Create a new Story and add your video.
- Go to the Stickers icon and search for captions, then select the Captions sticker.
- Instagram will take a few moments to transcribe your audio. The captions will appear on the screen once it’s finished.
- Click the subtitles and go through each line to ensure the transcription is correct.
- Select the Font and Color icons at the top of the screen to choose how you want your subtitles to look.
- If you want to add breaks/gaps in your captions, you can add 2 square brackets with spaces in between to indicate the gap to leave: [ ] for a short space or [ ] for a longer one.
Part 3: Top 5 Instagram Stories Templates from Motion Array
1. Instagram Stories
The Instagram Stories pack includes 12 stunning vertical Motion Graphics videos, ideal for business and event promotions. The bright, bold style is easy to brand, with plenty of media and title placeholders for your messaging.
Download Instagram Stories Now
2. Abstract Instagram Stories
The Abstract Instagram Stories AE pack includes 10 modern designs with unique title animations. The smooth 3D style animated backgrounds provide a unique, glossy look, with striking bold typography elements.
Download Abstract Instagram Stories Now
3. Pragmatic Instagram Stories
The Pragmatic Insta Stories pack for Premiere contains 8 trendy designs with a simple color palette and clean design. The stylish looks and consistent theme make this set ideal for modern business promos.
Download Pragmatic Instagram Stories Now
4. Positive Beat Promo
The Positive Beat Promo is a fantastic Premiere Pro template containing 11 text and 25 media placeholders. The glitchy transitions and speedy animation make this template ideal for events, music, and channel promos.
Download Positive Beat Promo Now
5. Fast Modern
The Fast Modern template is a beautifully designed Final Cut Pro project, ideal for photographers, artists, and content creators. The pack includes square, portrait, and horizontal versions with stunning light leaks and graphical flourishes.
Instagram is a powerful platform, constantly innovating for businesses and content creators alike. As with all social media, consistency is the key to an engaging channel, and when combined with excellent content, you’re sure to impress your followers. We hope you’ve enjoyed these Instagram Tips; if you’re looking for more template projects, check out this handy guide.
