Welcome to a new lesson of the Instagram Academy. If you have made it this far, congratulations: you have the basics for using Instagram comfortably. In this lesson we take stock of everything you have learned so far, going back over how to share photos on Instagram in a way that works on the platform and grows your followers.
New to the Academy? Have a look around: you will find plenty of other lessons on Instagram, on SEO, on Facebook and on growth hacking.
In our Instagram Academy you will find other lessons on how to edit photos on Instagram, on buying followers, on the Instagram temporary block, on how often to post on Instagram and much more…
If you skipped a lesson, here is your chance to catch up. If you have been diligent throughout, you can put everything you know to the test.
Ready? Let’s start.
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The first thing to do when sharing photos on Instagram is choosing the right shot. What gets more likes, a beautiful photo or an original one? Both: pick a photo that is well made and at the same time stands out from the crowd. So no blurred, dark or overexposed photos, nothing with excessive noise. You should also avoid using fantastic photos taken from free stock libraries. They are beautiful, true, but they all look the same.
Instagram users scroll their feed quickly: if you want to catch their attention you have to show them a photo that stands out, that tells something, that offers a particular point of view. Only by finding your own style will you succeed on the platform and become an Instagram influencer with thousands of followers.
Free image from Pixabay
Once you have chosen the shot, Instagram lets you edit the photo with filters or by adjusting the settings by hand (light, contrast, sharpness and so on).
As we saw in the lesson on how to edit photos, filters are not there to “save” a bad photo but to “lift” content that already says something. With experience you will notice that an over-edited photo often has the opposite effect: instead of pleasing people, it irritates them. It is no accident that the hashtag #nofilter is one of the best loved on the platform.
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Why does the caption matter so much? The caption is a fundamental way to engage your followers and push them to like and comment. All of which is rewarded by Instagram’s algorithm, which favours posts that draw more interaction.
How do you write an Instagram caption with impact? First, don’t improvise. Many people struggle with captions because they try to write something on the spot. A caption has to be thought through, because to be engaging it must add value and show personality. So take the time you need and ask yourself: how am I adding value with this post, and what am I giving the people reading it?
Add a CTA (call to action) too, an invitation that inspires your followers to interact with you or your company, on Instagram and beyond. An example? You could ask them to tap the link in your bio, to answer a question, to give an opinion or a preference, or to share a photo with a specific hashtag.
Finally, include emoji: they are an excellent way to catch the eye and make the text easier to read. You can put several at the start of the caption, scatter a few through it for emphasis, or replace whole words. It makes your caption far more inviting.
Free image from Pixabay
The importance of hashtags on Instagram is well known by now. When you upload a photo it is almost obligatory to add a few, to reach people and gain followers. What is a hashtag? Words or groups of words preceded by the hash symbol #, used to “categorise” and group published content. In plain terms, if you tap a hashtag you see every photo people have marked with that word or phrase.
So using popular hashtags gets your post in front of a wide audience, raising your chances of likes, shares and comments. For exactly that reason, avoid hashtags on Instagram that are barely used or invented on the spot, because you could bury content that might otherwise go viral. If you want to succeed you have to choose the right hashtags — not too generic (#amazing, #life) but relevant and consistent with each other.
Want to go deeper? Read the lesson “Which hashtags to use on Instagram“.
Free image from Pixabay
Now that your caption is ready with the right hashtags, it is time to decide whether to tag one or more people in your post. What does tagging someone mean? A tag is a kind of label that lets you mention another user in an Instagram post. The tag can go in the caption or on the photo itself (when you want to attach a name to a face in a group photo, for instance). Or you can tag someone in the comments. Why? The person tagged gets a notification taking them to the post. So a tag is a way to put content in front of someone immediately and draw them in.
Don’t remember how to add an Instagram tag? Revisit the lesson “How to tag friends: the Instagram tag guide“.
When you share a photo on Instagram, don’t forget to add the location, or geotag. What is it? A geographic reference tying the content you share to a map. That way your followers know exactly where you were when you took the shot and can feel more involved. And more involvement means more interaction.
Adding one is very simple: you need a phone with GPS on, and a few taps do it. If you are not sure how, read the Instagram Academy lesson on “Geotags“.
Free image from Pixabay
With filters, caption and tags in place, your photo is ready to publish. Which raises a natural question: when should you share on Instagram? There is no single answer. The web is full of guides and articles revealing the perfect time slot, most of them pointing at 7pm to 9pm. Many also advise against publishing during office hours or at weekends. But the truth is that it all depends on your followers.
Every profile has a different kind of follower, with different browsing habits: the people who follow you may be active at different hours and even in a different time zone. The only way to find the perfect moment is to know your followers. How? Run tests. Don’t stop at the statistics — try different time slots for the same kind of post and see what comes back.
Conclusion
Here we are at the end of this Instagram Academy lesson on sharing photos on Instagram. How did it go? Were you ready, or do you need to go back over a few things?
We went through how to share photos on Instagram step by step, so you forget none of the elements that decide whether your shot works. We started with choosing the photo, which beyond being well made has to show personality and give the viewer something. Then we saw how much the caption matters for engaging people and inviting them to interact with you. We recalled what hashtags are and why they matter, along with tags and the geotag. Finally we thought about the best time to share, which only you can find through your own experience.
At first you may have to make an effort to remember all of these, but with time it becomes automatic.
We will see you in the next lessons, where we will go deeper into other Instagram subjects you are sure to find interesting. Stay tuned and keep following your favourite Instagram Academy.
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