Instagram is starting to look more and more like TikTok and where everyone thought that was not a good idea, Reels turn out to ensure that we spend 24 percent more time on the social medium. Moreover, it is also nice that there are often new things to discover within Instagram. So much that you may not be sure you’re getting everything out of it. That’s why we come up with 10 tips and tricks to provide you with some lifehacks for Meta’s social medium.
1. Provide interaction
Instagram is a social medium, but some people forget that. Interaction is very important: so make sure you don’t just send, but also respond to others: in text, by liking or by reposting. Also respond fully to people who comment under your posts. That is not only good for the algorithm, but also for the person who also bothered to respond to you.
2. Don’t forget the hashtags
It is very strange that social media constantly imitate each other, but not quite. However, on Twitter and Instagram, the hashtags still matter a lot, so use them. Look at similar posts by others to see what they do in terms of hashtags and get inspired. For example, if you make a series of posts, think about the hashtags in advance and write them down so that you can easily copy them in your next posts.
3. Call to action
In the marketing world they also call it a ‘call to action’: people naturally enjoy looking at your posts, but what feeling do you want to give them afterwards? Should they shrug their shoulders and move on with their lives, or should they take action? With such a call to action is meant that you help the followers think about what they can do. For example, think of a question where people can leave their opinion, or a button that people can click to continue to your website. Let it be clear what your followers can do and you will notice: they may also do it.
4. Change which ads you see
Some people like that Instagram knows you so well that you actually get to see ads that fit your street very well indeed, others find it intimidating. It is noticeable that Instagram has been repeating a lot of ads lately: you have already swiped one away several times, but it keeps being served. If you want to set your preferences in terms of advertising topics, you can do so. Tap on your avatar, go to ‘Settings’ via the dashes and then tap on ‘Ads’ to choose topics for which you do or do not want to see commercials.
5. Check your screen time
It’s been said many times, but trust us: you’re probably shocked when you see how much time you spend on Instagram. The app itself already provides insight into this and that is very confrontational. It is always more than you think and it can make you decide how much time you actually want to spend on it. For the information, tap on your avatar, the three horizontal lines, Settings and then Account, Activity, Time. You can even set a daily reminder to help you limit your daily Insta scrolling time.
6. Using an FAQ
If you use Instagram for Business, you have the option to set up an FAQ, which allows you to add four FAQs that are popped up every time a user enters your DM’s slide. Think of questions about opening hours or about being able to exchange a product. It is a pity that an answer cannot be added immediately, but on the other hand it does help to start a conversation with a customer. You can find the FAQ feature under Settings > Company > FAQs. Click on settings and add your question. Don’t forget to save and choose ‘show questions’.
7. Retrieve a deleted message
Did you accidentally delete a post? Many people think that he is gone forever, but fortunately that is not the case. You can retrieve a message that you just deleted, because it remains in the trash for 30 days. So, get your mail back! You go to menu, settings, account, recently deleted and then you can choose the message you just accidentally (or maybe on purpose, but regretfully) deleted. What a relief, huh?
8. No more spam
You know it, you have a request for a conversation from someone you don’t know. Often they have pretty normal names but turn out to be just spam accounts that add you to groups for their own gain. Fortunately, you can easily get yourself out of such undesirable situations by not getting thrown at them in the first place. You can go to settings on your account, notifications, private messages, group requests and then turn off. That will bring you some extra peace of mind.
9. Hide your status
You can see on WhatsApp when someone is online, even if they have their blue checkmarks unchecked. What about Instagram? There you can also see when someone is online, but you can also take that activity status offline. It also means that people see when you were last online and that is not something everyone likes to give away. To do this, go to your profile picture, choose the horizontal stripes, go to ‘Settings’ and then ‘Privacy’ to move the activity status to the left and hide your status.
10. Don’t be blinded by Instagram
Instagram is very useful, but you have a limited number of fonts and layout options. So look beyond Insta: an app like Canvas can help you create a template and a nice house style, so that your posts are immediately recognizable. You could also look at a photo editor such as VSCO, which gives you more choice in filters, for example.
Laura Jenny
When she’s not tapping, she’s traveling around the wonderful world of entertainment or some cool place in the real world. Mario is the man of her life,…
