I'm spilling the tea about some of the most important Instagram features that you should be using. I know IG can be overwhelming. That's why I narrowed it down to only 3 right now. I paired examples with each of them so you can immediately implement these into your IG strategy.
1. IG Stories
Stories are about nurturing your followers. This is where you show the behind the scenes of your business and daily routines. Serve your audience with quick tips and encourage conversations by using stickers like questions and polls. If you're only sharing to your feed, you're missing out on the number one connection point you have with your followers. Keep it laid back. It's like a coffee date with your best friend. The only person judging you is yourself.
Example: Just made a post to your feed? Take 5 minutes after you post it to get on stories and introduce the post–yes, you! Your beautiful face! Then share the actual post to your story as the last slide with a “tap here!” sticker or text. A lot of your followers may never even see your feed post unless your share about it in your stories. You want more eyes on it, right?
2. Location based tags
If your business is based on location and you want more people following you who live near you, listen up! Add your city as the location to every feed post to increase your reach and discoverability.
Example: I usually list either Edwardsville, Illinois (my actual city) or St. Louis, Missouri (closet big city)
Compile a list of local hashtags for your feed posts, as well. Take 10 minutes to search Instagram for local hashtags that align with your business and ideal client. Location hashtags should be used in addition to your other hashtags.
St. Louis examples: #stlbusiness #stlblogger #stlphotographer #stlmade #stlfoodie #stlouisgram #stlouiswedding #stlboutique
3. Educational Carousels
This is the most popular feed post style right now and you're missing out on engagement if you aren't posting them. Carousel posts (multiple slides that you can swipe through) make users stay on your content longer. Someone is more likely to interact with your post if they take a few seconds to swipe through 3 or more slides, versus scrolling right past your single-image feed post.
Example: Create a carousel with one main image that will show on your grid and then 3 slides that follow it. First image should introduce what you're going to teach us/show us. The next three should each be their own tip/how-to/explanation/example for what it is you're talking about.
Industry examples:
Fashion blogger: How to style your summer clothes in the winter.
Photographer: How I capture personality in a couples session.
Health & Wellness: Do these stretches daily to improve your posture.
Food: Fruit & vegetable must-haves for a healthy immune system.
Want 30 free content prompts and organization tips to get you started? Click here to get your guide!
