How To Upload On Instagram For Your Business
Introduction
Over the years, several social media platforms have been launched to not just help you connect and digitally socialize with others but also help business owners increase their brand awareness and get more sales.
Instagram is one of the popular ones. With over ten years of existence, Instagram has helped businesses promote their offers, reach their target audience, and get more sales with unique features.
In this post, I’ll explore Instagram with you and show you how to upload content on the Facebook-owned platform and also promote your business.
Let’s dive straight into the guide below and then come back and learn more about what can help you put more money back in your pocket on my YouTube Channel.
About Instagram
Like I said earlier, Instagram is one of the most popular social media networks today. The platform was first launched in October 2010. However, during this time, it was only available to iOS users.
By April 2012, the platform was acquired by Facebook, and its presence grew wider as Android users could now download the application on their mobile devices.
Today, Instagram boasts of massive expansion with over 800 million users on the platform and estimated ad revenue of over 10 billion dollars.
Instagram allows you to follow different individuals and organizations all over the world.
This means that you can get updated by viewing your followers’ feeds as well as those you are following.
An Instagram feed contains recent pictures and videos of the users you follow and those following you. You can like these pictures and also make comments on them.
Instagram also allows you as a user to post pictures and videos on your feed, which people can as well view, like, and comment.
Apart from the upload feature, Instagram also makes it possible to message your followers and those who are following you directly. This means you can chat with people from anywhere around the world.
Another feature available on Instagram is Instagram stories. This enables you to upload pictures and videos in the form of a series. These story uploads will remain online for 24 hours, during which your followers (or anyone) will get to view it (depending on the settings you choose).
These stories automatically disappear after 24 hours, unless you choose to delete them before the time limit. There are a lot more features on the social media network. Let’ see who can use Instagram and how to post on the platform.
Who Can Use Instagram?
Anyone can use Instagram. You can create different types of accounts on the platform, whether as an individual, small business, or brands to connect with people, build an audience, and promote business.
As a business owner, you can use Instagram to showcase your products and services to the rest of the world. This will help you increase brand awareness and reach a wider audience on the platform.
How To Post On Your Instagram Feed?
Before you can post on your Instagram feed, you need to create an account on Instagram. Signing up on Instagram is easy and free and you can sign up using two options.
The first is using your Facebook account. Instagram will automatically get your information from Facebook and use it to create an account for you.
The second option is to sign up manually, filling your username, email address, mobile number, and password, as requested.
Once this is done, you can then fill in the necessary details about you on your Instagram bio page. You can also choose between a personal account and a business account.
It is also important to note that Instagram is designed especially for mobile devices. It is easier to navigate Instagram through the mobile app on your iOS or Android device than on your desktop device.
Although Instagram supports desktop options, it is better to have it on your phone, so you can enjoy a seamless experience while using it.
Posting on Instagram is essential and communicates a lot about you and your business. This is why it is essential to post the right thing at the right time.
Here are a few steps on how to go about posting on the platform.
Tap the + icon
This icon is present at the bottom of your screen on your mobile device. Once you tap the + icon, you will be directed to your gallery where you can pick pictures or videos you wish to upload. You can also take a fresh picture or video if you don’t have the desired picture in your gallery. All you have to do is to click on the “Photo” or “Video” option.
Crop the image
Once you have selected the image or video you want to upload, click on the “Next” button on the top right corner. This will take you to a page where you can crop the image to the desired dimension. Instagram has a specific dimension for their images and you might need to crop yours if the image does not fit perfectly with the standard dimension.
Instagram also allows you to try out the Carousel post option. This option allows you to upload multiple pictures at once. You can do this by clicking the icon on the right side of your selected photo (it looks like a stacked square).
With this feature, you can select multiple pictures and upload them all at once.
Choose a Filter
With 25 different filter options, Instagram allows you to select the best filter for your picture. Each filter has a unique contrast and brightness that comes with it. You can choose to edit this contrast and brightness to your taste. Once this is done, you can click on the Next button on the top right corner of the screen.
Add captions and hashtags
Captions are short messages you should write while uploading a picture. This message accompanies the picture you wish to upload, and it describes what the picture is about or at least capture the attention of your audience. You can also add emojis to your caption if you feel it will help you better pass the message.
Hashtags are used to enhance visibility. The hashtag you placed in your caption can increase your picture awareness. When a user searches with the hashtag, your picture, together with the other pictures with a similar hashtag, will be seen.
Tag friends and followers
Instagram allows you to tag your friends or anyone and you can achieve this by using two options. The first is to click on the “Tag People” option on the posting page and add the username. The second option is to add @ symbol and then type the username of the friends or followers you want to share your picture within your caption.
Add a location
Instagram also allows you to add your location to the picture you are uploading. You can do this by clicking on the “Add Location” tab on the post and then add your desired location to the post.
Post and share
Once this is done, you can click on the post button, and your picture or video will be live on your page for your followers to see. Instagram will also allow you to share your picture and video to other platforms such as Facebook.
How To Post on Instagram Story
Instagram allows you to post pictures and videos for your followers to see and like via your story. This feature can help increase your brand awareness and engage your followers often.
Another beautiful part of this is that the pictures and videos do not save on your feed. They only appear for 24 hours after which they are deleted. This means that you can share a lot of content with your followers without having to fill your feed with too much information.
Here is how to post on your Instagram story.
Click the camera icon
At the top left corner of your Instagram homepage, you will see a camera icon. Click on the icon and this will take you to a blank page where you can choose a picture (or video) from your gallery, take a picture or record a video with your phone camera to upload.
Click the white circle at the bottom
To snap a picture or record a video directly on Instagram, click the white circle at the bottom of the upload story page. You have to hold down the white circle to record a video. If you want to choose a picture or pre-recorded video from your gallery, swipe up.
There are several format types available from which you can select the one you prefer. These formats include Type, Live, Boomerang, Music, Superzoom, Focus, or Hands-free.
Instagram also allows you to check who viewed your Instagram feed. You can do this by following the steps below:
Click the “Your Story” icon on the top right corner of your page. You will be able to see a view count on the bottom right corner.
From this point, you can swipe up to see the list of those who viewed your story.
You can also check for other analytics and graphs if you are using an Instagram business account.
Instagram stories also allow you to add stickers and hashtags. Product stickers will help users familiarize themselves more with your business. Hashtags help to increase your brand awareness to more users.
When Can You Add A Swipe-up Link To Your Instagram Story?
Instagram also allows you to include links in your story that directs users to your website or product link. You can do this with the “Swipe Up” feature when you upload content to your Instagram story.
However, there are a few requirements you need to meet before you can include a link and use the “swipe up” feature as part of your Instagram Story.
- You must use an Instagram business account
- You must also have up to 10,000 followers on your Instagram business account
Once you have these features, you can then add a link to your website or the product page. This will help your users get to your product or service and make orders easily.
How To Post On IGTV?
IGTV is another unique feature on Instagram that allows you to create a channel and upload videos as though you are broadcasting from a TV. This is another feature business owners can leverage to increase their brand awareness.
Here’s what you need to do to post on IGTV.
Firstly, you need to be sure that your Instagram account should be a creator account
After that, hover to the settings option and create a channel that your followers and other IG users will get to watch your videos from
Once you have successfully created your channel, click on the IGTV avatar on the main screen
From this point, click on the + icon on the top right corner of your screen to add a video
You can then pick a video from your gallery, which can be horizontal or vertical. The standard vertical dimension is 9:16, while the horizontal dimension is 16:9.
From this point, you can add a relevant description to the video you want to upload. You can even include the link to your website or product page to this description.
Once this is completed, click on the “Post” button to publish your video on IGTV.
Kindly note that your uploaded video should have a limit of one hour. So consider this while recording your video. If your video will exceed one hour, you will have to divide it into sections and upload them after each other.
Final Words
Instagram offers various features to help business owners grow and meet their goals.
Asides posting your products for your followers to see organically, Instagram allows you to run Ads for your business to reach a much wider target audience.
If you do not have an Instagram account yet, go and create one now and watch your business grow and sales automatically increase. Also while your add it go ahead and follow me – https://Instagram.com/Shelly_hopkins77 😉
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Shelly Hopkins
