50 Genius Instagram Hacks to Grow Your Brand

  • Hashtags

  • Hashtags rule! Similar to Twitter (grandfather of the hashtag) hashtags rule on Instagram: its how users brand themselves and their interests, and how marketers target specific audiences.

  • 30 hashtags are allowed on each Instragram post, unless you\'re already built an audience and following use minimum 5-6 on each post.

  • Find your ideal clients, see what hashtags they’re using, and start using the ones that are aligned with your brand.

  • Scout your competitors or a similar brand and see what #s are (and aren\'t!) working for them.

  • Google the top hashtags by topic for your target audience and service or product.

  • Branded hashtags are unique #s you create for your product, service or campaign to use on your IG posts and can help boost your social media efforts.

  • Use key message #s in your IG post then add #s targeting your ideal clients in a Comment on the post.

  • Do 30 #s look too spammy in your post? Separate the bulk of your #s from your message by creating several lines with 1 emoji, period or dash, then add the rest of your #s.

  • Tools

  • Onlypult is a paid tool that provides automatic Instagram posting and scheduling as well as analytics. https://onlypult.com/

  • HootSuite is a freemium tool that to schedule your Instagram posts and engage with your followers. http://signup.hootsuite.com/na-eng-instagram/

  • IFTTT is a free tool to create social media actions, ie Tweet your Instagrams as native photos on Twitter https://ifttt.com/applets/aVxGRrtD-tweet-your-instagrams-as-native-photos-on-twitter

  • Hopper Instagram Schedule is a paid fully automated Instagram scheduler, engagement and analysis tool. https://www.hopperhq.com/

  • Later is a free tool to plan and schedule your Instagram posts. https://later.com/

  • Buffer for Instagram is a freemium tool to plan, track, and amplify your Instagram marketing. https://buffer.com/instagram

  • Bots

  • GrowthPup is a paid Instagram engagement tool to help build your following. https://growthpup.com/

  • SocialGrow is a paid tool - or personal assistant - to target, engage and follow your ideal audience. https://socialgrow.io/

  • Insta-Porter is a paid tool to raise brand awareness and gain quality followers. https://www.insta-porter.com/

  • Pods, Tribes and Communities

  • Brand Ambassadors and Influencers IG users who use and love your product, and want to sing its praises to other Instagram users.

  • Ask for a Shout-Out from your loyal followers.

  • #s4s or #share4share to find other users who will share your post in exchange for you sharing their post

  • Get Notifications when Influencers post. get a notification every time a specific user posts a new photo. Turn on notifications for each user individually.

  • Monitor

  • See your Likes Go to your profile and click "Options" - a gear icon on iPhone/iPad, and three dots on Android -- then, click "Posts You\'ve Liked."

  • Save or bookmark posts by going to your profile, and tapping the bookmark icon on the top-right menu above your photos.

  • Set your iPhone on airplane mode when scrolling so you don\'t accidentally Like a post... such as a competitor\'s.

  • Clear your search history by going to your profile and click "Options" (a gear icon on iPhone/iPad and three dots on Android); then scroll down and click "Clear Search History."

  • Browse posts from specific locations Tap the magnifying glass icon at the bottom of your home screen, click the search bar, 4 tabs will appear. Choose "Places," and type in the place.

  • Count your story views: Open Story --> Swipe Up --> IG displays view count and users

  • Images

  • Use Instagram as a photo editor without posting the image to IG right then by publishing a picture while your phone is on airplane mode - the edited photo will be in your Saved Photos.

  • Reorder & prioritize Instagram filters with the filter management button to not only prioritize your best filters, but delete the ones your brand doesn’t use.

  • Regram and tag influencers using a tool to repost Instagram images - I like RepostIt! https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/repost-for-instagram-repost-whiz-regram-video-it/id809009732?mt=8

  • Resize photos to the ideal IG square dimensions using a tool like Landscape https://sproutsocial.com/landscape

  • Pin you posts to Pinterest using an IFTTT applet https://ifttt.com/applets/52883001d-add-to-a-pinterest-board-when-you-include-a-specific-hashtag-in-your-insta-caption

  • Bios and Profiles

  • Browse posts near your current location by going to "Places" (see above) Tap the search bar, and select "Near Current Location."

  • Insert line breaks into your bio and captions by pressing the "123" key in the bottom lefthand corner of the keyboard, and the "Return" key will appear on the bottom right.

  • Hide photos you\'ve been tagged in by going to your profile and clicking the person icon below your bio; and choose "Hide Photos."

  • To look at posts with a certain geotag go to a photo that\'s geotagged with that location and click the geotag. It\'ll show you the top and recent posts that were geotagged with that location.

  • Add 1 hashtag to your bio: its searchable! This is a good spot for a branded hashtag.

  • Use your brand colors to stand out: if your color isn\'t an IG default, open the color slider to choose a custom color.

  • Use the new Hands-Free option to record videos.

  • Hide your Instagram stories: Options --> Account --> Hide Stories --> Hide My Stories From

  • Create a solid color background for Instagram stories Pen Icon --> Select a Color --> Tap --> Hold 3 seconds --> Fill with Color

  • Timing

  • B2B brands see the most activity during the week.

  • B2C brands see more activity nights and weekends.

  • Evenings from 7-9pm is statistically the best time to post on Instagram because many users or on IG..

  • Weekdays are the best days to post to Instagram for engagement.

  • Mondays have the highest level of engagement in the week.

  • Posting times with the best activity include 2 am, 8 am and 5 pm.

  • 3 pm has the least amount of engagement.

  • Comments

  • Filter comments based on keywords: Go to the person icon on your profile: Options --> Comments --> Hide Inappropriate comments

  • Delete comments: Tap the speech bubble on the post with the comment --> Swipe left over the comment --> Trash OR --> Swipe left --> Delete

  • Learn More: Top 5 Instagram Hacks http://hirecatherine.com/2017/03/18/top-5-instagram-hacks/

This checklist was created by catherinerussell

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