Instagram is a social media powerhouse. In just five years, more than have been shared on Instagram, and it now has more than 400 million monthly active users. 50,000 new photos were shared on Instagram in the past 60 seconds. That’s 80 million new photos and 3.5 billion new likes every single day.
So how you can tap into this large, growing and vibrant community to create better content, grow your followers and get more engagement? Based on what we’ve seen work for brands and individuals, we’ve pulled together a list of our top Instagram tips. If you follow them, we bet you’ll start doing better on Instagram.
When is the best time to post to Instagram?
- Instagram is very active on nights and weekends.
- Consider posting content outside typical US business hours.
- Your experience will vary, so test a lot and figure out what works for your content and your audience.
How often should I post on Instagram?
- Post 1-2 times a day to maximize engagement.
- Stick to a regular posting schedule.
- Don’t stop posting for long periods of time or you will lose followers.
- Most Instagram content lives up to 3 days, but 90% of a post’s likes and comments happen in the first 12.8 hours.
How can I improve my Instagram posts?
- Post the right kind of content for Instagram.
- Post only high-quality photos and videos.
- Photos get more engagement than videos on Instagram, so post more photos than videos.
- Stick to the Instagram aesthetic, but filters aren’t necessary.
How can I better use hashtags to increase engagement?
- Research a hashtag before using it.
- Find the hashtags that work best for your content.
- Try a variety of new hashtags to see which ones work and which ones don’t.
- Use a mix of large popular hashtags, as well as targeted, lower-volume hashtags.
- Use 3-10 hashtags per post.
- Consider adding hashtags in a comment separate from a post’s caption.
- Don’t add new hashtags to older posts.
Really, our Instagram tips come down to a few simple rules. Instagram content is a lot more evergreen than people give it credit for, so take the time to create and share high-quality content. Keep up a steady cadence of new content to maximize engagement. And if you stop posting, you will lose followers. Use hashtags to reach new audiences and boost content discovery.
If you’re going to start an Instagram account, be prepared to commit to it – don’t let it stagnate. Keep trying new things and keep track of what works and what doesn’t. Do more of what works and less of what doesn’t.
And of course, we recommend that you measure your work with Union Metrics! We have a free Instagram account checkup that provides quick metrics for your own account, as well as awesome and in-depth analytics subscriptions for hashtags and accounts.
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