A Beginner’s Guide [Expert Insights + New Data]

Instagram — IG or Insta, for people cooler than me — was once a photo-sharing social platform.

Back then, “Do it for the ‘gram” was a common saying, which meant, essentially, “Do something fun/funny/risky so we can take a picture and post it to Instagram.”

“It’s also increasingly used as a place to get news, learn about current events, and follow along in real-time for things like red carpets,” she adds.

For brands and marketers, the purpose is to get in front of millions of highly engaged viewers.

“Instagram presences are used to build and communicate a brand narrative and to connect with lovers of the brand,” Kearns says. “It can be used for a lot of things from driving awareness of a new product to driving conversions with specific targeted placements.”

But don’t think of it as simply blasting ads to passive viewers. Smart brands are creating legions of loyal fans who spread that love.

“There has been a huge shift recently where brands are focusing more on building a community through relatable and entertaining content,” says Reece Callaway, an Associate Manager on that same social dream team.

As a user, you just start following accounts that post things that interest you. You can also post things you find interesting, and others will follow you. (I’ll show you how to do both in a minute.)

“I use it to show some of the cool trips and adventures I go on with my friends and family!” says Reece Callaway.

As a business, your job is to start consistently posting the type of engaging content that your ideal audience wants to see.

What exactly does that mean? That depends on your marketing goals…. and your audience.

“They all understand their brand and what the users want from them,” she explains. “They nail it with every post in their own unique way.”

Instagram Navigation

Each time you open the app, you’ll be presented with a feed of content from the accounts you follow. On the bottom of your screen, you’ll find the main menu bar. Here’s what each of the icons mean and how to use them.

Home: The home button takes you to your main feed. It’s located on the far left and you can click it no matter where you are in the app.

Search: Pressing this magnifying glass button takes you to Instagram’s explore page where you can search accounts and hashtags. You can also browse content from accounts you don’t follow, but have been suggested based on your current likes and similar content you’ve viewed.

Reels: This clapperboard symbol is the reels icon. When you click it, you’ll be taken to the reels page where you can watch short-form content.

Messenger: The word bubble with a lightning bolt takes you to the messenger app. Here you can send messages, pics, and videos directly to other users. (If you’ve heard the phrase “sliding into DMs,” this is where you do that.)

Profile: This icon on the far right should be a small circle with your profile photo. Hitting this button directs you to your main profile page where you can see all of your posts, follower information and reels.

At the top right corner, you’ll see two more icons:

New Post: Pressing the “ + “ symbol in the center of the menu you can create a new post, story, reel, or go live.

Heart: The heart brings you to your notifications. Here, you’ll get a heads up about who is interacting with your content or account. We’ll get deeper into that a little later.

Now that you have a better understanding of the app’s interface, let’s look at how to create an Instagram profile.

How to Create an Instagram Account

Once you’ve downloaded the app and completed the signup process, it’s time to create a profile.

As you can see, I’ve still got to set up my profile. Knowing what to say about yourself or your brand can be intimidating, so you might be tempted to skip this step.

DON’T. SKIP. THIS. STEP.

“An IG page is oftentimes one of the first touch points for a consumer,” says Kearns. “So it’s critical that what they’re seeing reflects how you want your brand to be perceived. First impressions matter!”

Your Instagram profile acts as the main hub for all posts, reels, stories, and videos. This is also the space where you can access your settings and account information as well as keep track of your followers and those you’re following.

Note: If you have an Android, these instructions may vary slightly.

Add or Edit Your Profile Picture

1. Tap your profile picture on the top left to go to your profile.
2. Tap “Edit Profile.”
3. Tap “Change profile photo.”
4. Click “Upload Photo,” then select your picture to import.

Add a Bio

1. Click your profile picture on the left to go to your profile.
2. Click “Edit Profile” at the top of the screen, then click the text box next to “Bio.”
3. Write your bio.
4. Click “Submit” to save your changes.

Add a Website

1. Tap the profile symbol or your profile picture in the bottom right to go to your profile.
2. Tap “Edit Profile” at the top of the screen.
3. Tap “Links,” then tap “Add external link” to add the URL for your website.
4. Tap “Done.” You can also remove a link by tapping on the link and then tapping “Remove Link.”
5. Tap “Back” (<), then tap “Done” to save your changes.

If you plan on using Instagram for business, you’ll definitely want to make use of the bio and website sections to help potential customers learn more about your brand.

How do Instagram notifications work?

If you’re like me and get easily distracted (or overwhelmed) by social media, you’ll want to adjust your notifications so you only receive the info that you want.

For instance, you can choose to receive notifications when you get likes from anyone — or you might decide to only receive notifications when you get a like from someone you follow.

Or, like me, you might turn off notifications for likes altogether.

To give you a warning, there are a lot of categories of notifications.

Here’s an official list of what you might get pinged about:

• Likes and Comments on Photos of You
• Comments
• Comment Likes and Pins
• Comment Daily Digest
• First Posts and Stories
• Notes
• Add to Post Submissions
• Added to Post
• Mention Requests
• New Followers
• Accepted Follow Requests
• Account suggestions
• Mentions in Bio
• Message Requests
• Messages from Individual and Group Chats
• Message Reminders
• Group Requests
• Broadcast Channel Invites
• Broadcast Channel Messages
• Original Audio
• Remixes
• Live Videos
• Recently Uploaded Reels
• Most Watched Reels
• Add Yours
• Reels Made for You
• Your Fundraisers
• Fundraisers by Others
• Reminders
• Product Announcements & Feedback
• Support Requests
• Trending Places
• Birthdays

If you got bored and scrolled past all that, I get it. Me, too.

You can set any of those to “Off”, “From People I Follow”, or “From Everyone.”

Pro Tip for Users: A good idea is to start with “From Everyone” and then turn off the notifications that annoy you.

And, as an added bonus, the keyword monitoring feature means you’ll never miss a mention— even if it doesn’t hit your notifications.

To customize which notifications you receive, follow these steps:

1. Open up the Instagram app on your phone.

First up, open up the Instagram app on your mobile device. (You can also access Instagram on desktop if you prefer.)

Then, head to your profile by clicking the image of your profile picture on the bottom right.

2. Access “Settings.”

After you arrive at your profile, click on the gear icon in the top left corner.

3. Tap “Notifications.”

On the next screen, click “Notifications.”

From here, you can choose between your “Push notifications” and “Email notifications.”

Pro Tip: A “push notification” is a message that pops up in the app or on your phone.

4. Check off the notifications you want to receive.

Here, you’ll be able to change the notification settings for every category in that huge laundry list from above.

You also have the ability to pause all notifications by toggling the Pause All option up top.

The options will vary depending on category.

How to Upload, Edit, and Post an Image

1. Tap your profile picture in the upper left-hand corner.

Alternatively, swipe right on your feed or tap the “+” button in the top navigation bar.

2. Capture or add your media.

Once you’re within the Stories feature, you can take a picture or video right from within the app. Alternatively, if you have an image saved to your phone that you’d like to use, you can choose it from your media library.

3. Add stickers or filters.

On the left-hand side, you have a few different editing features.

The “Create” button lets you add a location, hashtag, time, date, and other fun images or emojis to your picture.

The “Boomerang” option allows you to create a looping video. And the “Aa” icon is your text button. Once you click “Aa”, you have the option to change your font.

If you click the smiley face icon, you’ll see the following screen. Simply click on one of the icons to add them to your image. If you don’t like it, drag it to the bottom, and a trash can will appear so you can delete it.

For instance, I clicked the smiley face icon to add a poll to my image. You can also swipe to the left or right to add filters to your photo or video.

4. Publish your Story.

Once you’re happy with your content, you can either click the white arrow icon in the bottom right, which allows you to share your Story with everyone who follows you, or select “Close Friends” first, so that only your close friends see it.

Then you’re done! Your Story is immediately live.

How to Follow on Instagram

It’s incredibly easy to find and follow users. If you know who you want to follow, just use the search feature to look for celebrities, brands, or friends.

Or if you know what type of content you want to find, but aren’t sure who posts it, you can search for “tags.”

For instance, if you search “#familyrecipes” under tags, your results will include any images with that hashtag.

As you scroll, you might find someone who posts content you really like, and you can choose to follow them so their content appears on your feed.

To follow someone, follow these three easy steps.

1. Click on the search icon at the bottom of your screen.

It looks like a magnifying glass and will be right next to the “Home” button.

2. Next, type in a person, brand, or topic.

For this example, because I love derpy dogs, I searched the topic “dog derps.”

Instagram allows you to either search all posts that contain combinations of those words, or “See all results” and see tags and places.

3. Tap the account you’re interested in following.

Once you’re on someone else’s account, you’ll see a blue “Follow” button at the top.

For public profiles, you can click and immediately begin following that account. However, if the profile is private, you may need to wait for them to accept you first.

Can you connect to Instagram to other social accounts?

Here are four tips from a Q1 HubSpot Blog survey of nearly 700 global Instagram marketers:

• Timing is everything. Over 50% of marketers say that Friday is the best day for engagement. While you can post every day, save your best content for Friday.

• Pop those Tags. The majority of marketers used 10-15 hashtags on a given post. Be sure to choose tags that are relevant to your product, but also likely to be searched.

• Flaunt it if you got it. 36.9% of marketers report that showcasing products and services gets the most engagement out of their posts.Don’t be afraid to promote your products!

• Consider bang for your buck. While marketers overwhelmingly chose videos as the format that gets the most views and likes, it was standard image posts that got the most shares and comments. And given the high effort of making high-quality videos, 26% of marketers pointed to images as having the highest ROI.

Instagram FAQs

Can I get on Instagram without creating an account?

You can browse Instagram with limited functionality for a short time without an account.

After a while, you’ll be prompted to log in before you can continue.

What devices work with Instagram?

The Instagram app will work on any device with iOS, Android, or Windows 10. The Instagram website can be used from any device that can access the web.

What’s an Instagram handle?

An Instagram handle is your username. For businesses, this should be directly related to your brand name so that your customers can find you.

For example, HubSpot’s handle is simply @hubspot.

What’s an Influencer?

An influencer is anyone with an audience. Just like you would trust a friend’s recommendations, influencers can impact others’ opinions through their established relationship.

The larger their audience, the more valuable an influencer can be to a marketing campaign.

What’s an Instagram Reel?

A Reel is a short video shared on Instagram, typically between 15-90 seconds.

What’s an Instagram Story?

An Instagram Story is a photo or short video that disappears after 24 hours.

Using Instagram is Key for Growing Your Personal Brand

Editor’s note: This post was originally published in November 2018 and has been updated for comprehensiveness.