So posting on Instagram might seem like rocket science to some people but if you’re new to it then it might seem a bit confusing. On the screen there will be 5 icons along the bottom. The first one is shaped like a house and Is your home page to see what anyone you’re following is posting. Second is the sear tool to search for accounts or hashtags, then there’s the plus symbol and that’s what you’ll be using to post on you’re account. After that there’s a play button and that’s where you’ll find posts that are reels, and lastly there’s a picture of your profile picture and that’s where you’ll find your personal account to make changes. So the plus symbol is what you’re going to want in the centre at the bottom and this will allow you to either make a post on your main account, post a story which I’ll be going over later, post a reel which is a video or go live, going live is basically what it sounds like It’s almost like being on video call to your followers but you don’t see their faces. Just for an example We’re just going to talk about posting pictures saved on your camera roll so if there’s anything you want to edit do that before hand and once you’re ready to post you can either select your picture or there’s an option In the bottom right corner allowing you to select up to 10 pictures. Once happy with what you’ve selected press next, there will be an option to add a filter but the option aren’t great which is why I said edit before hand, press next again and you’ll have the option to add a caption and hashtags. Underneath that you can tag people this is good if you’ve collaborated on work with someone else you can include them in your post or maybe If you’ve been inspired by another artist give them a tag so they’ll notice your work. You can add a location, fundraiser or Facebook. After you’re happy with everything press share and you’re done.
Now you know the key points to using Instagram successfully all there’s left to do is put it in to play. You might be doing all of these things but noticing that you’re account isn’t doing as well as you’d hoped and if that’s the case there are a few things you’ll need to ask yourself. Are you posting enough? What time of day are you posting? How long have you been doing these steps for? Being patient is key, you won’t gain hundreds of thousands of followers over night unless you’re a celebrity. It does take time to build a following but don’t give up, make sure you post regularly, at least once a day if possible. Interact with followers and other accounts, if there are any trends going around try to take part in them. Be interesting, don’t post the same thing over and over again. Be smart about it, check which of your posts are getting the most likes and find a pattern like is it the same type of picture your posting or are the posts completely different and if they are see if the time of day that they were posted match up. A lot of people find that posting certain time of the day while their followers are more active is the best time to post.
We’ve gone over some key aspects of Instagram to get your work seen and to build up you’re account but you can also use Instagram to get inspiration for your work and to learn new techniques. In my opinion the best part about Instagram is that it works two ways people can follow you and take inspiration from your work but you can also do the same with others that you might be following. It’s always a good idea to try and follow people who create work that you enjoy and to support other artists on the app, it’s more like a community so a good way to get out there is by supporting other as well. Like other people posts comment on their posts, ask questions it’s a great way to learn new skills.
Stories are a great feature that Instagram offers. You can post pictures or videos to your story and there are features under the stickers section that allow follows to interact with you. For instance there’s the poll opinion where you can put any question or ask for an opinion and you would obviously give your followers options to pick from. This feature is a great way for your followers to feel that you’re interacting with them and it also give them a voice which is great for am artist because it’s like getting instant opinions on your work and can help with moving forward with future projects. The only downside to this is that they can only choose from options they’ve been given by you, but there is another sticker that allows you to ask a question. This is great because you can ask any question you’d like about your work, for instance you could ask what’s working well and what isn’t working so well in your followers opinions. This is a fast way to gain feedback and can be helpful for future reflection. It can also be a helpful way to move forward with your practice, sometimes after finishing one piece of work it can be a little difficult knowing what to do next so this allows you to ask followers what they’d like to see next. This is a key feature in my opinion because a big part of social media is inclusivity and interaction and if you’re keeping on top of your social media you’ll have a better chance of gaining a bigger following.
