We all love shortcuts for our social media apps that make our lives easier. So, we’ve put together a few of our favorite tips and tricks for Instagram.
If you’re really ready to gear up your social media plan, take a look at our social media marketing guide that lays out how to boost the number of leads your efforts are producing. It’s good stuff, and you can download it for free.
1. Preview other users’ pictures from their profile overview.You may find yourself scrolling through other users’ timelines searching for a particular post. If they post a lot, you may have to scroll for a while – but we have a solution. Go to the user’s profile where you see all of their posts.
Scroll down through their pictures and hold your finger on an image; the image will enlarge without opening a new screen.
Let go and the image goes right back and you automatically return to the full profile.
You can also slide your finger up slightly and release to see the options to “Like,” “Comment” or “Send as Message.”
2. Reorganize the image filters and hide the ones you don't use.
We all know the black and white filters (Willow, Inkwell, Moon) make every picture an instant classic, and X-Pro II can make Snow White appear tan. Maybe you have a few Instagram photo filters that you always go to and some you always skip over. Well, to make life easier, you can hide those filters you never use and move the ones used most often to the front of the pack. Here’s how:
Start by selecting a photo to edit as if you were going to post it. Once you get to the filters page, slide all the way to the right until you see the “Manage” tab.
3. Hide ads you don't want to see.
Instagram (somewhat) recently started showing ads to users based on their preferences – people you follow, posts you like, and even some of your information on Facebook (Instagram’s parent company).
Occasionally, you may see an ad that you find irrelevant. You now have the option to let Instagram know you don’t want to see that ad.
At the top right of the ad, tap the “Sponsored” tab. Select “Hide This.”
4. Receive notifications when your favorite people post.
Sometimes you may scroll for days without seeing a post from any of your close friends or favorite brands. That’s why we love this feature – you can select to receive notifications any time your favorite people post a new photo. Here’s how to turn on post notifications:
Go to that specific user’s profile and select a recent post. Tap on the three dots at the bottom right of the post, and select “Turn On Post Notifications.”
If you later decide you don’t want to receive notifications from that user, just repeat the same steps listed above.
5. Review all the photos you've liked.
Can’t find that recipe post from one of the culinary blogs you follow? Well, if you liked the photo they posted of that dish, just scroll over to your profile, select the “Options” icon and view the “Posts You’ve Liked.”
6. Send photos privately to your friends.
When we find a good book or a relevant news story, the easiest way to share it with our team is through a direct message. There’s two ways to do that, depending on whether it’s an existing photo or a new one.
- If the photo already exists on Instagram – whether you posted it or someone else - go to the photo, and tap the curved arrow icon below the photo. Select the users you’d like to send the picture to and include a little message if you’d like.
- If it’s a new photo, upload it as if you were going to post it. Go through the steps you normally would and when you get to the last step where you tag and write a comment, select “Direct” at the top of the screen. You can then choose the users you want to receive the message and hit “Send to Group.”
To access your direct messages in the future, just toggle to the mailbox icon in the top right corner of your main feed.
7. Remove photos that are tagged on your map.
So, when we first discovered this feature, we were a bit creeped out. Go to your profile and select the location pin above all of your posts.
A map will open with groups of photos tagged according to your location when you posted each one. You can zoom in and see each specific location of each individual picture.
(See why we were creeped out now?)
To remove the location data from one or several photos, tap the “Edit” tab in the top right of the screen. The numbers by each group of pictures will turn green.
You can then tap on any grouping and select “Edit” from the menu that appears. From there, you can choose to “Deselect all” or select individual images to remove the location data.
Select “Done” and then “Confirm” in the pop-up window that appears. And, boom. The location data will be removed from those photos permanently.
(Note – this also removes the geotag you may have included when you initially posted the picture.)
Also, as of this week, Instagram users can switch between multiple accounts without the hassle of logging out and logging back in to another account. For people managing small business accounts or client accounts in addition to their personal profiles, this will save a good bit of time. Visit Instagram’s website for instructions on how to set up additional accounts.
