12 Practical Instagram Tips for Beginners

Now that Instagram has grown its high potential for branching out your business, it’s about time you get familiar with some of the practical Instagram tips for beginners. Remember that just because this social platform exists doesn’t mean that you have to use it, like every other social network. You have to start thinking about your audience and who you’re trying to reach out to, take into consideration what your social marketing goals would be specifically for your Instagram platform.

#1 The Most Practical Instagram Tip For Beginners

Instagram has always been a great platform for mobile devices. So to start things off, download this app on your Android or iPhone device and register your very own account. This is the most practical Instagram tip for any beginner. You have a choice of making a casually public account, into a private and more secure one. If you choose to do this, only the users that you approve can view your feed.

#2 Personal Info

The second most important practical Instagram tip for beginners would be to change that profile picture and edit the details in your profile information or description. The description is more or less a brief 150-word bio about your account. You don’t necessarily have to put in all the itty gritty details like your complete name or where it is you’re exactly located.

Just try to come up with something catchy and interesting for your followers. If it’s traveling or cooking you love so much, make it known in a unique way of words Consider your new account your informal business card and greeting to the entire world.

#3 Get Notifications

Instagram isn’t like Facebook or Twitter, meaning it’s not a web-hosted feed of photos; most of what you do is mobile. So another one of those practical Instagram tips for beginners would be to start setting up push notifications. This will keep you posted on what is happening with your feed and with Instagram on a regular basis even when you’re not directly using the app.

Of course, if you are one of those persons who gets annoyed by notifications popping up, you can choose not to enable push notifications. Instagram will still keep you updated on your accounts activity, only just in the news section of the app.

#4 Start Posting Photos

Instagram is all about value not just for you as a user of its platform, but also to your followers. So one of the most practical Instagram tips for beginners would be to make it your goal to post photos and videos that would engage in some sort of emotion. Start with the best quality photos and color trends, and start sharing them on your feed.

You can choose to take photos then and there or choose a photo that’s already saved on your device.

#5 Be Original

There are so many legal and law-abiding reasons why we should not post stolen or unoriginal photos on our feed. Remember it’s difficult for people to trust anyone if they aren’t being open and transparent.

Your photos should tell your story; they should show you as a real person and present genuine interest in something. Think of it this way, posting your own photos will help you connect with others better.

#6 Filters and Effects

There are 17 famous Instagram filters, each unique in its own beautiful way. So one of our practical Instagram tips for beginners like you would be to try playing around with these filters.

Just try not to overdo it by using too many filters. Just because they all look great doesn’t mean using a bunch of filters will automatically enhance all your photos. People still prefer those natural looking, awe-striking posts than any other.

#7 Liking and Following

Another one of our practical Instagram tips for beginners would be to be moderate in liking and following on Instagram. We recommend following only those people who you like, friends, or you find intriguing due to their following of your feed. It’s a genuine gesture to follow back people who follow you, but if they are into over-sharing on their feed, you don’t really have to be that nice. Be genuine in liking as well, you don’t have to like every single thing you see, remember that.

#8 Using Video

Instagram has a feature call video, where you can record short video clips for up to 15 seconds long. Our next practical Instagram tip for beginners: try using this in a creative way. Why not look through its unique filters, splice cut clips together, and get creative with our own animation?

Just like with your photos, if you are a bit hesitant to create a video live, try using one that’s already on your device. For you lucky iPhone users, here’s a neat treat; you can upload multiple saved videos, splice them together and create something magical.

#9 Use of Comments

One of our top practical Instagram tip for beginners is to be self-evident. There is so much hate in the world, so there is no need to bring that to your Instagram feed. Not everyone will post stuff that you approve of, so you can always block or unfollow them. Just because someone is behaving rudely on Instagram, doesn’t mean you have to do the same as well.

We also recommend trying asking questions and connecting more with people by using good manners and asking questions. Show your interest in someone else’s feed. Make your intentions clear and show your appreciation for something, other than your own posts. You’d be surprised where this kind of courtesy can get you.

#10 Hashtags

Now we’re getting into some stuff for the more experienced user, one thing we still consider as a practical Instagram tip is to practice the use of the #hashtags. This will increase your reach on Instagram and actually encourages more engagement, possibly even get you more followers.

We know this seems exciting, but take a deep breath there and relax; we don’t want to take things too far. Don’t go ahead and bloat your caption with a bunch of #hashtags, most of them won’t even be relevant to your post. If you are going to use #hashtags make sure to keep it to a minimum and only use relevant words in your photo caption. Add the rest of the hashtags that you see relevant into a comment to the photo.

We highly recommend you practice this, that’s if you really want to connect with new people who are interested in who you are. You’ll also be able to connect with people who are posting the same kind of content on their feed. Take note that the more specific and unique your #hashtag the better, and if it’s too popular… well just avoid it.

#11 Be Consistent

Sometimes this is the most difficult thing to practice but an important and practical Instagram tip would be to be consistent all the time. This doesn’t mean posting every day at the exact same time, but keep your posting at regular pace on your feed.

Try posting a once a day at various times, you can do the casual “throwback” or some great in the moment photos, especially related to food or travel. Don’t stick with amazing photos just during those times, always have something great to show to the world, that’s the key. Just remember to always show the real you.

#12 Links

Instagram provides us with one more thing that we would like to give you as part of our practical Instagram tips for beginners, that would be the use of its links. It doesn’t necessarily allow hyperlinks in your photos captions and comments; you can only place them in your description. Why? This is simply so you get more insight and emphasis on what you decide to link your feed to.

You can always still write a link in your photo captions, but they won’t be clickable by your audience. What users usually do is tell their audience to click on the link in their description, and that’s a good place to start.

Wrapping it Up

I know these are a handful of tips to take in, and most of them might be a bit confusing at first. The number one thing that we encourage though is to be safe. If you decide to keep your feed public, be cautious. If you post a link, and if you give certain specifics on where you are or what you’re doing, be careful.

The world is a better place knowing that you are using your social platforms safely and that you are aware of all the content you decide to post. So experiment, stay engaged with your audience, try something new or stick with something old and have fun. Instagram is about connecting people and throwing us into a world of unforgettable sneak peeks, let’s keep it that way!