We know that you’re busy marketing your business and services on Instagram and it can take time to get your head around every new feature.

That’s exactly why we’ve taken the pain out of that research with this quick guide on the latest new features.

We’ve even included some features that are due to be rolled out in the coming months, so you can always feel like you’re ahead of the curve and ready to take full advantage of these great new ways of marketing yourself on Instagram.

So, sit back, relax, and by the end of this article, you’ll be fully updated on the new features that matter the most to your business!

Newest Instagram Features 

The month of August saw some huge changes in the land of Instagram. In the last year, there has definitely been a push towards video content and we’re seeing that more and more with each new Instagram feature.

Instagram Reels

You’ve probably heard of Instagram Reels by now unless you’ve been living under a rock with no internet connection!

Instagram launched their new Reels feature back in August and we can only guess that this is in response to the wild popularity of TikTok!

At a time when brands and businesses were wondering whether or not TikTok should form part of their marketing strategy, Instagram swooped in and gave us Reels!

Reels is similar to TikTok in that it allows you to share video content on Instagram with background music and special effects.

How to Use Instagram Reels

Reels is relatively easy to use.

Click into your Instagram Stories and from there, slide over to Reels on the right-hand side.

You can record from your video content from there or if you’d prefer, you can upload a pre-recorded video from your phone.

Reels makes it easy to chop and change, edit and alter each individual video clip which will merge into one video that can be up to 30 seconds long.

Initially Reels were only 15 seconds long but after some pressure from users, Instagram confirmed in September that Reels can now be up to 30 seconds long.

We expect to see Instagram extend the length of Reels even further to compete with the one-minute long videos we see over on TikTok.

Once you have made your Reel, you can share it to your feed, to the new Reels section of the Explore page, to your Instagram story or via Direct Message.

Your Reel will appear in the Reel section of your Instagram profile (similar to IGTV) and it will also appear in your Instagram grid if you share it to your feed.

Why Should You Be Using Reels?

Whether you are a business owner, social media marketer or an influencer, Reels are simply a must right now.

Many Instagram users experienced a significant drop in engagement once Reels was launched. It seemed that Instagram was favouring Reel content over traditional posts and carousels.

Therefore, Reels are the in thing on Instagram and it seems they are favoured by the algorithm.

There is no time like the present to get comfortable with Reels before everyone starts using them. This increases your chances of going viral and generating more visibility for your business.

Get experimenting with Reels and you and your brand will reap the benefits!

New Fonts for Instagram Stories

Instagram Stories are experiencing a much-needed makeover lately.

Previously, font options were pretty limited. Now, you can really make your Stories pop with a whole host of new fonts!

There’s even a new option to have your letters flash across the screen.

This is a much-welcomed new addition to the Instagram family and it will make it easier for businesses and influencers to get a little more creative on stories, with more options of fonts that will align better with your branding.

There is a huge focus on Stories lately so make sure you are getting on there and utilising these great new features.

Other new Instagram Features 

Suggested Posts

The scroll never stops, especially with this new feature which was introduced in September. If you manage to scroll to the end of your feed, Instagram will now show you ‘Suggested Posts’ based on your interests and accounts you interact with.

This is similar to the Explore Tab and businesses will be eager to get their posts seen both in the Explore Tab and in Suggested Posts too.

Autogenerated Captions 

This is a really important update.

Why?

Well, a lot of time and effort is put into Stories, Lives but did you know that most users watch videos ON MUTE?!

That’s why it’s key to always include captions on any video content you’re putting out and now, when you’re uploadingvideos, you’ll have the option to add autogenerated captions.

We’re sure that these auto-generated captions may not always get it right, but this new feature is a major time saver and also makes your content more accessible to deaf users.

Future Updates

So, now that we’ve covered the most important recent updates, let’s see what Instagram has got up its sleeve for us in the future!

Facebook Messenger and Instagram Direct are Merging

As you may know, Facebook owns Instagram and, in a bid to streamline the two apps, Facebook Messenger will be merging with Instagram Direct soon.

At the moment, some users are receiving notifications that this will be happening shortly, so expect this to happen sooner rather than later.

This is excellent news for business owners, influencers, and social media marketers as you will now see ALL messages from both platforms in the one place.

Instagram Shopping Updates

The Instagram Shopping feature is an invaluable tool for business accounts. It is an excellent way to quickly showcase your products and make it easier for customers to purchase from you!

Looks like Instagram wants to make things even easier for business owners!

The newest feature is Instagram Checkout where customers can experience the full shopping experience on Instagram and purchase your products without leaving the App.

This new feature will be launched in America first, and we expect it to spread worldwide soon.

Another new feature for Instagram Shopping is that users can create Stories or start a Live Story and link products directly so customers can purchase them in real-time

This is such a great future feature for business owners and influencers alike and has the potential to draw huge attention (and sales!) to your Instagram Shop.

Instagram has not rolled this feature out fully just yet, so we’ll be keeping our eye on their updates to see when it launches!

Well there you have it – your round-up of the latest features Instagram has launched, along with future features you’ll be seeing everywhere soon.

Instagram is packed full of competition, so we want to make sure you’re ahead of the curve when it comes to the trends!

Stay tuned for future updates very soon!

The post Introducing the Newest Features on Instagram appeared first on IQhashtags - Instagram hashtag search tool.

And how does one accomplish this? It’s not just about choosing the picture you find prettiest or randomly throwing posts out there and seeing what work. Those are rookie mistakes.

No, you need data and analytics on your side. The good news is that you don’t have to crunch any numbers. Instagram Insights does all the work for you. Insights is a tool that puts easy-to-understand info about your account right in your lap. You can quickly access figures about your content, followers, engagement, and more.

The best part—it’s available for anyone with a business IG account.

So how do you set it up?

What goodies will you find inside this cookie jar?

And, most importantly, how can it transform your account from a Ford to a Ferrari?

FYI: Instagram recently gave Insights a makeover. If you’ve used Insights before, there are some changes worth knowing about.

Here, you’ll find Instagram Insights explained. We’ll tell you every little nugget of info you need to know. Now let’s get started.

Instagram Insights Explained Setting Up Insights

This might be the first time you’re hearing about Insights. Don’t worry.

Your first step will be activating Insights on Instagram. It takes a few simple steps.

• First, open up your Instagram Profile and head on over to Settings and Account option. Make sure you have a Public account. In other words, the “Private account” option needs to be switched off.
• In Settings, under the Account tab, make your profile a business one. Tap on “Switch to business account” and follow the on-screen instructions.

• The biggest step here will be linking your account to a Facebook page. You can use an existing page of your own or create a new one at this stage. Oddly enough, the Facebook page doesn’t have to have any content or followers; it just has to exist.
• Before crossing the finish line, you’ll need to enter a few more bits of info. Once you think you’ve got it all, hit “Done” and get ready to make the most of your Business Profile with Instagram Insights. You’ll be able to access Insights directly from your profile page.

Creator Account

One sidenote—when activating a business account on IG, you’ll also see something called a creator account. What’s the difference?

In short, a creator account is for influencers who don’t have a business yet and are looking to grow their follower base. Creator accounts can:

• Get daily data on audience growth and other metrics (business accounts only get weekly data)
• View the Creator’s Studio to review all of your stats on one screen
• Sort DMs into Primary, General and Requests boxes
• Add a label under your display name to ID your niche or specialty

Business Account Insights

With business accounts, you can:

• Promote posts as ads
• Link your online store with your IG
• Customize your audience targeting
• Add a label under your display name to say what your business does

Dissecting Insights

Now that you’ve got Insights up and running, you’ll want to familiarize yourself with the various kinds of info that are now at your fingertips.

Once you tap on Insights by selecting the menu on the upper-right corner of your profile, you’ll see three tabs in Overview:

• Accounts Reached
• Content Interactions
• Total Followers

What goodies can you find in each section?

Accounts Reached

Under Accounts Reached, there will be two types of Insights:

• Impressions
• Account Activity

Impressions will reveal the total number of actions that other people have taken on your profile in the last seven days. You’ll also see the number of people who’ve visited your profile, clicked on your website link, or clicked to Email or Call you via your profile.

A graph will illustrate which days of the week generate the most activity for you, and you’ll get an automatic comparison between the current week and last week.

Under these statistics, you may check your Top Posts. You’ll get data like the number of likes, comments, and visits and a post garners. But it’s more than just that. Insights will tell you things like how many users clicked Get Directions because of your post, or how many unique users saved your post. The list goes on and on. You can easily sort your posts according to any given metrics to see which perform the best or worst.

Content Interactions

Post Interactions refer to the number of unique accounts that have reacted to your content. Likes, Comments, Saves, and Shares. In this section, you may also analyze your Storis or IG TV Interactions.

Total Followers Insights

Our last tab in Insights is Audience. This is where you can really get a feel for who your followers are. We’re talking about deeper demographic info as well as the overall size of your audience.

Specifically, Insights dishes on the following:

• Gender: what percentage of your followers are men or women
• Age Range: you many followers you have in different age brackets
• Top Locations: the Cities or Countries that are giving you the most followers
• Followers: the days of the week or the times of the day that get you the most traffic

Promotions will clarify the performance of any paid ads you’ve put up. Just like with your other content, Insights will present the number of Profile Visits, the Reach, and the Impressions associated with a particular post. You’ll also see basic demographic info about the audience who viewed your post.

Instagram Post Insights

An additional handy aspect of Insights—Post Insights offer key data for individual posts. Select a specific post, and right underneath is you’ll see the number of likes, comments, external shares to Stories, and external saves that the post generated.

Swipe up on these Insights and you’ll see:

• Interactions: how many profile visits and website clicks the post has garnered
• Discovery: how many accounts the post has reached and how many follows it has produced

Another nifty metric is the post’s Impressions, or the total number of times the content has been seen. You’ll even learn how people found the post, seeing numbers for Home, Hashtags, and Profile.

Instagram Stories Insights

And speaking of Stories, you’ll see analyses like how many people exited a Story, how many replies a photo or video in a Story received, and the number of people who skipped a Story. Instagram Stories get their own analytics too. In a nutshell, you’ll see:

• Reach: the number of unique accounts that viewed each slide in a story
• Impressions: the total number of views for each individual story

Under Navigation, you’ll also notice:

• Back: how many times people tapped the left side of their screen to rewatch the previous story
• Forward: how many times people tapped the right side of their screen to skip to the next story in the queue
• Next Story: how many times people tapped to view another account’s story (and leave yours)
• Exit: how many times people swiped to get out of your story

Interactions, like shares, replies, and profile visits, along with a host of other metrics can be observed under Story Insights.

Taking Off with Insights

Now that we’ve got all of these Instagram Insights explained, we’ve arrived at the most critical step. Insights give you a wealth of data about your account, but it’s up to you to decide what to do with this treasure trove.

Take a moment and ask yourself: “What are these numbers telling me?” They may seem a tad complicated a first, but there’s really not that much magic to them.

For instance, looking in the Activity tab will show you which day in the past week gave you the most responses. Find out why one particular day stood out from the others. Did you make more posts than usual? Did you focus on a different topic? Pinpoint what you did, and repeat it.

Likewise, the Content section will tell you which of your posts were the most effective using any number of metrics. Determine why certain photos or videos aroused such a potent reaction from followers. Connect the dots and look for patterns between popular posts so you have a better idea of what to do next time.

Finally, the info gained from Audience Insights will help you customize your posts so that they are tailor-made to fit your adoring fans.

Are most people interacting with you in the morning? Become an early bird and get those posts out there at the start of the day.

Are you noticing a surge in popularity in a specific country? Show some love by mentioning that destination in your next posts.

These Insights provide crucial assistance on how to formulate the perfect schedule with the best content you can come up with.

Recapping Insights

And there you have it… all the ins and outs of Instagram Insights explained. Remember that they are powerful tools that are useful to beginners and experts. Think of these numbers as valuable weapons to place in your IG arsenal. Utilized properly, they can help any account skyrocket to IG stardom.

The post Instagram Insights Explained: All You Need to Know appeared first on IQhashtags - Instagram hashtag search tool.

The direct answer is yes, they are!

Instagram story hashtags are one of the most efficient means to build a potential, organic, and related community.

Instagram allows using 10 hashtags in your stories and experts recommend using all 10 hashtags in your Instagram story to get the best results.

Hashtags create an easier way to discover posts around those targeted topics. It helps people who are interested in a certain topic to find relevant content on that topic quickly.

Let’s dive in straight away and find ways to effectively use Instagram story hashtags and grow your Instagram reach.

4 Ways to Use Instagram Story Hashtags 

A balanced combination of related general and location-based hashtags stands to be the right approach for using Instagram story hashtags.

A better choice is to hide hashtags by adding a sticker above it. This makes it look a bit nicer and you can continue to get the views from the hashtags without showing that you have used it.

Here are the most effective ways to use hashtags in Instagram stories:

Strategic

Follow those who are already engaging with your brand. Learn what hashtags they use in their stories and start using the same hashtags. Remember, that each hashtags has its own Insta Story – this is how new recipients may find you!

Strategic social media results in conversions and good conversions lead to increased profit. By targeting the right audience using your story hashtags, you can generate potential leads, nurture them, and convert them into customers and thereby leading to increased revenue for your business.

If your small yet loyal audience is proving helpful for you in converting to social, use the wisdom from your current audience to get in touch with similar Instagram accounts. For example, you can ask them for referrals, testimonies, etc. and boost your Instagram reach.

You can grow your audience by having a proper engagement with your current audience since they are continuously engaging with their friends and folks.

One such way is to create a hashtag story contest or a poll that will help you to know your audience in a better way. This can also help you to gain new followers as your current audience will also have a circle of their own who are going to view the stories and will eventually discover your brand and lead to new visitors.

Geographical

Here location tags that you use, function similar to hashtags. The Instagram users add a linked location to an image or video, topic, or event, just as they add hashtags.

Practically every location has an Instagram Story.

A location added to your Instagram photo or video can locate you without stating it in the caption. It ensures more engagement rates on Instagram and can provide you more exposure and grab the attention of customers with the least effort.

The location tag also serves a great purpose for the brands that are hosting location-bound PR events.

Excessive

Be liberal in hashtagging everything all the time and be the bold brand by doing excessive self-promotion.

So, when you use many hashtags in your stories, it will have better visibility. That is simply because every hashtag that is being used by you will put your content in another feed, consequently, more exposure for you.

Creative

Tell your story with hashtags. Be friendly and hold trends in your arms. Use your wisdom about offering something creative and unique with your hashtag stories post.

For example, hold a hashtag contest by creating a story that asks your users to come up with a hashtag for your brand and the highest voted hashtag gets a shoutout from your Instagram handle.

When using the hashtag in Instagram stories for your company, a branded hashtag of your company could be the unique one. Branded hashtags are potential enough to make a widespread community for your business.

It is estimated that around 70% of commonly used hashtags on Instagram are branded hashtags. So these branded hashtags can be planned to focus on a campaign or collect user-generated content.

A branded hashtag can be your company name, any of your brand names, or any other hashtag but all these hashtags must be something to retain and uplift your brand identity.

One such great example of a branded hashtag is #ridewithuber, using this hashtag, users can share their experience they had with their Uber ride by uploading photos, videos, reviews, etc. By this technique, the company easily gets feedback which leads them to improve their service.

How to choose the perfect Instagram Story hashtags for your brand?

Each hashtag gives your account exposure to a variety of prospective followers.

You must button up gimmicky hashtags in every Instagram story to avoid being spammed. Try for ultra-niche community hashtags that work specifically with your Instagram stories.

If you are a wildlife photographer, try finding a unique hashtag that gives an overview of your photography skills. Going for a hashtag like #wildlifephotography, #photographyforthewild, etc. makes your Instagram story more authentic and attractive.

Pro-Tip – Use hashtag tools like IQhashtags to find the best niche hashtags, this can help you in saving time and efforts.

Although experts’ views on using the number of hashtags vary, some recommend using maximum hashtags whereas others suggest using around 10 hashtags to the Instagram story.

Choosing the right Instagram story hashtag for your brand differs from profile to profile as every brand has its own subject, location, audience engagement, and, a gender ratio.

For each profile it is vital to identify the following, to choose the best Instagram story hashtag:

The photography subject and the hashtags with which you explain your photos.

Decide the day and time to publish so that your beneficiaries are active.

Here is a tip that might help you with the selection:

Distribution of hashtags

Hashtag distribution is based on a number of factors and the steps are outlined hereunder:

• If you have a themed account, it is good to list those hashtags that describe your profile or photo.
• The simple reason behind this is that it is crucial to know those hashtags that determine the relevant community, industry, or the subject.

This search can be performed manually or you may take the help of our hashtag search.

• Hashtag search with IQhashtag tool

Relevant and niche hashtags can be found by “hashtag search” using the IQhashtags tool.

The hashtag search feature of the IQhashtags helps you in choosing the best hashtags for your Instagram Stories. While you click on the hashtag you will be landed into a new subpage where an analysis of the phases of the hashtags can be done.

 Wrapping it up

Instagram story hashtags are potential tools to make your Instagram account discoverable. It grows your audience, boosts engagement, and reaches out to your growing customers.

The key lies in researching hashtags before using them. Relevant hashtags give you more chances of reaching out to your target audience.

The use of the Instagram story hashtags ensures that you are reaching out to the right audience for your business.

The post 4 Effective Ways to Use Instagram Story Hashtags appeared first on IQhashtags - Instagram hashtag search tool.