Instagram Best Practices 2021

1. Tips Tricks and Best Practices
Instagram

2. Contents
Introduction
Post
Stories
Reels
Filters
Hashtags
Live
IGTV
Shop
Insights
03
08
16
25
32
36
39
44
46
48

3. Introduction
Instagram now has over 1 billion monthly active users with 500 million daily Instagram Story users per
day, making it the second most used traditional social platform after Facebook. With an ever-growing
user base, Instagram keeps expanding what they offer and last year wasn’t any different! It started as
app for posting photo, but is now so much more than that.
We’ve seen the addition of Reels, a revamped Shop feature, the Instagram AR filter availability, new
Instagram Story stickers, and more! Let’s hop in on how you can most effectively be using Instagram!
*stats via hootsuite

4. H: 4.45”
W: 4.0”
Instagram’s New Layout
With the addition of new features this past year,
Instagram has also made changes to their
home page layout and how a user utilizes the
platform.
● The page footer now features the Home,
Search, Reels, Shopping, and Profile
buttons.
● The page header is now the new home of
the posting and notifications buttons.
● When creating a post, you can choose
from Post, Story, Reels, or Live

5. H: 4.45”
W: 4.0”
Optimizing Your Profile
● Write a bio to let new viewers know who you
are
● The website field is the only place on
Instagram that allows a functioning hyperlink
for unverified accounts under 10k followers.
Don’t leave this field blank.
● Use Highlights to introduce who you are
● Feel free to use @’s or #’s to help make your
profile more visible on the Discover page.
@thedirtynil

6. H: 4.45”
W: 4.0”
Becoming A Professional
Account
● To become a Creator or Professional
Account, you will need a Facebook
Page for your brand
● Becoming a Creator or Professional
Account allows you to access analytics
and to upload IG AR Filters
● Follow these steps to set up your
account

7. Linking to Accounts
● To add multiple Instagram accounts, follow these
steps:
○ Tap your profile photo on the bottom right of your
screen
○ Tap the three bars on the top right, then go to
Settings
○ Scroll to the bottom and click “Add Account”
○ Enter your username and password
○ Log in
● To switch between accounts you’ve added:
○ Tap your profile photo on the bottom right of
your screen
○ Tap your username at the top of the screen
○ Tap the account you’d like to switch
○ Keep in mind you can add up to 5 accounts
Via Facebook

8. Post

9. Posting
One of Instagram’s primary purposes is for posting photos or videos. Using either your own camera app, or
the built-in Instagram camera, you can take photos or record a video up to 1 minute long. Choose the size
and filter, adjust the edit applications, add a caption, and you’re good to go!

10. To upload a photo/video or take a new one, first
tap the + button at the top, then scroll to Post at
the bottom:
● To upload a photo from your phone's library,
select the photo you'd like to share.
● To take a new photo, tap the camera image
above your phone's library.
Posting

11. Posting
Now that we’ve covered the basics, here are some tips to make your Instagram
really shine! Head to The Daily Rind for even more tips on perfecting your content.
Before After

12. While Instagram can be used to post promotional photos and
videos from press materials and clips of official music videos,
this content doesn’t always make for the best fan experience.
• Aim for at 70% authentic, non-promotional photo and video
posts. Fans get excited by candid insight into the lives of their
favorite artists!
• Use the multiple photo/video feature to show a plethora of
content from events, tours, meet and greets, and more.
• Both Instagram and Facebook are making video content a
priority in their algorithm, so embrace video content!
Type of Content
@courtneymarieandrews

13. Quality Check
• Be sure to take well-composed, well-lit photos
that catch the viewer’s attention
• Consider adding a theme to your photos
through color and filter choice to catch the
viewer’s eye and distinguish yourself in their
feed
• Try different angled photos to vary your
gallery layout
@maxmusic

14. Social Sharing
● It’s a best practice to upload photo and video natively to each social platform, but
sharing content from your Instagram to Facebook and/or Twitter can also be a great
way to cross-promote your platforms
● Facebook and Twitter both have great Instagram integrations, and by sharing your
Instagram posts, you can let your fans on other platforms know they can find you on
Instagram

15. • Tagging other accounts in photos and videos will add your
content to their tagged section. This is great for expanding
your reach. Note that tagging accounts in your captions and
comments will just notify the person you tagged.
• You can tag other accounts in a photo or video that you share
on Instagram. To add a tag as you're posting a photo or video:
○ Tap “Tag People” from the Share screen. Tap on
someone in the photo. Start entering their name or
username and select them from the dropdown menu
then tap “Done.”
Tagging
@jorjasmith_

16. Stories

17. Introduction
Instagram Stories is a feature that lets you
share all the moments of your day through
pictures or 15 second videos that disappear
after 24 hours.
Swipe right to open your camera or tap the post
button to open the feature. Shoot, draw or type,
add stickers, and post! Your Stories are then
archived if you want to add them to a Highlight
later on.

18. • Just like tagging a post, type @ and the person’s
handle to tag them on your story
• Choose from an assortment of fonts, or freehand
draw over your story
• Film up to 1 minute worth of footage (splits into 15
second stories automatically)
• Select multiple pieces of content from your camera
roll
• Read more about interesting ways to play with the
Stories feature on The Daily Rind
Stories Best Practices

19. H: 4.45”
W: 4.0”
Stories Features
● Hashtag: Have your Stories join a community hashtag
page by including the hashtag sticker
● Link: Verified accounts, or accounts over 10k
followers, can add links to their Stories leading
followers off-platform
● Stickers: Add a GIF, countdown, quiz, donation, poll,
question, or chat sticker to your story. You can upload
your own sticker to your GIPHY page to use. Read
about optimizing your Stories on The Daily Rind
● Music: Add music by your artist or others up to 15
seconds long
● Filters: Here is where you can utilize your IG AR
Filters. Read more about filters on slide 32
Location: Have your story join other stories taken in that

20. •Spotify: While listening to a song on Spotify, you can click the
“Share” option button for the option to share the song to your
Instagram story
○ Users can click the “Play on Spotify” option to listen on their
own
•Soundcloud: Click the “Share” option while listening to a song to
share it to your Instagram Story
○ This feature is not only great for showing off your catalogue,
but to also highlight fan-created remixes
○ Read more about this feature on The Daily Rind
•Pandora: Tap the “Share” option from the Now Playing screen on
the app and select “Instagram Stories”
Utilizing Streaming

21. Post Sharing
● On your own post, or someone else’s, click the share
button for the option to add the post to your Story
● You can edit the post to take up as much or as little
space as you want
● It’s best to have a call to action: new post, click
through, etc.
● This functionality can also be useful for resurfacing
older posts, Reels, or IGTV content

22. • Show off some of your best Instagram Stories
with the Highlight feature
• Create different buckets as an introduction to
your brand for new followers, and to catch up
older followers who might have missed
important Stories
• You can add custom cover photos to your
Highlights right from your camera roll to make
them look polished and fresh
• Check out The Daily Rind for more Highlight
ideas!
Highlights

23. Highlights Best Practices
• Create highlights that make sense with your brand:
Tour, New Music, etc.
• Utilize the custom cover feature
• Don’t create too many – this feature should show a
new user who you are and what you’re about as easily
as possible
• Have multiple Stories in a Highlight – build out your
Stories
• Update your Stories regularly with fresh new content
Via Diet Cig

24. ● Tap your profile picture on the bottom right to go to
your profile.
● Tap the hamburger button in the top right, then tap
Close Friends. Scroll down to Suggested.
● Tap “Add next” to the people who you want to add to
your close friends list. You can also tap Search to
search for a friend.
Sharing a story with your close friends list:
● Tap the + button at the top or swipe right anywhere
in Feed, then scroll to Story at the bottom.
● Tap and hold to record a video. To choose a photo
from your phone's library or gallery, swipe up
anywhere on the screen. When you're ready to
share, tap “Close Friends” on the bottom left.
Close Friends

25. Reels

26. What are Reels?
Reels is a new way to create and discover short,
entertaining videos on Instagram. You can create fun
videos to share with your followers or anyone on
Instagram.
Record and edit multi-clip videos with audio, effects,
and new creative tools. You can share Reels with your
followers on Feed and, if you have a public account,
make them available to the wider Instagram community
through a new space in Explore. Reels in Explore offers
anyone the chance to become a creator on Instagram
and reach new audiences on a global stage.
Via Instagram

27. H: 4.45”
W: 4.0”
How to Create
To create a Reel tap the new post button, or swipe to the right
and select Reel. You can film new content, or tap the image
box on the lower left side to upload content
● Length - select 15 or 30 seconds
● Audio - search for a song or record audio in your clip
● Speed - slow down or speed up your clip
● Effects - same effects available as in Stories
● Touch Up - cosmetic feature
● Timer - go hands free with a 3-2-1 countdown
Location: Have your story join other stories taken in that
location30 or 15 seconds

28. Remix
Remixing let’s you create a Reel attached
to an existing Reel. You can add a voice
over, adjust volume settings, or just react
to another Reel. To Remix simply:
1. Tap ‘...’ on whichever Reel you’d like
to remix
2. Tap “Remix This Reel”

29. Reels Best Practices
Now that you know how to create a Reel, here are some best practices to keep in mind:
● Record video content outside of Reels and TikTok so you can upload them separately
● Save and upload previous Tik Tok content to Reels
● Look to join trends
● Share your Reels to your feed and Stories to reach more of your audience
● Utilize the Audio feature to highlight your new releases

30. IG Filters

31. Filters/SparkAR
Instagram Filters launched in 2018 as a way to bring something
special to a user’s Stories, and have continued to pick up speed
ever since. Today anyone can create and publish their on
augmented reality Filters through Facebook’s studio tool Spark AR.
Once your filter is uploaded and approved through Spark AR it will
appear on the designated Instagram profile and you’ll see a new
Filter tab appear on your profile.
Fans do not receive any notifications about new Filters, so it is
always important to have a good roll out plan to launch your new
filter.
Via Jensen McRae

32. Filters How To Upload
• In Spark AR go to Manage Effects
• Select your Page from the drop down menu on the
lower left side and tap the ‘Publish’ button
• Upload your file as en .arexport
• Create an effect icon and name for your effect
• Make sure you meet Facebook’s policies and
guidelines
• Create a video of your effect being used – find out
more about Instagram’s standards for this video
• Choose a category for your effect
• Check these extra guidelines and best practices, to
make sure your effect is approved

33. Filters Best Practices
• Create an effect icon and choose a name for your effect
• Export file as .arexport
• Make sure you meet Facebook’s policies and guidelines
• Create a video of your effect being used – find out more about
Instagram’s standards for this video
• Choose a category for your effect
• Check these extra guidelines and best practices, to make sure
your effect is approved
• Lastly, go to Spark AR Hub and click Upload Effect in the top
right and follow the on-screen instructions to complete your
submission
Filter via Mario Instagram

34. Hashtags

35. Hashtags
Posts using features like location tagging and hashtags tend to over-index in engagement. Hashtags help users from
different communities connect to the content their interested in. Using the right hashtags can put you in front of your
target audience, even if they haven’t connected with you before.
The key to hashtags is to utilize hashtags that make sense with your content, and are unique enough that they won’t be
flooded. Avoid hashtags like #dog #music common words that will have a lot of posts under them.
Try expanding your community with some of these:
● #colorgram: Great for any high-quality colorful shot
● #instadaily: To be used on your very best photos that you are especially proud of
● #artofvisuals: Stunning visual content
● #photooftheday: Used to highlight which photos should be noticed that day

36. Hashtags Pages
When you search for a hashtag, the results that come up are
collected in the hashtag page. Hashtag pages incorporate
Stories, Posts, and Reels all in one spot.
● Posts are divided by Top & Recent posts
● If there are Stories using the hashtag, the page "profile pic"
will light up like a regular story
● Reels are featured on the left of the page
● You can follow hashtags to have Posts from that hashtag
show up on your feed
● Check out Facebook for even more info on Hashtag Pages

37. Live

38. Instagram Live allows you to broadcast video to your
audience in real time, allowing you and your
audience to have a shared experience.
● To go Live tap the + button, or swipe right and
select live
● When you go Live your audience receives a
notification
● Go Live for up to 1 hour
● Once a Live ends it disappears, but can be
saved and uploaded to IGTV
Go Live
Video via Third Man Record’s Instagram

39. Badges
Badges is a new feature rolling out to Business and
Creator accounts that allows users to show their
appreciation for their favorite creators through monetary
hearts.
Current Rates in USD:
• One Heart - 99 cents
• Two Hearts. $1.99
• Three Hearts: $4.99
When fans purchase a badge they will gain access to a
special heart during the Live, have special badge
appear next to their name in the comments, and be
featured on ‘supporter’ list that goes to the artist for up to
90 days.
For more information on enabling badges and payout,
click here Image via Instagram

40. Live now let’s you go live with up to 3 additional accounts!
This new feature is called Live Rooms, to start a Live Room:
○ Swipe left and pick the Live camera option
○ Add a title and tap the Rooms icon to add your
guests
○ You’ll see people who have requested to go live with
you, and you also search additional guests.
○ As a broadcaster, you can add up to three guests at
once or one by one
Just like your fans get notified when you go Live, they get
notified when you go Live in a Room - that makes 4 potential
audiences getting notified!
Live Rooms
Image & Info via Instagram

41. Live Best Practices
As you can see, going Live is pretty simple! Here are some practices to make the most of your Live
experience:
● Announce your Live a few days beforehand for fans to set aside the time
● Utilize the Question Sticker in Stories to collect questions before your Live or utilize in Q&A
function in Live
● Pin a comment for everyone to see
● Go Live with others to bring in new audiences
● Tap the two smiley faces icon to invite someone watching to join your Live
● Join someone else’s Live video by tapping “Request” and then “Send Request”
● Have a plan on what you’d like to do or discuss

42. IGTV

43. IGTV is a place on Instagram for long form video
content. This content can be accessed through the
Instagram app or the separate IGTV app. When
looking to utilize IGTV keep in mind:
● IGTV content can be up to 10 minutes for
smaller accounts & 1 hour for larger accounts
● IGTV is meant for high quality video content
● Videos can be optimized for vertical or
horizontal viewing
● IG Lives can be saved and uploaded to IGTV
for fans to rewatch
● Check out The Daily Rind for more IGTV ideas
IGTV
@jamesmaslow

44. Shop

45. H: 4.45”
W: 4.0”
Shop
● Shop is a new destination in Explore that
makes it easier to shop from brands and
creators
● Discover the latest trends, get personalized
recommendations, and preview exclusive
launches
● Instagram Shop will have fresh collections
and products from brands and creators, as
well as special curations from their social
shopping channel, @shop
● Use Facebook Pay to provide a seamless,
secure way to shop and make donations to
causes you care about across apps

46. Insights

47. Insights
Instagram insights offer an array of stats for
Business/Creator Accounts. To become a
Business/Creator account follow the instructions
laid out on slide 6.
Along with the new Instagram layout has come
all new Insights! You can now view a 7 or 30 day
summary of your account or dive deeper into the
Overview sections:
• Accounts Reached
• Content Interactions
• Audience
• Content
• Stories
• IGTV
• Promotions

48. Overview
This portion breaks out into Accounts Reached
and Content Interactions Here you can view the
following stats for 7 or 30 days:
Reach:
● Overall Accounts Reached
● Impressions
● Account Activity (Profile Visits/Button Taps)
● Top Posts (based on reach)
● Top Stories (based on reach)
● Top IGTV (based on reach)
Interactions:
● Overall Content Interactions
● Post Interactions (Likes, Comments, Saves,
Shares)
● Story Interactions (Replies)
● IGTV Video Interactions

49. Audience
Audience let’s you keep track of your Follows & Unfollows, Top Fan Locations, Age Range, Gender, and what times
your fans are most active by day or hour of the day so you can make sure you’re reaching your core demographic:

50. Height: 4.25”
Width: 3.8”
Height: 4.25”
Width: 3.8”
Height: 4.25”
Width: 3.8”
Posts
Through Posts you can now study your content through 3 different lens to measure success:
Post Type:
● Any
● Photos
● Videos
● Carousel Posts
Metric:
● Call Button Taps
● Comments
● Email Button Taps
● Follows
● Get Directions Taps
● Impressions
● Likes
● Post Interactions
Time Period:
● Last 7 Days
● Last 30 Days
● Last 3 Months
● Last 6 Months
● Last Year
● Last 2 Years

51. H: 4.0”
W: 4.4”
H: 4.0”
W: 4.4”
Stories
As with Posts, you can now view your Story stats through two different metric points to measure success
Metrics:
● Back
● Call Button Taps
● Email Button Taps
● Exited
● Follows
● Next Story
● Get Directions Taps
● Impressions
● Link Clicks
● Forward
● Profile Visits
● Reach
● Replies
● Shares
● Text Button Taps
● Website Taps
● Story
Interactions
Time Period:
● Yesterday
● Last 7 Days
● Last 14 Days
● Last 30 Days

52. Height: 4.25”
Width: 5.9”
Height: 4.25”
Width: 5.9”
IGTV
Insights for IGTV now also let you measure success through two ranges of metrics
Metrics:
● Average Percentage Watched
● Comments
● Likes
● Reach
● Saves
● Shares
● Video Views
● IGTV Video Interactions
Time Period:
● Last 7 Days
● Last 30 Days
● Last 3 Months
● Last 6 Months
● Last Year
● Last 2 Years

53. Promotions
Lastly Promotions lets you review past
promotions/post boosts you’ve run letting you review:
• Interactions - Profile & Website Visits
• Discovery - Impressions & Follows
• Promotion - Spend Amount
• Audience - Gender, Age Range, Top Locations
Here you can also see a suggested Top Post to
potentially promote, or choose another post to
promote.

54. Thank You