Instagram is all about photos. They have a relatively new “stories” feature that lets you add temporary, Snapchat-like pictures or videos. And their DM (direct message) system is an excellent way to quickly get in touch with other users. But do you know about the platform’s lesser known features?
Here are two Instagram hacks to maximize the value of your Instagram marketing efforts:
View “Following” Activity
Instagram provides a page where you can see the activities of everyone you follow. These events are listed in reverse chronological order, so don’t expect to track someone’s every move. Instead, you’ll be able to keep up with recent activity from those you follow.
Find this feature by visiting your notifications page, or the heart icon, and swipe right. You’ll be presented with an activity list with posts liked, new accounts followed, and new comments.
For Business: Viewing recent activities allows you to develop a better understanding of your followers. Following members of your target audience gives you insight into the types of content they enjoy, and more importantly, which types garner comments and follows. If you’re following authority figures in your industry, you’ll also get a heads up on trends and rising experts on Instagram.
Save and Organize Posts with “Collections”
Another underused Instagram feature is “Collections” or the ability to save and organize others’ posts. Have you ever wanted to “bookmark” a post for later? What about keeping a list of similar posts in one spot? Well, Instagram collections does all this and can be a useful business planning tool.
Under each post, you’ll see a ribbon icon to the right. Tapping that icon will save the post but you’ll also see a pop-up button called “Save to Collection.” Access and organize your collections by going to your profile and hitting that same ribbon icon.
For Business: Saved posts and collections remain private, so this feature is best for planning and analysis, not promotion. How you use collections for your business is only limited by your imagination. You can gather posts that mention your brand to track engagement, follow high-performing posts from your competitors, or gather potential content to repost. If your brand regularly posts user-generated content, you can start a collection of user posts that you already have permission to repost and a collection of users you have yet to contact.
Instagram “Following” notifications and “Collections” may not stand out in the app, but they offer businesses additional insight into their following and an additional tool to strategize. Make full use of your Instagram marketing efforts and start taking advantage of these features today.