I love connecting with the “Gurls” through my blog, but those posts take me a while to write, edit and post online. What if I want to share something quickly with you – funny stories, special deals, giveaways? I post it on Instagram! Here is my Instagram Account, I hope that you will follow me there.
Instagram is one of my favorite social media platforms and it’s very easy to use. Let me show you some of the basics. Welcome to Tania’s Instagram Class!
First, Instagram is best used on your phone. Yes, you can go to Instagram.com but posting images isn’t really available from your computer. So go to your Google Playstore or Apple and download the Instagram app.
Once you have it on your phone, you’ll need to decide on a username and password. Got it? Awesome. Let’s get started.
Finding People to Follow
If you give Instagram permission, it will search your contacts to see who is already using Instagram and give you suggestions on who to follow. Click the 3 horizontal lines next to your profile to bring up these options.
Close Friends will search your contacts to see what friends are on Instagram. The Discover People option will bring up a friend of friends, etc. For instance, I found my cousin through this because it showed my mom was following her.
You can also use the search tool. Click on the magnifying glass, then type in a name in the search bar. I’m @50isnotold.
Once you see my profile, just click my name and then click FOLLOW.
Posting On Instagram
Posting is soooo easy. Don’t be intimidated! To post a photo in your feed, click the + sign.
It will bring up the photos on your phone. Once you choose the one you want, click NEXT. At the bottom, you’ll see the photo with different filters. They can help add POP to your photos. Choose one if you want, and click NEXT. Now all you have to do is write a caption and hit share! SO EASY.
TIP: If you want to share several photos of the same event, person, etc. after you click the + sign, look for the “multiple” icon. Click it and it will allow you to choose up to ten photos.
Interacting with Posts
Interacting with posts is half the fun!
To “like” a post, you simply hit the heart. That tells the person who posted it that you approve. 🙂
If you’d like to leave a comment on the post, click the speech bubble. A text box will appear and you can leave a message, emoji, etc.
See something you think a friend would enjoy? Click on the paper airplane! It will bring up your Instagram friends with a circle by their name. Simply click on the circle(s) and hit send and they’ll get a message showing the post!
This is a relatively new feature but a great one. You can SAVE a post that you like in order to see it later. No having to scroll through a ton of images to find the outfit you wanted to try. Just click the bookmark icon and the post will be saved.
To find your saved posts, click the three lines next to your profile picture. Then click on the SAVED icon.
And Voila! You can now access all of your saved posts!
Stories
See the circles at the top of the screen? Those are stories. Stories are a really fun aspect of Instagram and one that I use every single day. They can be photos or videos.
This is from my sister’s Instagram account. Can you tell she likes and follows tennis players? Lol. The circle with her photo and the + sign is where she would click to upload her own story. To see MY story, she just has to click on the circle with my name.
Tap the screen to move to the next image or swipe left to go to the next contact. On my stories, you’ll often see the prompt to SWIPE UP. That’s how I link some of my finds to the websites where you can make a purchase. Just take your finger and swipe up on the image to be taken off of Instagram and to the site. Easy!
I also post daily specials that I find. Here’s one that everyone seemed to like!
And I use stories to alert to new posts that are in the feed and you might miss.
Stories are very useful. The bad news is that they only stay on Instagram for 24 hours then disappear, so be sure and check my stories daily so you don’t miss all of the great deals!
There’s lots more to do on Instagram but these are some of the important features. Try them for yourself and don’t forget to follow me!
