Instagram has been one of the most successful social media platforms for many years. Just a few days ago, Instagram’s CEO announced that the app would be moving away from simple picture sharing towards content creation and sales, making it the perfect app for all of your business needs. The question is, how do you make the best of all of Instagram’s tricks and gadgets?

Instagram continues to add features for its users, making it hard to keep up. Here are some features you can master and use to draw attention to your profile and engage with your followers.

Reels

Reels are Instagram’s version of TikToks. Most Reels you see are recycled TikToks and very few actually originated on Instagram. The reason many users choose to stay on Instagram instead of migrating to TikTok is habit. You can use it to your advantage and speak to your audience through these short videos.

Reels follow the structure of TikTok, meaning they rely on trends. Spend some time every day browsing through Reels to figure out what’s trending this week and what trends you can hop on. The purpose of Reels is to attract attention with fun, 15-second videos rather than share important information. Have fun with it!

Boomerangs

While Reels are a relatively new invention, boomerangs gained popularity a few years ago. This feature allows you to create short video loops. Years later, boomerangs are not only meant for jumping videos or clinking glasses with your friends. You can use these short captivating videos to showcase your products and/or services.

If you want to take it a step further, you can download the Boomerang from Instagram app and create professional boomerangs. This format is especially appealing to millennials. You will rarely see boomerangs as actual posts; they work better with Stories!

Going live

In the age of instant gratification, people want everything now. It all started with Instagram posts. You can make a video and post it immediately, though most people take some time to edit and come up with a witty caption. Stories managed to get closer to real time videos, though they only show a short fragment of your day. With the opportunity to go live on Instagram, you can finally interact with your followers in real time.

Going live can be challenging, as it requires a constant stream of entertainment for a certain amount of time. You have to be quick on your feet and be able to react to comments in seconds. We recommend you to go live when you have a specific topic in mind. You can also use this feature for direct interaction with your followers, like a Q&A session. Be sure to never start your live unprepared!

IGTV

What is IGTV and how is it different from Reels and Stories? There is a clear distinction between Reels and IGTV. Reels focus on shorter videos that are made for entertainment purposes. IGTV, on the other hand, favors longer videos. If you’re going to use Reels to attract your viewers’ attention, you can then use IGTV to talk about your product and offer value to the viewers.

Since IGTV provides a longer viewing experience, it makes sense to invest a bit more into the video and create a high-quality product. You have to catch the attention of the viewer and keep it throughout the whole video, so make sure it’s worth it!

Highlights

We all know Stories; they are little pictures and videos you post that can only be viewed for 24 hours after posting. Sometimes throwing these pieces of multimedia away after a day is a real shame. That’s why Instagram created Highlights! You can add any story you’ve ever posted to Highlights and keep it there forever (or until you feel like deleting it from your Highlights).

Your Highlights will be visible in a line above your posts. You can create different Highlights based on themes, events, dates, or any other criteria. Add as many as 100 photos or videos to one Highlight. Use Highlights for Stories that deserve to be viewed again and again. For instance, you can create a Highlight for an event that you organized or a new product that you’ve been advertising. Make a separate Highlight for all the customer reviews you’ve reposted.

To make your Highlight reel look more organized, choose a cover image for each Highlight. You can do that by selecting the Highlight, clicking on the three dots in the bottom right corner, and selecting Edit Highlight. If you click on Edit Cover, you can choose an image from the Highlight to be on the cover, or go to your phone’s gallery and choose an image from there. If you want to take it a step further and stay consistent with your brand, keep all the Highlight covers in the same design and/or color scheme.

Have you been getting full use out of these Instagram features? If not, you are missing out! Your audience would love to be entertained and simple pictures are not cutting it anymore. Have a look at our services and contact us today if you would like to add these elements to your toolbox!