These Instagram hacks will save you tons of time and have you posting like a pro on your personal or business accounts.
Instagram is one of the most popular social media platforms, with over one billion monthly active users. And while you may think you know everything about this photo and video sharing app, there are actually a lot of Instagram hacks and features that you probably don’t know about.
In this blog post, we’re going to share with you 39 of the best Instagram hacks and features on the app. From using hashtags to get more followers, to editing your photos like a pro, to finding the best filters for your images, these tricks will definitely take your Instagram game up a notch.
Let’s dive in.
Ready to impress your fans and wow your followers? These Instagram hacks will make people think you’re a technological genius.
You don’t want to see any more of your aunt’s ferret videos, but you don’t want to hurt her feelings with an unfollow, either. The solution? Give her a mute!
How to do it:
Muting Stories, Posts, and Notes
Muting Messages
Keep Lark at your fingertips and get Hefe out of your sight. This secret Instagram feature lets you customize your menu of filter options.
How to do it:
Take a walk down memory lane with a review of all your past photo likes. (So. Many. Puppers.)
How to do it:
If you used Instagram.com to like posts, you won’t be able to see them here.
Make sure no one ever finds out that you’ve been hunting for photos of “Mr. Clean with shirt off”. This Instagram hack lets you wipe your Instagram search history squeaky clean.
How to do it:
Add alerts for your favorite accounts and never miss a new post from your favorite Japanese mascot fan page again.
How to do it:
Think of “Collections” as your digital scrapbooks. Use this Instagram trick to save your favourite posts for later.
How to do it:
This Instagram hack is the equivalent of the Disney vault. You can hide old posts out of sight with the “Archive” function.
How to do it:
If you want to restore content to your public profile, simply tap Show on Profile at any time and it’ll show up in its original spot.
Just because you can scroll forever doesn’t mean you should. Save yourself from yourself with Instagram’s built-in daily timer.
How to do it:
Make your feed stand out with these Instagram features for your photos and video content.
One of our favorite Instagram caption tricks is creating line breaks that let you take control over the pacing of your caption.
How to do it:
Note: While the breaks will start a new line, they won’t create the white space that you would see between two paragraphs. To create a paragraph break, write out your photo caption in your phone’s notes app and copy it over to Instagram. Wanna break up lines even further? Try using bullet points, dashes, or other punctuations.
Prep your content to post at the best times with the help of Hootsuite’s Instagram scheduling tool.
How to do it:
Watch this video to find out how to schedule Instagram posts (and Stories! and Reels!) in advance:
Note: Check out our guide to scheduling posts on Instagram to learn how to do this from a personal account.
PS: You can schedule Instagram Stories, Instagram Reels, and Carousels with Hootsuite too!
Your hair looked particularly cute 10 seconds into your video, and you want the world to know. Here’s how to handpick the still that kicks off your vid.
How to do it:
A picture is worth a thousand words—so do you really need other people adding to the conversation? Here’s an Instagram hack that helps you keep the comment section quiet.
How to do it:
Read on for our favorite Instagram Story hacks or watch the video below for our favorite tricks of 2022:
Hands-free mode is like a more low-maintenance Instagram Boyfriend. Reliable. Takes instruction well. Loyal. Loving.
How to do it:
For when everyone needs to see the hilarious prank you pulled on Daryl in accounting—except your boss.
How to do it:
Method 1
Method 2
You can also choose people to hide your story from as you’re looking at who’s seen your story.
Note: Hiding your story from someone is different from blocking them, and doesn’t prevent them from seeing your profile and posts.
Why Instagram won’t allow you to just use Jokerman font natively, we may never know. But where there’s a wackily designed ’90s serif, there’s a way.
How to do it:
Use this Instagram trick to highlight your highlights with a fresh first image.
How to do it:
Change the hues of individual letters, or even harness the magic of the rainbow with this sneaky trick to color your world.
How to do it:
For when one snapshot of your DIY macrame dog bikini per post isn’t enough.
How to do it:
Or, watch this video on how to add multiple photos in one Instagram Story:
Want more tips and tricks for Stories? Check out our long list of the best Instagram Story hacks in 2021.
Don’t let your creativity falter because of Instagram’s short color list. Get every color under the sun with this Instagram hack.
How to do it:
Don’t let your bio be an afterthought! These Instagram features will help you manage your profile, presence, and discoverability.
Even if your friends’ feeds are full of photos of your Margarita Monday exploits, the world never has to know.
How to do it:
Note: You can also prevent tagged photos from appearing on your profile in the first place. Just go to the Photos of You tab and select any photo. Then, select Edit on the top right. Here, you can toggle Manually Approve Tags.
Use this Instagram trick to break up that block of text and share your info in a visually appealing way.
How to do it:
Harness that Instagram SEO by slipping keywords into the name field of your bio, and you’ll be more likely to pop up in search results for that industry.
How to do it:
Jazzing up your profile with fun fonts or the perfect wingding is as easy as a copy-and-paste. (One note: use special characters sparingly to accommodate accessibility! Not every accessible reading tool will be able to interpret them correctly.)
How to do it:
When it comes to discovery, hashtags might be the most important of all Instagram features. So make sure you know these simple hashtag hacks.
If you want to be discovered, including hashtags in your post is key. Here’s how to figure out which ones are the best fit for getting your content it’s Star is Born moment.
How to do it:
Get inspiration in your feed and never miss the latest #NailArt masterpieces (are those… Tom and Jerry nails?).
How to do it:
Yes, Hashtags get you discovered. But they can also be visual clutter. (Or just look a little… thirsty.) Here’s how to reap the benefits without cramping your style.
How to do it:
Method 1
Method 2
Another method is to separate your hashtags from the rest of your caption by burying them beneath an avalanche of line breaks.
Help your Story be seen by more people, without cluttering it up with hashtags.
How to do it:
Note: You can also use this trick with location tags and mentions if you want to keep your Stories visually clean.
Need some help managing the people sliding into your DMs? These Instagram tricks are exactly what you need.
You don’t have to let the world know when you are or aren’t online: maintain an aura of mystery!
How to do it:
New in 2022, Instagram announces Notes–a feature that lets you post disappearing notes to your followers.
How to do it:
Note: Notes can be a maximum of 60 characters in length.
If you want to stay in touch with your closest friends or make a chat with your best customers, this Instagram hack can help.
How to do it:
Use these Instagram hacks to make your business stand out online.
Officially declaring yourself as a business on Instagram gives you some serious advantages, like running ads and getting insights. If you’re a brand, what are you waiting for?
How to do it:
For more tips on how to optimize your profile, check out our post on Instagram Bio Ideas for Business.
Opening an Etsy shop or trying to bump up your e-commerce sales? Shoppable Instagram posts make it easy to promote and sell products directly from your feed.
How to do it:
Once complete, you’ll be able to tag products in posts just like you tag other accounts.
Welcome new followers with a fun welcome message. This Instagram hack automates an important touchpoint so you can stay connected to your fans.
How to do it:
Organize your links with a user-friendly link tree. Here’s how to build one with Hootsuite.
How to do it:
If you don’t use Hootsuite, consider building a link tree for your Instagram bio with a tool like linktr.ee or build your own.
Of all the new Instagram features, Reels are the latest and greatest. Use these Instagram tricks to make your Reels go viral!
Schedule your Reels in advance and you never have to worry about missing the moment. All you need is a social media management tool. We’ll show you how to do it using our favourite one: Hootsuite.
How to do it:
Why have one piece of video content when you can have more? Here’s how to make the most out of your Stories by converting them into Reels.
How to do it:
1. Select the Stories Highlight you want to use for your Reel and then tap the “Convert to Reel” button.
2. Pick your audio (you can search, use music you’ve saved, or pick from the suggested tracks) and Instagram does the work to synch the audio with your clip
3. Click “Next,” and you have a final editing screen where you can add effects, stickers, text, etc.
4. When you’re done fine-tuning, the last step is setting your sharing settings. This is also where you can add a caption, tag people, locations, and edit or add a custom cover.
5. You can adjust the Advanced Settings if necessary, specifically if your Reel is part of a paid partnership. Here you can also enable auto-generated captions and manage your data usage, if necessary.
6. Tap Share and watch your new Reel highlight go viral! (Hopefully.)
85% of Facebook content is watched without sound–so it’s safe to assume your audience is skipping the audio on your Reels. To improve accessibility, and make it easier for people to understand your content add captions to your Reels.
How to do it:
Note: One of the best Instagram caption tricks is to wait until the audio has been transcribed and then go through and edit the text for any mistakes.
Ever wondered how influencers get those cool backgrounds for their Reels? Use this Instagram feature to get your very own green screen.
How to do it:
Don’t let your latest Reel muck up the aesthetic pleasure of your Instagram feed! Customize your Reel cover photo and keep that front page sparkling.
How to do it:
Manage your Instagram presence alongside your other social channels and save time using Hootsuite. From a single dashboard, you can schedule and publish posts, engage the audience, and measure performance. Try it free today.
Easily create, analyze, and schedule Instagram posts, Stories, and Reels with Hootsuite. Save time and get results.
Free 30-Day Trial
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