How to Make Instagram Story Highlights Did you know that ⅓ of the most viewed Instagram Stories are from businesses? Customers want to see what businesses are posting about on "Stories," however, as you probably know, those are only viewable for 24 hours. But what if your audience wants to save those Stories and come back to them later (whether for a link or to reference something)? This is why Instagram added the "Highlights" feature several years ago. With this tool, brands can save Stories so that customers can look at them whenever they want, indefinitely. In this post, we'll walk you through how to make an Instagram Story Highlight, and then dive into expert tips on how to use the feature to engage your audience. 1. Tap on the plus sign from your profile. The first step in creating an Instagram Highlight is to tap on the plus sign in the top right corner of the screen when you're on your profile. 2. Select Story Highlight Then, you'll want to select "Story Highlight." 3. Choose the Story you want to add. At this point, it's time to choose what Stories you want to save to your highlight. You can choose one or several. Then, hit "Next." 4. Pick a cover photo and add a name for your highlight. Lastly, you'll choose a cover photo and then add a name for your highlight. Then, click "Add." To add more Stories over time, you...

25 Stunning Instagram Themes (& How to Borrow Them for Your Own Feed) Nowadays, Instagram is often someone's initial contact with a brand, and nearly half of its users shop on the platform each week. If it's the entryway for half of your potential sales, don't you want your profile to look clean and inviting? Taking the time to create an engaging Instagram feed aesthetic is one of the most effective ways to persuade someone to follow your business's Instagram account or peruse your posts. You only have one chance to make a good first impression — so it's critical that you put effort into your Instagram feed. Finding the perfect place to start is tough — where do you find inspiration? What color scheme should you use? How do you organize your posts so they look like a unit? We know you enjoy learning by example, so we've compiled the answers to all of these questions in a list of stunning Instagram themes. We hope these inspire your own feed's transformation. But beware, these feeds are so desirable, you'll have a hard time choosing just one. Tools to Create Your Own Instagram Theme Creating a theme on your own requires a keen eye for detail. When you’re editing several posts a week that follow the same theme, you’ll want to have a design tool handy to make that workflow easier. Pre-set filters, color palettes, and graphic elements are just a few of the features these tools use,...

The Best Video Formats on Instagram As a millennial, it's no surprise that Instagram is one of my favorite social media platforms. This network is the third most popular social media site for Gen Z and millennial audiences. While scrolling through the site is the easiest thing to do, posting the right content for your audience isn't. As a marketer, you've probably wondered what type of Instagram content would perform the best for your audience. To help you, we decided to ask consumers what type of video formats they watch the most. In this post, you'll learn what video format users like to watch on Instagram, and what size, length, and aspect ratio those videos should be. Best Video Format for Instagram Instagram is extremely popular, but did you know there is more than one kind of video format you could use for your content? To find out which is the most popular we surveyed more than 300 people to see which videos they watch the most. Ultimately, Instagram Story videos were the most popular video format to watch on the social media site, with 43% of those surveyed watching this type of video content the most. Besides survey respondents who didn't use Instagram, the next highest video format to watch were live videos and then videos shared directly in the feed. The least popular video formats to watch on Instagram were Instagram Reels and IGTV, with only 19% and 13% of respondents watching them respectively. To...

21 of the Best Brands on Instagram Right Now Contrary to what your friends' photos suggest, Instagram isn't just a social network for selfies and brunch pics. In fact, Instagram has over 200 million businesses that use its platform and 90% of users follow at least one of them, according to 2019 data. In a time when visual content remains a crucial part of any brand's marketing strategy, Instagram marketing presents a unique opportunity to showcase your brand identity. Ready to get inspired? Check out this list of brands that are thriving on Instagram right now, and why their posts set them apart. Best Brands on Instagram What makes a brand great on Instagram? We polled 301 users across the United States, and asked “Which of the following describes the brands you follow and enjoy on Instagram?” These were their top answers: Data Source While this data is from a small sample, it does highlight what we already know about Instagram audiences. They look for: Content that relates to their lives: both personal and professional. Eye-catching, fun content. Product promotions What you'll see in the next section is that every brand featured meets these needs, earning them high follower counts and high engagement rates. Psst – Want to get a stunning Instagram Story auto-magically created for your brand? Check out StoriesAds.com, a free Story generator from HubSpot and Shakr. Click here to get started. 1. Netflix's Strong Black Lead Followers: 682k...

How to Post to Instagram From Your Computer Instagram is a popular social media network for sharing photos, commonly accessed through a mobile app. Unlike other social networks, however, it does not have a desktop version. This poses a problem for a lot of users who want to access features from their desktop computer. For example, let's say you're a social media manager for a prominent brand. The last thing you want to do is have an absentminded mishap where you accidentally post brand content to your personal Instagram account (or, worse, vice versa) simply because you're logged into both on your phone. Alternatively, it might be easier to upload company posts and videos via your desktop, rather than having your smartphone open at work. Plus, your company's files might be more easily accessible via desktop than mobile. For instance, if you use Photoshop to edit company photos, it's likely easier to click "Upload" from your desktop when you're done editing, rather than sending that same photo or video to your personal phone. Perhaps you simply prefer the larger screen of desktop. Or, maybe you don't have access to a smartphone so you can't download the app on your phone. For all of these reasons, you might be wondering, "Can I post to Instagram from my computer?" We have some good news — there's a solution for you. Let's dive into that, next. In other words — Yes, you can post to Instagram from your PC or...

The Ultimate List of Instagram Stats With more than 1 billion active monthly users, brands are quickly recognizing the need to have a presence on Instagram. But, as with any social network, the brands that are getting the most out of Instagram are the ones who are smart about what they post, when they post, how often they post, and whom they're targeting. But how do they know what's a "smart" post for their business? That's where the Instagram data comes in. There's a whole lot of research out there about Instagram — everything from the demographics of its users and how often brands are posting, to how negative space affects the performance of your posts (hint, hint: #26). Read on to uncover more social media stats that'll help you get ideas and improve your own Instagram posting strategy. 43 Instagram Stats Click on a category below to jump to the stats for that category: Instagram's Growth Audience & Demographics Brand Adoption Instagram Post Content Instagram Posting Strategy Instagram's Growth 1. As of May 2021, there are over 1 billion Instagram monthly active users worldwide. (Source) 2. As of 2020, there's an estimated 107 million Instagram users in the U.S. alone — which is predicted to grow to almost 126 million by 2023.(Source) 3. As of February 2021, 40% of U.S. adults say they've used Instagram. This is a larger percentage than use Pinterest, LinkedIn, and Twitter. The...

The Step-by-Step Guide to Instagram Live There are plenty of benefits for businesses to post Live videos on Instagram. For one, people love watching live videos. The content can feel more authentic and natural than it would if it had been pre-recorded — just consider how addicting Saturday Night Live can be, particularly if the actors make mistakes or break character. Additionally, 82% of people prefer live video from a brand over standard social media posts. You might consider using Instagram's Live feature to host live Q&A's with industry leaders, stream entire virtual events, or host live product tutorials from social media influencers. If you've never posted a live video on Instagram, you're in luck. Here, we'll dive into how you can go live on Instagram in five easy steps — plus, take a look at Instagram influencers' favorite tips for creating Instagram Live content. Table of Contents Influencer-Backed Tips When Using Instagram Live How to Go Live on Instagram How to Share or Save Your Instagram Live Video Instagram Live Features Influencer-Backed Tips When Using Instagram Live Before we dive into how you can go live on Instagram, let's explore a few tips from various influencers that you'll want to follow when testing out Instagram Live for the first time.  1. Mary Jelkovsky (@maryscupofteaa, 281K followers) says it's a good opportunity to showcase a more authentic side to you or your brand.  "Instagram Live is a great way for your...

The Ultimate Guide to IGTV In recent years, we've seen the power of video on the internet — Facebook alone gets eight billion average daily views, and YouTube's video platform has enabled young teens to become national superstars (Justin Bieber, anyone?). Also, a Cisco report estimates that, by 2022, watching video will account for 82% of internet traffic.  There are various channels for marketers to consider when sharing videos, like the above-mentioned YouTube and TikTok or Snapchat. There’s also Instagram TV (IGTV) which, launched in 2018, is different from Instagram Stories. Additionally, IGTV is primarily meant for smartphones, as the videos are vertical, and users don’t need to rotate their devices to watch. If you're interested in testing out the app for your own business or simply want to know which brands to follow on the app, you're in luck — here, we've compiled all the tips and information you need to get started with IGTV. There is also a standalone IGTV app that you can download from the app store. To get it, simply go to the App Store or Google Play, search for IGTV, and click Get or Install.  IGTV Video Length Anyone with an Instagram account can upload an IGTV video.  Unlike Instagram Stories' 15-second video limit, IGTV videos can be up to 15 minutes long when uploaded from a mobile device and 60 minutes when uploaded from the web.  How To Make IGTV Videos To upload and edit your IGTV video title...

How to Sell on Instagram Using Shoppable Posts After months of testing, Instagram announced a big change to its user interface (UI) in late 2020: replacing the user "Activity" tab with the "Shop" tab, the social platform's latest move to be more business-friendly. It's a big evolution from where the feature was just a few years ago. Today, it's infinitely easier for users to shop products from brands without ever leaving the app. So, how exactly does the tool work and how can you leverage it to generate revenue? Find out everything you need to know in the sections below. Why Your Business Should Sell on Instagram Thanks to the Instagram shoppable posts feature and other supportive tools (like the product wishlist, product launch reminder, and shopping stickers on Instagram Stories), users can go through the entire buyer's journey, from discovery to checkout. Social media platforms are typically seen as great brand awareness tools. However, Instagram's new integrations have made it a big revenue driver. A 2019 Facebook study revealed that 54% of respondents purchased items in the moment or some time after seeing a product or service on Instagram. And it's not only direct-to-consumer brands that can benefit from using Instagram's shopping features. A Q4 2020 report by HootSuite revealed that 36.2% of B2B decision-makers use the app to source new products and/or services. Shoppable posts are marked with a clickable shopping bag icon that displays the product information...

How to Make Quotes for Instagram: 9 Apps to Try This Year When you come across a beautiful sight -- be it a beach, a mountain, or your pet's face -- sometimes, it inspires you to think bigger about what certain sights and experiences mean. For those moments, you might consider posting a photo on Instagram with an equally inspiring quote as the caption. But you could take it even further -- and save characters -- by posting the photo with the quote. You've likely seen quotes on Instagram posts before, but you may never have created one for your brand's account. Here's a recent Instagram quote we shared here at HubSpot: See what we mean? Posting quote images on Instagram can diversify your content on the platform and humanize your brand a little, too. Everyone could use a motivational quote during a busy Monday morning or a slow Tuesday afternoon, so try out an Instagram quote for your next post with the help of these free apps. 9 Instagram Text Apps to Make Inspiring Quotes Featured Resource: 9 Instagram Quote Templates HubSpot created a collection of 9 Instagram quote templates for posts and stories – in addition to 13 more free Instagram posts for business. Download the collection of templates today to make Instagram quotes right in Google Slides for free.  1. FaceGarage Web App FaceGarage is a browser tool that helps you create Instagram images with quotes overlaid in...