Six tips for aspiring creators on Instagram

Creators go to Instagram every day to create and connect, grow their audience, and build their businesses. With more than 2 Billion people using Instagram each month, Instagram offers a global reach and a wide breadth of features, which makes it a one-stop-shop for all creators, and offers a variety of opportunities and experiences for creators everywhere.

However, when you are starting your career as an aspiring creator, it can be overwhelming and you might be looking for some guidance on how to start.

So below are some tips that can help get you started, or even be a good refresher for anyone creating on Instagram.

1. Post original content: This includes content you filmed yourself or content that hasn’t been posted on Instagram before. Avoid reuploading content that is already on Instagram or posting unoriginal or aggregated content. If you see a reel or a post you think your followers would love, you can share it to your Story by using the share button.

2. Set an engaging content strategy: Make sure you use the variety of ways that Instagram has, such as: Reels, Stories, Feed, and Live, to express yourself creatively and set a content strategy that will keep your audience engaged. Here are a few things to keep in mind when creating this:

   • Reels: More than 1 Billion Reels are reshared on DMs on Instagram everyday. Now you can create rechargeable and entertaining reels using a variety of editing tools. Make sure to keep an eye on rising trends and music through browsing other Reels and checking @Creators weekly Reels of round up.

   • Feed: Publish a mix of photos & videos and utilize location tags as well as Music to tell a story. Make sure to maximize engagement through responding to your audience’s comments.

   • Stories: Share an authentic view of your everyday self, making use of the engaging features such as: The different stickers (Question, Quiz, Poll, Countdown and Add Yours).

   • Live: Use Live to connect with your audience in the moment. You can use this space to make an announcement, livestream a performance or share a new hobby or an interest with your audience.

3. Collab with other creators: Find other creators who share your passions and collaborate with them on a piece or a series of content that will resonate with your followers. Make sure you use Instagram’s Collabs feature to create a single post that is shared to both of your followers or use Enhanced Tags to include their public and self-identified profile category.

4. Get discovered via Search: Search results are matched by text, so make sure you’re including relevant keywords. A few tips:

   • Use an Instagram handle or profile name that’s related to the content of your posts.

   • Make sure your bio includes keywords about who you are and what your profile is about.

   • Use relevant keywords and hashtags in captions. To have your post found in Search, put these keywords and hashtags in the caption, not the comments.

   • Finally, make sure you are eligible for recommendation through checking your Account Status. This will allow you to see if your account’s content is eligible to be recommended in places like Explore, Reels, and Feed Recommendations to people who don’t follow you. You can access this tool at any time via Settings and see if your account’s content is eligible to be recommended to non-followers and Understand any issues and fix problems.

5. Monitor Your Insights: Fluctuations in reach are common, but if you’re using a Business or Creator Account you can check your Instagram Insights to monitor trends and content performance. Watch out for patterns and keep tabs on which pieces of content are getting more reach to help inform your content strategy. Within Insights, you can break down Accounts Reached by followers and non-followers so you can see how much of your reach is coming from people who don’t already follow you—and track that over time by changing the time frame selected. We also recently introduced a new way to view Reels insights, to help you monitor your best performing content.

6. Follow @Creators & Creator Lab for more best practices: Instagram introduced ways for creators to connect with the wider creator community through our own channels such as @Creators. In addition, aspiring creators now have resources like Instagram’s Creator Lab, which offers best practices, product news, tips & tricks, and much more. Make sure to follow these channels to keep updated with the latest in the creator world.