Do you use Instagram Highlights? They are the Stories you see right below the profile information. If you want to organize your content, and make sure what’s most important stands out. Then, Highlights is the best option for you!
Take the example of this toy store in Spain:
Instagram Highlights work as a collection or a menu of the Stories you want to always be visible to your followers. You can add a name that describes its content, as well as a cover image. Do you think these highlighted stories are clean and attractive enough to catch your followers’ attention?
Customizing your Instagram Highlights cover photos might not seem like a priority, but it’s actually super important to build your brand with it own style and consistency. It’s also a good way to avoid confusion and to optimize the disposition of your content. So, in this article we will show you how to customize your covers, covering some strategies and tools. Let’s get started!
Before you customize them, you need to know what this feature has to offer. You probably already know that a story only lasts 24 hours. By highlighting a story, it will no longer be available for only 24 hours, but for as long as you want, and you can even label it.
But ATTENTION! The name or title can only be up to 15 characters long. It is important to note that if you want the title to be fully displayed, it is best that you make it approximately 10 characters long.
As we can see in the example above, the title of the highlight “Vintage S …” was cut in half as it exceeded the visible characters Instagram displays . It’s always recommended that you keep the title’s length under the10 characters limitations to make sure your followers don’t miss anything.
And what about the cover? In this case, Instagram automatically uses the image of the first Highlighted Story, which is not recommended by several factors: Are they really standing out? Do they match the brand style? Does it look more organized?
We took the example above from the blog Social Media Examiner, and just like they explain in the article, these highlighted images are lost in the profile, they do not attract attention or stand out. They don’t even build a brand identity.
On the other hand, in the following example, we can see a clear example of what we should achieve with Instagram Highlights. This is a profile of a professional photographer.
Short and simple names. The same color on each cover, and the same style which is according to the personal brand. This is what we should think about when we want to customize our Highlights.
Let’s look at another example:
Look closely at this profile. The covers match the style of the brand.
The reason? First of all, because it is an Argentine company that manufactures ceramic products with a singular aesthetic. This same aesthetic is represented in each story.
Some of the Highlights are related to the manufacturing process, and others with the product photos. Obviously, some adjustments could be made to make them even more organized, but the idea of using an icon as a name seems accurate for a brand like this.
Generally, it is necessary to name the highlight, but it will always depend on the brand and also the type of product. However, anything related to an artistic side has a greater creative gap.
Let’s see how to make your covers and customize your Highlights!
You can create similar covers, always respecting the same elements, like color, typography, image, icon, logo etc. Or you can also use different covers by adding some element in common.
In the following example, the covers are the same and match the color and logo of the profile.
In this other example, the covers use the same background color, changing only the image.
And what tools should you use to design your covers? The fastest and easiest way is to use online apps like Artstudio, you can access them through your mobile phone. Of course, if you are used to more resourceful tools such as Photoshop or Illustrator, you can definitely use them as well.
One crucial point: the size should be 1080 x 1920 pixels. In Artstudio you can take advantage of the Instagram Stories template, which can be quite useful!
However, these are not all the options! On Instagram itself, when creating a story, it is possible to design a cover image. All you have to do is use Instagram as a drawing tool, and imagine how you want your cover.
As we already know, Instagram has typography options, image filters, stickers etc. But this is not the most recommended option. It is best that you use Artstudio for a simple reason: you have a greater scope for action.
In this video of a Social Media expert, you’ll see the creation process from scratch.
RECOMMENDATIONS FOR CREATING THE LAYERS
Now you’ve made your cover. Already saved it on your phone or computer, it’s time to put it in your Highlight. It’s very simple!
Let’s look at the steps:
Repeat the process with all the covers that you created.
Creating custom covers for your Instagram Highlight Stories allows your most valuable content to always be available in your Instagram profile. And also, it makes it easier for your followers to navigate through your content and unifies the style of the brand.
All this, at first glance, seems insignificant, but it becomes a powerful tool for any business or company. The user experience on Instagram becomes somewhat deeper, and it gives them a closer look at your brand’s proposal.
Tell us: Do you use Highlights? How has your experience been so far? Do you get better results? What tools do you use?
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.
General Instagram hacks
Instagram hacks for photo and video sharing
Instagram Story tricks
Instagram bio and profile hacks
Instagram hashtag hacks
Instagram direct messaging hacks
Instagram for Business hacks
Instagram Reels hacks
Bonus: Download a free checklist that reveals the exact steps a fitness influencer used to grow from 0 to 600,000+ followers on Instagram with no budget and no expensive gear.
General Instagram hacksReady to impress your fans and wow your followers? These Instagram hacks will make people think you’re a technological genius.
1. Stop seeing posts or stories from accounts you follow but don’t loveYou 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
Rearrange filtersKeep 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:
Bookmark your favorite postsThink 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.
9. Create line breaks in your captionOne 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!
11. Choose a cover photo for your videoYour 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:
13. Record video hands-freeHands-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.
15. Use your own fonts on StoriesWhy 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:
Change the cover of your Story highlightsUse 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.
19. Find more colors to draw withDon’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:
Bonus: Download a free checklist that reveals the exact steps a fitness influencer used to grow from 0 to 600,000+ followers on Instagram with no budget and no expensive gear.
Get the free guide right now!
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.
21. Add line breaks to bioUse 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:
Add special characters and use special fonts for your profileJazzing 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:
Hide hashtags on postsYes, 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.
Hide hashtags in StoriesHelp 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.
Instagram direct messaging hacksNeed some help managing the people sliding into your DMs? These Instagram tricks are exactly what you need.
28. Turn off your activity statusYou don’t have to let the world know when you are or aren’t online: maintain an aura of mystery!
How to do it:
Send disappearing content to your friendsNew 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.
30. Create chat groupsIf 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.
33. Send automated welcome messages to new followersWelcome 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:
Add a link treeOrganize 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.
Instagram Reels hacksOf all the new Instagram features, Reels are the latest and greatest. Use these Instagram tricks to make your Reels go viral!
35. Schedule ReelsSchedule 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.
Get Started
Grow on Instagram
Easily create, analyze, and schedule Instagram posts, Stories, and Reels with Hootsuite. Save time and get results.
Free 30-Day Trial
Let's start with the fact that you have already created a page on Instagram. We will not explain how this is done, because there is nothing complicated there. Next, you need to set up your account. Then your page will not only look great, but also function correctly. Read the article - settings in Instagram.
Recall that the account can be viewed both on mobile and PC. Here is a matter of convenience for each person personally. But as for the settings, there is still a difference, and it is in favor of the mobile.
Finding them is very simple: on a PC, this is a wheel located not far from the profile picture (see screenshot #1), and on mobile, click on the icon with three dots in the upper right corner. And here - all the settings are in front of you. Their menu is different. The mobile version offers more, so let's take a look at it. nine0006
When you open the settings, you will see the following options:
Further about them in more detail.
“What is this for? Find it, you say. Perhaps so, or perhaps not. Therefore, we advise you to still invite friends to join, thereby reminding you of yourself. Instagram offers the following invitation options: via SMS, email, Facebook, and you can also invite anyone by sharing a link. nine0006
This is more for personal pages than business promotion, but still worth mentioning.
Now, right in the application, you can track how much time you spend on Instagram. And if you leaf through the tape for half a day, then you can set yourself a so-called “stop signal”. Set time limits - you will receive a reminder that the limit has been reached. In the same place, edit Push notifications (if not all activity on the page is important to you). nine0006
A section that hides something really interesting. Set age limits for your account and feel free to post the content you want. This section will definitely be useful for some profiles, such as liquor stores, non-children's blogs, and the like. You can also set up quick replies here to save time (ideal for online stores). And last but not least, pay for advertising. If you promote publications, you can track transactions and debts here. nine0006
Target video course
Section responsible for the security of your account.
It includes account interaction settings (comments, tags, stories, online status) and contact settings (privacy, restricted contacts, blocked, temporarily blocked, close friends, and pages you follow). Edit them, depending on the needs or situations. nine0006
First of all, we are talking about the security of entering your profile. Here you can change your password, check authorization, enable 2-step verification for your account, and check for emails from Instagram. Additionally, this section has the entire history of the account, which can be downloaded.
Section responsible for advertising on Instagram. Here I want to describe everything separately and in detail. We will do so. So stay tuned and don't miss the new article. nine0006
In short, through a business account, you can promote your posts using the "Promote" button below the post. Or create ads with more advanced settings through your Facebook profile.
All data about your profile:
So feel free to turn on and use 
This is suitable for those who want to emphasize their authorship even more. Familiarize yourself and use.
By the way, if you have questions, you don't have to open Google right away. Directly in Instagram, you can open the help center and write to them, and if the cause of the problem was not found, you can report it to the support team. nine0006
Instagram settings, compared to other social networks, are not so complicated, but not all of them can be understood. We hope our article helped you figure out the Instagram settings and answer your questions. Now you can easily start promoting your Instagram account.
Subscribe to our Telegram channel and stay up to date with new articles and other interesting materials.
On our Instagram channel you will find a lot of interesting things from the life of the Agency and useful materials on SMM and Digital. nine0006
YouTube channel has a lot of videos about SMM.
Social network accounts, especially popular ones, are a tasty morsel for attackers.
And it is easiest to hack what is poorly protected. Therefore, we regularly remind you that it is worth taking care of the security of your accounts, as far as social networks allow it.
Unfortunately, security and privacy settings are often difficult to understand.
Moreover, developers change them from time to time. For example, Instagram settings have recently been updated. We tell you what is useful in them and where to look for this useful. nine0006
The new Instagram settings allow you to even more securely protect against unauthorized account login and identity theft.
To find your security settings:
Where to find the security settings in the Instagram app
The first rule of security for any account is to set a good, long, unique password. Attackers will not be able to quickly pick it up and will not find it in the databases that they managed to steal from other sites, which means they will not be able to hack into your account.
At least, if you do not give out your password yourself or it does not leak from the social network itself.
Turn on two-factor authentication to ensure that your password is leaked. Every time someone tries to log in on a new device on your behalf, the social network will request a one-time code from SMS or from a special application. Thus, you will always be aware of login attempts, and it will be impossible to hack your account without knowing the code. nine0006
To enable two-factor authentication:
How to set up two-factor authentication in the Instagram app
An added bonus - after enabling this feature, the social network will give you backup codes .
They will help you log into your profile if you don’t have a phone at hand that should receive SMS or on which an application for generating one-time codes is installed (yes, you can do this too - see this post for more details). Write down the backup codes and keep in a safe place.
Instagram developers have figured out how to protect their users from phishing via email. Now in the application settings you can see what letters the social network has sent you over the past two weeks. If you received a letter supposedly from Instagram, but it is not in the application, you can safely send it to spam. nine0006
To see which social media notifications are real:
How to check in the app if you received a real email from Instagram
Another source of danger is third-party sites and applications. They are connected to expand the capabilities of the social network, for example, add photo filters or convenient marketing tools. However, if such an application is hacked or its authors are dishonest, your account can be used for criminal purposes. You can view the list of connected applications and sites and remove everything superfluous in the same section Security , in block Applications and websites .
Where can I find the list of apps connected to Instagram
Instagram allows you not only to keep your profile safe, but also to restrict access to your photos, videos, stories and other data. You can hide personal content from prying eyes, save yourself and friends from offensive comments, and prevent subscribers from sharing your stories and posts with others.
For this:
Where to find the privacy settings in the Instagram app
If Instagram is not a promotion site for you, but a place to share pictures and videos with friends, you can make your account private:
How to close your Instagram account
Now only followers you have approved will see your posts and stories. True, there are some nuances. Firstly, everyone who managed to subscribe to you before is automatically considered approved by the social network. If you do not agree with it, then you need to do this:
How to edit your Instagram follower list
Secondly, if you repost an Instagram photo to another social network, it will be seen by everyone who can see your posts on that social network. So if you do this often, don't forget to set up privacy on other social networks as well.
If you are an insta-blogger and it is not convenient for you to close your account, you can control access to specific content. For example, Instagram allows you to hide stories from individual users, publish some of them only to your list of close friends, and limit or even turn off the ability to respond to them. All this is done in section Privacy in block History . There you can also prevent readers from sharing your stories in messages and showing your posts in their stories. nine0006
How to control who sees your Instagram Stories
To protect yourself and your followers from abuse and spam, you can automatically hide inappropriate comments using Instagram filters or your own.
You can configure this in section Privacy , in block Comments . There you can also prevent especially gifted spammers from commenting on your photos and videos.
How to get rid of spam comments on Instagram
The social network allows you to prevent outsiders from writing you private messages and adding you to groups. If you are annoyed by spam in direct or you think that messages are your private space, open in section Privacy block Messages and select Only people you follow for both items.
How to get rid of spam in direct and adding to the left groups on Instagram
If you don't want your readers to know when you're online, you can hide your online status from them. To do this, select in section Privacy item Network status and deactivate the switch.
True, after that you will also not be able to see information about the activity of other users.
How to hide your online status on Instagram
Finally, spammers and other annoying readers can be blocked or restricted from accessing their account. To do this, click on the unwanted profile three dots in the upper right corner and select Block or Restrict access .
How to block or restrict a user from your Instagram
Restricted account holders will still be able to view your photos and videos and even leave comments on them, but only you and the author will see these comments. nine0006
You can also put the user in silent mode if you are tired of his stories and posts in the feed. This can also be done in his profile:
Setting the Instagram user to silent mode
Your friend will not know anything about it, and you can take a break from the flurry of his photos and look at them only when you are in the mood - his profile will remain visible to you. nine0006
Instagram, like any social network, by default sends more notifications than you need. To avoid annoying pop-up notifications that one of your friends has posted a photo for the first time in a long time, you can turn them off. To do this:
