How to post on my instagram page

How to Post on Instagram: A Step-by-Step Guide

With over 1 billion active users, Instagram is one of the best social media networks to advertise your business, reach new audiences, and grow brand awareness. So even if you aren’t active on the website yet, it’s never too late to adopt an Instagram strategy in your marketing plan.

If you're ready to start sharing content through this channel, we've got you covered. Here, we're sharing a quick-and-easy guide to posting on Instagram, to ensure you can begin attracting the attention of your audience with Instagram marketing.

How to Post on Instagram

Tap the + icon at the top of your screen.
Choose a photo or video from your library or shoot one in the app.
Post multiple images on Instagram.
Crop the image.
Pick a filter.
Edit your photo.
Type your caption.
Use hashtags for post optimization.
Tag friends.
Add your location.
Play with emojis.
Share the post on other social media platforms.
Edit the post.

Posting to Instagram consistently can help businesses find resonance with their audience and grow better, but doing it right is just as important. Here's how to post to your Instagram account step-by-step.

Step 1. Tap the + icon at the top of your screen.

See that plus sign [+] in the image above? That's your starting point. Click that plus sign and you'll be ready for the next step, below.

Step 2. Choose a photo or video from your library or shoot one in the app.

Instagram will show you the photos already saved to your phone. Choose one of those to post. Alternatively, you can click on the camera icon to take a photo or video within the Instagram app itself, if you don't already have an image you want to use.

Once you select and crop an image (or carousel of multiple images), click the Next button in the top right corner of the app.

Step 3. Post multiple images on Instagram.

Do you have multiple photos and want to highlight them all? Instagram allows you to do this with its carousel feature.

As you go to tap a photo or video, first tap the icon just above your photos to the right that looks like stacked squares. Once you tap this, you'll see a number on the corner of every image or video you tap. This number notes where the content will show up in the carousel.

Step 4. Crop the image.

You aren't limited to just a square image on Instagram. You can actually share horizontal or vertical images as well. To get more of your image seen, pinch the screen of the photo you've selected on the Library screen (play the video below to see it in action).

However, while Instagram does allow vertical and horizontal options, the images still need to fit into some specific dimensions. So, you might still need to crop a tiny bit of your photo to get it to fit.

Step 5. Pick a filter.

Instagram offers a wide variety of filters — scroll to the right to peruse your options, and click on one to preview how it will look on your photo.

By default, the filter will be applied by full strength. However, if you want to scale back the intensity of the filter, double-click the filter tile once it's been applied, and a scale selector will appear, allowing you to downplay the effect.

You can also tap the magic wand at the top of the screen to adjust the photo further.

(Take a look at our Ultimate Guide to Instagram Filters to learn more).

Step 6. Edit your photo.

You can also click "Edit" at the bottom right to adjust the image to your specifications.

Here are the editing options that come built into Instagram for you:

Adjust : This helps subtly rotate the image along the center plane, giving it a tilt either to the left or right according to the linear scale at the bottom of the screen.
Brightness: This helps lighten or darken the image. All you have to do is pull the selector to the left to darken or to the right to lighten.
Contrast: This helps to increase or decrease the intensity of the image's colors. Pull the selector to the left for less contrast (a dulling effect) or to the right for more contrast (a higher intensity effect).
Structure: This helps to add an HD-like effect to the image, bringing out specific details in your photo. Drag the selector to the right to help the image "pop."
Warmth: This helps you adjust the temperature of the photo. Drag the selector to the left to increase cool tones in the image, or drag the selector to the right to increase the warm tones in the image.
Saturation: This helps you adjust the saturation of the colors in your image. Drag the selector to the left to desaturate the image (all the way to the left if you want a monochrome look), or drag the selector to the right for extremely saturated colors.
Color: This gives you a number of color options to overlay over your image for interesting color effects. Simply select your color choice and see how it changes the image in the preview box.
Fade: This softens the intensity of the blacks in your image to create an "aged" photo effect. Simply drag the selector to the right for a higher degree of fade.
Highlights: This helps you control the intensity of the highlights in your image. Dragging the selector to the left will darken the highlights in your image while dragging the selector to the right will lighten the highlights in your image.
Shadows: This helps you control the intensity of the shadows in your image. Dragging the selector to the left will darken the shadows in your image while dragging the selector to the right will lighten the shadows in your image.
Vignette: This darkens the corners of the image, leaving a circle shape in the center. Drag the selector all the way to the right for the most dramatic vignette.
Tilt Shift: This helps blur the edges of the image in a radial or linear way, drawing focus to the details in the center of the image.
Sharpen: This helps sharpen certain details of the image, bringing a more dramatic look to subtler elements in the photo.

Featured Resource

30 Days of Instagram Tips + Templates

Fill out the form to access your kit.

Step 7. Type your caption.

Get creative and write a nice, interesting Instagram caption to go with your photo. Since text can help optimize your post in Instagram's search, writing something can only benefit you.

Step 8. Use hashtags for post optimization.

With Instagram's search feature, users can search by hashtags. So, you should make sure to write relevant hashtags in your caption. If someone does a search of a hashtag you placed in your caption, they might find your post as well as others that included the same one.

Step 9. Tag friends.

Want your friend or their followers to see a photo that you posted of the two of you? Tag them!

On the new post page, you can click "Tag People" to tag other Instagram accounts in your post. Alternatively, you can include their handle (or their username beginning with an @ symbol) in your caption.

Step 10. Add your location.

If you're on a fun vacation or at a neat event and you don't feel like including that information in your caption, you can mark where you are in another way. On the new post page, tap "Add Location" to put a location on your image (which makes it easier for people to find your post).

When you post an image or video with a location, it will show up between your name and the block of content on the feed.

Step 11. Play with emojis.

Emojis are fun and can make your caption more eye-catching. If you know of a few relevant emojis that could fit with your post, stick them in the caption area. For example, if you're posting a vacation photo, you could include a palm tree 🌴 or a plane ✈️ to show you flew somewhere.

Here are the top Instagram emojis you can use:

❤️
😍
😘
😂
😊
😎
💕
😉
💋
👍

However, keep in mind that there's a multitude of choices to add flair to your posts, from keeping it real 💯 to the cringe face 😬.

Be sure not to go overboard and post emojis just for the sake of posting them. If you post a bowling emoji along with a photo of a beach, that obviously won't make sense to people. Similarly, if you post 20 emojis that loosely relate to a post, you might just annoy your followers or come off as desperate.

Step 12. Share the post on other social media platforms.

Finally, if you want to share your content on your other, connected social media sites (like Facebook or Twitter), simply toggle the button from the left to the right.

When you're ready to post, click "Share" in the top right.

Instagram Saved Drafts

If you're not ready to post right away, you can also save it to your Instagram Saved Drafts. Simply go back to the filtering and editing step, tap the back arrow in the top left, and select "Save Draft."

Step 13. Edit the post.

Typos happen to everyone! If you just posted something and notice a glaring spelling error, don't panic. Simply tap the three dots that appear on the right across from your name, then tap "Edit."

Make the adjustments you see fit and save them so it reflects on your Instagram. Otherwise, your post is complete and live for everyone to see.

Grow Your Audience on Instagram Today

Now that you know how to post to Instagram, you can begin creating content for the platform and connecting with your audience. If you're a business or brand, you'll want a solid strategy for earning engagement and awareness.

Editor's note: This post was originally published in November 2019 and has been updated for comprehensiveness.

How to Post on Instagram in 2023: The Ultimate Guide

Instagram is the fourth most popular social media platform with over 1.4 million monthly active users. If your business hasn’t added Instagram to your social media strategy yet, we’re not surprised you’re now considering it.

But it’s one thing to create a random Instagram post. It’s another to fully flesh out your post and create a multi-faceted Instagram content strategy.

To help out, we created a step-by-step guide for how to post on Instagram: How to create your caption, how to post each different type of content that Instagram supports, and more.

Ready to dig in?

How to Post on Instagram - The Ultimate Guide:

Step 1. Tap the + at the Top of Your Screen
Step 2. Choose the Type of Post to Create
Step 3: Write Your Caption
Step 4: Add Hashtags
Step 5: Publish Your Instagram Post
Frequently Asked Questions

Step 1. Tap the + at the Top of Your Screen

Posting to Instagram regularly is essential to make sure you create a consistent and high-performing Instagram marketing strategy. While there are several steps to creating high-quality posts, if you follow our guide, you’ll be able to master them in no time.

Your first step is to open up your Instagram app and then click the + sign in the top-left corner of your screen.

Step 2. Choose the Type of Post to Create

From here, you need to decide which type of content you want to create. There are four main types: a post, story, reel, or live video.

Select your chosen option from the drop-down menu and follow along with our how-to guides for each one.

Create an Instagram Feed Post

The first type of Instagram post you might want to create is a regular Instagram feed post. This could be either an image or a video—both are great options to add to your feed.

To get started, click the Post option from the list of options. Your camera roll will pop up so you can select a photo or video you’ve already created—although you do have the option to tap the camera icon and take a photo or video right in the app.

(Side note: we don’t recommend doing this. If you want to create a high-quality Instagram feed, you’ll want to create your content outside of the app and then post it separately.)

There are three types of feed posts you can create:

Photo post: A single photo added to your Instagram feed
Video post: A video added to your Instagram feed (can be as short as a few seconds or as long as an hour)
Carousel post: A selection of up to 10 photos and/or videos in a single post on your Instagram feed

While in your camera roll, you can select the photo(s) or video(s) you want to add to your post. If the ones you choose are horizontal or vertical, you can choose to keep them that way or crop them into square images.

Tap Next to choose a filter. There are over 20 different filter options inside Instagram. Or you can tap the Edit tab at the bottom to access more customizable photo editing options.

Once your photo looks how you want it, tap Next again. This is where you’ll create your caption and add your hashtags—but more on that in a bit.

Create an Instagram Story

Instagram stories are temporary stories that stay on your profile for 24 hours. You can also add them to different story highlights that remain at the top of your Instagram profile for followers to check out after the initial 24 hours is up.

Stories can be great ways to engage even further with your audience. Because they appear at the very top of the Instagram feed, users may be more likely to see your stories than your actual feed posts.

To post a story, you’ll tap the second option from the “Create” drop-down menu. Or, you can swipe right on your home screen to access the stories camera.

From here, you can either take a photo or video right inside the app, or you can upload a previously created graphic, image, or video.

You can publish your story as is, or you can customize it in Instagram. There are several options in the top-left corner of the screen to help you decorate your story or add more information.

First, you can tap the “Aa” icon to add text on top of your story. There are a number of different fonts and font decorations to choose from—sticking to just one or two font choices across all of your stories is a great way to stay consistent and recognizable.

The second option is stickers. These range from fun GIFs and illustrations to a location sticker, hashtag sticker, question sticker, mention sticker, poll sticker, or link. You can even add a music sticker to attach a song to your story.

Next, you can add filters or animated effects to your story. Some of these work on any image while others are specific to images with faces.

If you click the icon with the three dots, you can choose to save your story (i.e., if you took the photo/video in the app and you want to save it to your camera roll) or you can access the draw feature.

There are several options: pen, arrow, highlight, neon, and eraser. You can choose from a number of different colors and even use the color dropper to pull a specific color right from your image or video.

Then, click the share button to add to your story. You can link your Facebook page to your Instagram business profile in order to share the story to both platforms at once.

Create an Instagram Reel

An Instagram reel is a short-form video similar to TikTok videos. They help to engage audiences and build a bigger following on Instagram.

To create an Instagram reel, you’ll select the third option from the drop-down. If you have already created your 90-second or less video, you can select it from your library to upload.

If you expand all the customization options on the left sidebar, you’ll see the ability to add or adjust the video’s audio, length, speed, or layout. You can also set a timer before it starts to record or swipe through filter tiles and effects to add onto the video as you record.

Once you’ve recorded or imported your video from your camera roll, you can add stickers, text, or drawings just like in your stories.

After you’ve finished customizing your reel, you’ll create your caption and share it to your Instagram account by clicking the blue button.

We’ll talk about creating a great caption in just a bit.

Create an Instagram Live Video

The last option is to go live on Instagram. This creates a live video broadcast on your Instagram account that your followers can tune into and watch. They can also leave comments, giving you a great opportunity to interact with your audience in real time.

To create a live video, you’ll tap the fourth option in the drop-down. At the top of your screen, you’ll get to see how many of your followers are currently active so you can gauge whether it’s a good time to go live or not.

You can create a title for your live video and link to a fundraiser if you’re partnering with a charity. Tap the Audience button to choose between going live in front of your audience or creating a practice broadcast.

Or you can choose to schedule your live video for a later date, but still letting your audience know when they can expect you to go live.

Scroll through the built-in Instagram filters if you choose, then tap the button in the button of your screen to start broadcasting.

Step 3: Write Your Caption

Now that you know how to post each of the main content types to Instagram, let’s talk caption-writing. You’ll need to add an interesting caption to both Instagram posts and reels, but you can skip this step if you’re simply posting stories or going live.

To get you started, check out some of our Instagram caption ideas. Then we’ll go over strategy.

Your caption can be up to 2,200 characters, but you don’t want to use all of that. Research shows that posts perform best with around 70 words in your caption.

However, that’s not always the rule. If you don’t have a story to tell with your Instagram post, don’t force it.

We’ve put together a few tips to ensure your Instagram captions grab attention and get your audience interested in learning more about your post—and your business.

Reel your viewer in with your first sentence. Because Instagram shortens your caption to just the first few lines, you want to make sure that first sentence intrigues them and gets them to click that “See more” button.

Tell a story or ask a question. Use your caption to really connect with your audience. Tell a story that’s relevant to your post or reel, or use that to ask a question and entice viewers to leave a comment.

Hire a creative content writer. Not good at copywriting? That’s okay—get a content writer on your team that can write excellent Instagram captions that gets your audience engaged.

Write your captions outside of the Instagram app. Instagram doesn’t allow paragraph breaks in the app. Your best bet is to create your caption outside of the app and paste it into your caption as you post.

Write like you talk. Don’t use words and phrases you would never say out loud. Instead, be relatable by creating captions that sound like something a human would actually say.

Incorporate relevant emoji. Have fun with your captions. Incorporate emoji when it makes sense—but don’t overuse them. There’s a fine line between fun emoji use and cringy emoji use.

Keep these tips in mind and start creating fun captions that your audience enjoys reading.

Step 4: Add Hashtags

After you write your caption, you’ll want to add hashtags. Each Instagram post can have up to 30 hashtags, and a recent analysis showed that posts with 20-30 hashtags generate the most reach. 20 hashtags is the sweet spot, so try to stick around there.

So how do you find relevant hashtags that will help your post reach the most users?

First, search through the most popular Instagram hashtags to see if any fit your business or your post. Incorporating those can help you reach a much wider audience.

Next, consider using a hashtag suggestion tool to help you find even more great hashtags for your post. You can also check out competitor posts to see what hashtags they use. Click on each one to see how popular they are and if they’re worth adding to your post.

Another tactic is to search for keywords relevant to your business and see which top hashtags pop up in Instagram search.

Add a list of hashtags to a document or note on your phone or computer so that you can refer back to them each time you create a new Instagram post.

When you’re adding hashtags to your post, there are a couple different ways to make sure they’re hidden from view and don’t make your post look spammy:

Add the hashtags into the first comment on your post, rather than inside the caption
Hit “Enter” in the caption and add a period. Repeat 2-3 times, then paste your hashtags into your caption

This will ensure your hashtags don’t appear above the “See more” button so that your actual caption stands out most.

Step 5: Publish Your Instagram Post

You’ve done it! You’ve gone through all of the steps to creating an awesome Instagram post. The last step is simply to hit publish.

Keep in mind that you can also use scheduling tools to create multiple Instagram posts at once and have them automatically publish to your profile on the dates and times you set.

Start Creating Incredible Instagram Content

Now that you know how to post on Instagram, it’s time to start creating stunning and engaging content for your audience. Grow your following and use Instagram to promote your products and services.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can you post on Instagram from the desktop app?

Yes, posting to Instagram from the desktop browser is a recent addition to the software.

To do so, head to Instagram.com on your desktop computer and click the + sign icon. A pop-up appears with an upload button or you can drag-and-drop your photo/video onto the screen. Then follow all of the steps above to publish your post.

How do you post a hashtag?

You can add up to 30 hashtags into the bottom of your caption or as a comment on your Instagram post.

What is the best way to post on Instagram?

To get access to the best features, post to Instagram from the mobile version.

What does the colorful circle on Instagram mean?

If you see a colorful circle around a profile photo, that means that profile has posted an Instagram story in the last 24 hours. You can tap the profile photo to view the story.

How do you add a button to your Instagram profile?

Edit your profile, tap Business Information > Contact Options > Add an action button. From here, you can choose what type of button you want to add based on how you prefer potential customers to contact you or access your products/services.

How do I share someone's feed post to my Instagram story?

Help Center

Instagram Features

Stories

You can only post someone else's post to your story if the author of the post has made their account public and allowed their posts to be reposted. Not everyone can share a post from the feed in their story.

To share someone's feed post to your story:

Instagram app for Android and iPhone

Click the icon below a photo or video in the feed.

Select Add Post to Your Story, Add Video to Your Story, or Add Reels Video to Story.

Press in the lower right corner of the screen.

Click Share.

Instagram Lite app for Android

If you share someone's post in your story, every person who has viewed it will be able to see the name of the author and go to his account. Learn more about how to share a store in an Instagram story. nine0003

If you have a public account, you can prevent other people from sharing your stories.

To prevent people from sharing your posts in Stories:

Instagram app for Android and iPhone

Tap the or icon on your profile photo in the bottom right corner of the screen to go to your profile.

Click the icon in the upper right corner of the screen and select Settings.

Click Privacy and select History. nine0003

Click next to Allow reposts in stories.

Instagram Lite app for Android

Was this article helpful?

How to Collaborate on Instagram

The Collab feature on Instagram* is another way to collaborate with brands and bloggers, or simply to make a collab post with a friend or family member.

We tell you how to set up the function, about its advantages and the purposes of introducing it into the social network.

What are collaborative posts on Instagram and why

A feature known as “Collab” or “Invite a Collaborator” was tested in early 2021 in several countries, including the UK and India, and launched worldwide in October. Collaborative posts are now available for any open account. nine0003

Collab allows you to share posts and videos on Instagram* with another person so that no one has to duplicate content. Both authors of the post will be listed, and the post will collect total likes, views, and comments.

Collaboration posts can be used by media personalities to announce collaborations, influencers to interact with brands, and ordinary users to post a video about a vacation with their best friend.

For example, Kourtney Kardashian and her fiancé Travis Barker used this feature on Halloween to show couples' costumes from Tim Burton's Edward Scissorhands. nine0003 At the top right, you can see that the post has two authors, kourtneykardash and travisbarker. Click on the accounts and find that both users have the post, with the same engagement rates

The feature is very easy to use after a little practice.

How to post a joint post on Instagram*

To make a joint post, click on the plus in the upper right corner or bottom center of the screen. You will be taken to the creation menu. Next, follow the usual steps to create a post or rils. When you go to the menu where you can add a signature, click "Tag people" - a separate screen will open. nine0003

Next to the "Add tag" option, you will see the "Invite collaborator" function. Click and then find the account of the person you would like to invite to create a shared post.

You need to know what a collaborator's username looks like in order to search for it.

Multiple users can be selected, up to a maximum of 20. Note that 20 is the total number of participants. It includes both co-authors and people you simply tag in a post. You can tag 10 people and 10 co-authors, or 20 co-authors and no one else. nine0003

In the process, you will see a pop-up message "If [co-author name] accepts the invitation, this person will be credited as the author of your publication and it will be made available to their subscribers."

This means that you cannot unilaterally designate someone as a co-author of a joint publication. You can only invite a person to cooperate, and he can accept or decline the invitation.

By the way, if you were invited to become a co-author, and in the future you want to remove yourself from this post, just go to the post menu and click "Stop sharing"

Have you added all the co-authors you wanted? Click the "Done" button in the upper right corner of the screen to save the settings, then publish as usual.

To recap:

Create a new Instagram post* as usual.
Click Tag People when you get to the headings screen.
Click "Invite Collaborator" - the button is next to the "Add Tag" option.
Use the search box to find collaborators you want to collaborate with. nine0120
Click "Done" in the upper right corner of the screen to send the invitation to the shared post.
Post as usual.

For Reels co-publishing, the process is the same - record and edit as usual. Check Preview that everything looks correct, then click Next to get to the sharing options. On this page, click on "Tag People" to access the "Invite Collaborator" tag, and follow the outline. nine0003

Read also: How to check Instagram* for cheating: instructions.

Benefits of collaborating on Instagram*

Collab is a great feature to reach new, relevant audiences, but you have to make sure the content works for all collaborator channels. For example, you sell high-quality coffee makers, and the co-author sells great coffee. Co-authoring a post is a good idea, as the audience is interested in both.

Several clear advantages for joint posts on Instagram*:

Collab eliminates the publication of almost identical posts with friends.
The collab increases the reach of the audience, as it is available to both your subscribers and the co-author's subscribers.
A new audience can easily turn into subscribers if you collaborate with someone from your own or a related business niche. You can also reach your audience with hashtags. Read about it in the article “Hashtags for gaining followers on Instagram*: varieties, effectiveness, examples”. nine0120
You can get more likes and comments. It has not yet been proven that this will help boost the Instagram algorithm *, but it is possible that the social network will begin to give preference to this type of publication.

But consider the inconvenience : a joint post will be placed in the profile grids of both authors. This can be awkward when scheduling your posts in the same style. Consider the aesthetics and layout of both accounts before co-writing something.

Head of Instagram* Adam Mosseri: joint posts on Instagram* VS duets of TikTok

Instagram co-authorship* is for general posting, not co-creation.

Duets on TikTok allow you to record your own video along with the original based on another user's video.

A diction lesson is an example of a TikTok video created specifically for duets. Any user can take it as a template and complete the task by filling in the pauses after the announcer's words

Duets on TikTok and co-authorship on Instagram* introduce the creator of the video to a new audience, which is usually not very good on Instagram*. This is not my opinion, the thought was voiced by the head of the social network Adam Mosseri. nine0003

Instagram* is a platform where brands and influencers can stay connected to audiences they have built elsewhere. It's getting harder and harder to use Instagram* to acquire followers from scratch.

This is a problem for Mosseri, who wants Instagram* to be just as good at getting new creators noticed as TikTok.

Adam Mosseri, Head of Instagram*

“Instagram* is much better at helping content creators who have already made a name for themselves on the platform. TikTok is better at identifying new and young talents, and, first of all, helping them to open up. nine0003
And we want to be really good at it. Historically, we have paid less attention to this, but I am pushing my teams in every possible way to ensure that this “boy” (Collab) becomes better.

Mosseri acknowledges TikTok's ability to create social media stars, which he believes should also be on Instagram*. Collaborative posts compensate for one of the main weaknesses of Instagram * and allow you to attract followers without an existing audience.

Theoretically, the function of joint posts will help to identify smaller accounts, but for this, there must be connections - promoted accounts with which they could begin to cooperate.