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How Instagram works What are its tools, account types and metrics?

Instagram is one of the most used social networks today due to its feature of showing stories graphically.

If you want to become an expert on Instagram, First, you must know the anatomy of the interface of this social network and know which are all the sections that it has. You will also need to know the types of posts you can share.

Do not miss anything, if you want to be a true professional and earn money with your company through Instagram. This is because you will also find information about what a trading account and how to perform advertising.

Anatomy of the Instagram interface What are all the sections in it?

The Instagram interface is divided into the following sections:

stories

Stories are videos or photos that disappear after 24 hours of publication. You can find them at the top of the screen and it is made up of a red circle that surrounds the profile photo of the user who has uploaded the story. Videos cannot be longer than 15 seconds, but several can be joined to form a longer story. Can be added filters that will help improve the aesthetics of the story.

Story Chamber

Anytime upload a story you will have to go to this section of the Instagram interface. To do this you will have to click on the icon +, located at the bottom center of the screen. Once you choose this option, you can upload a story from your mobile gallery, take a photo or record a video. For each of these actions you have an icon available.

Feed

The feed, or home screen, is the interface section of Instagram that shows at a glance all the stories that your contacts uploaded, the messages you have received, the new publications from your contacts and also the advertisements that have different accounts.

Direct

Direct

Instagram offers you the possibility of record a video, send a photo or text and send it privately. To do this, you will have to press the icon located in the upper right part of the screen represented by a paper plane.

You can then choose the tab Principal in which you will find the most frequent contacts that interact with you or select the tab general. In this you will find the general messages that have notifications disabled. When do you want to send a Direct you will have to click on the name of the contact and then select if you want to send a video or a text message. You can also add a photo taken directly from the camera or choose a link.

To explore

You will find this section of the Instagram interface at the bottom of your mobile screen, represented by a magnifying glass. You will have the possibility to see Reels, IGTV images or videos. These elements are stories that different users uploaded and that, by the algorithm of Instagram, they might interest you. You can also include names in the search bar to find that person's account on the social network.

Instagram camera

Instagram camera

To access the camera Instagram You will have to press the icon in the upper left part of the screen of your device. When you click on it, your mobile camera will open in which you can add different effects to customize the story. You will have a timer so you can use your two hands, various filters and the possibility of including texts. It is a very useful tool every time you want to upload a story to your account quickly.

Exercise

When you want to know what was the activity you had on the social network, you must press the icon represented by a heart, which is located at the bottom of the screen. You will be able to find all your actions and those of the third parties that interact with you.

That is, you can know who were the people who started following you and the posts you made a year or more ago. You can also find suggestions of the social network in which it will show you profiles that may interest you. In this section you will also know the I like it you got from your stories and your new account tracks.

Profile

In this section you will find all the information related to your account, To access it you will have to click on the icon of your profile photo. There you will find the amount of publications, followers and accounts that follow you today.

In addition, you can see the data of your personal blog, promotions, statistics of your publications, you will have the possibility of add a store and view the mail. You will also be able edit your profile from this option. Finally, you will have the group of featured stories. You must bear in mind that from this section you can also upload a story by accessing the Instagram camera.

Instagram Posts What are they and how do interactions with them work?

Next, we will show you the different types of publications that exist on Instagram:

Post types

Post types

Among the types of publications that you can make on Instagram are the following:

  • Photos: It is one of the most used by all users. You can incorporate filters to highlight the design of it. You can upload square, horizontal and vertical photos of up to 2048 pixels.
  • Videos: Instagram allows you upload videos up to 15 seconds, but you can upload a complete story divided into several videos. If you exceed that limit, you will have the possibility to use Instagram TV.
  • Carousels: this function is related to a storytelling. That is, you can group photos or videos to tell a story divided into parts. It is ideal for displaying products in which the user must swipe the screen to find more content.
  • Sponsored Ads: you have the possibility of hire on Instagram ads to appear in the feed of other users. They are characterized by having a label called Advertising.

Interactions in posts

The interactions that occur in the publications of other users can be:

  • Comments: You have the option of leaving a comment on each post or story that other users upload. For this you will have to choose the publication you want, click on the description and then write in the bar Add a comment. This information can be seen by all the followers of the user who has uploaded the story. You can also press the icon represented by a talk call.
  • Likes: These are actions that you can take on a user's post. To do this, you will have to go to the icon located under the story and press the Heart.
  • Emojis: under the story you have the bar to add a comment and next to it you will have different emojis that you can use to react to the publication. For example, you can add applause, hugs and wish him strength, among others.

Share posts

When you find an attractive story you can share that post with your followers using different alternatives.

These are:

  • By Direct: As we showed you before, this option is a private message that you send to your contacts. To perform this action you will have to press the icon located at the top right and send an audio, a photograph, a GIF, a video or a heart. If you want to share a publication, you will have to go to it, click on the 3 vertical points located above the story and then select the option Share link. Next, choose the contact you want to send to, click on the send message bar and press Paste. To finish you will have to click on Send.
  • Share in the story: It is another alternative that you have to interact in the social network. To do this, you will have to follow the steps that we show you in the previous point. Another way you have is to choose the option Share on … so the story can be viewed on external platforms. For example, WhatsApp, Telegram, LinkedIn, Gmail and Twitter, among others.

Instagram business account What is it and how is it different from a normal one?

Instagram business account What is it and how is it different from a normal one?

An Instagram business account is a possibility for your company to show its products and services that provides through this social network of more than 1000 million active people. This will allow you to use different tools and functions than a personal account.

Between the Most outstanding options is the possibility of including an address, telephone numbers, email and directions to access your business premises. To get an account of this type, you must first create a personal profile and then transform it into a commercial.

If you want to get this benefit, you will have to do the following:

  • Open your profile and go to the menu located at the top right of the screen.
  • Then choose Setting and select Bill.
  • Next, you will have to choose the option Switch to business account.
  • Write all the details you need to highlight your new profile. For example, category, type of business, telephone, and so on.
  • When you're done click Ready.

Advertising on Instagram How does it work, how much does it cost and what do I need to advertise on the platform?

Advertising on Instagram How does it work, how much does it cost and what do I need to advertise on the platform?

Another of the great advantages it has Instagram as a social network is that it offers the possibility of post advertisements for a company's products and services so that users of a certain profile see these publications in their feed.

If you want to know how advertising works on Instagram, you can see it below:

Functioning

The Instagram advertising appears between stories and can be of different types.

Which we show you below:

  • Images: is one of the best known advertisements in which companies upload photographs in horizontal or square format of their products.
  • Videos: you will be able to contract advertising in Instagram when you want to reach your target market highlighting the advantages of your products through optical elements. The duration of the content may not exceed one minute. In recent times this type of advertising has increased considerably.
  • Stories: They are full-screen animations, by means of a video of no more than 15 seconds or an image, in which people who are viewing the stories of the accounts they follow are shown.
  • Carousel: When you want to show a story in two or more images or videos, you will be able to use this type of storytelling advertising to impact buyer personas.
  • Collection: This type of advertising is ideal for companies that want to show the design of their products and attract the attention of the market. They are characterized by having a link to buy on the company's website.
  • Presentation: It is nothing else that you have to be shown in video form and with background music.

Once you have established the commercial objectives, you must indicate who you want to reach with your publication. Therefore, you will have to choose the location, behaviors and interests that the users of the social network have in common. All this data will have to be included in the Instagram website and then select the button Create ad. This will lead you to choose the type of bid you need and at what time you want the advertisement to be visible.

cost

While you assign the budget of what you want to spend on Instagram advertising, this is divided according to the number of interactions or by the CPM. According to this, the average cost per click varies between 0.70 and 0.80 euro cents.

Requirements

The first thing you should do is create a business profile on Instagram and have a Facebook page to make the announcements. Then you will have to configure the advertising and set the budget so that the algorithm of Instagram can determine the most effective actions for your campaign.

Learn step by step everything you need to get started on Instagram

Learn step by step everything you need to get started on Instagram

The steps you will have to do to create an account on Instagram and start enjoying this social network are the following:

Download the app

The first thing you will have to do is download the application on your mobile for free. Is available for Android and to iOS. To do it you will have to visit the official store of your operating system or choose the link that corresponds to your SW.

Create a profile

Once you have downloaded the app You will have to create your own account. For what you should enter your email and create a user ID. When you are done you will have to choose one access password.

Complete your profile

What you will have to do now is complete all the information you want to appear on your profile.

These are:

  • Incorporate a Photography.
  • Enter the name and user.
  • Indicate if you have a website for you to type in the URL.
  • Introduce biography facts.

If you have a company account you will have to include:

  • Web page from the official site.
  • Category.
  • Contact options.
  • Call buttons to action.
  • Display profile.

Follow your acquaintances

To start knowing the stories that your family, friends and acquaintances upload, you will have to go to your profile and click on the option Followed. Instagram, by means of its algorithm, will relate your email with the contacts you have in it, so it will show you a list with suggestions of people you should follow.

It will also link your mobile phone book to offer a list of users they might meet. When you want to add any of them, you just have to click on Follow. If for some reason you cannot find a person by default, you will have to search for it by name by clicking on the magnifying glass and then writing the data of it.

Share a photo or video

To share a photo or video you can do it from the image gallery of your mobile. For that you will have to click on the + icon and then select Gallery. On the other hand, if you want to take a photo in real time or a video you will have to choose one of the options that you have next to it, Photo and Video respectively.

Upload content to your story

Whenever you want upload content to your story you must click on the icon Instagram and choose the option History. Then, you will have to press to take a photo and add filters, or to upload a video. If you want to carry out a live you must also do it from this section.