What is Instagram

Instagram is a social network that uses photos or videos as posts. Also learn how to view stories anonymously. 

Instagram: what is the point

This is a free application for mobile devices that allows you to talk about yourself and what is happening around. The words are backed up by an interesting picture taken with a smartphone camera. The built-in photo editor allows you to quickly edit a photo. Often users call Instagram a social photo network. Ordinary social networks are filled with posts and stories on a wide variety of topics - information about interesting and exciting events, news, posters, books, tests, sales and much more, which can have a very mediocre relation to the personality of the author himself. On Instagram, your own content is about yourself, not about others.

About the program

Developed by Instagram, Inc. by Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger. The service began operating in October 2010, and was originally designed for Apple devices. The version for Android OS was created in 2012 and was installed by more than a million customers in the first day. The application was bought by Facebook in April 2012 for $1 billion. There were a number of innovations, not all of which users liked. Thus, the provision that all photos uploaded to the service can be used by the company for advertising purposes caused the loss of about a quarter of all registered customers.

In 2013, a version for Windows Phone 8 appeared, the ability to mark people and places in a photo, record a short video. In 2015, the service expanded business opportunities - photo galleries of products appeared and a link to the company's website. Business options are developing further - there are "Buy Now" buttons, showing commercials. The quality and quantity of photos that can be uploaded for display have improved, the interface has changed, emojis and multimedia content have appeared. You can create several accounts at the same time and be in them in parallel.

Instagram is one of the most popular apps in the world. The number of users exceeds 800 million and is expected to reach one billion by the end of 2018. Most of them are millennials - young people from 18 to 30 years old.

Where to start Instagram

The first step is to download the program to your mobile device from the App store or GooglePlay, depending on the installed operating system. Create a nickname and password. The program will request access to photos stored on the smartphone - without this it will not be possible to add them for viewing. You will need email and phone number information. Registration completed, you can use.

It is possible to subscribe (follow - from English follow - follow) to your social circle on Facebook. So a beginner quickly finds friends to chat, view and show pictures.

The application is designed for mobile devices, but many would like to use it on a computer. This has not yet been fully implemented. Alternatively, you can install the Android OS emulator program - BlueStacks. Another option is to view the accounts of different participants from the site (Instagram.com).

What to do on Instagram

View numerous photos of friends, add your own, write comments, like or make purchases - there is an option for everyone. Let's take a closer look at what to post on Instagram, what features are in demand and how to use the service.

A photo

Many people like to take pictures, but over time, it gets boring. Huge photo archives are meaningless if no one sees them. The time for printed photo albums is over. Instead, social networks appeared, but in order to get a beautiful and high-quality photo, it is advisable to use a photo editor. Although not everyone knows how to work with him.

What does Instagram give photo lovers? No need to spend hours processing pictures or looking for third-party applications, just use the built-in photo editor. It is a set of effects and filters. Working with him is clear and simple. The picture can be made lighter or darker, sharper or, conversely, blurry, add an antique effect, shade, rotate, and much more. By the way, if the number of photo filters is too large, you can hide unused tools for convenience.

Additional features are provided by markers and stickers - stickers that can be superimposed on the image. A bright funny sweater, an unusual hat, a frame, a heart made of striped caramel sticks will give you a festive mood. This network has significantly expanded the circle of photographers, with its help anyone can feel like a creator, go where they dreamed. Photos of friends, relatives, famous people - all this is here.

The photo is taken on a phone camera, processed in the editor and published. Under it (optional) - a short text, a hashtag, a location, who can view it. Later, it can be deleted, view comments. On the photos you can put marks - who is on them. Moreover, if someone does not like such a selection (for example, the photo is unsuccessful), then he will be able to remove it.

Video

Like photos, videos are posted for viewing by network users. You can either shoot a video on your phone or download it from the gallery. Duration no more than 1 minute. The creators of the service say about such a restriction that this is the time during which the viewer's attention is held. If you still need to upload a longer recording, then a slide show option is provided. You can use up to 10 videos with a maximum length of 20 seconds.

Online streaming

This is a new feature that allows you to transfer the recorded video to the air without delay. For this, a special function has been developed in the program. Reviews of products, establishments, interviews, public opinion polls, personal blogs are all options for online broadcasts.

Polls

Another update from Instagram. Allows you to find out what subscribers think on various issues, to hold discussions. The survey is launched using the button of the same name. It is necessary to indicate the question and the options for answering it, which the participants will choose. Save, publish and receive responses - all you need to do.

Stories

“Everyone has their own story” is the motto of this section. Simple photos without editing, an announcement of something, a short story in pictures and a few words. Everything will leave without a trace after a day and will not overwhelm the network. The idea is just not to litter the tape, but to be able to remind yourself, share your day with friends. Comments on stories will not be visible to everyone, but only to the author. You can find out that a new publication has appeared by the circle with which  the participant's avatar is circled .

Cross-posting

There are many popular social networks. And most people are registered in several at once. Sometimes it’s inconvenient - you have to spend time posting the same photos and posts in all services. Instagram offers a convenient solution  - crossposting . In the profile settings (section Publishing settings), you can check the box so that all materials published here are automatically posted in other services. Which ones - is selected from the list of available networks for communication.

In the hashtag

They are great for organizing information and finding what you need quickly. By searching for a hashtag, you can find all posts that contain it. For example, on a #greatmorning you get a photo of sunrise, morning dew, a cup of coffee and everything else that is associated with the beginning of the day.

Their capabilities, in addition to helping in the search, are sorting information, thematic categories, organizing promotions and contests, expanding the subscriber base. Such marks are actively used by bloggers to structure publications. By adding such a peculiar subject marker under a photo or video, you can get it viewed not only by subscribers, but also by completely strangers who will find the publication by the tag. And it may not be one, but several at once. Then the number of views will increase. By the way, there are forbidden hashtags on the network, they are specified in the user agreement.

Notifications

In a large flow of information, you can get lost. If there is a desire not to miss the publications and updates of some participants, it is worth using the informing option. As soon as the "favorite" posted something new, a notification will come.

collages

Those who want to share not just a photo, but a whole series of pictures, will like the application that works through Instagram - Layout. It turns on when editing a photo and allows you to combine pictures into collages. The results are very diverse depending on the applied elements and parameters.

Collection of the best

Often there are publications that you like. I would like to return to them later, to show someone. It is convenient to do this if you save it in your profile, create a bookmark. Saved publications can be sorted into collections - albums for easy viewing.

Location

A convenient option that allows you to find photos of the same place from different users. In the search bar of the service, you need to enter the name of the location and click on the Places section. The search result for the query will be on the screen.

Instagram for business

The service is used not only for personal communication, but also for business promotion. Why is Instagram good for business purposes and how to use it?

Users of this service are active - the reaction to beautiful and interesting pictures will not be long in coming. The percentage of engagement here is 58 times higher than on Facebook and 120 times higher than on Twitter (data from Forrester research). This means that the number of responses is much higher, and the participants are more active. Retail chains selling various goods, real estate agencies and car dealerships, travel companies and beauty salons use the services of this network.

Let's dwell on the main methods that are used to promote a business on Instagram.

official advertising

Works since 2015. It is launched through Facebook, so it is necessary to start a page on this social network. Photo or series, video or story - there are enough options. You can choose the type of payment: for clicks on the link or for the total number of impressions.

One of the main advantages of advertising on Instagram is its targeting. It is possible to configure which audience to show the ad, taking into account the portrait of the client. You can select country, gender, age, interests and other options. This became real after the introduction of Facebook developments. However, there is a peculiarity - for those who do not have an account on the Facebook network, advertising is not shown - there is no way to apply a filter.

It is also worth considering that it is possible to leave comments on ads that cannot be deleted.

Profile promotion

You can also advertise goods and services from your profile. The method is especially applicable to hand-made goods or services. In the account, you can post photos of products, the results of work (for example, done makeup or manicure). Tools such as hashtags, mutual recommendations, likes and customer reviews are suitable for attraction.

Celebrity posts

Assistance in the promotion of well-known bloggers and users with a large number of subscribers is possible. For a fee, they can post a review, review, share photos of the advertised product with their audience.

Offline promotion

On Instagram, you can and should upload photos of your work and products. It is not always possible to do this on small paper materials for advertising - business cards, booklets. But if you point to them with an account in the service, the client will know where to look more. He will always be able to see the full portfolio.

Catalog online

An electronic version of the catalog of offered goods with a photo, description and a link to go to the site to buy - this option deserves attention. Some companies resort to it, for example, IKEA. Back in 2014, the @IKEA_PS_2014 profile was created, where a collection of furniture was presented. Items are grouped, it is easy and convenient to see them. This is another option for what Instagram business needs. Anything can be displayed and sold here: from confectionery masterpieces, jewelry to cars and real estate.

The Instagram social photo network does not stand still - it is dynamically growing, changing and improving. More and more new opportunities appear in it, both for personal use and for business purposes. Trying, learning, communicating and sharing something of your own - all this opens up a whole world without borders for its users.