7 Hidden Instagram Features Your Brand Should Use

There are dozens of tried-and-true tips and tricks for making the most of Instagram to promote your brand. These tips include creating compelling stories, reels, and videos and interacting with your audience on the social media app. But there are also several hidden Instagram features that you should be incorporating into your 2023 brand marketing strategy.

1. Upload Images and Videos From Your Computer

You can download the Instagram app on your computer, but you can’t do much from your PC other than like and comment on posts. Instagram content is uploaded via mobile, but that makes adding images and videos tricky. It becomes even more of a challenge when you want to add many pictures and you have to select them from your camera roll one at a time.

There’s no upload function when viewing Instagram via a computer web browser. However, you can save the desired images and videos on your computer’s desktop folder and use an emulator to connect your mobile phone to your PC to post them directly from the folder.

Doing this will save you time and energy when planning your Instagram marketing posts. You can save each week’s images and videos in dated folders and upload them quickly and easily.

2. Edit Your Photos on Instagram

You can edit photos on Instagram and save them if you want to use the same images on your other social media apps. Using the same graphics on different platforms will help create a recognizable trend for your brand, and it is convenient to use one set of photos for various accounts.

Before editing a photo on Instagram, enable Save Original Photos in your account settings. You can now upload and start editing the photograph. Before you post the photo, put your phone in airplane mode and click “Publish.”

When you receive a “failed” message, Instagram automatically saves the edited image in your phone’s gallery. From there, you can share it with your other brand accounts.

You can even sort your favorite Instagram filters according to your preferences. All you need to do is open a photo via the Instagram editor and go to the filters page. Tap the Manage icon, and you’ll see the list of filters appear. When you tap on each filter, you can drag them into a customized list. As for the ones you don’t like, you can deselect them by unchecking the checkmark.

3. Add Music to Your Instagram Stories

Adding music to Instagram stories helps boost engagement and makes a brand stand out on the platform. You can’t add songs directly to your Instagram Stories, but you can add a music sticker that will do it for you. The music sticker opens the Instagram music library, which offers thousands of songs. You can also manipulate the slider bar to find the music you’re looking for.

Keep in mind that not all songs may be available in your country due to copyright restrictions.

4. Edit Your Brand Photo Map

The geotagging feature on Instagram indicates physical store locations in the US or worldwide and creates a photo map based on the geotags.

You can remove tags from this map if you no longer want a store to appear. Go to the photo map and zoom in on the images with the tags you want to remove. When you tap the edit icon, the numbers alongside the photos will turn green. Tap on the collection of photos and deselect the ones you want to remove from the map. Then tap “Done” and “Confirm.”

5. Add Color Gradient Text To Your Instagram Stories

Instagram stories are essential for increased engagement. One of the best ways to make your story stand out is to use eye-catching text and graphics. Sometimes, text can get lost in translation, but now you can use color gradient text to help your stories leave a lasting impression.

If you want to add memorable text to your story, double-tap the screen to highlight the caption. Then, select the color palette and hold your finger to the screen until the palette tool appears at the bottom right-hand corner. Keep one finger at the start of the caption and one on the palette. Move both fingers to the right at the same time, and you’ll see each letter turn a different color.

Gradient color text is incredibly effective in drawing attention and will work even better if you have a color gradient logo.

6. Add SEO Keywords to Captions

Instagram may be a visual app, but that doesn’t mean you should neglect your SEO strategy while promoting your brand on the app. SEO helps mark your account as relevant to your target audience. The best way to add SEO to your profile is to add keywords to your bio and content captions.

Relevant keywords and hashtags cater to Instagram’s algorithms and will allow your posts to appear as recommended content in your users’ feeds.

7. Turn Your Instagram Page Into An Online Shopping Experience

Now that you know how to promote your brand using various hacks and tips, you can transform your Instagram page into an online shopping platform.

You can create product photos with clickable descriptions using the Tag Products feature. When a user clicks on a specific photo, they are directed to the product’s landing page where they can complete the purchase.

If you don’t want to add your products to your main feed, you can set up an Instagram shop on a separate page. Here, you can group your products according to collections and add long descriptions for each product. You can link your products to an e-commerce page on your website or make them available for purchase via Instagram Checkout.

Conclusion

Instagram is one of the best social media apps for businesses. Small companies and large enterprises alike can find a home on Instagram, increase their brand awareness, and sell their products online. Instagram is also the platform where you’ll find several influencers ready to partner with you to grow your brand.

However, what’s even better about Instagram is that it makes it easy to build your brand yourself. Using different tricks and tips, you can draw a large audience to view, engage with, and buy from your business.