How to Post on Instagram Like a Pro (Step by Step)

Publishing cautiously crafted Instagram posts helps you scope caller audiences and showcase your unsocial voice.

But precisely really to station for Instagram depends connected whether you’re an individual user, a business owner, aliases personification who does societal media for a brand.

Let’s spell complete your options and immoderate champion practices.

How to Post connected Instagram Using the Mobile App

Here’s really to people image and video posts to the Instagram provender if you’re a business proprietor aliases an individual Instagram user.

We’ll show the process utilizing the charismatic iPhone app (the steps for Android devices look somewhat different).

1. Create Your Post’s Image aliases Video

Create and edit your Instagram post’s visual(s) utilizing your phone’s camera (to debar having to make a batch of formatting changes later) and immoderate photograph and video editing apps you prefer.

If you’re posting a azygous video, hole a screen image to service arsenic your video’s thumbnail that lets users cognize what the afloat video is about.

Cater your contented to the level by making it eye-catching arsenic good arsenic informative and/or entertaining. For instance:

• Ensure there’s a compelling focal point: Your station should person a clear connection aliases taxable that users will find appealing
• Use images and videos apt to evoke an affectional response: This tin beryllium a brand-relevant meme that viewers will find funny, for example
• Make your contented portion of the larger communicative your Instagram relationship is telling: Doing this tells users what they tin expect from your posts and encourages them to travel you if they’re willing successful your content

If you prefer, you tin besides sprout a photograph aliases video via the Instagram app erstwhile you commencement creating your post.

Further reading: Mastering Social Media Content Creation: Your Complete Guide

2. Open the App and Start Your Post

Open the Instagram app and log successful to the relationship you want to station to.

Then, pat the “+” fastener astatine the bottommost of the Instagram provender to commencement a caller post.

3. Select Your Content

Choose the image(s) aliases video(s) you created earlier that your station will beryllium centered around.

From the paper astatine the bottom, tap:

• “Post” to create azygous image aliases carousel station (a station pinch aggregate images and/or videos)
• “Reel” to station a azygous video

Next, pat the contented you want to post.

If you’re publishing a carousel post, pat the icon adjacent to the camera icon. Then, prime your images and videos successful the bid they should appear.

If you want to sprout a caller photograph aliases video for posting, pat the camera icon and seizure the visuals you want.

Select “Next” erstwhile you’re fresh to proceed.

4. Edit the Content

Edit your contented further if you request to.

If you’re posting an image, you tin edit it by taking actions like:

• Cropping it
• Adjusting the image’s brightness, contrast, and/or color
• Adding a filter
• Adding matter and camera rotation images
• Adding music

If you’re posting a video, editing options include:

• Trimming the clip’s length
• Adding text, stickers, and camera rotation images
• Adding music
• Adding a select and typical effects
• Changing the video’s playback speed

Select “Next” aft you’re done editing to spell to the post’s preview page.

5. Add Your Caption

If you want to supply much discourse for aliases commentary connected your post, pat “Add a caption…” and constitute a caption.

Your caption’s first 1 to 2 lines should compel users to pat “more” to proceed reading. Like asking them a short question, for instance.

That’s because the remainder of the caption will beryllium trim off, arsenic this station from James Martin shows (the near broadside is earlier the matter was expanded and the correct broadside is aft it was expanded):

To adhd a canvass to your caption, pat “Poll” and trade your canvass questions and options.

Adding hashtags to your caption is optional. They utilized to thief Instagram understand your post, but the level has go bully astatine doing this connected its own.

Click “OK” erstwhile you’re done.

6. Tag Other Users

Select “Tag people” to optionally tag different Instagram accounts successful your station (like group who look successful the station aliases who inspired it), which tin perchance lead to much engagement and besides allows others to conveniently sojourn those profiles.

Just pat immoderate portion of the station to tag personification there.

You tin besides designate these group arsenic collaborators to person your station look successful their followers’ feeds. To do this, prime the “Invite collaborators” button.

7. Add a Location

Including a location successful your station tin thief you supply much accusation to users and amended link pinch locals and tourists.

Some much circumstantial reasons for doing this include:

• Telling users wherever you’ve taken your photograph aliases video. This tin beryllium useful if you’re trying to pull group to a beingness location aliases if you characteristic a celebrated attraction.
• Helping you look successful location-based searches. Like things to do successful San Diego, for example.
• Providing other commentary. And this mightiness person thing to do pinch the existent post’s location. Just for illustration this Instagram station from Fiona Whelan that has a “BURN BABY BURN” location tag to stress the workout’s intensity.

Tap “Add location” to adhd an optional station location.

8. Configure Other Options

Finish up by configuring different station options connected the preview page to make judge your station is conscionable arsenic you want it to be.

These see adding:

• Product details: Include specifications for illustration a merchandise title and value to thief users shop your Instagram post
• Event reminders: Send users who opt successful to person reminders erstwhile an arena mentioned successful your station is starting soon

If you’re posting a Reel, you’ll besides person settings like:

• Adding a screen image
• Renaming your Reel’s audio from “Original audio” to thing much descriptive

Last but not least, pat “Advanced settings” (for posts) aliases “More options” (for Reels) to configure precocious settings, including:

• Scheduling your post to beryllium published astatine a later time 
• Writing alt text—short image descriptions that make visuals accessible for users browsing Instagram via surface readers
• Enabling closed captions to show subtitles that thief users watch your video pinch the sound off

9. Publish Your Post

Finally, people your station by hitting the “Share” fastener if you’re publishing it immediately.

Or, the “Schedule” fastener if you person a business relationship and are publishing the station later.

How to Post connected Instagram from a Desktop Device aliases Third-Party Tool

Now, let’s spell complete really societal media managers and different labor who station societal contented tin create an Instagram station from a Mac, a PC, aliases a third-party scheduling tool.

Here’s really to station connected Instagram from a Mac aliases PC via the Meta Business Suite.

Log successful to Meta Business Suite from your computer, create a business portfolio if you haven’t yet, and adhd your Instagram relationship arsenic a business plus to that portfolio.

After that, click “Create post” from the “Home” tab.

Then, commencement crafting your Instagram post:

Or, click the “Create Reel” fastener to station a Reel.

You tin past commencement putting together everything you request for your Reel.

Meta Business Suite offers less station customization options than the mobile app. For instance, you won’t beryllium capable to adhd arena reminders aliases much than 10 photos aliases videos to a azygous post.

It’s besides constricted to managing posts connected Instagram and Facebook. Which is why galore societal media professionals opt to usage a third-party instrumentality that lets them negociate their contented crossed each their platforms.

Semrush’s Social Poster is 1 of these tools. 

With it, you tin create and schedule posts for Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, TikTok, and different societal platforms. You tin besides position each past and upcoming posts.

Here’s really to schedule Instagram posts and position them successful Social Poster:

Open the tool, and link your Instagram relationship to it.

Click “New post” to upload your image and matter content. You tin moreover prime “AI Assistant” to adhd AI-generated matter and images—which is useful for scaling contented production.

Then, prime the “Schedule” tab to group your people day and time. And prime the “Schedule” fastener erstwhile you’re done.

After that, you’ll spot your station successful Social Poster’s calendar. The instrumentality will besides automatically people your station astatine the scheduled day and time.

Further reading: Use Instagram for Business Success: A Step-by-Step Guide

How Often to Post connected Instagram

Post to Instagram arsenic often arsenic is feasible.

For example, Instagram encourages users to station astatine slightest 10 Reels each month.

Posting arsenic often arsenic you tin gives you much opportunities to spot what useful and what doesn’t. Which allows you to refine your attack and amended your posts’ performance.

The circumstantial clip that you station isn’t arsenic important arsenic you mightiness think. That’s because Instagram’s algorithms determine the champion times to show posts to users.

But if you’d for illustration to station erstwhile your followers are astir active, study these times by navigating to your Instagram settings. Then, spell to “Insights” and prime “Total followers.” 

From there, scroll down to the “Most progressive times” chart.

Alternatively, usage Social Analytics. This instrumentality provides much elaborate information connected your number of progressive Instagram and Facebook followers for circumstantial hours of the day.

It besides provides a snapshot of your posts’ capacity crossed different platforms for illustration LinkedIn and TikTok.

What Content to Upload

Aim to upload Instagram posts that spark an affectional guidance (laughter, amazement, etc.) to promote users to prosecute pinch them.

When Instagram sees this engagement, it’ll beryllium much apt to show your posts to much people. Which increases your chances of extending your scope and gaining much followers.

Applying these tips tin besides amended scope and engagement:

• Keep your Reels betwixt 30 and 90 seconds: Reels tin technically beryllium longer, but Instagram warns that videos longer than 90 seconds tin harm their distribution
• Use trending audio and filters: Users are willing successful viewing contented pinch these trending elements
• Add a telephone to action: To impulse users to prosecute pinch your contented successful ways for illustration answering a question. Or sending the station to a friend who should spot it.

Further reading: 10 Types of Social Media Content That Drive Engagement & Growth

Simplify Your Instagram Posting

Uploading posts to Instagram is simple, but it tin beryllium a hassle if you negociate societal accounts for a brand.

This is particularly existent if you create your posts successful advance. Or if you want to people astatine a clip erstwhile you’re busy.

Semrush Social devices tin thief by enabling you to optimize your workflows and way your posts’ capacity crossed aggregate platforms.

Try Semrush Social today.