Looking for the answers to all your burning Instagram questions?
Whether it’s how to tag products in your Instagram Stories or getting started with Instagram Shopping, you’re in the right place.
In this handy guide, we’re answering our community’s most frequently asked Instagram questions:
Frequently Asked Instagram Questions:
#1: How Do I Add a Link to My Instagram Bio?
Adding a link to your Instagram bio is a great way to drive traffic to your site or blog. Here’s how to do it in a few easy steps:
Head to your Instagram profile and tap “Edit Profile”
Tap in the “Website” field
Enter the link. You can direct your followers to any link you’d like: your website, a specific landing page, a product page, or a shoppable version of your Instagram feed.
TIP: Use Linkin.bio by Later to create a clickable version of your Instagram feed that automatically updates with every new post your share – so you never have to manually update your link in bio again!
#2: How Do I Set up Instagram Shopping?
Setting up Instagram Shopping is a great way for businesses to showcase products and drive online sales.
Follow these 6 steps to set up an Instagram Shop:
Need more guidance? Check out our blog post: How to Create an Instagram Shop.
#3: How Do I Tag Products in an Instagram Post?
To tag products on your Instagram feed, you first have to set up Instagram Shopping. Once you’ve set it up, follow these steps:
Upload a photo or video manually (or via post notification for pre-scheduled posts)
Tap “Tag Products” to select a product from your Facebook catalog
If you want to tag products on an Instagram post that’s already been scheduled or posted, find the photo on your feed, select edit, and follow step #2 above.
You can tag up to 5 products per image or video post, and up to 20 products on carousel posts.
#4: How Do I Tag Products in Instagram Stories?
Businesses with Instagram Shopping enabled can also tag products directly in their stories.
To do so, follow these simple steps:
Open Instagram Stories
Create a story
Tap the sticker icon in the top right corner
Select the “Product” sticker
Select a product from your Facebook catalog and tap “Done.”
Once added, you can adjust the style, color, and text of the product sticker by tapping it.
#5: How Can I Shop on Instagram?
Thanks to several new Instagram e-commerce features, there are many ways to shop on Instagram:
Instagram Shop tab: You can find the new Instagram Shop tab on Instagram’s main navigation menu. Here, you’ll discover an algorithmically curated selection of products based on your historical interactions. You can also “Browse Shops,” “See Editors Picks,” “Explore Guides,” and “Shop Collections.”
Instagram Feed: When a business or creator tags a product in their Instagram post, you’ll see a small shopping bag in the top right corner of the post. Tap on the post for product details.
View Shop: Tap the “View Shop” button on a brand or business’s Instagram profile page to see a catalog of all their products.
Instagram Stories: Tap a Instagram Stories product sticker to discover product details and find out how to shop.
Instagram Reels: Several brands and businesses have jumped on board with tagging products in their Instagram Reels. If a product is tagged, tap “View Products” to see more.
Want to learn more about making sales on Instagram? Check out our Ultimate Guide to Social Selling.
#6: Do Hashtags Work in Instagram Comments?
Yes, they do.
According to Instagram, hashtags in the comments section work the same as in the caption.
To reap the benefits of Instagram hashtags without crowding your caption, schedule your first comment on Instagram with Later. With your hashtags scheduled into your first comment, you’re guaranteed to improve your reach as your hashtags get to work as soon as your post is live.
#7: Why Can’t I Add Music to My Instagram Stories?
If you’re unable to add music to your Instagram Stories, it could be due to a few reasons. It may be because you live in a country or region where Instagram has limited music library access, have a Business or Creator account, or need to update the Instagram app.
Find more information on adding music to your Instagram Stories here.
#8: Why Don’t I Have Access to Instagram Reels?
Instagram Reels launched in the summer of 2020 for 50 countries, including the U.S., Canada, India, Brazil, Germany, Japan, Australia, and more. If you’re in one of these countries and still can’t find Reels on your app, it could be that you’re part of a testing group that doesn’t have access.
There are three places you can check to see if you have access to Reels on Instagram:
Start by opening the Instagram app. In the latest update, the Reels shortcut is at the center of the main navigation menu at the bottom of the screen.
You can also open your Explore page, where you can also discover Reels created by other people. If you can see Reels from other Instagram users, you should have access to Reels too.
Open the Instagram Stories camera, either by swiping right from your Home Feed or tapping the “Add” button at the top of the screen and scrolling across until you reach “Reels.”
If you don’t see Reels in any of these places, it’s possible that the feature hasn’t reached your account yet. Update your app regularly to make sure you’re up to date with the latest features.
TIP: Once you gain access, check out all the hottest tips in Later’s Ultimate Guide to Instagram Reels.
#9: How Do I Add GIFs to my Instagram Story?
For those looking to add a bit of pizzazz to their Instagram stories, animated GIFs are a great place to start.
Once you’ve captured or uploaded your stories content, tap the sticker tray icon at the top of the screen — it’s the one with the smiley face, you can’t miss it — and look for the GIFs sticker.
From here, scroll through the top trending GIFs to add to your stories.
You can also search for keywords or phrases, or if you’re looking for a specific theme, by color or mood.
Really, the sky’s the limit! And if you want to take the personalization a step further, you can create your own GIFs.
#10: How Do I Report a Fake Instagram Account?
Recently, Instagram users have seen an uptick in bots and fake accounts, especially when giveaways are involved.
Not only are they annoying, but they’re also a safety concern, especially when they pose as brands asking for your personal information.
Tap the three dots on the top corner of their profile.
Tap “Report.”
Tap “Report Account.”
Tap “It’s pretending to be someone else.”
Choose who the fake account is impersonating, and then tap “Submit Report.”
For more on Instagram safety, check out How to Protect Your Instagram Account from Being Hacked.
#11: How Do I Change My Instagram Stories Highlight Covers?
Instagram Stories Highlights are a great way to collect and curate memories, or spotlight certain aspects of your brand.
To make your profile look extra cohesive, you can add custom Instagram Stories Highlight covers to your highlights.
Once you’ve created a highlight (by selecting the “New” icon on your profile page and selecting from your stories archive), tap the three dots icon and select “Edit Highlight.”
From here, tap “Edit Cover.” You can upload an image from your Camera Roll, or select from one of the existing stories in the highlight.
#12: How To Make a Collage on Instagram Story?
There are three main ways to create a collage effect on Instagram Stories:
Photo Collaging Apps
There are plenty of photo collage apps out there that let you flex your creative muscles.
Some of our favourites include Unfold, Over and Storyluxe, which feature tons of cool templates that will let you add images and videos in a variety of combinations.
ICYMI: Later collaborated with StoryLuxe to design some fun Instagram Stories templates — they’re 100% free!
Instagram Layout
The Instagram Layout tool is the in-house tool for quick and easy collages.
Simply open up stories by swiping right from your Home Feed, and then choose Layout from the different modes on the left.
You’ll be able to choose from a variety of different layouts, and can take photos via Instagram’s camera or upload images from your camera roll.
Instagram Stories Photo Sticker
The final way to create a collage is by using the Instagram Stories photo sticker.
Tap the sticker tray icon at the top of the screen and scroll until you find the photo sticker — it will allow you to add any photo from your camera roll.
You can add as many photos as you want to create a collage effect, and can tap to change the shape of the added image.
#13: How Do I Find Someone on Instagram?
If you want to find someone on Instagram, tap the magnifying glass icon on the main navigation menu at the bottom of the Instagram app screen. This is called your Explore page!
From here, you can type anything you’re looking for into the search bar.
As soon as you start typing, you’ll see suggested results appear.
However, you can also narrow your search by Accounts, Tags, and Places — depending on what you’re looking for.
The search results you see are based on a variety of factors, such as who you follow, and what type of content you interact with the most on Instagram.
You can also search for people by their name or username. Think of this as the Google Search of the social media world, so if you want to get discovered, this is a great way to do it.
#14: How to Turn Off Active Status on Instagram?
Whether you want to set better social media boundaries, or simply don’t want people to know when you’re online — there is a simple solution to hide your active status.
Go to your Settings and open up the Privacy menu.
Under “Interactions,” you’ll find Activity Status, which you can toggle on or off.
NOTE: When you turn off your activity status, you won’t be able to see when other people have seen your messages.
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