Today we are sharing tips and tricks to getting started with Instagram! If you missed it last week, we talked about what Instagram is and should you be using it for your event planning business.

Setting up an Account

Starting a new social media platform can be a little intimidating. Instagram is very easy to set up and start posting in just a few minutes.

There are a couple of great online resources to guide you through setting up Instagram and how to create a post.

First, the Instagram help page is full of great info and very easy to navigate.

This article (complete with pictures) is very helpful in explaining how to set up an account, create a post and use all the tools.

Creating Your Profile

When you set up your profile make sure to include a couple of important things.

• Us ahigh-quality photo or your logo. Make sure it is representative of you and your business.

• In your description make sure to use your URL. It is the only place you have a live link.

• Include a unique hashtag (#) in your description so people can click on it and see everything that you have been tagged in or used your hashtag on. For example mine is #cheersweddings.

Using Hashtags

• A hashtag is a word or phrase, with no spaces, that has a # at the beginning.

• The #symbol makes the word hyperlinked and searchable on Instagram.

• Images that have been tagged with the same # can be searched together. For example, if someone clicks or searches for #cheerswedding all photos that have been tagged with this will be seen.

Tools

There are a lot of great tools that allow you to edit photos and schedule posts outside of Instagram. That way you are not chained to your phone when you need to be posting.

Some of my favorites are:

Canva – This site allows you to create cool graphics and lettering for use on any social media platform. It is similar to PicMonkey (if you are familiar with that application).

Latergram – this is a website that allows you to schedule Instagram posts. You can use it from your personal computer, which is nice for those that do not enjoy doing everything on their computer. It is free if you post 30 or fewer images per month. Otherwise, there is a fee.

Today’s post is a guest post from Amber Peterson. Amber is the owner of Cheers Wedding & Event Planning in western Washington. She has a Masters Degree in Integrated Marketing Communications and previously worked as a marketing consultant for wedding industry professionals. Amber is also the co-founder of the Skagit Wedding Society. Follow Amber on Instagram.