#DigitalJedi Instagram Training Stage 5: #DigitalJedi

Do you know your stories from your highlights? Your showcases from your boomerangs? I hope you’ve brought your lightsaber because this 5-step guide will take you from a #SocialPadawan to a #DigitalJedi on Instagram!

You were tempted by The Dark Side in stage 4 but it was clear to see that there was still good in you. Now grab on to your lightsaber for the final stage of your #DigitalJedi Instagram training! This one is sure to test even the best of you.

Stage 5 - #DigitalJedi

So you’ve mastered almost everything you can do on Instagram and are posting some beautiful #SchoolStories. But what does it take to truly master Instagram?

To reach the level of #DigitalJedi you need to not only be putting out great content, but also trying to find out the best content for your audience. As we said in stage 1, it’s all about engagement, engagement, engagement. One way to better understand your audience is by using the built-in Instagram analytics tool called Instagram Insights. One way to view Insights is for each individual photo by clicking on View Insights underneath your post:

Alternatively, you can view insights for your whole profile. This will help you really get to know your followers and what they interact best with. You’ll be able to find out information such as the ages, gender and location of those viewing your content. If you run a paid campaign you can also view metrics about the reach of your campaign using insights. Finding out what content, and at what time, people engage with best is key to turning your posts from just noise into a clear #ContentStrategy.  Users like 4.2 billion posts per day so it’s great to try and take some of those for yourself!  

So until now you’ve been thinking about your posts as individual content or as part of your #ContentStrategy, but how about thinking even further ahead… One way to do this is by creating an Instagram Showcase. Essentially, an Instagram showcase does what it says on the tin, it’s a way to show off all of your great work or #SchoolStories as one piece. A showcase generally consists of 6, 9, or 12 photos to make up one large image. So how do I create one of these for my school?

1. Design up a large image that you would like to end up with on your Instagram.

2. Choose how many pieces you would like to separate it into. Here, think about how this will be viewing on different devices.

3. Use a tool to cut up your image into different sections. We recommend using Postcron’s Image Splitter tool.

4. Decide when you are going to share out your content. A word of warning! You will have to post 3 at a time to make sure that your showcase does not become disjointed. This risks each post gaining lower engagement but results in a beautiful showcase.

5. Sit back and enjoy your showcase.

If you’d like more tips on an Instagram showcase for your school, we wrote a blog on Creating an Instagram Showcase back in January.

BONUS TRAINING:

This is a tool used by many influencers, but it doesn’t have to be exclusively for them! IGTV. This tool allows you to share longer videos than you can directly on the Instagram app (up to an hour as opposed to 60 seconds) and is built specifically for mobile devices. This means videos must be optimised to play full screen and vertically.

To upload a video to IGTV, first click on the TV icon at the top right:

Then simply click the + button at the top right of the next screen that appears. Videos uploaded onto your IGTV channel will be available to view on your main profile by clicking on the IGTV button next to your highlights section.

That’s it! Congratulations on completing the final instalment of your #DigitalJedi training. You are now the master of Instagram and are at one with the #SchoolStories. We look forward to seeing what great content comes out. Make sure to check out our other training guides and blogs to be a true #DigitalJedi on all channels.