Instagram is fast becoming the number one social media destination (even surpassing Facebook, which is ironic since Facebook owns Instagram!). But one thing that really saddens Instagram is how unfriendly some aspects of the user experience are to humans.
What I mean? Well, for example, take a look at how the platform is built to only upload images via your smartphone. You cannot upload through Instagram.com yet. There is also the silly rule that you can only have one link – and that is in your bio. Then there is a problem with line wrapping in the signature
As usual on the Internet, when a problem occurs on the platform, a third-party developer steps in to save the day. Instagram is no different.
Buffer
Remember how I just said that you can’t upload images directly to Instagram? Well, one way to get around this is to use a third party website to download images through your computer. The best one is Buffer
After registering an account and setting a posting time, you can open a new status update window for Instagram. Upload your photo, add your caption, hashtags and location, then click “add to queue” or “add now”.
If something you are downloading does not match the Instagram API, you will be prompted to log into the Instagram smartphone app to complete the download. This usually happens with images of the wrong size, as well as loading more than one image at a time.
But if you have the right sizes and upload one image at a time, Buffer makes it easy to upload to Instagram from your computer.
Display purposes
Hashtags can create or spoil an Instagram post, and careful use of them can lead you to the Explore page, which is solid gold in terms of impact. But one of the really tedious things about constantly updating Instagram is figuring out which hashtags to use. So much so that people often rush through this stage of the process.
To make it easier for desktop users (who use a platform like BufferDisplay Purposes This is a site where you enter a hashtag into the search box, and then the site automatically generates similar hashtags based on what Instagram tells it. Then you can copy and paste the list from Display Targets into the Buffer field.
Obviously, if generated by the machine, you will get a few false positives, so you need to check the list carefully. When I search, for example, for thriller book hashtags, he sees “thriller” and generates Michael Jackson hashtags for me. But you can weed them out easily.
TagsDock & Hashtag Key ( iOS & Android )
There are some good smartphone equivalents for Display Purposes Free versions are limited, but if you post a lot on Instagram, spending a couple of dollars to unlock the professional features is well worth it.
TagsDock is a collection of categories, and when you click on a category, various suggested hashtags appear, which you can then click to enter. It’s not as good as Display Purposes, but much better than typing hashtags over and over again manually.
Hashtag Key differs slightly from TagsDock in that you have to manually enter hashtags. But then he saves them for you to post in the groups you must create as well (pets, books, etc.). Then the next time you want to use a specific set of hashtags, just click on them and they’ll be automatically inserted for you.
Canva
Instagram Stories are getting more and more popular now, as you can send a specific image and / or message to your users, pin it to your profile for 24 hours, and then be able to permanently pin it to the top of your profile.
It’s easy enough to create simple, simple stories, but what if you want to nudge the boat a little? This is where Canva comes in. They don’t have real story templates yet, so resize the blank canvas to 1920px high by 1080px wide, add your images, and then use something like Buffer to upload it to your stories section in your account.
Instaspacer
One of the most frustrating things about Instagram is its seeming inability to make heck of line breaks. So in the end it all comes together like a sardine.
Instaspacer solves this problem by allowing you to enter a signature in the appropriate field. Then you hit “Convert”, it goes to the Instagram app on your phone and you can paste what Instaspacer gives you. Either way, this includes line breaks. Magic.
LinkTree
One thing that is really confusing on Instagram is their refusal to allow more than one active link on someone’s profile. For a site that wants e-commerce brands to sell products from Instagram, their “one link” policy is inexplicable.
In any case, while this policy is still in effect, a service like LinkTree bypasses this limitation. Since the only active link can be in your bio, you will post the LinkTree link there and on your LinkTree page, you can have as many links as you want to various other sites like your personal website, your other social pages networks, the Internet. shop, you name it.
Clipomatic
Finally, I have to give credit to my new favorite Clipomatic app. I learned about this from Congressman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez from all people. She uses Clipomatic to make sure her deaf voters can “listen†to her videos.
Clipomatic takes the video you make with its app and its artificial intelligence listens to your voice and automatically adds subtitles at the bottom. The level of accuracy is extremely high, and with my deep Scottish accent, the last time I used it, it only did two little things. Which, given my constant linguistic struggles with Siri, is great.
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