Instagram has certainly changed a lot since 2010. Many new features have been added over the years, as its user base has swelled into one of the fastest-growing social networks right now.
As we draw near the middle of 2019, now is the best time to make sure we have all we need to make the most of our Instagram presence. Here is a list of 10 tools that you should check out:
1. SocialCaptain
One of the biggest hassles with running an Instagram is trying to amass a network within a certain niche. It requires an endless amount of hours searching through hashtags and interacting with users’ posts in the hopes that they will reciprocate the attention. That’s why most people on Instagram-businesses and influencers alike-have turned to automation.
SocialCaptain easily ranks among the very best in this field of tools. It provides an effortless way to find and target the audience that you want. It delivers likes, comments, and follows for you, so you can just sit back and watch the results through the live analytics tab on their sleekly designed dashboard. It even improves as it goes along thanks to its AI-powered systems, so you can expect your follower count to constantly rise.
2. Owlmetrics
Analytics play a pivotal role in the ongoing effectiveness of your Instagram strategy. They let you keep tabs on your progress and understand what your audience wants, so that you can continue to grow your account. Owlmetrics is a perfect tool for this job.
With Owlmetrics. you can get detailed information about your followers, such as their gender or geographical location. It also shows you which posts have been garnering the most engagement, and can generate a custom bio link so that you can track traffic to your website.
3. AdEspresso
Chances are that if you’re on Instagram for marketing reasons, you’re also running advertisements on the platform as well. If managing your campaigns has become a bit of a mess, then you should look into AdEspresso.
AdExpresso is a tool from the creators of Hootsuite that enables you to devise ad campaigns, launch them, monitor the results, and improve their performance with actionable insights. You can also use it to consolidate your Instagram, Google, and Facebook ads into one place.
4. Sked Social
Organization is a key part of success on any social network. You can try flying by the seat of your pants and improvising as you go along, but that comes at a high risk. So it’s better to play it safe and go with a scheduling tool like Sked Social instead.
Sked Social is surprisingly versatile in its set of features. The main attraction is their scheduling feature, where you can plan out posts for automatic publishing at a future date. There’s also a photo editor, with all of the filters and cropping tools you need to polish your content. Then finally there are collaborative options for teams to communicate as they work together on accounts.
5. Kapwing
Producing content for Instagram can become a time-consuming chore. For instance, say that you want to turn a video clip into a GIF. That might take hours of fiddling around with iMovie just to get right. Another example is whenever you’re trying to make a meme, but it takes forever to find the right template or try to mimic it properly. It’s pretty frustrating, isn’t it?
That’s why you need Kapwing. It makes editing images, GIFs, and videos easy as pie. You can turn a video into a postable GIF in minutes, or use their meme generators to quickly join in on the hilarity while it’s still fresh. It even has a full video editing suite where you can trim clips, arrange with a drag and drop system, and even add watermarks if you want.
6. Repost
Instagram is a great platform when it comes to user-generated content. However, reposting it can be a struggle. There’s no way to download images or videos directly from the site without the assistance of a tool. Then you have to upload it yourself and remember to give proper credit to the original creator in the captions.
Don’t worry, because Repost is here to save the day. It turns that entire process into a single step; all you need to do is copy the link and then go into the program to confirm your selection. Repost can handle the rest for you from there.
7. Whitagram
The idea behind Whitagram is simple, yet elegant in its execution. All you do is upload an image into the tool, and then it creates a beautiful white border around it. It’s perfect for when you want to make a square image while keeping the photo’s original aspect ratio.
Best of all is that it’s free to download, and you don’t have to pay to remove any watermarks. That makes it a great tool to have in your toolbox anyway, should an opportunity arise to use it.
8. UNUM
There’s a meta element to aesthetics on Instagram that not enough people talk about. While the individual look of your posts is important, you should also think about how they look next to each other in your overall feed. To help you better visualize your grid, there’s UNUM.
UNUM allows you to bring a more cohesive vision to your Instagram account. You can play around with the arrangement of your grid until you find a visual flow that will catch people’s eyes. It also offers tools for editing, writing captions, and setting schedule reminders.
9. Like2Buy
In the early days of Instagram, a major gripe that many brands had was that it was difficult to guide customers to buying the products featured in their posts. That’s because Instagram doesn’t allow for links in your captions. Like2Buy was a game-changer that found a way around this problem.
Curalate’s Like2Buy transforms your content with shoppable tags that will lead your customers to where they need to go to make purchases. Additionally, it includes analytics for refining your approach so that you drive more sales. It’s so straightforward that anybody can figure it out and use it.
10. HYPR
Instagram is a network that’s full of influencers who are eager and willing to work with brands. Finding the right ones can take a while, though. That’s where HYPR comes in handy. With this tool, you get access to an enormous database of millions of influencers.
All you need to do is adjust their filters to your preferences, and it will narrow down the results to the best choices for you. You can even see how well each influencer has performed in the past, and observe the results once you’ve started your campaign with them.
originally posted on Forbes.com by Joresa Blount
