Course Curriculum

Instagram Marketing: A Beginner’s Guide to Instagram Success

10sections
62lectures
5h 49mtotal

What you’ll learn

  • How to start your Instagram business today.

  • How to use professional text and hashtags to grow faster.

  • How to optimize your profile in just a few steps.

  • How to use Instagram Live and IGTV successfully.

  • You will learn my personal strategies for more engagement & call-to-action.

  • Build your own profitable Instagram business from scratch.

  • Learn to master livestreams, reels & IGTV on Instagram.

  • Instagram story hacks and tricks & tips to grow faster on Instagram.

  • Find Instagram keywords with simple tools.

  • How to accurately target and reach your optimal audience.

  • Includes 29 Canva Templates for Instagram Posts/ Stories/ Reels.

01

Introduction

3 lectures • 15min

  • What is Instagram?

    Discover Instagram basics, a free Meta platform for sharing photos, videos, messages, stores, and news across devices, with 2 billion monthly users and high engagement.

    2:57

  • Important Instagram impressions you should know

    Identify essential Instagram terms, tour the profile, followers, following, and posts counts, and compare content types like reels, guides, posts, and stories, with hashtags boosting reach.

    7:20

  • Create an account

    Create an Instagram account by choosing a username, setting a strong password, and adding recovery options like phone or email. Learn to log in and switch between multiple accounts.

    4:34
02

All areas on Instagram

7 lectures • 37min

  • Home page

    Explore the home page to understand posts, stories, and actions like liking, commenting, and saving. Refresh the feed, view profiles, and access posting options including sharing.

    6:24

  • Notifications/ Activities

    Explore how notifications, or activities, appear on the Instagram home page, including follows, likes, comments, and unrecognized logins, and learn to navigate profiles and messages.

    4:07

  • Messages

    Learn to manage Instagram messages with search and filters for unread, answered, and flagged chats. Use mute, delete, saved replies, send photos, voice messages, video calls, and view once content.

    5:51

  • Explore page

    Discover how the explore page recommends posts and reels based on your activity, keywords, hashtags, and location, while you search, follow, and compare top versus recent results.

    6:25

  • Profile

    Discover how to customize your Instagram profile by editing your name, description, and avatar, adding a link (link tree), and managing highlights, posts, and insights for engagement.

    5:47

  • Reels

    Explore Instagram reels: access the reels tab near the explore page, like, comment, and follow, and learn to post reels with audio, filters, 90 seconds, speed, layout, and timer.

    3:51

  • Store

    Explore the Instagram shop: view products from posts, save items to your wish list, and link posts to products for easy shopping via the shop, search, and videos.

    4:20
03

Instagram Settings & Competition

6 lectures • 34min

  • Privat vs. Business - A short comparison

    Compare private and business Instagram accounts, highlighting that private accounts limit reach and insights, while business accounts unlock deeper analytics, a shoppable feed, ads, and wider reach.

    6:11

  • Link business account

    Open the sandwich menu, go to settings, switch to a professional business account, pick a category, and decide whether to display it on your profile.

    2:07

  • Basic settings

    Open your profile, tap the sandwich menu, and access settings to manage notifications, privacy, and monetization options. Adjust two-factor authentication, saved posts, story audience, and theme.

    8:06

  • Find a name that really fits

    Brainstorm name ideas for Instagram and ensure harmony with your profile picture, pronunciation, and target group, avoid language mixing, and aim for two new keywords daily for long-term fit.

    6:52

  • Check feeds

    Explore Instagram feeds to understand how profile picture color, description text, highlight color, and post aesthetics shape brand identity and content.

    5:23

  • The equipment

    Select your Instagram equipment from a smartphone or camera to gimbals and lighting. Use Canva or Photoshop to create posts without heavy gear.

    5:22
04

Optimize your Instagram profile

9 lectures • 46min

  • Instagram on PC

    Use Instagram on PC via the browser to upload posts from Canva or Photoshop, view a larger interface, and access home, posting, and profile features.

    2:11

  • Emoji for PC

    Learn to add emojis to Instagram post descriptions using emoji for PC or Emojipedia, copying from a browser and pasting into your caption for Instagram and Facebook.

    3:51

  • Instagram description

    Discover how to optimize the Instagram description by using keywords in the username and name, keeping the description under 150 characters, and leveraging a link tree for additional links.

    10:45

  • Special fonts for description

    Discover how to use special fonts on Instagram to enhance post and profile descriptions, using ig fonts sites like igfonts.io or igfonts generators dot com, then copy, paste, and edit.

    3:37

  • Call-to-action in the description

    Learn how to use a call-to-action in your description to drive link clicks with emojis, arrows, and concise text, and test emoji-text combos to boost engagement.

    4:02

  • More links with linktree

    Set up a link tree for instagram, organize multiple links, customize themes, and monitor analytics like lifetime views and clicks.

    13:30

  • Instagram disclaimer

    0:12

  • Imprint disclaimer: Optimize Linktree

    Add an imprint to your Instagram profile or linktree, including name, address, business details, and contact information, easily found within two clicks to meet EU requirements.

    1:49

  • Spreadly as an alternative

    Examine Spreadly as a gdpr conform alternative to link tree and review Bradley’s free digital business card and social link features.

    6:28
05

What really matters for reach

4 lectures • 23min

  • Saves

    Learn why saves matter for Instagram reach, with post insights revealing saves, reach, and impressions, and how saved posts and collections signal value to followers and non-followers.

    7:15

  • Comments & Likes

    Explore how saves impact reach on Instagram, why likes are less decisive, and how to hide likes via profile privacy settings; use insights to compare saves and comments for reach.

    3:26

  • Recommendations/ share

    Encourage sharing and saving posts to boost reach, even when EU privacy rules hide share counts; use clear CTAs and cross-promote YouTube to build brand visibility.

    3:32

  • The Instagram algorithm at a glance

    explain how saves, likes, comments, and shares influence reach and the explore page, with saves driving deeper engagement and broader exposure.

    8:58
06

Creating Instagram graphics with Canva

11 lectures • 1hr 15min

  • What is Canva?

    Explore Canva, a graphic design platform for visual content creation, offering a free version and a pro option, used worldwide for photos, social posts, and videos.

    2:16

  • Create an account

    Create a Canva account by signing up with email, enter the code sent to your email, and explore templates for Instagram graphics and other design ideas on the home page.

    3:08

  • Navigating the Dashboard

    Navigate the Canva dashboard to use templates and create YouTube thumbnail sizes. Compare free and pro plans, with a 30-day trial, and manage uploads and projects.

    7:35

  • Elements, shapes and lines

    Explore elements, lines and shapes, text inside shapes, color and outline options, arrows and shadows, and learn to search graphics, apply filters, and manage premium content and watermarks.

    10:24

  • Photos, videos and uploads

    Master adding photos and videos, applying filters, and managing uploads; edit with crop, flip, resize, and transparency, and explore pro vs free content and drag-and-drop uploads.

    10:12

  • Overview of fonts & texts

    Explore Canva's text features, from creating text boxes and headings to fonts, colors, and effects, and learn to format with bold, alignment, spacing, lists, and templates.

    15:42

  • Competitor profile pictures

    Compare competitor profile pictures to choose a standout design that matches your niche, focusing on background colors, text visibility, and logo or face representation for profile and story visibility.

    4:12

  • Create a profile picture

    Design your instagram profile picture in Canva or Photoshop, starting with a logo or text in 500 by 500 pixels, add a frame and violet border for the circular crop.

    8:37

  • Instagram Templates for Canva

    0:15

  • Create a Instagram Post

    Create an Instagram post using Canva, choosing square 1080 by 1080 or portrait, using free templates, customizing text, frames, and backgrounds, duplicating pages, and downloading for upload.

    12:18

  • Instagram Post Templates

    0:13
07

ChatGPT & AI Tools for Social Media Content Creation

7 lectures • 37min

  • All the prompts in this section

    0:04

  • Social Media Content - Idea Generation / Brainstorming

    Harness AI-powered social media content creation for Instagram success. Brainstorm names, topics, and content ideas, build a content calendar, and craft descriptions and hashtags.

    8:48

  • Social Media Content - Content Creation

    Create engaging Instagram content by generating posting text and six-step slides around topics like nutritional tips for dogs, then design with AI tools like Microsoft Designer and Canva.

    11:25

  • Social Media Content - Descriptions / Captions

    Create concise, engaging Instagram descriptions for posts with photos or videos, optimize captions by trimming emojis and hashtags, and prompt with a question to boost comments and engagement.

    5:03

  • Social Media Content - Hashtags

    Learn to craft descriptions with up to five to ten hashtags, research and refine keyword lists, and blend big and niche hashtags to boost reach.

    4:22

  • Social Media Content - Content Calendar

    Craft a multi platform content calendar that schedules two posts weekly across Instagram, Pinterest, LinkedIn, and TikTok, detailing posting times and formats such as video, image, and text with ChatGPT.

    4:49

  • Social Media Content - Responding to Comments

    Discover how to respond to social media comments with ChatGPT prompts, craft short, engaging replies, and add questions to start conversations, boosting early engagement.

    2:51
08

Instagram Marketing Creation & Optimization

5 lectures • 18min

  • Upload Instagram Post on PC - Step by Step

    Upload your first Instagram post from a PC step by step, selecting a photo, adding slides, applying edits, writing a caption with hashtags, adding location and alt text, then sharing.

    7:36

  • Instagram post upload on the phone

    Upload your first Instagram post from your phone by selecting photos, applying filters, writing a caption with hashtags, tagging people, adding a location, and posting to linked accounts.

    4:14

  • Choosing the correct location

    Choose smaller locations with fewer posts to boost top posts, and use larger locations like Vienna only if engagement is high enough.

    2:41

  • After posting - Post functions

    After posting, use post functions to share or link, generate a QR code, archive or hide likes and comments, edit description or hashtags, and pin, unpin, or delete the post.

    3:23

  • A short break

    Take a brief break to leave a short review for this course, since Udemy will prompt you, helping improve the course before we continue with the Instagram marketing guide.

    0:30
09

Instagram Hashtags for more reach

4 lectures • 32min

  • Why do I need hashtags?

    Learn why hashtags matter on Instagram, how they connect your post to topics like fitness, boost discoverability, and improve ranking by signaling your niche with up to 30 hashtags.

    3:51

  • Where do I use hashtags and keywords?

    Discover how hashtags and keywords on profiles, captions, stories, and reels boost reach, discoverability, and community building on Instagram.

    10:18

  • 4 hashtag types (popular, low search volume, trending, personal)

    Explore the four hashtag types—personal, trending, low search volume, and popular—manage community hashtags, and learn to assess trendiness with Google Trends for targeted Instagram reach.

    11:59

  • Hashtag text as spam protection

    Learn to protect Instagram posts from spam flags with smart hashtag strategies, using 5–6 targeted hashtags or weaving them into engaging text to boost reach and avoid long descriptions.

    5:47
10

Instagram Reels

6 lectures • 32min

  • Basics of Instagram Reels

    Learn how Instagram reels drive engagement and traffic with vertical videos, 15 seconds to one minute, featuring text and music, and how to create your first reel to grow followers.

    4:04

  • Instagram Reels - how does it work in practice?

    Create Instagram reels by recording in app or with external tools, in vertical 15–90 second videos, using layouts, audio, filters, text, and publish to feed or reels tab.

    8:55

  • Create Reels with Canva - Variant 1

    Learn to create Instagram reels with Canva by recycling existing content from YouTube videos or posts, using templates or frames in a 1080x1920 format, and recording a 10–30 second clip.

    6:47

  • Create Reels with Canva - Variant 2

    Discover quick Instagram reels creation with Canva by layering posts on background videos, adding end frames, transitions, and templates.

    6:46

  • Instagram Reel Templates

    0:13

  • Get more out of your reels!

    Improve your reels reach by analyzing top-performing videos, reusing high-engagement reels, and testing underperformers to reveal algorithm effects; also cross-upload without watermarks and save content for reuse.

    4:54