Once you’ve created an Instagram account, and are posting on a regular basis, it’s time to check out some tools to help you manage it. There are a variety of paid applications that are usually geared toward big brands, but here are 3 free tools that any small business owner/solopreneur can quickly set up.
Updated 7-23-15
1. IconoSquare
A comprehensive dashboard, Iconosquare (formerly Statigram), gives you a wide variety of tools to optimize and manage your account. You’ll see the following menu tabs across the top of your screen – Viewer – Statistics – Snapshots – Manage – Promote – Contest (see image below)
When you click on each menu tab, you find out what each one can do:
Viewer – Look at your Instagram Feed, your media (posts), your Likes, Followers, Followings, and Popular posts.
Tip: Create Groups to segment the accounts you’re following so you can interact with top prospects, colleagues, influencers, etc.
Click on the My Followings tab, then go to the user you want to place in a group. Hover on the “circle” in the lower right corner of a user’s photo and then click on a Group to add them to. You’ll notice that several groups (Friends, Family) are already available. To add your own group, just click on “new group”, enter a name for your group, and click “create” to add that user.
Statistics – Categories include: Rolling Month Analysis, Content, Engagement, Optimization (best time to post, hashtag Impact), Community (Followers, Who isn’t following you, Follower growth)
Snapshots – Get snapshots of your Instagram statistics to share with your Instagram community
Manage – Interact with the comments on your last 5 posts or direct (private) messages
Promote – allows you to place an Instagram feed on your Facebook Fan Page (creates a new Tab), gives you a public URL so non-Instagram users can follow your Instagram account (i.e. http://statigr.am/feed/yourusername ), creates “follow me” buttons for your sites, offers an RSS feed option and lets you create a Facebook Profile Cover collage of your latest 50 shots.
Contest – A paid option for running contests on Instagram
2. Follow/UnFollow Tools (plus 2 Scheduling Tools)
There are three tools shown here to help you manage your followers/following: Friend or Follow, CrowdFire App (part 1), and Instatrack. Find out who isn’t following you back, so you can un-follow those accounts (if applicable). Also included in this section are two tools that allow you to schedule Instagram posts: the CrowdFire App (part 2) and Latergramme.
Friend or Follow (for Instagram)
Once you’ve logged in with your Instagram account (this tool also manages a Twitter account if you want), you’ll see your “Following” (people you are following who are not following you back) in a grid section. Just click on an account and un-follow them if desired.
CrowdFire App (Formerly “Just UnFollow”)
This tool is similar to Friend or Follow above, but offers additional options such as copying the followers of an account or using keywords/hashtags to search for (and follow) users. Note that you have follow/unfollow limits, and there is an upgrade to a paid account for more features.
InsTrack for Instagram (for iPhone and iPad only )
I use this one on my phone to quickly see who has followed/unfollowed me. You can set up notifications when someone follows/unfollows you, and the paid App (I just use the free version now) will give you some extra features for engagement and blocking users.
Update 7-23-15: Scheduling Tools – I’ve added two options for scheduling your posts if you feel like you need these options. Note that neither of these tools actually does automatic posting; you still need to log into your Instagram account and hit the Share button to post it live.
Latergramme
This is a helpful tool that allows you to create posts on your computer or phone, and then schedule them for later posting. Why would you want to “schedule” Instagram posts?
One of the main benefits is that a tool like this helps you maintain consistency with a regular posting schedule. You can create/upload all of your Instagram posts for the week, and then the Latergramme App will notify you in real time when it is time to post.
Note that it is not an automatic posting tool – so you will have to be logged into your Instagram account in order to post your pre-saved content (this is in accordance with Instagram’s terms of service).
Also remember that if you manage multiple accounts, you need to make sure you’re logged into the correct one before you post.
Another reason to use Latergramme is that it’s much easier to add a longer description on your computer (with Latergramme) than your phone.
A free account gives you up to 30 posts per month. You can upgrade for more posts and additional features. You can connect a maximum of 2 Instagram accounts with the free version.
Crowdfire App (part 2)
This previously mentioned App also offers a scheduling option for your Instagram (and Twitter) accounts. This tool is called Publish and lets you schedule posts for Instagram, and then receive notifications when it is time to publish them.
Note that just like the Latergramme App, the Publish App will direct you to your Instagram account, where you log in and then actually publish the new post within Instagram.
Both of these scheduling tools require to you add their App on your mobile device.
3. Hootsuite
The Hootsuite dashboard allows you to monitor your Instagram account in real time, and is especially useful if you have more than one account.
From your dashboard, you go to the App Directory, install the Instagram App, and add the stream to a new tab. Once you’ve authorized the Instagram App, you will be able to monitor the stream of posts, like photos, and comment on photos.
Update 7-23-15: I included a tool called picdeck.co in the original version of this blog as tool #3, and have since discovered it is no longer available. Hootsuite has been added as an option for a monitoring tool, so let me know if you have any questions.
So there you go – several tools that you can start using today to help you manage your Instagram account! Let me know if you’ve tried any of them or have a favorite to add to the list!
Top photo (derived from) ofeveryday life via photopin cc
About Terry League