Admittedly, my brain doesn’t normally connect an app dedicated to photographs and a medium famous for its focus on sound. However, if you do not believe Instagram can help promote your podcast, you are dead wrong! Instagram is the second most popular social media platform in the world! The number of potential new viewers alone is staggering! So, how DO you take advantage of Instagram to get those potential viewers?

The first thing you’ll need to do, like with all the other social media platforms I’ve discussed here, is making an account. Pick a username that is appropriate and recognizable as your brand/podcast. Set a profile picture that fits and represents your podcast. Instagram profile pictures can be a bit more informal, focusing on aesthetic value since the platform is built around photography. With a username and profile picture set, the last major set-up step is, as always, writing the bio. Write a small passage giving a description, summary, or piece of the personality of your podcast. Additionally, try to put any information about where to listen to your podcast and any links to your other platforms or stores.
Uniquely to Instagram, due to being owned by Facebook, I recommend connecting it directly to your Facebook. This will allow Facebook followers to find your Instagram page easier and vice-versa. You also now have the option to cross-post, making every Instagram post appear on your Facebook feed as well. I recommend this for brand accounts, generally. If you need help setting up a Facebook page for your brand, I will eventually post a blog about using Facebook to promote your blog.

Now that the account is finished being set up, it’s time to begin posting. For a podcast, I recommend two major types of posts. First, I recommend posting very short highlight videos of your podcasts, similar to the highlights we discussed in the YouTube blog. However, Instagram, inspired by TikTok’s success, primarily promotes videos through its “Reels” system. These videos are at most a minute or so and are intended to loop or binge-watch. So, you must edit even shorter, faster, and higher action highlights. If your podcast is a comedic discussion podcast, like ‘The Yard,” you’ll have to use fast, punchy, clear moments, in a minute or less.

The other type of post I recommend is “behind the scenes” photos. Uploading photos of the cast of the show, the studio where you record, what it looks like mid-recording, etc., is a powerful tool. This kind of on-set photography is useful for making viewers feel like they’re in a community with you, as part of the show. These photos are also useful for drawing interest from prospective employees and sponsors who will be interested in working in your positive environment.

With both the videos and photos, Instagram gives you the ability to create a text post underneath that media. For either type of media, I recommend making a post with charismatic, semi-formal, and playful text. You should explain a bit of context behind the photo or video, as well as find a way to encourage viewers to interact through commenting, liking, saving, and sharing. Additionally, though I didn’t cover it in detail during Twitter’s blog entry, Twitter and Instagram are the two social media platforms that truly care about hashtags. In my experience, however, Twitter’s hashtags are often used for major conversations and personal use. Instagram hashtags, however, are often catered towards brands and small businesses, focusing less on trending topics, like Twitter, and more on shared themes. So, for every post you make on Instagram, I recommend using many applicable hashtags, such as #Podcast, #ContentCreation, #SteamHighlight, or anything else you find acceptable.

What photos will you upload to your Instagram page? Do you have any interest in photography or videography, separately from your podcast? Leave a comment below with your thoughts! If you learned anything today or enjoyed what you read, please share this with your friends so we can all be a little bit smarter and nerdier together! As always, I’d also appreciate comments and suggestions from you! If there’s anything you’d like to see in a future post here, let me know!