Organize and Manage Instagram Posts like a Boss with Collections

In December of 2016, Instagram came up with a brand-new feature that allowed users to save pictures and videos on their feed directly. This was possible by clicking on the bookmark button.

Once you come across a picture or video that you would like to reference later, all you had to do was click on this button, and all your saved posts were available for later. Though, Instagram advertised this feature as a way keep track of new ideas and inspirations, the real purpose of this feature was to position the social media photo sharing app, as an alternative to Pinterest. All the saved posts are visible only to you.

However, the bookmarks feature had a major drawback – there was no way to categorize posts. All your saved posts – pictures and videos – ended up in a single location. So, you end up with a medley of pictures across genres. Your gourmet food pics and fashion inspiration posts, all are rolled together under a single location.

Thankfully, Instagram has rectified that mistake with the Collections feature. In April of 2017, Instagram came up with yet another update which introduced the Collections. Using this feature, you can organize your bookmarks (saved Instagram posts) into separate collections. Which means, images of gourmet meals need not rub shoulders with your favorite fashion outfits.

Here, in this post, we take a look at how to use the “Collections” feature of Instagram to organize and store your posts.

Step 1  : Bookmark a Post

Bookmarking a post of any other Instagram user is quite simple. All you have to do is go to your preferred post and click on the “Bookmark” icon at the bottom of the post. By tapping this button, you can add the picture or video to your collection.

Step 2  : Create a Collection

Once you have bookmarked your post, go to your profile. Click on the bookmark icon and then choose Collections tab.

Click on the “Create Collection” prompt. Give a name for your collection. Congrats, you have just created your first-ever collection on Instagram. 

Step 3  : Add to your Collection

Once you have bookmarked your post, go to your profile. Click on the bookmark icon and then choose Collections tab.

Click on the “Create Collection” prompt. Give a name for your collection. Congrats, you have just created your first-ever collection on Instagram. 

Step 4  : Add Posts directly to the Collection

Instead, of first saving a picture and then adding it to your collection, Instagram allows you to directly add a photo or a video to your preferred collection. All you have to do is, click on the bookmark icon, and select “Save to Collection.”

Choose the collection you want to save to and that’s it!

Step 5  : Editing or Deleting a Collection

If you want to remove a picture from a collection or delete the entire collection, all you have to do is click on the three-dot menu of an open collection and click on the edit option.

The beauty of Instagram is that there are tons of beautiful content on the app. You don’t want them to disappear forever. Whether you love saving yummy recipes, fashionable outfits or any other images, collections are a great way to keep your posts organized.

Tip 1 : Manage user generated content

User generated content (posts that users post about you or your brand) is a key component of creating a beautiful Instagram feed. With collections, you can search and organize high-quality user generated content quickly and efficiently.

Save UGC to your collection and then repost them according to your schedule. The same strategy applies to tagged posts. Save all the posts you’re tagged in, into a new collection and use them when needed. 

When you have a high-quality UGC to pick and choose from, you can easily maintain the overall aesthetic and layout of your Instagram profile. 

Tip 2 : Keep an Eye on your Competitors

Whether you’re checking on your competitors to find out how they build their follower count or how they engage and respond to user comments - keeping an eye over your competitors is a must on social media.

Instagram’s collections tool is the best way to do this. Since, no one knows whether you’ve saved their posts, you can secretly keep watch over your competitors without them knowing.

Tip 3 : Build your Digital Mood board

Posting on Instagram can be pretty tough and all of us could do with some inspiration now and then. Collections lets you do exactly that. By browsing through your favorite pictures and videos, you’re likely to get inspiration ideas for your upcoming posts.

Collections is an easy and efficient way to organize your posts as well as other favorite images and videos posted by people on your following list. It lets you save and access posts in a jiffy. Simply put, it’s similar to the “Save to Board” feature on Pinterest. You can save anything that catches your eye and reference it later, with just a few clicks.