01/10/2022
Sharing is caring, right? And since I SO care for you, I thought I’d share a little trick of my trade. I’ve spent years tailoring my Instagram marketing program, and in this post, I want to give you a great tip to help you do the same!
Add ALT text to your images!
If you're asking what the heck is the alt text, then this secret is for you.
Alt-text is an accessibility feature that allows users with visual impairments to understand what your posts look like while adding alt text improves the experience for these people. It also explicitly tells Instagram what's happening in your image, allowing the algorithm to better categorize your content and your account. At this time, Instagram has not stated explicitly that they are using all text for this reason. Still, we do know that there is artificial intelligence implemented that can determine exactly what's in an image and react accordingly.
When we tell Instagram precisely what's in our image, it's more likely to show up on the Explorer page or in a suggested feed, meaning users who have expressed an interest in similar content will potentially see yours as well, thus making that a huge opportunity to increase the reach of your posts and send more targeted traffic to your feed.
So to add alt text to a new post, click the advance settings button at the bottom of the screen when preparing a post, then click right alt text and start typing. You'll want to be as descriptive as possible to add alt text to an already published image. Navigate to the post, hit the three dots in the top right, then choose edit, then click the URL text button on the bottom right of the image.
Remember, this is not an opportunity to stuff your photo with keywords, but instead explicitly identify what's in your post. If it includes a product of yours, make it clear what it is, what it looks like, and how it's being used.
Comment below if you’d like me to share more content like this!