Instagram is one of the most popular social media platforms out there at the moment. It started life as a simple photo sharing app where users could upload their favourite images for their followers to see. Nowadays, it has become a far more varied platform where users can share videos, stream live, sell products and, of course share photos.
Celebrities and influencers have now been using Instagram for some time as a key advertising and branding channel. Many have successfully used the platform to strengthen their business by leveraging the app’s tools and ability to reach a target audience far more quickly than more traditional advertising methods.
To get to that stage, however, users have to be able to know how to use Instagram properly and effectively. One such task that many have to learn is finding a person or user on Instagram. Doing so is key for several reasons that we’ll investigate here, along with explaining exactly how to find someone on Instagram.
Why you need to find someone on Instagram
There are a number of reasons why you need to find someone on Instagram, some of which may not be immediately obvious to new users of the platform. However, if you’re determined to use the platform for either business or personal reasons, it’s a good idea to know why finding a user is important.
View their profile
For all personal users of Instagram, the most vital reason that it is a good idea to know how to find someone on Instagram is so that you can view that person’s profile. Without knowing how to find their handle or name on the app, you cannot follow them and see a person’s posts on your feed — whether those posts are the traditional ones or done in Instastories. While it’s still possible to see a person’s feed (if they have a public profile) just by finding their account, it’s more efficient to find their profile and choose to follow it. That way, you get updated automatically as to what that account has posted.
Build your following
Finding a person on Instagram and following them can be a good way to grow your following. If you’re a personal user, by finding accounts to follow — particularly of friends — those accounts will likely follow you back and as such your audience goes on to grow too. Doing so also allows Instagram to make suggestions as to other accounts you may like to follow so that you find users that post content you will be interested in.
View their followers
For business users, Instagram is a great way to target an audience with specific demographics or wants or needs. As a result, it can be a good idea to view the followers of an account on the platform that has a similar audience to what you want. To view those followers, you need to find that account in the first place. From there you can try to engage with that account so its audience starts to learn of you and your business. Or, you can try to follow that audience with the hope that those people will follow your account back.
Steps to finding someone on Instagram
Given the importance of finding a specific account on Instagram, here are the steps to doing so:
- Open the app and log in.
- Start typing a friend’s name into the search bar, or the name of an account that you know exists.
- Click on the result that you require
- You will be taken to the user’s profile, where you can choose to click on the button Follow
For new users, Instagram will also help you by syncing your contact list. You can do so through the Discover people option, which is found on the mobile app by viewing your own profile and clicking on the three horizontal bars in the top right corner. From there, click on discover people. The app then accesses contacts from your phone and Facebook account.
Finding someone on Instagram – key takeaways
Finding a user on Instagram is key to using the app’s full potential. Without viewing accounts that you want to see posts from, there is very little use for it from a personal point of view. From a business perspective, finding specific accounts that you want to engage with is also vital to that account’s success.
