Creators come to Instagram every day to create and connect, grow their audience, and build their business. With more than 2 billion people using Instagram each month, Instagram offers a global reach and wide breadth of features, which makes it a one-stop-shop for all creators and offers a variety of opportunities and experiences for creators everywhere.
However, when you are starting your career as an aspiring creator, it can be overwhelming, and you might be looking for some guidance on how to start.
So below are some tips that can help get you started, or even be a good refresher for anyone creating on Instagram.
- Post original content: This includes content you filmed yourself or content that hasn’t been posted on Instagram before. Avoid reuploading content that is already on Instagram or posting unoriginal or aggregated content. If you see a reel or a post you think your followers would love, you can share it to your Story by using the share button.
- Set an engaging content strategy: Make sure you use the variety of ways that Instagram has, such as: Reels, Stories, Feed, and Live, to express yourself creatively and set a content strategy that will keep your audience engaged. Here are a few things to keep in mind when creating this:
- Reels: More than 1 billion Reels are reshared on DMs on Instagram every day. Now you can create rechargeable and entertaining reels using a variety of editing tools. Make sure to keep an eye on rising trends and music through browsing other Reels and checking @Creators weekly Reels of roundup.
- Feed: Publish a mix of photos & videos and utilize location tags as well as Music to tell a story. Make sure to maximize engagement through responding to your audience’s comments.
- Stories: Share an authentic view of your everyday self, making use of the engaging features such as: The different stickers (Question, Quiz, Poll, Countdown and Add Yours).
- Live: Use Live to connect with your audience in the moment. You can use this space to make an announcement, livestream a performance or share a new hobby or an interest with your audience.
- Collab with other creators: Find other creators who share your passions and collaborate with them on a piece or a series of content that will resonate with your followers. Make sure you use Instagram’s Collabs feature to create a single post that is shared to both of your followers or use Enhanced Tags to include their public and self-identified profile category.
- Get discovered via Search: Search results are matched by text, so make sure you’re including relevant keywords. A few tips:
- Use an Instagram handle or profile name that’s related to the content of your posts.
- Make sure your bio includes keywords about who you are and what your profile is about.
- Use relevant keywords and hashtags in captions. To have your post found in Search, put these keywords and hashtags in the caption, not the comments.
- Finally, make sure you are eligible for recommendation through checking your Account Status. This will allow you to see if your account’s content is eligible to be recommended in places like Explore, Reels, and Feed Recommendations to people who don’t follow you. You can access this tool at any time via Settings and see if your account’s content is eligible to be recommended to non-followers and understand any issues and fix problems.
- Monitor Your Insights: Fluctuations in reach are common, but if you’re using a Business or Creator Account you can check your Instagram Insights to monitor trends and content performance. Watch out for patterns and keep tabs on which pieces of content are getting more reach to help inform your content strategy. Within Insights, you can break down Accounts Reached by followers and non-followers so you can see how much of your reach is coming from people who don’t already follow you—and track that over time by changing the time frame selected. We also recently introduced a new way to view Reels insights, to help you monitor your best performing content.
- Follow @Creators & Creator Lab for more best practices: Instagram introduced ways for creators to connect with the wider creator community through our own channels such as @Creators. In addition, aspiring creators now have resources like Instagram’s Creator Lab, which offers best practices, product news, tips & tricks, and much more. Make sure to follow these channels to keep updated with the latest in the creator world.
![Canon (www.Canon-CNA.com) today announces the Colorado XL-series, a new platform of 3.4m printers that extends the proven advantages of Canon's UVgel technology to the 3.2m graphics market. Available in hybrid and roll-to-roll configurations, the modular, field upgradable platform powered by UVgel technology delivers great versatility and exceptional productivity for both flexible and rigid media applications from signage and décor to point of sale and packaging. The Colorado XL-series comprises two easy-to-operate models: the Colorado XL7 roll-to-roll printer and Colorado XL7 hybrid printer. The new series brings the benefits of UVgel to a new market segment with exceptional application versatility across a comprehensive range of media – from banner, paper, vinyl and films to soft signage, heat-sensitive materials, foam board, fluted polypropylene, acrylic, aluminium composite boards and cardboard – providing the flexibility to tackle diverse customer requirements. With print speeds of 70m² per hour in quality mode, 106m² per hour in production mode and up to 211m² per hour in express mode, the system delivers the productivity needed for demanding production environments while accommodating substrates up to 52mm/2 inches thick for rigid applications. The new platform includes multiple technology innovations, such as the UVgel 860 ink set, which has been optimised to cover a wide variety of both rigid and flexible applications. It also provides the proven benefits of UVgel: odourless and instant-dry prints, high mechanical and chemical robustness, dimensional stability due to low-temperature curing, excellent colour consistency, TPO [1] - and VCL [2] -free, and matte and gloss finish without the need of a separate varnish. The Colorado XL-series also incorporates new UVgel 850 PrintHeads. Each printhead has 4,544 nozzles and features automated built-in nozzle performance monitoring and compensation. A single printhead supports two colours simultaneously, so that only two printheads are required to print CMYK, plus an optional third if white is configured. Additionally, the Colorado XL-series has an agile and precise printhead carriage that features UVgel DynamicMotion Control to ensure exceptional print quality even with challenging media. Taking the UV LED curing process to the next level, the Colorado XL-series introduces UVgel FullBeam Curing. This technology uses a unique 3.4-metre-wide LED curing array that, combined with an ingenious mirror system, delivers consistent UV light dosing across the entire print width, guaranteeing exceptional print uniformity over large surfaces and enabling a wider colour gamut. Media handling is optimised by the new UVgel TRIdrive vacuum belt system, which features three interactive rollers and multiple powerful vacuum zones that reduce wrinkling and skewing by automatically detecting and correcting the media positioning. This results in highly repeatable media transport through the printer, ensuring accurate positioning both longitudinally and laterally and enabling razor-sharp applications. Optional features for the Colorado XL-series, which are already available on the highly successful and modular Colorado M-series, include: UVgel White for hassle-free white printing, FLXfinish+ for creative effects using matte or gloss or mixed matte and gloss on the same print without additional varnish, and FLXture for textured finishes that mimic materials like leather, wood or fabric. Mathew Faulkner, Director, Marketing & Innovation, Wide Format Printing Group, Canon EMEA, comments: "For the past decade, Canon has been at the forefront of the inkjet evolution in large format, with market-leading technologies including the Colorado roll-to-roll printer series powered by UVgel technology and the Arizona flatbed printers. Large format print providers are looking for systems that deliver high productivity, versatile applications and reliable quality while addressing the challenge of finding skilled operators – which is why Canon is launching our new, breakthrough Colorado XL-series, an addition to our portfolio that will set a new standard in productivity and versatility. “This innovative solution brings the proven advantages of our unique UVgel technology to the 3.2m market for the first time, combining it with extensive automation and a modular design that will enable customers to extend their application possibilities into markets such as packaging and décor. Print service providers already producing high-value signage and graphics can now leverage UVgel's distinctive finishes, including mixed gloss and matte effects and textured printing, at scale to stand out in these new markets. And with its hybrid capabilities, users can print both roll-to-roll and rigid applications on the same device, using the same ink, the same colour profiles and the same unique features and finishes. For brands, for example, this translates to seamless campaigns that span the full spectrum of applications, ensuring perfect consistency across campaign assets whether they're roll-fed graphics, rigid signage, packaging, or décor elements. This is particularly valuable when these different applications appear side by side in-store, where maintaining that consistent quality and finish elevates the entire brand experience that today's brands demand." The Colorado XL-series will be available from the beginning of 2026 via Canon’s direct sales organisations as well as from accredited partners. For more information about the Colorado XL-series, please visit: https://apo-opa.co/3WltKtM](https://businessinsights.africa/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/canon_prograf-100x70.png "Canon expands large format graphics production portfolio with new 3.4m Colorado XL-series")
