The posting checklist

The visual

• Size it for where it lives. Check the sizes below before you export, because the wrong shape gets cropped for you.
• Keep the good stuff in the middle. The Instagram grid shows posts and Reel covers at 3 by 4, which trims the sides. Centre your text and faces.
• Clear the danger zones on video. Captions and buttons cover roughly the bottom 250 px and top 120 px of a vertical video. Keep text out of both.
• Make the first frame earn the stop. Your first slide or first second does the selling. Lead with the strongest image or line you have.
• Read it at thumbnail size. Shrink it down to the size of a thumb. If the words are not legible, make them bigger or cut them.
• Upload the original file. Not a screenshot, not a forwarded copy. Quality drops every time a file gets compressed or re-saved.

Sizes at a glance

All sizes in pixels. Portrait 1080 x 1350 also works on LinkedIn.

The caption

• Win the first line. Only the first 125 or so characters show before "more". Put the point there, not the warm-up.
• Write it like you talk. Read it out loud. If it sounds like ad copy, rewrite it until it sounds like you.
• Break it up. Adding line breaks every 1 to 2 sentences makes the caption more readable. The cap is 2,200 characters and you will rarely need half.
• Focus on keywords, not hashtags. Work the words your people search for into the caption. If you do use hashtags, keep it to 3 to 5 because Instagram now caps them at five.
• Check the details twice. Names, prices, dates, handles and spelling. A typo in the first hour is the one everyone sees.

The link and the ask

• One post, one ask. Pick a single action, like save, share, comment, book or message, and put it last, after you have earned it.
• Start with a verb and say what happens next. "Book your colour consult" beats "check us out".
• Know where the link lives. Links in Instagram captions and comments are not clickable. Send people to your bio link or a Story link sticker, or set up a DM automation.
• Point your bio link at this post. Use a simple link tree, like Linktree, and give this post its own button. Skip the general website link when you can. If the caption says link in bio, people should land on exactly what you promised.
• Click it yourself. Test every link on your phone before and after you post. Add a UTM tag so your analytics show which post sent the click.

Tags, access and the fine print

• Add alt text. One plain sentence describing the image helps screen reader users and gives search more to read.
• Caption your videos. Plenty of people scroll with the sound off. Add on-screen captions and proofread them.
• Tag who and what is in it. People, places and partner brands. Use a Collab post when someone helped create it.
• Disclose paid and gifted posts. In Canada, say it clearly and up front. Use the platform's paid partnership label or open with #ad, never buried after "more".
• Check you have the rights. Music, photos, client work and anyone recognizable in the frame. Not every trending sound is cleared for business accounts. Ask first.

Posting and after

• Post when your people are online. Check your own Insights for the hours that fit, not a generic best times list.
• Preview before you publish. Look at the crop, the first line and the cover once, on your phone.
• Stay close for the first hour. Answer comments as they land and ask a question back to keep it going.
• Share it to your Stories. Add a link sticker if there is somewhere to send people. It earns the post a second look.
• Log the result in a week. Note reach, saves, shares and link clicks. Saves, shares and clicks say more than likes.