If your business is considering joining Instagram, it is good to understand the basics first. There is a certain vocabulary that goes along with Instagram. After you've been using the platform for a little while that lingo comes as second nature, but if you are an Instagram newbie you may be wondering what on earth a feed and filter is. So, here we go, your first Instagram vocabulary list.

Feed: a series of recent images shared by people you are following
Similar to a Facebook or Twitter feed, your Instagram feed is the first thing you will see after signing into the app. It contains all of the recent images that have been posted by people you are following. You can see how many people have liked or commented on their photo and also leave likes and comments yourself. Warning: Your Instagram feed can become addicting very quickly!

Filter: a photographic filter users can apply to their photos
Instagram has twenty filters that you can apply to your photos. These will quickly become your best friends. Although some people will say that a filter can make any image look better, it is still important to use discretion when you post an image to Instagram. Always remember that you are representing your company!

Hashtag: a word or phrase that is preceded by a pound sign (#) that organizes Instagram photos
This word was added to the Oxford English Dictionary this year, so you may already be familiar with it. Made popular by Twitter, the hashtag has also migrated over to Instagram and is hugely popular there as well. Simply put, hashtags organize photos. By clicking on a hashtag you will see every photo with that label. There are two key rules you should always remember about hashtags: 1. Don't use spaces or punctuation. 2. Use them sparingly. (The golden rule for hashtags is to use no more than 5 per photo.)

Tag: someone's Instagram name preceded by the @symbol
You can tag people in your Instagram photos by writing their name preceded by the @ symbol. There is a "tag" option available as you are posting your image and you can also tag people in the comment section. This will send them a notification that they've been tagged in a photo.

Like: showing someone you like their photo You can like other people's photos by pressing the Like button or by double-clicking the image. If you accidentally like someone's photo (it happens to the best of us) you can remove the like by re-clicking the Like button.

Direct Message: a private photo sent to another Instagram user
If you would like to send a photo to another Instagram user without anyone else seeing it, you can do so via Direct Message. The photo goes to the users' Instagram inbox and is viewable only by them.  

This is the first post in our series on Instagram. If you have any questions about this popular social network, shoot us a message on Facebook!