After creating an online course, many course creators may make a post or send an email to their subscribers. But there are more ways to promote online courses that help you successfully sell them. 

Social media platforms, like Instagram, are a great way to reach more of the right people. Instagram has been around since 2010 and is still one of the most popular social networking sites. Course creators flock to Instagram for its features and engagement opportunities for business. Plus, it’s easy to get started. 

Let’s explore why and how you can use Instagram to promote online courses. 

Why use Instagram to promote online courses?

As mentioned, Instagram is a popular platform. With around 2 billion monthly active users, It’s the fourth largest social media network. 

Since it has such a large number of users, it’s easy for course creators to reach a broad or niche audience. It includes an explore page, hashtags, and unique engagement features, which we’ll discuss more later on. 

Instagram has always been a visual platform. At first, it relied on single, static photos, but it has evolved to include content such as:

• Short-form videos, including Reels 
• Carousels, which include multiple images and videos in one post 
• Stories, with features like polls 

Visual social media platforms, like Instagram, are an effective tool for showcasing your courses in a modern, engaging way. 

How to promote online courses using Instagram 

Now that you know why you should be on Instagram, let’s see specific ways you can use the platform for course promotion, whether it’s for existing courses or your first one. 

Post visually appealing content 

If you want to expand your reach and increase your engagement, you need to post visually appealing content. That doesn’t necessarily mean professional photography or high-end videos, but your audience should want to stop scrolling to view it. 

Instagram offers a few different post types. The first is through page posts, which can be images or carousels. Consider applying filters or editing effects to enhance them. Images can also be graphics that include text, but make sure they have a consistent style so they’re visually appealing. Tools like Canva make this easy for nondesigners. 

For videos, Instagram uses Reels. Video is the easiest way to keep content visually appealing, but to make it more engaging, use effects, audio, transitions, and timed text. 

Real-time updates are usually shared via Stories. Instagram Stories are short images or videos that disappear after 24 hours, but you can add them to your profile as highlights so they never disappear. Stories offer unique features that allow you to make them more visually appealing, including text, GIFs, polls, quizzes, countdowns, and more. 

Your visually appealing posts can vary based on your audience and industry. But here are some ideas for course creators: 

• Image showing screenshot of your course with course launch caption 
• Carousel of images and videos showing behind-the-scenes 
• A short, free snippet of your course or mini course shared as a Reel 
• Testimonials shared on your Instagram story 
• Quiz on your Instagram story followed by “Want to Learn More? Check out my newest course.”

Optimize your profile 

Like most social media platforms, Instagram offers a business account that gives you unique features to help promote your online course. It’s easy to set up. Once you do so, you’ll be able to:

• Access insights and analytics 
• Schedule posts 
• Add links to your page and Stories 
• Promote posts 

You’ll also have better visibility options, leading to higher engagement, performance, and reach. Be sure to select your appropriate business category and fill out your profile completely. For online course promotion, you can add a link to your course landing page or use Linktree if you want to share multiple links within your Instagram profile. 

In addition, you can do the following to optimize your profile:

• Use a relevant or recognizable username and business name. You can include common terms in your industry or your brand name. 
• Fill in your bio. Keep it short and descriptive. You can include common terms here, too. 
• Highlight Stories or pin posts. Course creators can do this for FAQs, meet me, testimonials, or specific courses. 
• Use a good profile image. Select a high-resolution picture of you or your logo. 

Use hashtags 

Hashtags are a big part of Instagram. They start with the # symbol and can include any combination of letters, numbers, or emojis. Using relevant hashtags makes your content more discoverable, increasing your reach to potential learners and industry professionals. 

You can use hashtags in post and Reel captions or your Instagram Story. Create your own or use an existing hashtag–just type # followed by a number or letter. 

Instagram shows you the most popular hashtags for what you entered, but using the most popular hashtags isn’t always a good thing. Your post may get lost or not seen by the right audience. Try to stick with specific, niche hashtags for the best results. 

While hashtags are a great way to boost your reach, don’t overuse them or include irrelevant ones. 

Collaborate and engage 

Instagram offers lots of ways to engage with potential learners and industry professionals. Engaging regularly can help others find you, build a positive reputation, and promote your online courses. 

Instagram is a great place to find potential influencers or partners you can work with to promote your online courses. Working with others grants you access to their audience, which expands your reach. When you work with someone else, be sure to tag them in posts and reshare each other’s posts on your stories. 

Another engaging feature is to go live. Similar to going live on Facebook, you can use it to:

• Host Q&A sessions.
• Do a free class. 
• Interview other industry experts. 
• Show in-person events. 
• Casually engage with your followers. 

Instagram also offers direct messaging so that you can connect with others privately. You may receive questions about your course or potential collaborations, so be sure you check your DMs and respond if necessary. 

Lastly, don’t forget to interact with your feed as your business page. Follow relevant accounts and like, comment, and share. 

Run ads 

Running Instagram ads can help you promote online courses by showing your content to more people. Instagram allows you to get started by turning any feed post into an ad, but what you promote is up to you. 

Here are a few more things to consider:

• Objective. What is the goal of your ad? Is it traffic, conversions, or something else? 
• Budget. How much are you going to spend? How long will you be running ads? 
• Audience. Who needs to see this ad? Who is most likely to purchase your course?
• Offer. What are you going to offer your audience? Where will that offer take them? 
• Message and assets. How are you going to convey your offer to your audience? What graphics or creative elements should be included? 

Instagram is owned by Meta, Facebook’s parent company, so you’ll use Ads Manager to create and manage ads. You can even use Ads Manager to run the same ads on Facebook. 

Once you start with paid advertising, be sure to monitor your metrics so you can optimize your campaigns. 

Post consistently 

As with most social media platforms, you won’t get the results you want without posting consistently. 

To help you be consistent, consider auto-scheduling. Since Meta owns Instagram, you can use Meta Business Suite to schedule or publish feed posts and stories. 

Keep track of your Instagram business account analytics to see the best time to post. How often will depend on your post type and audience. But regardless of when and how much you post, you should have a variety to include Reels, Stories, static images, and carousels. Over time, you’ll be able to see what format performs the best. 

Build on LearnDash to promote on Instagram

Creating a professional, engaging course is important, but so is promotion. Fortunately, platforms like Instagram make online course promotion easier. Try out these methods and see what works best for you. 

Haven’t created an online course yet? A learning management system like LearnDash LMS can give you all the features and flexibility you need. Create, launch, and sell online courses with features like a drag and drop course builder, course creation wizard, and much more. To see them in action, try the LearnDash demo.

With a beautiful, functional course and an Instagram promotion strategy, you can sell more of your online courses.