Instagram has more than 1.2 billion active monthly users. Considering how much competition Instagram faces from other platforms, such as Facebook and TikTok, the number is nothing short of impressive. In its nature, Instagram is, first and foremost, a mobile app. Smartphone and tablet users make a major portion of the overall userbase, especially when it comes to casual usage of the platform, such as browsing it for fun.

On the other hand, marketers who try to utilize Instagram as a means to promote their brand and raise awareness might not be too keen to manage everything from a mobile device. For one, looking at a smaller screen (compared to the laptop's screen) increases the odds of making various typos. Not to mention that typing long and intricate texts on a mobile keyboard is a pain, in general.

Since Instagram is made for smartphones and tablets, there are some restrictions as far as managing the campaigns on laptops go. Fortunately, though, there are ways to circumvent these limitations and make the most out of your Instagram marketing efforts if you want to avoid sticking to mobile devices.

Use the Web Browser

It took Instagram until late 2021 to finally introduce the feature to create a post directly from a computer's internet browser.

Launch the platform via Chrome, Safari, or another browser you use, and use the login credentials to access your account. Once you log in, look for the plus sign at the top-right corner. 

Click on it, and you should see a pop-up message asking to create a new post you can publish on your Instagram feed. 

Users can choose from videos, carousels, and static image content. Instagram also allows you to upload up to 10 files, which offers flexibility to what type of content you want to share on your account.

Turn Posts Into Ads

Instagram Ads are often the go-to method, in addition to influencer marketing, as far as making the most out of the platform goes. To use Instagram Ads, you will first need to ensure that your profile is set to business. Otherwise, the feature will not work. You can make the change in the profile settings if you have not done it.

Now, for the ads themselves, you will need to use Facebook's Business Manager. It is a tool for managing not just Facebook Ad campaigns. Instagram users have to utilize the tool as well. Go to the Business Manager and choose "Add An Account." Since Facebook is the primary platform for the tool, you will need to set up your Instagram account with a Facebook account. Having said that, this step is taken care of when you are creating a business Instagram profile. 

In the Manager tab, there is a green Create button. Clicking on it will redirect you to a campaign management page. From here, you can choose what kind of ad you want to run. There are three major categories: Conversions, Consideration, and Awareness. Figuring out all the ins and outs of Instagram Ads will take a while, but that should not come as a surprise given how intricate the system is. 

Also, you can expect to tinker a lot with different campaigns to make adjustments and test various setups until you reach optimal results. Or, as an alternative, if you do not feel like you can take on the venture yourself, there is the Meta Business Partner program that presents you with experts who can help with setting up an effective ad campaign.

As soon as you finish setting up an ad in the Manager, you will need to link it with a specific post that you want to turn into an ad. It could be a story, a video, or a static image. Once everything is in place, click the Publish button and watch as your ad goes live.

You can then track the results in the Manager and determine whether to change something or continue with the original setup. It is more convenient to manage the campaign from a laptop than a mobile device.

Check the Available Tools

Running an Instagram account on a laptop opens up opportunities to utilize more tools. Some of the notable examples include:

• Scheduling software, such as Hootsuite or Buffer, to create a content calendar and set up posts to be published automatically. In some cases, such software also offers features related directly to ads, like turning a content piece into an ad right away rather than needing to go back to the Ad Manager and do it from scratch.

• Media editing tools, such as Pixlr or Adobe Photoshop, to edit content. There are only so many options that you have available on a mobile Instagram version. It is much easier to stand out on the platform with high-quality content that you can create on your computer and then post directly to the Instagram feed.

• Tracking tools, such as Creator Studio, to keep an eye on various metrics. As already mentioned, the Business Ad Manager has some neat tracking capabilities, but it is often not enough to gain insightful data, which is why many brands turn to additional software.

Prepare the Device

Neither of the tools mentioned in the previous sections should put a toll on your laptop's performance. You do not need a high-end device to manage Instagram due to how few resources the whole thing requires.

Nevertheless, you should still not underestimate the importance of making sure that your laptop is optimized. Create enough free space on the hard drive, run antivirus software to avoid cybersecurity threats, confirm that the Wi-Fi signal is strong enough, and so on. 

The better your laptop performs, the fewer issues you can expect down the line while using the device to manage your Instagram.

Conclusion

All in all, this guide ought to be enough to give you an idea of what you need to do to run Instagram campaigns on a laptop. If you are tired of doing everything on a smartphone or tablet, move away from a mobile device. The transition is simple enough, and many fundamental aspects are virtually the same or not that different.