How to Tag Someone on Instagram in 3 Steps, With Photos

Key Points

• Tagging is a key feature on social media networks like Instagram, allowing you to link to a person’s profile and alert them to your post.
• Tagging someone on Instagram can give credit to another user for their contributions or involvement in a post.
• Tagging can boost engagement by sending notifications to the people you tag, leading to conversations and discussions.
• Tagging other users or bigger accounts can increase the reach of your posts, potentially exposing them to a wider audience.
• To tag someone on Instagram, you can tag them in a post by tapping the ‘Tag people’ tab or in a comment by typing ‘@’ followed by their username.

Tagging is a key feature of practically every popular social media network today. From Facebook to TikTok to Instagram and beyond, tagging helps you link to a person’s profile and alert them to your post in one fell swoop. Instagram puts a particularly heavy emphasis on the feature, allowing you to tag in far more places than just the comments. But how do you tag someone on Instagram in the first place? Let’s explore the simple steps to tag someone on Instagram, ultimately helping you make your social media experience more interactive and connected than ever before.

Why Tag Someone on Instagram?

There are several different places you can tag a person on Instagram: in a post (either in the photo or its caption), in a comment, or in a group message. No matter where you’re tagging a person, the simple act can serve a few important purposes in this particular social media landscape. We’ve rounded up three compelling reasons to tag someone on Instagram below.

Giving Credit

First and foremost, tagging someone on Instagram can be a way to give credit to another user for their contributions or involvement in the post. For example, when you post a photo from a fun outing with friends, tagging them lets you acknowledge that they were there, busy sharing in the moment with you. It can also be a powerful tool for giving credit in collaborative posts. Whether you’re working with a brand or another verified account, tagging helps you acknowledge who you worked with on the post.

Boosting Engagement

Tagging can also be a way to engage with your friends or followers. Whether you’re trying to get their attention in the caption of a post, the comments section of another post, or in a group message, tagging someone sends them a notification that alerts them to your activity. This typically leads to conversations or discussions with those you’ve tagged. It’s a simple, effective way to boost engagement on your posts and connect with your followers at the same time.

Increasing Reach

Tagging other users or bigger accounts can also be a way to expand the reach of your posts. If you tag a popular brand, influencer, or location in your post, there’s a good chance it might appear in their tagged photos tab or get reposted to their story. This has the potential to bring your post to a much wider audience than you’re able to reach on your own. This feature is especially useful when you want to tap into a specific niche or community on Instagram and need to be discovered by like-minded users.

How to Tag Someone on Instagram

As we’ve discussed, tagging someone on Instagram can be a valuable tool for giving credit, increasing engagement, and expanding the reach of your posts. Whether you’re sharing a memorable moment, collaborating with others, or reaching out to a new audience, tagging is an excellent way to improve your user experience on the app (and make new connections to boot). Here’s how to tag someone on Instagram in a post, a comment, or a group message.

Step One: Tag Someone in a Post

To tag someone in an Instagram post, you can go about things one of two ways: tagging them in the photo itself, or tagging them in the caption of the post. To tag a user (or users) in the photo, tap the “Tag people” tab before hitting the “Share” button. This will take you to a new screen, where you can tap anywhere on the photo and add a tag. Hit “Done” to return to the previous page.

We should note that not everyone can be tagged this way. If someone’s privacy settings forbid them from being tagged in photos, then their name won’t even show up in the search results. You’ll still be able to tag them in your caption, however.

To tag someone in the caption of the post, simply type an “@” symbol in the text box and search for their username in the list provided. Once you’ve found the right user, you can continue writing your caption as usual. When the post goes live, you can tap the icon in the bottom left side of the photo to view the tags or tap the hyperlinked username in the caption to visit the person’s profile.

Step Two: Tag Someone in a Comment

Tagging someone in the comments of a post proves just as straightforward. Type an “@” symbol, then wait for the list of users to pop up. Start searching for the username by typing the first few letters. Then, tap the username from the list to autofill the remainder of the tag. Type the rest of your comment, then hit “Post.” The comment will now link to their page and give them a notification.

Step Three: Tag Someone in a Group Message

Another place to tag someone on Instagram comes in the form of a group message. If you and multiple other Instagram users have a group message going, then you can tag individuals (or the entire group) in your responses. This ensures messages meant for specific people don’t get lost in the mix.

To be clear, you will only be able to tag other people who are in the group message — no one outside it. This is in line with the basic rules of group messaging, so it shouldn’t come as a surprise. Typing “@” followed by “everyone” will tag everyone in the group message. Typing your message with an “/” followed by “silent” will send the message discreetly.

The image featured at the top of this post is ©Dominik Belica/Shutterstock.com.