How to use Canva for Instagram
For some time now you have been looking for original solutions to customize your Instagram posts and make them more imaginative: you have heard your friends talk a lot about Canva, a simple and intuitive app that allows you to design and publish various genres online of graphic projects, and you think it can perfectly meet your needs.
Not being very familiar with these things, however, before publishing the next Instagram story on the famous social network for sharing photos and videos, you would like to be sure that you have done it properly by taking full advantage of the features made available by this powerful tool. Well, today is your lucky day! This tutorial, in fact, is specifically designed to show you how to use Canva for Instagram, focusing on the procedures for editing posts and stories and on how to publish them in your profile.
How do you say? Does this intrigue you a lot and you can’t wait to propose your content through this tool? Perfect! Just take a few minutes to read the next few paragraphs and you will soon be able to draw on different creative and fun models that will stimulate your imagination even more. At this point, all I have to do is wish you good reading and have fun!
Index
- How to use Canva for Instagram from the app
- How to use Canva for Instagram from PC
- How to use Canva for Instagram online
How to use Canva for Instagram from the app
If you want to use Canva for your Instagram posts or stories, you need to know that there is a very convenient mobile version that will allow you to access a wide range of content and features but also to upload images already present in your smartphone’s gallery.
You will also be pleased to know that the platform allows you to subscribe for free to its services and thus access numerous pre-set graphic templates and simple and intuitive editing functions. However, you can also consider the possibility of upgrading to Canva Pro at a cost of 11.99 euros per month or 107.99 euros per year (also taking advantage of a two-week free trial ) to take advantage of exclusive content and of advanced features dedicated to premium subscribers.
Before explaining how to use Canva for Instagram from the app, I suggest you download it: it is available for both Android devices (also check on alternative stores if you don’t have Google services on your device) and iOS / iPadOS.
To install Canva, simply connect to the links mentioned above and tap on the Install / Get item (if you have an iPhone / iPad you may be asked to verify your identity via Face ID, Touch ID, or Apple ID password ) and wait for your device does the rest. In the end, press on the relevant icon on your display to start the app, then, from the home screen, choose whether to sign up with Google, Facebook, or Apple services (only on iPhone / iPad), by pressing the relevant buttons (you will be sent back to authentication form) or register with your email.
In the latter case, you have to press on the first field located at the top, type your e-mail address and then press the button below: Sign up with your email address. On the next screen, you only have to enter the password in the field of the same name and press the Start now button, it’s free. You will be sent a code to the email address indicated that you must enter in the appropriate field proposed in the next step, thus confirming the operation using the Done item.
You are now on the Home screen of the app. To start the first project you have to press on the symbol (+), at the bottom right: you will be offered different formats, including some dedicated to Instagram and easily recognizable by the presence of its famous logo. For example, choose the Instagram Post or Instagram Story mode by pressing the relevant wording.
In the following screen, you can choose the type of element to be included in the post or story by acting on the various items in the menu below. The first section shown is that relating to the Models and allows you to immediately view the preset tracks, divided by theme, easily selectable. You can also use the search form at the top to find content associated with a keyword and press the See all button to expand the choice of a specific topic.
If, instead of using a template, you want to upload multimedia content from your smartphone, press the Upload item, again from the bottom menu, then press the Upload multimedia content button: you will be redirected to a screen where you can navigate between the different types of files on your phone.
Once the content to be loaded has been identified, press it twice to import it: in this way, you will be sent back to the previous screen which will show the preview of the same cataloged by type (images, audio, video).
With a further tap on the aforementioned element, therefore, you can add it to the editing screen and take advantage of different editing tools that vary according to the genre of content: to change the size of a photograph, for example, you will notice the presence of some points of anchors that delimit the image itself and that allow, by touching them, to enlarge or reduce the content within the frame.
It is also possible to add effects, apply a filter, flip or cut an image, insert an animation, adjust brightness and colors, just to mention some of the features made available through the various tools in the bar below, all accessible on its symbol.
I showed you how to insert multimedia content, but you must know that for photos you can also use the Gallery function: in this case, you will be asked for permission to access your multimedia contents and you will have to press Allow to continue, then choose the image to import.
Whenever you want to add content to the post from the editing screen, you will have to press the (+) button, at the bottom left, and press the item you are interested in: in the Elements section, for example, you can choose from many graphics, backgrounds, lines, shapes, photos, videos, frames and so on, which you can insert in the same way as for the previous contents.
If you want to post a sentence or a thought, instead, press the Text item: in the following screen, enter a header, a subtitle or the body of the text in the appropriate fields by pressing the relative buttons, or choose from the predefined templates proposed in the section below.
In all cases, the new textual element will be inserted in the center of the project and you can easily position it with a movement of the finger. By double-tapping the text, however, you can edit it thanks to the keypad functionality, or change its font, size, or color using the tools below.
Are you not satisfied and want to apply other types of content? By swiping your finger to the left in the menu below you will be able to discover new items, for example, to draw on a rich gallery of Wallpaper. Finally, the last item of the menu, called Other, allows you to interact with other applications such as Google Maps, Google Drive, Dropbox, YouTube, just to name a few examples and thus connect to the relevant profiles to access any content therein.
If you want to see a preview of your post or your story, just press the ▶ ︎ button, at the top right, while for publication on Instagram you will have to press the last button (it has the symbol of an arrow coming out of a box ) and select the item Instagram post or personal Instagram / Instagram Business, depending on your preferences.
In the following screen press on the word Continue, then wait for the project to be processed, which will be exported directly to the Instagram app: from here you can then proceed to its publication through the features made available by the famous social network.
How to use Canva for Instagram from PC
Canva also provides a handy computer application, compatible with computers with Windows and macOS operating systems, through which you can compose your own graphic projects using advanced editing features.
Also in this case it is software that, in the basic version, allows access to 250,000 models, 100 types of projects, a vast catalog of photos and graphics, and 5 GB of cloud space for storage. If, however, you believe you have more professional use needs, you can subscribe to a Pro subscription at a cost of € 109.99 per year per person, which greatly expands the offer: with this version you can draw, for example, to 75 million of images, 420,000 templates, 100 GB of cloud storage and the ability to schedule content on8 social platforms. The Impresa package, on the other hand, created specifically for brands, costs 27 euros per month per person and provides advanced features for work teams and for greater graphic customization.
Therefore, if you want to learn how to use Canva for Instagram from a PC, first you need to install the program: to do so, connect to this page and press Download the app from the menu at the bottom, under the heading Products, then, in the next window, click on the Start Download button.
When the download is complete, if you have a computer with Windows, double-click on the .exe file obtained and wait for the installation procedure to complete. If you have a Mac, on the other hand, open the .dmg file obtained and, from the window that opens, drag the Canva icon into the Applications folder.
Once the program has started, choose whether to register by pressing the Google or Facebook buttons, which will redirect you to the relevant authentication module (at the end you will have to click on the Open Canva button from the appropriate browser pop-up), or create a new account with an email address, by clicking on the first field at the top and typing in your email address, then completing the operation using the button below: Sign up with your email address.
In the latter case, in the following screen, you will only have to enter the password in the field of the same name and press the Start now button, it’s free. You will be sent a code to the email address indicated that you will have to type in the appropriate field proposed in the next step, then confirming the operation on the Done item.
You are now on the Home screen of the program: to start, press the Create a project button, at the top right, and choose the Instagram Post or Instagram Story option. You will be sent back to the content composition screen, in which you will find (on the left) the function bar and on its right the content library, while on the central part you will see the frame of 1080 x 1080 pixels, within which you can compose your post.
The left bar allows you to select various types of elements: if, for example, you want to refer to a preset mode, press the Models button and, from the panel to its right, choose the one that inspires you the most.
You can also search for a specific theme by typing the keyword on the search form above and clicking on the results proposed in the menu that appears below to load the associated contents. To view all the models related to a particular topic, then, just click on the See all button.
To automatically import the content into the compose screen on the right, simply click on it. In the same way, you can apply the Elements (frames, graphics, pre-set lines or shapes, for example), or even a Background or a Style, by pressing the appropriate buttons in the aforementioned vertical bar on the left.
If, on the other hand, you want to upload a file from your computer (image, audio or video), press the Upload button and, in the side panel, press the Upload multimedia content button to insert customized content from the PC.
As for any writings, however, there is also the Text functionality: pressing on it will open a window that allows you to add a header, a subtitle or the body of the text, or even to choose a preset character set. Once you have added the text you can easily edit it with a double click inside the box.
All the elements added in the post can be selected and further modified through the functions proposed in the toolbar at the top, which varies according to the type of content uploaded. For images, for example, you will find features like Effects, Filter, Adjust, Cut, Flip, Animation. If, for example, you want to add an animation to a text, press on the textual element within the post or story, then press the Animation item at the top and choose the one you think is most suitable from the appropriate left panel: contextually applied to the content.
If you want to add a page, click on the Add page button below and another frame will be created at the bottom that you can compose in the same way as described above.
As soon as you are satisfied with the result, click on the three dots at the top right and choose whether to download the content to your computer via the Download button or, for example, use the personal Instagram mode. The latter allows, by framing a QR code, to install the app version on your mobile device and synchronize all the projects created, which you can then publish on your Instagram profile (see the previous chapter for the mobile publication instructions).
How to use Canva for Instagram online
If you prefer not to install anything on your computer or mobile device, you should know that Canva offers the same features and resources illustrated in the previous chapters also on a specific Web platform that is easily accessible by connecting to this link.
To register and start creating your graphic projects, all you have to do is press the Create an account button and choose your preferred registration method. From this point on, the operations to be performed are the same as for the PC version: the user interface, in fact, is completely identical to that for computers, therefore, if you want to understand how to use Canva for Instagram online, you can easily refer to the instructions given in the chapter in question.
