How to Tag Someone on Instagram

Tagging someone on Instagram is one of the platform's most fundamental features, yet it’s a powerful tool for boosting visibility, building community, and giving credit where it's due. Whether you're shouting out a friend, collaborating with another creator, or featuring a favorite brand, mastering the art of tagging is a non-negotiable skill. This guide will walk you through exactly how to tag people in every part of Instagram - from feed posts and Stories to captions and comments - along with smart strategies to get the most out of every tag.

Why Tagging on Instagram Is Your Secret Weapon for Growth

Before jumping into the "how," it's worth understanding the "why." When used correctly, tagging does more than just link to another profile. It's a strategic move that directly helps you grow your brand and connect with your audience on a deeper level.

• It Skyrockets Your Reach: When you tag a user in a post or a Story, they get a notification. This simple ping can encourage them to share your content with their own audience, instantly exposing your profile to a new set of eyes. For feed posts, the content also shows up in the "Tagged Photos" section on their profile, creating another pathway for discovery.
• It Builds Genuine Connections: Tagging is the social currency of Instagram. It’s how you acknowledge collaborations, credit photographers, feature customers, and show appreciation for a brand. This act of recognition builds goodwill and strengthens your network. People and brands are much more likely to engage with and support creators who give proper credit.
• It Encourages User-Generated Content (UGC): By actively tagging and featuring your followers, you encourage them to post about your brand. When customers know they might get a shout-out, they're more motivated to share photos and videos with your products, creating a powerful cycle of authentic social proof.
• It Keeps Your Content Organized: Using the "Invite Collaborator" feature or consistently tagging partners organizes your content. It shows followers a clear history of your collaborations, making it easy for them to see who you work with.

How to Tag Someone in a New Instagram Feed Post

Adding tags to a new photo or video is the most common way to credit someone. You can do this right before you publish your post.

Just follow these simple steps:

1. Create a new post by tapping the + icon at the bottom of your screen and selecting "Post."
2. Choose your photo or video, apply any filters or edits, and tap "Next."
3. On the final screen where you write your caption, tap on "Tag People."
4. Tap anywhere on the photo itself. A search bar will appear, prompting you to "Search for a user."
5. Start typing the username handle. A list of suggestions will pop up. Select the correct account.
6. The tag will appear on the photo. You can drag it around to position it perfectly.
7. Tap "Done" in the top right corner. You'll see the tagged accounts now listed under the "Tag People" option. You can tag up to 20 people in a single post.
8. Finish writing your caption and tap "Share" to publish.

A Smarter Way to Co-Create: Use the "Invite Collaborator" Feature

There's another powerful option beyond a standard tag called "Invite Collaborator." When you invite a collaborator, the post appears on both of your profiles simultaneously. You share the likes, comments, and overall engagement count, which is a massive win for both parties.

To use it:

• Follow the steps above to get to the "Tag People" screen.
• Instead of just tapping to tag, tap the "Invite Collaborator" button.
• Search for and select the user you want to collaborate with. Note: You can only have one collaborator on a standard post.
• When you publish, the user will receive an invitation to accept the collaboration. Once they accept, the post will appear on their feed and profile grid as well.

This is the go-to method for joint partnerships, brand campaigns, and co-hosted events, as it leverages the audiences of both accounts more effectively than a simple tag.

How to Tag People in an Existing Instagram Post

Did you forget to tag someone? No worries. You can easily go back and edit a published post to add tags.

1. Go to your profile and find the post you want to edit.
2. Tap the three dots (...) in the top-right corner of the post.
3. Select "Edit" from the menu that appears.
4. For photos, you'll see a 'Tag People' icon in the bottom-left corner. Tap it.
5. Now, you can tap anywhere on the photo to add a new tag or tap an existing tag to remove it.
6. Tap "Done" (iOS) or the checkmark (Android) to save your tags, and then tap it again to save the post changes.

How to Tag Someone in an Instagram Story

Tagging in Stories is fundamental for interaction, as it notifies the tagged person and gives them an easy one-tap option to reshare your Story to their own audience. Use this generously for call-outs, mentions, and giving credit.

Method 1: Using the @Mention Sticker

1. Create your Story by swiping right from your home feed or tapping your profile picture with the plus icon.
2. Take a photo, record a video, or upload media from your camera roll.
3. Tap the sticker icon (the smiling square face) at the top of the screen.
4. Select the @MENTION sticker.
5. Start typing the username, just like you would in a feed post. Select the correct user from the list.
6. You can tap the sticker to cycle through different text styles, and you can pinch and drag to resize and reposition it anywhere on your Story. You can tag up to 10 people in a single Story.

Method 2: Using the Text Tool

1. Open the Story editor and create your content.
2. Tap the "Aa" text tool.
3. Simply type the "@" symbol followed by the username. As you type, suggestions will appear above your keyboard.
4. Tap the correct account to complete the tag. The username will become underlined, indicating it's now a clickable link.
5. Customize the font, color, and size just like any other text on your Story.

In either case, the tagged user will receive a DM notification, giving them the option to "Add this to your story." This is one of the easiest ways to get your content shared.

How to Tag Someone in a Caption or Comment

This method is called a "mention" and works slightly differently from tagging in a photo. A mention in a caption or comment will notify the user, and the username becomes a clickable link to their profile, but it won't add the content to the "Tagged Photos" tab on their profile.

Mentions are perfect for drawing someone's attention to a conversation or giving a casual shout-out in your caption.

The process is incredibly simple:

1. While writing a caption or a new comment, type the "@" symbol.
2. Immediately start typing the username without a space.
3. A list of matching profiles will dynamically appear.
4. Tap on the correct profile, and it will be inserted into your text.
5. Publish your caption or post your comment. The user will receive a notification that you mentioned them.

Best Practices: How to Tag with Purpose

Just because you can tag people doesn't always mean you should. Randomly tagging influencers or celebrities in an irrelevant post won't get you noticed, it will just annoy them. Follow a few simple rules to make your tagging strategy professional and effective.

1. Tagging vs. Mentioning: Know the Difference

• Tagging in a Photo/Video: Use this when the person or brand is physically in the content or is a formal collaborator. This adds the post to their profile's tagged tab. Example: Tag the photographer who took your headshot.
• Mentioning in a Caption: Use this to reference someone, give them a shout-out, answer a question, or credit an inspiration. Example: "Loving this new camera from @brandname!" or "Photo inspiration from @creatorname." For best results with partners, it's wise to do both. Tag them in the photo and mention them in the caption to cover all bases.

2. Always Tag with Relevance

Avoid spam tagging. Only tag accounts that are directly related to the content of your post. Tagging a big account with 10 million followers on a photo of your lunch won't get you any meaningful engagement. The platform and its users see this as spammy behavior, which can hurt your account's reputation.

3. Get Permission Before You Post

Especially when it comes to User-Generated Content (UGC), never repost someone's photo or video without getting their explicit permission first. A quick DM asking if you can feature their post on your profile is professional and respectful. When you do post it, give them full credit by tagging them in the photo and mentioning them in the caption.

4. Double-Check Your Spelling

Countless tags go to the wrong accounts because of a simple typo. An extra character or a misplaced underscore can send the notification - and the credit - to the wrong person. Always double-check usernames before publishing.

5. Respect Peoples' Tag Controls

If you tag someone and the post doesn't appear in their tagged section, they likely have tag approvals turned on. Instagram gives users the option to manually approve every photo they are tagged in before it appears publicly on their profile. There is nothing you can do to bypass this, it is their choice. Don't pester them with DMs. As long as they've received the notification, you've done your part.

Final Thoughts

Tagging on Instagram is more than just a feature, it's a core mechanic for building relationships, extending your reach, and creating a more interactive experience for your followers. By mastering how to tag in posts, Stories, and comments - and by doing so with intention - you turn a simple action into a powerful strategy for growth.

We know that managing all the moving pieces of a content strategy, like planning when to post, making sure collaborators are properly tagged, and customizing captions, can feel chaotic. At Postbase, we built our platform to solve exactly that. Our visual calendar helps you see everything at once, making it incredibly simple to schedule video and photo content across all your platforms, with all your tags and mentions prepped and ready to go. Our goal is to give you a clean, modern, and reliable tool that makes social media management finally feel easy.