Are your Instagram postsawesome?
They should be, because Instagram isfullof potential customers.
In fact, the platform now has more than1 billion monthly active users, and80% of accountson Instagram follow a business.
However, it can be difficult to figure out what to post on Instagram.
Your Instagram posts need to boost engagement,build your brand, and provide variety, allwhilekeeping things familiar – but how?
In this article, you’ll learn about 29 Instagram post ideas from successful brands.
Fair warning: These Instagram post ideas aren’t shown in any particular order. So make sure to read until the end so you don’t miss that one idea that’ll help you achieve Instagram success.
Let’s jump in.
Post Contents
- 1. Create Recurring Content Series
- 2. Share Seasonal Posts
- 3. Contribute to Current Events
- 4. Repost User-Generated Content
- 5. Provide Answers to Commonly Asked Questions
- 6. Share Relevant Business Updates
- 7. Share Aspects of Your Personal Life
- 8. Document Events and Special Moments
- 9. Take Your Followers Behind the Scenes
- 10.举行一个竞赛或赠品
- 11. Promote a Special Discount or Offer
- 12. Generate More Comments with a Prompt
- 13. Encourage Your Followers to Tag a Friend
- 14. Partner with Influencers
- 15. Promote Your Long-Form Content
- 16. Repurpose Your Other Content
- 17. Collaborate and Post an Interview
- 18. Boost Engagement with Carousel Posts
- 19. Tell a Story Related to Your Brand
- 20. Tell Your Business’ Story
- 21. Tell Your Followers’ Stories
- 22. Post About Your Involvement in Charitable Causes
- 23. Showcase Testimonials from Customers
- 24. Deliver a Dose of Inspiration
- However, you can also create inspirational Instagram posts featuring sayings or short stories. And don’t forget, you can present these as videos or carousel posts.
- 25. Promote Your Products
- 26. Showcase Your Brand and Products in Lifestyle Content
- 27. Unveil New Products
- 28. Share Product Videos
- 29. Create Video Tutorials
- 总结
1. Create Recurring Content Series
First thing’s first: Take the pressure off.
If you’re struggling to decide what to post on Instagram every day, create recurring content series and themes that you can fall back on.
For example, onShopify's Instagram account, they often share inspirational messages in this format:
And they regularly share merchant interviews and succes storiesusing this minimal template:
These recurring, recognizable themes canmake consistently sharing content easier, while helping to build a stronger connection with your audience.
Capitalize onholiday spirit.
It doesn’t matter what time of year it is – there’s alwayssomethingseasonal happening that you can use to create timely and relevant Instagram posts.
If it’s not an official holiday like Christmas, jump on an unofficial one like Popcorn Day (January 19th) or Administrative Professionals’ Day (April 24).
Alternatively, simply post about the season itself, like shoemakersAll Birds:
For best results, make sure to use relevantInstagram hashtags.
3. Contribute to Current Events
There’s always something happening.
What’s dominating the media? Has there been a development inyour nicheor industry? Is there a popular topic that everyone’s talking about?
Use current events and topics as inspiration for Instagram post ideas.
For example, apparel brandLevisshared plenty of Instagram posts about the 2018 U.S. midterm elections:
And it doesn’t need to be a serious topic like politics.
In this next example, the ice cream brandBen & Jerry’screated an Instagram post forOktoberfestin which they recommended beer and ice cream pairings!
View this post on Instagram
4. Repost User-Generated Content
You don’t always have to create your own Instagram posts.
It’s likely your existing following has already shared amazing Instagram posts that you canrepost on Instagram.
All you have to do is ask.
Alternatively, encourage your followers to send you photos and videos to share in your Instagram posts, like sunglasses brandToy Shades:
Many people are happy for brands to share their Instagram posts if they receive credit – especially if it lands them some new followers.
What’s more, user-generated content (UGC) takes advantage of a powerfulpersuasion technique called social proof, which taps into the influential power of the actions and opinions of others.
5. Provide Answers to Commonly Asked Questions
A question-and-answer format often helps to spike people’s innate curiosity.
Pay attention to questions that are often asked by your followers, customers, or people interested in yourdropshipping niche. Then, answer them in the form of Instagram posts.
Alternatively, ask your audience to submit questions, or repurpose other content into a Q&A Instagram post:
New developments can inspire interesting Instagram post ideas.
However, there’s a catch: Only share news which is interesting and relevant to yourfollowers.
If you just hired someone new, that’s a big deal,for you– but how is it relevant to your followers and why should they care?
Let’s look at an example.
Jewelry makersWolf Circusshared this Instagram post announcing that their products are now available for sale onThe Dreslyn:
Bottom line: It’s never about you, your business, oryour brand. It’s about your customers.
Whether it’s Kim Kardashian, soap operas, or their coworker’s love life, people areextremelyinterested in others’ lives.
What’s more, transparency is an effective way to create meaningful connections. In fact,94% of consumerssay they’re likely to be loyal to a brand that offers complete transparency.
So don’t be afraid to get personal.
The software company Hubspot has got this nailed down. They have a dedicated Instagram account calledHubspot Life他们使用展示他们背后的人brand.
8. Document Events and Special Moments
When you’re struggling to come up with Instagram post ideas,listen to Gary Vaynerchuk:“文档, don’t create.”
This advice is particularly applicable to events.
These moments can inspire tons of Instagram posts – during, and after the event. Just take your followers along for the ride.
Travel companyThe Outboundrecently shared this Instagram post about their Pursuit Northern CA event:
9. Take Your Followers Behind the Scenes
Behind every brand is a business.
What goes on behind closed doors can make for incredible Instagram posts. Fans love to know how everything comes together.
Plus, behind-the-scenes content also capitalizes on authenticity and transparency to help build trust.
Coffee makersCaravan Coffee Roasterstake their followers behind the scenes to show how their coffee is made in Rwanda.
10.举行一个竞赛或赠品
Contests and giveaways are fantastic for generating engagement.
Let’s look at an example fromKylie Cosmetics.
This Instagram post starts by capturing users’ attention: “GIVEAWAY ALERT.” Then it points out how easy it is to enter – “comment to enter.” Finally, it highlights what users stand to gain:
Plus, contests and giveaways double as lead magnets.
In essence, a “lead magnet” is bait. It gets people hooked intoyour marketing funnelso that you can nurture the relationship until they become customers.
Just send people to your website to enter and collect their email address – then you can startemail marketing.
11. Promote a Special Discount or Offer
Discounts and offersare a quick way to boost sales. Check out how surfing lifestyle brandSalt Surfdo it:
But be careful not to discount too much.
If your followers become accustomed to seeing discounts regularly, they’ll hold back on buying until the next discount becomes available – meaning they’ll never buy at full price.
Then, the situation spirals…
If you only make sales through discounts, you need to discount more and more, which devalues your brand.
And you need to increase your prices to make up for the discounts.
Eventually, your customers realize your discounts aren’treallydiscounts, and this damages your brand even further.
Plenty of businesses have fallen victim to this trap.
The key is touse discount codes sparingly and only on special occasions.That way, they retain theirurgency without devaluing your brand.
12. Generate More Comments with a Prompt
Engagement is key.
Whenever you receive lots of engagement on your Instagram posts,Instagram’s algorithmwill reward your account.
So how can youboost engagement?
One effective way is to prompt your followers to leave a comment by presenting a small challenge or asking a specific question.
This is exactly what jewelry makersWolf Circusdid. In this Instagram post, they asked followers to name all of the jewelry styles featured in the photo:
13. Encourage Your Followers to Tag a Friend
This technique is often used with competition or giveaway posts, but it also works alone.
Encouraging your followers to tag a friend not only boosts comments and engagement but also exposes your account to new people in the best possible way – through a personal recommendation.
This is a compelling form of社会proofand will help you toget more Instagram followers.
Check out this example from Fashion boutiqueArtizia:
14. Partner with Influencers
Influencers have weight.
Their power lies in the bond they have with their followers who are interested in their thoughts and opinions – and if they’re truly influential, their followers will trust those thoughts and opinions.
For this reason,influencer marketingcan be incredibly powerful.
Here’s an example from apparel brandDrop Dead Officialfeaturing beauty influencerElise Pitt– @elpltt – who has almost 250,000 followers. Check out the comments:
15. Promote Your Long-Form Content
Do you have a blog, do plan tocreate aYouTube channelorpodcast? If so, you can use Instagram posts to promote your long-form content to your Instagram followers.
If you have over 10,000 Instagram followers, your account is allowed to add a link to each of your Instagram posts.
What if you don’t have that many followers yet?
You couldupdate your Instagram bio linkand use your Instagram post to direct people to that link.
However, there’s a better way.
Ask users to comment on the post to be sent the link in a direct message. That way, not only are you promoting your long-form content, you’re also boosting your Instagram post’s engagement.
Check out this example where we promoteour ebook on acquiring free traffic:
16. Repurpose Your Other Content
Creating all of that long-form content takes a lot of time and energy.
So why not repurpose and recycle it into short-form content which you can then share as Instagram posts?
Just take your video, blog post, orpodcastand select the best bits.
Obviously, this is also a great way to promote the long-form content. However, the idea here is that the Instagram post should also stand alone.
Business influencerGary Vaynerchukis a master at repurposing content. He’ll often share small clips taken from longer videos as Instagram posts:
17. Collaborate and Post an Interview
Everyone has an interesting story to tell.
So why not interview someone in your niche and share their story, opinions, or advice? It’s win-win – you get a great Instagram post and they get exposure to your niche following.
In this example, custom coat makerKatherine Hookerinterviews entrepreneurLiz Earle.
Plus, you don’t just have to link to the full article.
你也可以提取的一些关键片段present them in a creative way as a dedicated Instagram post:
18. Boost Engagement with Carousel Posts
Don’t forget, you can share multiple images or videos as a carousel Instagram post.
所以创造性。
In this example, sports brandNikeuse a carousel post to split an image into two parts to create a more dramatic effect:
In another example,Hubspotuses a carousel Instagram post to share what is essentially a condensed listicle:
19. Tell a Story Related to Your Brand
Whether it’s movies, Netflix series, novels, and the story of your friend’s latest Tinder date, humanslovestories.
So find a story to tell which is related to your brand and use an Instagram post to share it. It doesn’t have to be long either.
Here’s how apparel brandConversedoes it:
20. Tell Your Business’ Story
People love stories.
How did you get to where you are today? What challenges did you face along the way? How can you show those things visually in an Instagram post?
Sign makersGoodwin and Goodwinshared this awesome Instagram post documenting the growth of their team over the years:
21. Tell Your Followers’ Stories
If you can’t find an interesting story to tell, or you’ve already shared your business’ story, why not share your customers’ stories?
Once again this has the added bonus of capitalizing on social proof. Plus, it’s easy to link to a longer piece of content featuring a favorable customer case study.
22. Post About Your Involvement in Charitable Causes
Sharing Instagram posts about yourcharitable effortsis a great way to raise more awareness about a cause you support.
Plus, it’s a great way to build trust with your followers.
It’ll make them feel good about supporting your brand and remind them that purchasing your products helps to give back.
Outdoor brandBest Made Companyrecently shared this post helping to raise awareness about breast cancer:
23. Showcase Testimonials from Customers
I’ve mentioned social proof a few times throughout this article, but now let’s talk about the ultimate form of social proof: testimonials.
Testimonials showcase value and build trust.
Create a striking graphic using a tool likeCanvaand share your testimonials as Instagram posts.
24. Deliver a Dose of Inspiration
Instagram is full of feel-good, think-positive, inspirational Instagram posts. And it’s easy to understand why – everyone needs some encouragement from time-to-time.
Probably the easiest way to create these Instagram posts is to shareinspirational quotes.
In this example, apparel brandRebel8share a quote from famed British Prime Minister Winston Churchill:
However, you can also create inspirational Instagram posts featuring sayings or short stories. And don’t forget, you can present these as videos or carousel posts.
25. Promote Your Products
Most businesses begin their Instagram journey by sharing tons ofproduct photos. This isn’t a bad thing in itself.
However, you need to be careful.
Sharing too many Instagram posts featuring your products can come off as spammy. Thankfully, there are two ways around this.
First,use Instagram Insightsto make sure you’re not overdoing product posts.
Secondly, keep your product posts interesting. Don’t just share a picture of your product – make it visually engaging and include a caption worth reading.
Here’s a good example from watch brandThe Horse:
26. Showcase Your Brand and Products in Lifestyle Content
Your products or services don’t exist in a vacuum. There’s always a culture surrounding them which you can take advantage of to create brilliant Instagram posts.
This lifestyle content should capture the personality and essence of your brand.
Try creating a video like outdoors brandTaylor Stitch:
Or share visually stunning images like this one from Brooklyn-based custom bike buildersJane Motorcycles:
27. Unveil New Products
Launching a new product can be an exciting moment – so don’t let it pass you by. Instead, create an interesting Instagram post to reveal the product to your followers.
It doesn’t need to be complicated or cost a fortune either.
In this example from leather goods brandWP Standard, they use a carousel post to recreate the experience a customer will have when they unwrap the new product:
Video is important.
In fact,according to video agency Wyzowl, a massive 81 percent of people have been convinced to buy a product or service simply by watching a brand’s video.
So use an Instagram video post to share more details about your products. Highlight the features and benefits, or simply show the product off from multiple angles.
Audio brandMaster Dynamicshared a video showcasing their wireless earphones:
View this post on Instagram
29. Create Video Tutorials
Another great way to use video content is to share tutorials.
Regardless of your niche, there’s always something to teach – whether it’s makeup techniques, skateboarding tricks, or how to put up a tent.
In this example, bakery chainPanera Breadteaches their followers how to make a whole grain loaf:
总结
The opportunities are endless!
So if you’re feeling overwhelmed, keep it simple.
You don’t need to tackle all of these Instagram post ideas at once. To start, choose a handful of ideas which you can turn into regular themes.
And what if you’re struggling to create plenty of Instagram posts?
Easy: just share plenty of user-generated content. Many brands successfully rely on UGC – likeAirBNB:
To finish, here’s a quick-reference list of all of the Instagram post ideas we’ve covered:
- Seasonal
- Topical
- User-generated
- Q&A
- News and updates
- Personal
- Events
- 幕后
- Contests and giveaways
- Discounts and offers
- Comment prompt
- Tag-a-friend prompt
- Influencer
- Promote long-form content
- Repurpose other content
- Interview
- Carousel posts
- Stories from your niche
- Your story
- Followers’ stories
- Charitable causes
- Testimonials
- Inspirational
- Products
- Lifestyle content
- New products
- Product videos
- Tutorials
Did we miss any great Instagram post ideas? What’s your go-to Instagram post? Let us know in the comments below!
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