Instagram is not only a go-to social community for people anymore. Many entrepreneurs have caught wind that it is a highly effective social community the place they should have some form of presence.
The platform’s heavy emphasis on visible content material like images, movies, illustrations, and GIFs is turning into a crucial approach for manufacturers to speak their story and message. Plus, it is a wonderful approach for companies to humanize their model, recruit future workers, showcase their merchandise and content material, and delight and have interaction prospects.
Take a look at these 18 concepts for movies, images, and different content material you’ll be able to submit on Instagram. (And for extra inspiration, take a look at our checklist of the perfect manufacturers to observe on Instagram.)
Issues to submit on Instagram
- Behind-the-Scenes Content material
- Consumer-generated Content material
- Inspirational or Motivational Quotes
- Fascinating Statistics
- Well timed or Present Occasions Posts
- Humorous Pictures or Movies
- Compelling Drawings or Graphics
- Content material Promotions
- Product Promotions
- Compelling Movies, Reels, and Tales
- Hyperlapse Movies
- Enjoyable, Lighthearted GIFs
- Contests and Giveaways
- Mosaics
- Asks to Tag A Good friend
- Reposts From Your Workers
- Cross-promotion of One other Social Media Account
- We’re Hiring.
18 Content material Concepts for Movies, GIFs & Pictures to Publish on Instagram
1. Behind-the-Scenes Content material
Instagram is a superb platform for humanizing your model, and giving your viewers a sneak peek at what goes on behind the scenes is a technique to do this. It is also a great way to indicate followers what it is prefer to work there, which is nice in your recruiting efforts.
This is an instance from the Boston Pink Sox, displaying what batting follow appears to be like like close-up (with a extremely cool, fish-eye shot).
And here is one from a small arts and crafts retailer referred to as Cherry Tree Beads. We love how this one makes use of the hashtag #employeetakeover to share one of many faces behind the model, giving followers the prospect to get to know who’s on the within.
Professional Tip: Posting candid images of your work atmosphere may help humanize your enterprise and permit your prospects to attach together with your workers, which may translate into stronger model loyalty.
2. Consumer-generated Content material
Among the finest images on manufacturers’ Instagram accounts are curated by followers and followers. (In actual fact, FedEx‘s Instagram feed is nearly solely made up of curated images.)
Take a look at the posts individuals have tagged you in, and in case you love them, contemplate reposting them to your followers. Not solely does it make the unique poster really feel good, however it additionally exhibits everybody that you just’re listening to your followers. Simply ensure the images you are reposting are high-quality and that you just @-mention the unique poster in your caption.
This is a reposted picture from ASOS. Be aware of how they write the caption: They write a wholly new caption, which features a tidbit on how their followers can get featured on their Instagram web page (through the use of the hashtag #AsSeenOnMe). Then, they credit score the unique poster utilizing the digicam emoji and the poster’s username.
To repost a photograph on Instagram, you’ll be able to merely screenshot and crop it. You can too repost a photograph to your Instagram story by tapping the share icon under the submit you wish to repost and tapping “Add video to your story.”
3. Inspirational or Motivational Quotes
Some individuals poke enjoyable on the variety of quotes on Instagram. However in case you submit them sparingly, they have an inclination to encourage your followers. If the submit speaks to your viewers, individuals like to share it and tag their buddies within the feedback. Quotes are additionally an amazing alternative to share what your model stands for, whether or not it is non secular, inspiring, humorous, or one thing else.
To create a quote picture, you may wish to obtain an app that permits you to add a photograph and overlay it with textual content. Listed here are some good ones:
- Canva: A free app that you need to use to create graphics with textual content overlays to share on social media.
- Phonto: A free app that you need to use to overlay textual content on images with textual content resizing, alignment, and positioning instruments.
- Snapseed: A free app with skilled picture modifying instruments that pairs fonts with totally different picture filters.
You can too create a quote submit via your Instagram story. To create a quote submit in your Instagram story, merely add a picture out of your gallery to make use of as a background and add a textual content overlay of the quote.
Listed here are just a few examples of quotes carried out nicely, beginning with this one from TheSkimm. The important thing to this submit’s success is that it is hilarious to their particular viewers — which exhibits that the quote would not should be fancy to thrill individuals.
This is a extra fantastically designed quote from activewear model Lorna Jane, which carries an empowering message from their founder:
Professional Tip: Need to mess around with phrases and pictures? WordFoto is a $2 app that permits you to flip your footage into photographs product of phrases as an alternative of simply including phrases on high of images.
4. Fascinating Statistics
One other cool option to overlay textual content on a picture is by posting a statistic that resonates together with your viewers. Strive utilizing statistics from your personal analysis or discovering some related to your message, your worth proposition, and so forth. (Learn this weblog submit to find out how and the place to search out correct, compelling knowledge.)
This is an instance from the meditation app Headspace, with a easy textual content field overlaying a coloured, nondescript background.
5. Well timed or Present Occasions Posts
Is one thing cool taking place on the earth or the nation the place your goal market lives? A selected vacation? Nationwide Pet Day? Get in on the motion by posting one thing pleasant. Keep in mind to make use of common sense when newsjacking — the very last thing you wish to do is publish inaccurate data or offend anybody.
What are some examples of pleasant, well timed posts? This is one from a Mediterranean restaurant referred to as Cava Mezze Grill to have a good time Halloween.
And here is a enjoyable instance from Starbucks for Nationwide Croissant Day.
Professional Tip: Arrange Google Alerts to get notified of breaking information associated to your enterprise’s business. Information tales are an amazing supply of inspiration for well timed social media posts.
6. Humorous Pictures or Movies
If you may make your followers chortle, they’re going to possible get pleasure from your picture — and should even share it with others. In any case, typically probably the most memorable images are those that make us chortle.
Strive posting images and pictures you assume will make your viewers chortle like Oreo did with this pretend textual content message dialog with “Milk.”
This is one other instance from BuzzFeed Dad and mom, which exhibits how easy an excellent shareable submit could be.
And on this one from Pabst Blue Ribbon. All they did was put an empty case of Pabst beer on a canine’s head, and it labored like a appeal.
7. Compelling Drawings or Graphics
Have any artists in your group? One option to stand out in a sea of photographs is to submit a cool, compelling illustration. They do not even should be tremendous fancy — take a look at this easy, black-and-white instance from Oreo:
This is a extra complicated one from Pabst Blue Ribbon:
8. Content material Promotions
Stunning photographs are crucial to your Instagram advertising technique as a result of they inform a narrative and draw individuals in. Coloured visuals enhance individuals’s willingness to learn a chunk of content material by a whopping 80%.
So in case you’re creating a chunk of compelling written content material like a recipe, a report, or a weblog submit, why not use a visible platform like Instagram to put it up for sale?
Merely pair an fascinating and related picture with a caption that promotes the content material, after which ask individuals to observe the hyperlink in your bio or submit description. (Once more, you should definitely make that hyperlink trackable.)
This is an instance from Staples that promotes their hard-copy planners for Nationwide Planner Day:
And here is an instance from Nature’s Path Natural, which exhibits off the completed product of a recipe that is linked of their bio:
9. Product Promotions
Instagram is not the place to publish product-centric posts on daily basis — however that does not imply you’ll be able to’t use it to showcase merchandise each occasionally. We advise utilizing the 80/20 rule on social media: 80% of the content material you submit to social media needs to be useful and beneficial to your viewers, and 20% could be self-promotional.
Making promotional content material that’s enjoyable, compelling, and lovable is much more essential when posting on Instagram. To spotlight a particular product, submit an image or video about it, after which inform individuals the place they will discover the product utilizing the product names and codes or a trackable hyperlink in your bio.
This is an instance from the web clothes firm ASOS. (Take a look at how informal and funky the caption is.)
This is one other one from Frank Physique, which makes use of a picture and a few humor within the caption to pique followers’ curiosity within the product with out being overly promotional.
Professional Tip: Once you submit is nearly as essential as what you submit. We recommend posting to Instagram on Saturdays within the mid-to-late afternoon.
10. Compelling Movies, Reels, and Tales
Instagram customers can document and add movies as much as 60 seconds lengthy, reels of a number of video clips which are every as much as 15 seconds lengthy, and tales composed of photographs and brief movies that disappear after 24 hours.
When executed nicely, movies, tales, and reels are a good way in your Instagram content material to face out. You’ll be able to document a video from scratch (together with recording a number of video clips) or add movies to your feed, tales, or reels out of your cellphone’s library the identical approach you’d add a photograph.
Professional Tip: By default, each Instagram video will begin enjoying with out sound — after which viewers can select whether or not or to not flip the sound on. Due to this, you may must add movies that do not want sound to be nicely understood or entice individuals to show the sound within the first second or two.
This is an amazing video from Purina that delights viewers with some cute pet love.
11. Hyperlapse Movies
Need to use video to face out from the gang whereas additionally fixing in your followers’ brief consideration spans? Strive making a Hyperlapse video.
Hyperlapse is a free app by Instagram that condenses movies into temporary, transferring, hyper-speed movies. The movies use built-in stabilization expertise to movie these time-lapse movies with out preserving your palms nonetheless. (Need to make your personal? Listed here are step-by-step directions.)
This is certainly one of our favourite examples, which comes from Starbucks.
12. Enjoyable, Lighthearted GIFs
GIFs are in all places these days, and other people love them as a result of they assist precisely convey concepts, messages, ideas, and emotions in a snackable (and infrequently laughable) approach. On Instagram, you’ll be able to add a GIF similar to a video (so long as it is lower than 60 seconds lengthy).
Take a look at the examples of GIFs on Instagram under for some inspiration. (Click on right here for directions for creating your personal animated GIF utilizing Photoshop.) This is an instance from Staples.
And one from Starbucks.
13. Contests and Giveaways
Are you making an attempt to assist the launch of a brand new product? Contests are among the finest methods to develop your attain and have interaction your group on Instagram. A examine by Tailwind discovered that internet hosting an Instagram contest or giveaway may help you develop your followers 70% quicker over three months than not holding a contest.
Instagram would not make capturing leads and knowledge out of your followers straightforward, however a contest or giveaway is one option to do it.
Simply you should definitely name your followers to take motion through the use of the area in your caption to elucidate the competition and even information them to a hyperlink in your bio.
Professional Tip: Make the hyperlink trackable so you’ll be able to see how a lot site visitors your Instagram submit is driving. Discover ways to add a trackable hyperlink to your Instagram bio by studying #6 on this weblog submit.
There are a lot of, many several types of contests you’ll be able to submit on Instagram. Listed here are just a few concepts, beginning with the one under from Social Print Studio. Their call-to-action asks for feedback on the submit, from which they’re going to select winners.
This is one from Root Effectively Being Studio asking individuals to enter a contest by liking the submit and following their account. Members can earn an additional entry by sharing the submit to their Instagram story and tagging Root Effectively Being Studio.
14. Mosaics
Not many manufacturers use this tactic, however it’s a extremely cool, distinctive consumer expertise. It is also a intelligent option to get customers to go to your enterprise’ account web page.
Most of your followers will not take a look at your Instagram images out of your account web page, as they’re going to sometimes take a look at them of their Instagram feed.
Once you begin scrolling via the pictures under from MyStory Wiesbaden in your feed, it might take you a second to determine what’s taking place. MyStory Wiesbaden posted snippets of a tattoo, which is a cool teaser that entices you to go to their primary account web page, the place you’ll be able to see the total image.
15. Asks to “Tag A Good friend.”
When you can tag buddies on Fb and Twitter posts, it occurs most recurrently on Instagram. There is a tradition round tagging your pals in case you see a submit that resonates with you or reminds you of somebody. This helps you each enhance engagement and broaden your attain.
If you wish to encourage your followers to share the submit with others, typically all you have to do is ask. Within the caption, embrace a call-to-action asking individuals to tag their buddies and provides them a immediate to take action.
For instance, the submit under from Hire the Runway asks followers to “Tag your future RTR BFF!”
Our submit under from HubSpot requested followers to tag their workplace espresso buddy.
On this cute video from Headspace, they requested followers to tag somebody they love to assist have a good time Valentine’s Day.
Much like asking your followers to tag a good friend, you’ll be able to ask them to “double-tap,” which is how your followers can like your picture or video. The usual language for a request like that is: “Double-tap if…”
Within the instance under from The Parentologist, she asks followers to double-tap in the event that they’re searching for a last-minute reward for a mum or dad, which is a enjoyable option to interact her followers.
16. Reposts From Your Workers
Reposting your workers is an superior option to showcase what occurs behind the scenes at your organization, whereas actually serving to your followers “bond” with the individuals who work there.
For instance, the individuals behind the Boston Pink Sox’s Fenway Park account usually repost images and movies from their grounds crew.
New Look has a extremely cool method: They repost Instagram content material from their workers, who perform as model way of life ambassadors with accounts particularly related to New Look. Their deputy supervisor @newlook_georgia and their gown designer @newlook_emilie are a few New Look’s workers who act as model ambassadors.
Whereas the principle New Look account posts principally their very own content material, they usually repost from their workers, like within the picture under.
17. Cross-promotion of One other Social Media Account
Cross-promotion of different social media accounts on Instagram is a good way to let your Instagram followers know the place else on social media they will discover you. That approach, you may get your Instagram followers to grow to be your followers on Fb, Twitter, and so forth.
18. “We’re Hiring.”
Lastly, let your followers know you are hiring each occasionally by posting a easy call-to-action in your Instagram web page, together with a trackable hyperlink to your jobs web page in your bio.
This is an instance of a “we’re hiring” submit from Arey’s Pond Boat Yard:
Publish Like A Professional
Now that we have gone over some tricks to get your creativity flowing, it is time to create a submit of your personal. Use these content material concepts for Instagram to extend model consciousness and join together with your group in new methods.
Editor’s observe: This text was initially revealed in October 2019 and has been up to date for comprehensiveness.
