I got a lot of great feedback on 31 Days of Facebook Posts, where I shared a month’s worth of content ideas to get the engagement popping on your brand’s Facebook page.
We conquered Facebook, so why not master Instagram next?
The highly-visual platform is one of my favorites for driving traffic, but it’s not the most intuitive to master. To help get you going, I put together 14 fool-proof Instagram post ideas + caption copy you can swipe and customize to fit your brand.
Want to skip right to the fun part? Get your 14 days of posts & swipe copy by clicking here.
If you need a crash course on how to get the most from your Instagram account, read on.
Timing is everything
Instagram recently changed its algorithm to show posts out of chronological order. This means your fans don’t always see your most recent posts at the top of their feed.
Even so, the posting time of your posts still matters a lot.
Some of the brands I work with consistently get double the engagement when they post in the evening versus when they post in the morning. This makes sense, as lots of people spend their evenings on the couch casually scrolling through their Instagram feed.
Want to know what time the majority of your followers are using the platform? It’s one of the many stats to can unlock when you switch to an Instagram Business account.
Follow and be followed
So many new users are hesitant to follow others. They don’t want their ‘Following’ count to be—gasp!—higher than their ‘Follower’ count.
This is just plain silly. Do you really want to miss out on eyeballs on your posts simply because you’re too vain to follow others?
Especially when you’re just starting out, following others is key to building your following. And hey, if you’re that concerned about following too many people, you should be busting your butt creating amazing content so that when people find you they can’t resist hitting the Follow button.
Change up your hashtags
Finally, keep your hashtag game fresh.
I’m totally guilty of falling back on the same old 5-10 hashtags I always use: #marketing, #socialmedia and the like.
But if you’re always using the same set of hashtags, you’re severely limiting your reach.
Try to think outside the box about other relevant venues from which you can pull hashtags. For example, on the post below, I used strictly social media and business related hashtags.
To reach a wider audience, I could have included broader hashtags like #desk, #workspace, #selfemployed or #solopreneur.
Alright, you’ve got the basics under your belt. Now it’s time to get crackin’!
Your 14 days of Instagram post ideas are below, and you can get your swipe copy by putting in your details at the end of this post.
Day 1: Pro tip
Use your expertise to share a useful tip that will help your audience. It can be built around a question you’re asked often by customers. If you’re a bookkeeper, share a tip for tracking tax deductions. If you’re a home inspector, share a tip for spotting mold.
Day 2: Common misconception
Share a common misconception about your field. What do people always assume to be true that’s actually far from it?
Day 3: Behind the scenes
Share a snapshot of what’s going on in your day-to-day world. It might be the construction process behind your latest renovation, the messy studio where you develop photographs, or the coding of your brand new app.
Day 4: Weigh in
Ask your audience for help making a decision. It could be anything from selecting your newest website header to choosing the color for your next product to picking which sale they’d rather get on Black Friday.
Day 5: Ask us anything
Open the floor to your audience and let them ask you anything they want about your industry. This is a great time to show your expertise answering a variety of questions. For the picture, you might use a headshot of the person who’ll be answering questions.
Day 6: Little known fact
What’s something the general public doesn’t know about you or your business? Spill the details in today’s post.
Day 7: Best thing about my job
Take a moment to share why it is that you love what you do. Let your followers see a little bit of your passion.
Day 8: Super fan shoutout
Pay a little tribute to one of your loyal customers. Ask for their permission to snap a photo next time you work together, then use their Insta handle to tag them.
Day 9: Quotable quote
Share a quote that motivates you or pertains to your business. Use Canva or the Word Swag app to make professional looking quote graphics in a few clicks or taps.
Day 10: Flash sale
Surprise your followers (and encourage those tire-kickers to finally make a purchase) with a limited time sale. It might be a percentage off their next purchase, or a specific dollar value off an item.
Day 11: Follower repost
Reposting the content of others is a great way to build goodwill and good Insta karma. Use an app like Repost to grab an Insta-pic you like and share it with your own followers.
Day 12: Expert hack
Share a secret hack for getting ahead in your field. Is there a certain time people can shop to get the best deal? Any red flags that indicate a bad purchase? Let your followers in on it.
Day 13: Sneak peek
Let your followers in on something that’s currently in the works or coming soon in your business.
A photo posted by Four Seasons New York Downtown (@fsnydowntown) on
Day 14: Fab freebie
End things on a high note by giving your followers something for free. Bonus points if it’s an opt-in that gets people to join your email list!
Want written-for-you caption text for each of these posts? Just click here and save the download to your computer when you’re prompted to. Make sure pop-ups are enabled for this site.
Tami Brehse
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