Convincing a visitor to click that “Follow” button on your Instagram account is just the first step.
Due to the nature of the platform’s cut-throat algorithm, if your audience is not consistently liking, saving, and engaging with your content, your Instagram posts will slowly start to disappear from their feeds – even if they continue to “Follow” you!
If you’re concerned about your Instagram audience retention, here are 15 awesome Instagram post ideas that we’ve curated to keep your followers entertained and invested in your message.
Instagram In-Feed Posts
Ask your audience a direct, intriguing question
Ask your audience a question that generates a fun, interesting, or thoughtful conversation in the comments. @Megsquats offers online fitness coaching services and engages her fitness community (which is centered around accountability) by asking: “How many pull-ups did you do this week?”
Ask yourself: How can you encourage playfulness, comradery, or competition in your next comment section?
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Provide a quick tip that offers high value
Know your audience, and provide a quick tip, trick, or “life hack” directly related to your product or correlated to your service/industry. Providing truly helpful, life-improving free content through your social platforms will build your audience and lead to higher CRO on posts directly related to products and services.
Use Post slides to create a game or mini-challenge
Use the feature of Slides (multiple pictures in one Instagram Post) and create a puzzle, game or mini-challenge in your post. Not only is this fun and engaging for your audience, if done correctly, can lead to further interest in your products and generate more leads.
In the example, @shereadstruth, a Christian Bible study publisher, gives their audience a mini “Scripture memorization” challenge, then encourages conversation related to the verse in the comments.
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Share an inspiring quote that will resonate
People are always looking for short snippets of inspiration, most easily delivered in the form of recorded quotes from influential people. Share a quote from someone that will inspire and resonate with your target audience.
Pro tip: Create a custom graphic for your post, including a quote from someone that’s a thought leader in your space (not direct competition), and link to them directly. You might get a mention or a link back.
Repost user-generated content
User-generated content builds upon the authenticity of your brand and the trustworthiness of your message. Aerie, a woman’s clothing sub-brand of American Eagle, utilizes this type of content frequently through their hashtag #AerieReal, which encourages its customers to post real unedited photos of themselves wearing Aerie products.
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Hop on a trend/share a funny meme
Keep an eye out for social media trends, and participate when appropriate for your brand. Using a trending meme or hashtag and linking it to your message can be lucrative for immediate, high-level engagement.
However, this can also get into some dangerous territory. Make sure you fully understand the humor of the meme, and only use it if the joke is going to land.
Instagram Story Ideas / IG Live Ideas
Share new product release teasers
Tease your audiences with photos and video clips of your upcoming product release, and let them know when these products will be available in the store. Set up a countdown timer so that your followers can share in their excitement about the upcoming release.
Teach a lesson on IG Live
Go on IG Live and teach a lesson, free of charge. Whether that be a workout class, cooking tutorial, photography equipment set up, how to do something, etc. – all that matters is that you are provided value to your audience in something that they are directly interested in.
Share “behind the scenes”, bloopers, and mistakes
People crave authenticity. Offering insight into the real “behind the scenes” of your company will make your audience feel more connected to your brand and who’s behind the lens. Sharing this content via Stories makes it even more humanized and authentic.
Repurpose your content from other platforms
If you created a piece of content that performed great on another platform (like an awesome Tweet or highly circulated TikTok), try repurposing it for Instagram. Screenshot your tweet and dress it up into a new custom Instagram post, or re-share your TikTok video through Reels.
Engage in influencer marketing
Create an ambassador program for your brand to encourage industry influencers to promote your brand and get involved in your message. This type of content takes more back-end work but could result in high rewards if executed properly.
Capture attention with cause-based marketing
Now more than ever, customers expect their brands to take social responsibility. Social media is a great platform to showcase your brand’s improvement in the world, in whichever manner that is most appropriate for your industry.
IG Reel Ideas
Instagram Reels is the platform’s latest feature rollout, and while it does fall short compared to TikTok in our opinion, the audience is growing daily as Instagram continues to remodel its platform and increase the reach of its video creation copycat.
The best use of Reels for business can include content such as:
- Tips, Tricks and How-to videos (example below)
- Real customer “before and after” using product/services
- Time elapse of a product creation process
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Looking for custom post ideas?
Want custom Instagram post ideas completely unique to your brand? Let us help! ICUC is a leading social media management agency providing community management, social listening services, review management, etc.
We currently have 200+ global and national brands within our portfolio, and we’ve been providing full service 24/7 solutions for our clients for over 16 years. Schedule a free consultation today to learn more.
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