As a business owner, content creator or entrepreneur, you’ve got a lot of demands on your plate. Along with running your business, curating a thriving online presence is a top priority.
But if you’re stuck for content ideas, you’re not alone. Coming up with fresh Instagram post ideas can be tough, especially when you’re short on time or inspiration.
Luckily, we’ve got you covered. Keep reading to discover 12 creative Instagram post ideas you can start using today, no matter what industry or niche you’re working in.
1. Craft Attention-Grabbing Reels
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Looking for a creative way to showcase your new product, service or even a new team member? Instagram Reels are the answer!
These punchy, short-form vertical videos are the perfect way to promote your offering in a dynamic, engaging way.
Not only are Reels one of the best ways to reach new audiences organically on Instagram, but these video posts allow you to flex your creative muscles. Whether you jump in front fo the camera, harness a trending audio or leverage a plug-and-play Reels template, video content is one of the most effective ways to boost your reach and visibility on Instagram.
2. Share A Day In Your Life
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People love knowing what goes on in your business and how things work behind the scenes. Giving insights into the less glamorous aspects of your work can give followers a more realistic view of your brand. It also builds trust and can spark your community’s curiosity.
For example, you could post a POV Reel about ‘the day in the life of a [your job title].’ It can provide a sneak peek of everyday reality an audience doesn’t often see. The perk is that it gives you a chance to mention what you do during your day, including services and products your followers might not be aware of.
3. ASMR
ASMR (autonomous sensory meridian response) videos are sensory pieces of content consisting of crisp sounds (like tearing paper, tapping, clicking, or snapping), whispering, and slow movements.
There’s a variety of different types of media that can be used to create ASMR, yet they all trigger a soothing response in the brain. Many people find these videos comforting, help reduce anxiety, and induce better sleep.
You can take your everyday tasks and turn them into engaging yet relaxing content for your audience. Before you skip this one and think, “There’s nothing I do people would like to watch!” consider that some of the most popular types of ASMR are people typing, chopping food, packing orders, and other everyday tasks that create soothing noise.
4. Create Interactive Content
There are so many simple ways to craft Instagram content that gets your audience involved and interacting with your brand.
Play around with Instagram Stories stickers that allow your audience to vote in polls, answer quizzes or even send a DM to your brand.
Get your audience to vote for their favorite product from your range or quiz them about how well they know your brand or team.
5. Offer Exclusive Deals or Promos
Create unique discount codes that are only available to Instagram followers, or offer free gifts with purchases for a limited time only. This creative content idea works particularly well when you tag your most engaged followers and invite them to tag other accounts.
Why not use the ‘reminder’ feature on Instagram to share these time-sensitive posts with your audience, grab their attention and inspire them to take action.
6. Share User-Generated Content
User-generated content (UGC) is a powerful way to get your followers involved and engaging with your content. Why? Because they’re the ones creating it and getting featured on your grid.
Create a branded hashtag for followers to use when sharing photos or videos of your product, and repost the best ones on your feed.
Why not take things one step further and reward your followers for sharing content about your brand? You could easily run a competition centred around sharing UGC, incentivizing entries with a gift card to your store or even a freebie.
7. Show Community Involvement
Highlight your business’s volunteer or community work. You can do this by partnering with a local charity or organization to give followers a behind-the-scenes look at how you’re giving back.
When a team member takes part in a sponsored event like a race, bake-off, or coffee morning, make sure they get some footage to share. If you’re sponsoring an event, be sure to showcase your involvement and capture content you can share on your social channels.
Consumers love supporting brands that are purpose-driven and values-aligned, so make sure to highlight the good work you’re doing in your local community online!
8. Host Instagram Takeovers
Ready to get your team involved in your content creation? Following on from our ‘day in the life’ content tip, Instagram Takeovers are a fun, creative way to show the behind-the-scenes of your business.
Each week, get one member of your team to take over your Instagram Stories. They could snap a few moments from their day, answer questions about what it’s like to work in your business or even demo a product or service you offer.
The key is to humanize your brand, show the people in your business and boost the relatability of your Instagram account. This is the key to skyrocketing your engagement!
9. Juxtapose Trending Sounds and B Roll Footage
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Looking for a creative way to create Reels? You need to harness the power of trending audio.
Start collecting ‘B Roll’ footage by filming the everyday activities and actions taking place in your business. Whether it’s making your morning coffee, working at your desk or jumping into a meeting, filming snippets of your day can give you the video content you need to bring engaging Reels to life.
With your footage sorted, it’s time to grab trending audio to pair with your footage. Head over to our wrap-up of the trending sounds of the week for some inspiration!
Now, all you have to do is come up with a post topic, share your tips or ideas as text overlays and match your B-roll footage with a trending track. Reels creation made easy!
10. Celebrate Holidays or Special Occasions
Want an easy way to harness trending or topical moments on social media? Make sure you’re across social media holidays relevant to your business!
Depending on your niche, they’ll be a range of holidays and seasonal moments that your brand can harness on social media.
Craft a bespoke graphic, a light-hearted Reel or a timely Instagram Story to show up and harness these trending moments. Don’t forget to add a hashtag to boost the discoverability of this post too!
11. Find Your Funny
Use humor to showcase your brand’s personality and connect with followers in a fun and relatable way. Memes are a tried and tested way of doing this.
The key to nailing memes is to curate them for your brand or business. Make sure you’re customizing your graphics in some way, whether that’s adding your own text overlays or even using a branded graphic template.
This will ensure you’re sharing unique, original content that harnesses these funny, trending moments.
12. Transitions
Another fun way to create engaging content is to use transitions in your Instagram Reels. Whether it’s a jump cut or a dance move, add dynamic movement to your video content to keep viewers guessing and coming back for more.
The best bit? With Reels templates, you can easily replicate and repurpose tried-and-tested transitions from other creators with ease. It’s a proven way to speed up your content creation workflow too!
Ready to transform your Instagram feed?
Now you’ve uncovered a stack of creative Instagram post ideas, it’s time to put this new knowledge into action. Start showing up consistently on social media with Plann’s all-in-one social media suite.
What are you waiting for? Sign up for a 7-day free trial of Plann Pro and try it for yourself!
