How to create the perfect Instagram post?
Here are ten great steps for you to start using so that you can generate a great post every single time.
Step 1: Plan Your Image Wisely
Your image needs to make sense to your overall feed, as well as to the message that you want to share with your audience. Make sure that you get a feel for what images will accurately help reflect your message and take your photographs accordingly. For example, if you want to write about the value of getting your heart rate up during your workout consider choosing an image associated with cardio rather than one of a person who is just sitting down taking a drink. Your image should make sense to the message that you are sharing so that they both work together to amplify the posts purpose.
Step 2: Take Your Image
When you take your images for Instagram, seek to produce high quality images that people are actually going to be attracted to. Instagram is all about photo sharing, which means that people are highly competitive in not only their content but the quality of their photographs and content, too. You want your pictures to have a competitive edge by using the right lighting, the right poses, and the right colors to produce an attractive image overall.
Step 3: Edit Your Image
Most Instagram pictures are edited in one way or another. Editing images ensures that they are of the highest quality and that they are going to work together in your feeds overall look. Some great applications that you can use include FaceTune and Lightroom CC, both of which are available on your phone. These can help you turn a good image into a great image and really step up the quality of your Instagram game.
Step 4: Fit The Image Into Your Feed
Before you post the image, make sure that it is going to look appropriate next to all of your other images. Be mindful of what posts your new post is going to be next to and how it compliments them. If you really want to have a high quality feed, you need all of your images to tie in together to create a story, which is accomplished through mindful posting! You can use an Instagram feed planning tool like UNUM, which let’s you slot in future content into your feed to see which images look best together.
Step 5: Tell Your Story
Once you have your image put together, you need to post your caption. On Instagram, shorter captions tend to be read by more people so keeping the majority of your captions shorter is ideal in order to increase your readership.
However, longer posts do also have a tendency to connect better with your hot leads as it provides more value to them and gives them a better feel for your brand and what you stand for. I recommend combining the two by providing immediate value in the first sentence or two and then adding more in-depth information for those who care to read further. That way, you can appeal to both types of Instagram scrollers which will help you get more momentum towards your primary objective, whatever that may be!
Step 6: Use Your Caption Hashtags
In your caption, you can include a few hashtags either to highlight a specific message or simply to tag something relevant in the caption. However, you do not want to be using too many hashtags in your captions as this can look tacky and overwhelming and will result in no one reading your post.
Here are two great examples of how you can use hashtags directly in the post:
● I absolutely #love this new #yoga bag I purchased last night!
● I absolutely love this new yoga bag I purchased last night! #yogimama #yogateacher
Step 7: Create Your Hashtag Cluster
Only using one or two hashtags is not going to earn you much in terms of viewership, so you will need to also include a hashtag cluster in your post. You can either insert several enter spaces and post the hashtag cluster deep into the bottom of your main caption, or you can post your hashtag cluster into the first comment of your new post.
I recommend using your first comment for this as it looks cleaner and it keeps it away from your beautiful caption. In order to make sure that you still maintain the same amount of momentum, you will want to pre-create your hashtag cluster and post it within the first 5 seconds of your new post being published. You can easily do this in a fresh note on your phone, or using an app like PLANN which will help you choose the best hashtags for your post.
Step 8: Include A Call To Action
In your main caption, you may want to include a call to action particularly if you are presently posting a pitch post. Your call to action should be brief and direct so that it does not take up too much of your readers time or attention. Lengthy call to actions will be ignored, which will result in them being a complete waste of your time and drive you in the opposite direction of your Instagram goals. Instead, try something short and simple like:
● Do you love this new blazer as much as we do? Check out all of our colors on our website! Link in bio!
● Winter is upon us, equip yourself with everything you need to ditch the stress on our new Holiday page. Link in the bio.
● Don’t you love these shoes? Go grab some! #linkinthebio
Step 9: Partner Up With Influencers
If you are going to be leveraging influencers to grow your brand and they are in some way connected to your post, make sure that you are tagging those influencers in the post. Alternatively, you may put a call to action in your post that invites influencers to team up with your company. Make sure that this is clear so that your audience knows you are talking to them.
Step 10: Posts With Purpose
When you are posting for the purpose of promotional content, do not be afraid to use posts with a purpose. These posts have a deeper meaning that encourages your audience to pay attention by giving them a clear sense of what value they are going to gain from the post itself.
Some examples of posts with a purpose include:
● Carousel posts. Essentially, you post several images of products for sale and encourage your audience to swipe through to see all of your new or highlighted products. A great example of a popular company who uses this method is Sephora, who often highlights their weekly deals on a carousel reel.
● IG Story invites. If you have an event going on, invite people to join your event through your story feed. This is a fun way to offer a personalized invite and it feels more special to your audience than an in-feed post. Plus, it can keep your newsfeed free from tacky invitation style posts. Many celebrity rewards shows will use this method to invite people to the exclusive night.
● Do a Q&A with IGTV live/Channel. You can easily go live or prerecord a video and do a Q&A either directly with your audience, or by interviewing someone who your audience admires. Many different life coaches are presently using this as an opportunity to provide added value to their followers.
● Run promotions and discounts in your story. Many boutique-style stores use their stories as a way to run promotions and get them directly to their audience without crowding up their feed. A great example of this is @prairiebazaar who uses their story to sell their vintage home decor items without overwhelming their feed.
● Create ad reels using Instagram Video. Companies like Nike are using short video clips to highlight new products or sales on their Instagram profiles. These short video clips are a great way to get your sales out there in an attractive and totally relevant way, since video advertising is currently rising in popularity!