Instagram Content Ideas for maximum engagement and conversions

admin / 11-16-2021

An Instagram user can scroll through 30 posts in a minute. That’s 1 post every 2 seconds. If you are one of these 30 posts, what makes you think that you stand a chance of getting engagement? 

The solution? Create Scroll-Stopping Content!

It is important to stop users in the scroll and give them something to pause and think about. Creating a puzzle post is one of the easiest ways to achieve that. It’s a human thing. We can’t get past a puzzle without solving it or at least giving it a try. And you can leverage this to boost engagement.

Here’s one of the common puzzle post examples.

Using custom graphics, you can integrate your brand’s identity in similar posts to increase brand awareness and engagement. In order to ensure ongoing engagement, all your posts should be consistent in terms of the color and design scheme so that your audience can easily distinguish you from the rest.

If you don’t have the time or budget for custom graphics, try using a unique text font or color scheme that’s consistent with your brand’s identity and is used across all your social media promotions and business communications.

You can find tons of content ideas for Instagram in the Explore tab using ‘puzzles’ as a hashtag.

Take on a Recurring Challenge

If you are not familiar with Instagram Challenge, it’s a kind of project or activity that encourages users to create specific content following the lead of the original post. An Instagram Challenge can be a dance move, lip-sync video, or anything that encourages user-generated content.

As a brand, you can either leverage an existing challenge and put your own spin on it or create a new one that resonates with your brand as well as the target audience. But make sure your chosen Challenge is fairly simple so that users can follow through. However, it shouldn’t be too easy to be considered boring. 

People are quick to show off their wit and talents. If your Instagram Challenge gives them an opportunity to look smart or cool, you can easily drive engagement.

You might want to create a ‘selfless’ Challenge post. By that we mean that your post should entertain or engage rather than talking about your product. For instance, you are promoting your home-made hot sauce. Now instead of putting up bland pictures of your product, create a Challenge that encourages users to use your product.

Write a Caption First, Then Find The Photo

Although a picture is worth a thousand words, the message is more important than the visuals. If you want to convey a message through your Instagram post, write down the caption first and then find a picture that goes with it. Whether it’s a product launch or a story that you think will interest your audience, it is important to get the message across in an engaging way. 

This requires two things. Identifying your brand’s unique voice and great copywriting skills. A brand with a powerful voice is more likely to connect with its potential customers as compared to fancy visuals. And if copywriting is your strong suit, you should definitely use it as a tool to generate engaging, conversion-led content.

Combine a Photo Essay with a Link in Bio

It’s a great way to repurpose your content. If you have a repository of textual or visual content on your website, you can repurpose it in the form of an Instagram post. Use a relevant picture and provide a summary in the caption. For those who want to read the full article, provide a direct link as well.

If you want to drive traffic to your video content on your website or Youtube channel, you can create snippets and publish on Instagram, with a short summary and link in the caption. Since it’s going to be a preface to your original content, it has to be compelling enough to make the users click through.

And there are certain tactics to pull this off. First, create information gaps to pique your audience’s interest. Then offer some value or a prelude to something valuable in order to convince your audience that there’s more interesting stuff on the other side should they click on the link. 

Add Product Teasers

Grab the limelight before your product launch.

If you are planning to promote your newly launched product, you are already too late. People usually don’t appreciate stuff that’s handed to them easily. And this applies to almost every area of life, including marketing.

Make them live in anticipation and keep poking their curiosity with product teasers. Be as creative as you can to create an itch and then present your product as a calamine lotion.

Also, a product launch is where you have a perfect opportunity to collaborate with influencers. Let them create the hype for your product since they already have an established audience. And don’t forget to mention the product release date so that users can take a mental note and check back later for the release.

You can even turn your product teaser into a guessing game and reward early responders with a discount or free shipping.

Run a Flash Sale in Stories

A flash sale is a great way to target prospects who are halfway through your sales funnel and need that final push to make a purchase. A flash sale creates an air of scarcity. And we are fully aware of how people react to such situations –  panic buying.

A flash sale and Instagram Story are a match made in heaven. In all its probability, your flash sale is going to last as long as a Story or even less. If you have a limited-time deal, discounts or anything your prospects have been waiting for, running a flash sale in Stories is the best way to get the word out.

A flash sale post in Stories should be succinct and should tell the users exactly what to do next to cash in on the opportunity. Aggressive graphics with minimal text and a relevant picture are a few of the ingredients of a successful flash sale Instagram post.

An important thing to consider. Your flash sale should offer discounts on products that are usually sold at the sticker price. This will make your sale look authentic, raking in a large number of orders. Waiving shipping charges can also be a great motivation for your customers to buy. 

Interview on Stories

Do you run a podcast on the side? If so, then roping your audience in can serve the dual purpose of generating content for your podcast and increasing engagement, whilst helping your audience solve a problem.

If you are expecting a guest over, ask your audience to drop questions beforehand. Include these questions in the Q&A round and publish individual snippets of Q&A in Stories. People who have asked questions are highly likely to come back for the answers and even go on to share with their friends and peers.

This marketing tactic is based on a simple psychological axiom. When you get someone to be involved in something, they automatically connect to the cause and feel obliged to drive it further. 

Broadcast Instructional Live Videos

Creating a Live Instagram video is a proven way to build credibility and connect with your target audience in real-time. If done right, a Live Video makes you look authentic because there are no filters, retakes or scripts. You are being yourself and that’s one powerful attribute that customers appreciate in a brand.

A Live Instagram video is interactive too, which means you can reply to your viewers’ questions in the comments as you go.

A majority of brands use Live videos to make an announcement or broadcast an interview. However, you can surprise your audience with a DIY tutorial video. No matter the industry, there’s something that you can teach to a layman and add value to their lives. For instance, you can share a recipe, a DIY tutorial to fix a car issue, hairstyling or make-up tutorial, etc.

While you are busy doing what you do best, have someone else to read out comments or draw your attention to the relevant ones so that you don’t miss out on any important queries. 

Add Stickers to Your Posts

Breathe life into your in-feed images with Instagram overlay stickers, which have become quite popular among users and businesses alike.

These stickers are light and fun, making them ideal for brands that carry these values. Using these stickers can help you make your posts stand out and command attention. They work well for fashion outlets, cafes & restaurants, travel pictures or anything that sounds fun.

However, make sure you don’t go overboard. Using too many stickers can be overwhelming for your audience, and your message may not be received as intended.

Every time Instagram drops a new filter or feature, the early adopters are rewarded nicely. Therefore, it is important to stay in the know and leverage these new features to gain exposure.

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