Whether you’re starting your business Instagram from scratch or have been posting for years, there may be a time when you have a creative block or simply nothing new happening to post about. Keeping a consistent posting schedule is one of the most important ways to stay top of mind and continue to grow your account, even if there aren’t updates about your business.
Before we break down our top 10 post ideas, let’s discuss why posting consistently is so important. Posting consistently builds a steady experience for your audience, creates brand trust, builds engagement and attracts new followers. We recommend sticking to a posting schedule that allows you to create quality and valuable content. Try using a scheduling platform like HeyOrca or Later to pre-plan content weeks in advance, so you never find yourself scrambling last minute.
What exactly are you filling your content calendar with if you don’t have any new updates about your business? It’s essential to first understand your audience – what they like and their pain points. Then, understand your objectives – what are your business goals, and what is the call to action?
Here are 10 creative content ideas (with examples) that will work for any industry to help inspire your feed:
1. Answer frequently asked questions
Although you know your industry and company best, it’s guaranteed that your followers have questions about it. Gather the most frequently asked questions and simply answer them with a graphic designed on a platform like Canva. Not sure what questions your customers are asking? Check out Answer The Public; it’s a free tool to get instant, raw search insights direct from the minds of your customers.
Pro Tip: Create a weekly or monthly #FAQFriday trend and keep the design templates the same so your followers know what to look out for on your feed.
2. Testimonials
Testimonials are an effective way to showcase the great work that you do and establish credibility with your audience. Did you know that 9 out of 10 people trust what a customer says about a business more than what that business says about itself? A great way to get new testimonials is to send a quick email to your customers to ask how they’re enjoying your product or follow up with a thank you email after your service.
Pro Tip: Break up longer testimonials into multiple posts to expand your content.
3. Highlight surrounding/relevant businesses
Give a little, get a little. Supporting local businesses in your area is a great way to get your name out there and familiarize yourself with the surrounding clientele. For example, let’s say a new coffee shop opened up down the street from your book store. Sharing this business with your followers is a genuine way to get them to notice you and even encourage them to shout out your business so you can tap into their followers as well.
Pro Tip: Search local hashtags to see what new businesses and/or events are popping up in your area.
4. Blogs
If you’re not posting blogs on your website already, this is your time to start. Blogs give you a competitive advantage to increase your brand exposure, build brand awareness and attract new site visitors. They allow you to create specific content about your product or services and the best part? They double as great content to be repurposed on social media.
Pro Tip: Pull specific quotes from old blogs to generate a new buzz around them.
5. Employee or customer highlights
There are always people that make your business shine, whether it’s an incredible employee or a great customer. Sharing special moments or shouting out an employee for a job well done are key ways to display positive company culture and allow your followers to get a more personal look into the faces behind your brand.
Pro Tip: Send out simple questions to your employees and highlight their answers in a post. For example, “what is your favourite product from our spring line?”
6. This or That
‘This or that’ content is a great way to build engagement and get an idea of what your followers like. There are endless opportunities for content, just make sure the options are relevant to your brand or industry. Think outside the box of what your customer’s day-to-day looks like and pull ‘this or that’ options from there.
Pro Tip: Include polls or questionnaires on your Instagram stories and track the results.
7. Trends
Hoping on trending topics shows your audience that you are relevant and in the know of what’s going on online. Trend-hopping is an excellent way to add a sense of comedy to your page and show the personality behind your brand. This can also attract new customers from trending hashtags and get you in front of a brand new audience. Check out Hootsuite as an excellent resource for what social trends to look out for.
Pro Tip: Ensure you’re relating this trend back to your service/or industry.
8. Corporate Social Responsibility
Whether you’re minimizing your environmental footprint, promoting volunteerism among your employees, or donating to charity, your audience needs to hear it! What are you doing to stand out from your competitors to allow your followers to feel confident in choosing your brand? Ensure you are getting behind causes that mean the most to you and make sense for your industry.
Pro Tip: Plan a volunteer day for yourself or employees and document it.
9. Influencer marketing
Having faces behind your brand is essential to gaining customer trust and recognition and also gives you a ton of content to repurpose onto your page. Reaching out to any size of influencer with in-kind or paid partnerships is a great way to enrich your content strategy and could potentially lead to long-term relationships in the end. Check out our 2022 trends blog for more information about using influencer marketing.
Pro Tip: Create a media kit to highlight why a potential influencer would want to work with your brand.
10. National days
You would be surprised to see how many national days exist. There are days for just about everything in every industry possible, from national wash your car day to national deep-dish pizza day. Take a look at the National Days Calendar and pull out key dates that you can relate back to your brand. Create engaging posts to add value.
Pro Tip: Create polls or questions related to the National Day to build engagement.
The key to posting consistently is to have a plan, so the next time you feel lost on what to post, refer back to these ideas. Contact our team today to learn how we can help you take your social media marketing to the next level with out-of-the-box ideas that can be tailored to any industry. We’ve got you covered whether you want to enhance your social strategy through blogging or take your platform to the next level with a social media manager! If you want to have a tailored social media experience for your brand specifically, check out our workshops designed for professionals at every level.
Now that you have learned what content to post at any time, try it out for yourself. Contact us, and our social media team will be happy to help if you need some assistance!
