What to Post on Instagram for Business
Do you feel overwhelmed or burnt out trying to figure out what to post on Instagram for your business? Instagram is a powerful tool for building deep connections and boosting visibility for your business—both important components that could lead to more sales for you.
Here's a guide on what to post on Instagram for business to inspire you with fresh content ideas.
What content performs best on Instagram?
With an ever-changing algorithm, this is a loaded question. However, the content that consistently performs best on Instagram evokes a feeling. The person viewing your content should feel seen, heard, and understood, like you are speaking just to them.
Instagram loves engagement and wants to push out content that resonates with viewers. Therefore, the best content encourages viewers to comment or share it with a friend. This tells Instagram that the content is valuable and should be pushed out to more people.
What are the best times to post on Instagram?
Wondering what time to post on Instagram? There's actually no magic answer to this question, because it's different for everyone and strongly depends on your unique audience.
For example, if your target audience is teachers, then posting during the day Monday-Friday likely won't be convenient for them. Instead, they're more likely to scroll in the evenings after dinner.
In order to find the best time to post on Instagram for your audience, open up the app. Go to your profile > Professional dashboard > Total followers, and scroll to the bottom. There you'll see data for your audience's most active times on the app for each day of the week!
Instagram Post Ideas for Business
Now that you have a foundation for what content performs best on Instagram and when your unique best times to post are, let's dive into Instagram post ideas for business.
These different types of social media posts will each serve your audience in a variety of ways, which I break down below.
1. Content That Builds Trust
One of the most powerful types of social media posts you can create is content that builds trust. This is especially important if you have a personal brand.
People buy from people they trust, so prioritizing this type of content may boost your sales. Some Instagram post ideas that build trust are talking face-to-camera on stories and getting personal about your own business story and background.
Something as simple as putting a face and a voice to the business, which is achieved by talking face-to-camera, makes a massive impact on your audience. They instantly trust you more and are more inclined to believe and be interested in what you have to say.
It might sound silly, but talking face-to-camera consistently in my own business led me to receiving testimonials that people felt like they knew me before we ever hopped on a discovery call.
2. Educational Content
Your educational content establishes you as the expert in your field. This content should be savable, meaning it's so valuable that viewers want to save it and reference it later on.
Educational Instagram post ideas could answer some of your FAQs. For example, I'm often asked how I plan and organize my content, so I share information about why content calendars are crucial (and even ended up selling my template in my shop).
If you're going to share educational content, here's a golden tip for you: weave storytelling into this process. People are less interested in straight tips and hacks now, but stories are what connect us all. For me, this could look like sharing how I used to organize my content (random sticky notes and Google Docs) vs. how I do it now (using a streamlined content calendar that tracks everything for me).
3. For Fun Content That Adds Personality and Builds Community
Don't sleep on content that's simply for fun! What sets your business apart is YOU, your values, and your personality. Sometimes the strategic goal of your content is to connect and build community, and that's what this type of social media post accomplishes.
For example, if you run a local coffee shop, an Instagram post idea for you in this category could be to get your employees involved and do a fun, trending voiceover. You could also share a coffee of the day or pastry of the day on stories. This content can be silly, fun, and it should showcase your personality.
4. Exclusive behind-the-scenes Content
Believe it or not, people LOVE behind-the-scenes content on Instagram. The mundane tasks that you do every day? People want to see them!
An Instagram post idea showcasing the behind-the-scenes could look like a day in the life post. Here's an example of one I posted on my account. You can either do this in the form of a reel, or share clips throughout your day live on stories.
More behind-the-scenes ideas include showing how you create something in your business, like how you knit a sweater or pour a candle for customers. You can also share moments followers don't usually see, like opening up the shop for the day.
5. Content That Showcases Your Products and Services
Lastly, this Instagram post idea category covers selling. Notice that I don't recommend you selling in ALL your posts. Selling is one goal, but you also want to educate, inspire, and cultivate trust and connection with your community.
That being said, it's okay to sell by showcasing your products and services! One of my favorite ways to do this is through "picture yourself here" content. This could look like a clip of your coworking space, saying "POV: you knocked out your to-do list for the whole week by spending a day at our coworking space".
Another way to sell through your content is by highlighting discounts, sales, and upcoming promotions. You can also put a spotlight on new and featured products!
How to Get Started on Instagram
Are the creative juices flowing after reading through those Instagram post ideas for business? Here are two tips for getting started on Instagram.
Develop a General Marketing Strategy
Developing a marketing strategy for your business is key before you post on Instagram. Why? You essentially need to dot your i's and cross your t's. There's no need to post if you don't know WHY you're posting or where you're sending people after they view your content.
Marketing strategy is my bread and butter, and I'd love to work with you and help you develop a custom, high-level marketing strategy to get things off the ground. My 60-minute strategy sessions are perfect for this. We can cover a general marketing strategy including email, your website, and of course, Instagram. Click here to book your time slot!
Use a Content Calendar to Manage Posts Moving Forward
Once you have your marketing strategy, you're ready to start posting! Consistency is truly key on Instagram, so set a clear goal for how many times per week you'd like to post.
From there, use a content calendar to help manage your posts moving forward. I created a content calendar template that I use myself and with all of my clients that makes brainstorming, creating, and managing content across all platforms a breeze.
Click here to snag your content calendar template and get to creating today! I can't wait to see how your business thrives on Instagram.
