1 Month of Instagram Content
As a small business that offers a service instead of a product, I used to have a really hard time trying to figure out what to post on social media. I struggled mostly with Instagram content because people expect you to post anywhere from 1-3 times a day, 5-7 days a week. If you’re not a photographer shooting all of the time, or you don’t have product to show pictures of, how are you supposed to generate enough content to be able to post at least once a day?!
I struggled with this for a long time. So one day, I sat down and brainstormed some post ideas that I started implementing in my Instagram routine. Within a couple of days, I started seeing huge results! Generating content Instagram does not have to be hard. Sometimes all you need is a little inspiration! So I want to inspire you and give you some ideas that you can implement into your Instagram schedule starting TODAY!
What Kind of Instagram Content Should You Share?
Talk About Yourself & Share Stories
Don’t be afraid to talk about yourself on your Instagram feed! Your followers aren’t following you just because of your business; they want to get to know the heart behind your business! I have heard that you want to have at least one picture of you with an “About Me” blurb in your top 9 images on your Instagram feed. You want your followers to be able to know who you are and what you do without having to search through tons of images. Make it clear immediately to anyone who stumbles upon your feed. You can share your how you got started, fun facts, or tales of your travels around the world. Also, don’t be afraid to share stories with your audience. A personal story that you can turn into a lesson is always a great read!
*Quick tip: Everyone posts their “About Me” images on Fridays, but I encourage you to mix it up a bit! If you scroll through your feed and see 10 #fridayintroductions in a row, you probably won’t read them all. If you scroll through on Tuesday and only see one, you’re more likely to stop and read the caption. You want your post to stand out!
Share a Favorite Quote
Include a graphic of one of your favorite quotes somewhere in your top 9-12 images. Find something that inspires you and write about that in the caption. Talk about how it makes you feel, or how you relate to that quote. These posts can be really rewarding because this is how you can really reach others by encouraging or inspiring them. You will be surprised who you are able to lift up with these posts!
Share a Testimonial & Client Images
This one is KEY for a service-based business! Most of my clients initially reached out to me due to word of mouth referrals, so it’s important that you’re sharing testimonials. Ask your long-term clients for a testimonial and ask permission to use one of their headshots. I guarantee they will be more than happy to help you out!
Also, don’t be afraid to ask your clients if you can repost their images! However, if you do this, you MUST give credit and you MUST get their permission first! Before I repost any of my clients images I always ask permission and let them know that I will give them credit. Respect your clients and their work. Since we are a service-based business and we aren’t able to create new daily content for ourselves, it is completely fine to ask your clients if you can help promote their work by reposting one of their images. This not only helps to promote them and their work, but it helps you to mix up your images and it helps to create sort-of a mini portfolio where you can give your followers an idea of what your style is like.
Share a Blog Post
It doesn’t even have to be a recent blog post! The best thing about keeping up with a blog is that you can always share old posts with your audience as it continues to grow. Some of your long-time followers may have already seen or read it, but all of your new followers may have completely missed it! Don’t be afraid to re-share some of your old material for newcomers.
Share Fun Facts & Quick Tips
Don’t feel like you have to say something super profound in every single Instagram post. It’s perfectly fine to give a quick fun fact about yourself or your business! You can also share quick tips about what it is you do for people who are in the same industry. If you get a particular question over and over, share the answer in a post!
Share Your Goals & Struggles
Sharing your aspirations on social media can sometimes help to keep you accountable for those goals. This is why people frequently share their monthly or yearly goals on their blogs. If they put it out there for everyone to see, they’re more likely to do it! Also feel free to share something you’re struggling with. If it’s a deep, personal struggle, that you’re still working through, don’t feel like you have to share it with the world (unless you need that or feel ready). Keep it related to business or lightly personal. For example, you could share about how you’re struggling to maintain balance between work and spending time with family. Don’t be afraid to ask your followers for advice on how to handle something you’re battling. Sharing your vulnerabilities is not a bad thing, and frequently you can find community and support when you do so.
Share a Freebie & Thank Your Followers
Put together a useful or fun freebie for your followers! They’ve invested in you and your business, and you need to give back to them! Not to mention, a freebie is an excellent way to start growing your mailing list 🙂 Give your followers a shoutout and take the time to mention how much you appreciate their support. You can also thank them with a fun giveaway!
If you’re struggling to find images to pair with your posts, you may want to consider investing in stock photography! Check out this blog post to find out some of my favorite styled stock websites for free stock photography. You can also find out how to create 30+ images from one SC Stockshop desktop flatlay by clicking here.
Are there other things you love to share on your Instagram feed that I didn’t mention above? Feel free to comment below and let me know because I’d love to know if you’ve found other ideas for Instagram content that has worked well for you!
These are fantastic ideas for Instagram! I love that you shared a month’s worth of post ideas for others to try. That is very generous of you. I am definitely going to save this for future reference. Thank you so much!
Ooh! As a photographer and a slow to start instagrammer I really appreciate seeing a calendar like this to really break it all down and make it simple for me. These are all great ideas and very helpful for someone looking to have an engaged and authentic relationship with their followers
These are fantastic ideas. I have duly noted a few. Thanks for sharing!
This is a great post! I love reading about my favorite photographers and friends, and our biggest posts are typically the ones about us. Thanks for sharing!
These are fantastic tips for photographers and business owners too! Thank you so much for sharing!
What amazing and useful information!! I’m totally going to bookmark this! Thanks so much for sharing!
Your resources for instagram diagram is awesome! I schedule my posts but I usually just do my client images and need to do more than that. But mommyhood is hard to get that going! But I love your suggestions!
Wow, this is so helpful to photographers like myself. Seems like an awesome motivation!
Emily! You always have such great resources for everyone. I really love the one about sharing reviews from clients! I actually never thought of that and may do that! Thank you so much for sharing about what kind go Instagram content will help us brand and grow our businesses!
Great ideas! I am always struggling to come up with a way to keep my Instagram feed exciting for my followers! Thank you for being so generous!
These are great suggestions. I just spent the morning planning out my next whole month of social media posts, having these tips will certainly be helpful!
Thank you so much for sharing! This is a perfect monthly insta layout for my photography business… I just started instagram a few months ago and struggle knowing how to cohesively post. This is so helpful!
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