Every influencer wants to know the secret to a successful Instagram post. After all, if you knew exactly what made a post take off and go viral, you’d be able to do it every time, and therefore accumulate tons of followers and likes with every single post. Well, as this introduction indicates, there’s not really a “proven” formula for a successful Instagram post.
Every time analysts think they’ve cracked the Instagram code, a post will come along that seemingly breaks all of the established rules and still somehow manages to achieve success on the platform. Even with that said, there are still characteristics that most successful Instagram posts generally seem to have. Here’s what makes an Instagram post successful (usually).
1) Be interesting
First and foremost, you need to make your Instagram posts interesting. That will, of course, look different from person to person and from niche to niche. You might, for example, post a story about an item you own and the interesting story behind it, or you might share a little-known fact that highlights an unsung hero (or villain!) from history. Whatever you do, you need to make sure that your Instagram posts are proving consistently interesting and entertaining for your followers.
2) Don’t be too desperate
Instagram posts don’t tend to achieve success when the content creator behind them appears too desperate. After all, internet virality is usually achieved organically; if someone is clearly trying to achieve viral success, it could work against them, and they could actually end up getting fewer views and likes as a result. While there’s nothing wrong with asking people to comment in your post’s description, you should try to avoid too many obvious and plain calls to action.
3) Identify an underutilised niche
It stands to reason that if there’s a niche going underserved on Instagram, you’ll want to capitalise on that niche to achieve success. This means looking for subjects that not many people are posting about and creating content themed around those subjects. You’ll attract an audience looking for something different this way. A good example of this would be the Depths of Wikipedia account, which posts niche and weird pages on Wikipedia, drawing attention to their humorous and unusual nature.
4) Keep it simple
The longer and more involved your description is, the less people are going to want to engage with your post. Of course, if you’re drawing attention to an important or charitable cause, it’s crucial to explain that cause fully, but you should still make sure that your posts are simple and easily digestible. Instagram, like many other social media platforms, offers small capsules of information; users don’t go to Instagram to read essays, but rather to engage with quick bursts of entertainment.
5) Don’t be too obvious
Nobody is going to share your Instagram post far and wide if it contains subjects that many other people are posting. That means you shouldn’t simply post a picture of a flower in closeup, for example, and write a description about how beauty is everywhere in nature. While that post might be attractive and engaging to some, it isn’t going to break through the viral barrier because it’s been done too many times before. Try to identify something that is truly unique and weird.
6) Use hashtags well
Instagram is absolutely chock-full of hashtags, and using them well is critical for building an audience and finding that successful post. However, that means more than just using the hashtag that corresponds to the post you’re creating. For example, let’s say you’re making a post about gaming. You shouldn’t just use #gaming, but also any other related hashtags that are more specific to the game you’re playing, the system you’re playing it on, and the genre of game.
7) Tailor posts to your audience
Looking for that crossover appeal in a post is, largely speaking, futile. The point of social media is to create demographic groups; people congregate in niches and consume content that appeals to that niche specifically. With that in mind, you should be looking to identify your niche and post for it rather than trying to post something that everyone in the world will love. You can use Instagram’s built-in statistics trackers to see who is looking at your posts and use that information to tailor your approach.
8) Use Instagram’s grid feature
When you’re creating an Instagram post, assuming you’re using the app’s built-in camera functionality, you’ll be able to access a grid that shows you nine rectangles. These rectangles will demonstrate where your image’s focus will fall; ideally, you want several points in the picture that are going to draw attention, but at the very least, the important element should be in the centre. Using this grid, you can align and plan your post for maximum impact when the viewer scrolls past it.
9) Keep posting
This isn’t necessarily a tip about individual posts, but rather about your overall Instagram strategy. If your first post doesn’t achieve overnight viral success, don’t worry; virality is actually quite rare to come by, and most posts on Instagram will come and go without anybody seeing them. If you’ve been posting for a while, it can feel like success will never come, but think of it more like throwing out messages in bottles. One message might get a response, but most of them won’t. The important thing is to keep the quality of your posts consistent.
10) Get your spelling right
This might sound like a small and insignificant tip, but it’s important to ensure that any text in your post, whether that be in the image itself or in the caption, is spelt correctly. If you have a spelling mistake in your post, you can guarantee that people will notice that before they notice any of the other content. Check your spelling carefully before uploading any of your posts to Instagram and you’ll increase your chances of making a successful post.
So there you have it, ten points to bear in mind when posting on Instagram, we sure hope this article has helped you in someway and wish you the best on your Instagram journey. Remember to always be yourself as there is only ONE of you!