7 steps for creating the perfect Instagram post
Ok, ‘perfect’ doesn’t actually exist, but ‘f*cking brilliant’ does! If you’re wondering why your audience isn’t engaging with your content and if you’re not getting many comments, likes or saves - then you may be missing one or two important pieces of the IG puzzle! 🧩
There are 7 important things that make up a ‘f*cking brilliant’ Instagram post. Ready to find out what they are?
Let’s jump in!
1) Talk about one thing only
The first thing you need to do when you sit down to write is to figure out your main point. Each post and each piece of content that you produce should have only one main takeaway message. This is the ‘bottom line’ of your message.
After you start creating and writing your ideas, the first round of edits must ensure that you stay on point.
You need to be ruthless, and any word, sentence or paragraph that breaks this rule must be deleted, no matter how much you like it.
2) Find a unique angle to cover your topic
Did you know that every piece of content has a topic, a point and a slant? A topic is the subject of your content. A point is your ‘main idea’ or your bottom line/takeaway message of the whole thing. A slant is a specific point of view.
If you choose to create a piece of content covering a popular/trending topic that other fit-pros are also talking about, then you need to add something unique to the conversation, not repeat what’s already been said.
Try to make a new point or find a unique angle for talking about this topic. If you can’t, then find something else to talk about!
3) Spend as much time on your title as you do creating
Here’s the thing: even the most valuable and interesting content will be ignored if the heading (or the title) doesn’t connect with your audience. A good heading should create interest and forecast information that your audience will find out when they read your post.
Examples of titles that perform well:
Breaking news: [reveal something]
Top #5 list of [useful/helpful things]
Secrets of [something your audience want to know]
How to [do something or interesting] in #days
The easiest ways to_________
#3 Amazing hacks for ________
4) Make the first line / first sentence your best
You only have approximately 3 seconds to hook your audience and make them read and consume your post. After you have caught their attention with your heading/title, then it’s up to your first sentence or phrase to do the job.
WITH A CAROUSEL - your second slide will typically be called a hook, where you’d need to trigger an emotion (such as shock or awe). You can include a shocking statement, a conflicting statistic or provide some kind of mystery to engage your audience further.
WITH A CAPTION - you also need a ‘caption hook’. Just like email subject lines are important in getting your readers to actually open an email, caption hooks are essential in incentivising your audience to read the full caption.
Tip: format your captions by breaking up long sentences with lines and emojis to make them more visually appealing.
Examples of hooky what words and phrases spark interest:
“…it’s important to learn from your mistakes” - by using this word your audience will automatically stop to think if they are making any of these mistakes. Because of their curiosity and doubt, they will be intrigued to find out more.
“I get asked this all the time” - this is a great first sentence and hook, because it shows that you are about to reveal something interesting. As you may have guessed this needs to come straight after a question, which would typically be your heading/title.
“Oh so you noticed, eh?” - by asking a casual and light-hearted question, your audience will think “noticed what” and will be included to keep reading to find out more.
“Do you want to achieve better results …?” - asking a yes/no question may not always be the best practice, because if the answer is ‘no’, people will move on without consuming your post. However, if you ask a safe question where the answer is more than likely to be ‘yes’, because everyone will want to get better results, it’s safe to include.
“You need to do these 3 simple things:" the fact that you’re promising your audience a list of three easy things to follow is enough to make your audience want to hang around and find out what they are!
Here are some hook examples, from my own posts:
5) Give away something ‘irresistible’
Every piece of content you create will vary. But whatever you create, try to give your audience something interesting, entertaining or valuable. Avoid boring content, in other words, avoid saying what everyone else is saying.
Remember that on social media people only care about themselves. If your content is too self-centred, boring, or ‘true but useless’, people are not going to care. Don’t repeat the same content that’s been posted a hundred times and avoid giving out vague advice.
try these things:
Share some “breaking news” (and provide your viewpoint),
Tell a fascinating story,
Give a contradictory opinion / viewpoint,
Promise them some information that isn’t available anywhere else,
Share a ‘little-known’ fact,
Provide step-by-step guide / instructions to solve a problem,
Share a hack, a recipe, a quick fix,
Give out a plan or a helpful resource.
6) Keep your content believable
Your audience doesn’t want to waste their time reading something that isn’t accurate or trustworthy. Use your content to inform, entertain or add value to your followers, because they will only see you as an authority and a credible resource if they can trust you!
This means that if you present a fact or a statistic then you need to back it up with a source.
If you quote someone, make sure to add the relevant tag or mention the original author/creator. You need to make it easy for people to believe you (otherwise, they may lose trust in you).
7) wrap up your post effectively
The end of your post is just as important as the beginning! It’s a good idea to summarise your points at the end of your post, just before you include your call to action.
A summary is a great way to sum up all the points you’ve made, it also makes your post easier to understand.
If you’ve simply told a story, you can use one single sentence to wrap up your main point (or the ‘take-away’ message). Try to tie it all back to the main point you made at the beginning.
End your post with a call to action. Here are some helpful CTA ideas for you to use:
I hope you found this useful. Got questions? Want me to look at a post or give any feedback on your website? Contact me here or through Instagram DM or scroll down to get an IG & Website audit!