Finding a way to create social media posts that stop the scroll can be challenging, but as your image is often the first point of connection with your audience it’s SO important. It needs to be eye-catching and entice people to read the caption – that you have probably worked long and hard to create!
Scroll-stopping posts will speak volumes about your brand and your professionalism, so taking some time to get them right is well worth the effort.
So, what can you do to create posts that stand out from the crowd? Here are some actionable tips to add some wow factor to your posts.
Use strong branding
Your branding colours play an important role in the overall look of your Instagram feed. Use them consistently in your social media posts by including them in your images and graphics. If your products don’t reflect your brand colours, consider using a border on your images using a brand colour.
Include eye-catching overlay graphics on your images
Using overlay graphics is a great way to help your posts stand out. Use them on top of images that work well with your branding. These could be seasonal graphics, such as for the festive season, or event specific, like florals for Mother’s Day etc. Or you could choose a range of graphics that you use consistently throughout your branding, such as on social media, your website and on your marketing materials, such as thank you cards and swing tags, etc. We have a range of graphics kits in our shop which include images perfect to use as overlay graphics in your posts and for your marketing assets.
Include images of you
People connect with people, so it’s no surprise that this type of image usually performs better than others on Instagram. Be sure to get in front of the camera and show your face – yep, even if find the thought of it excruciating (I hear ‘ya, fellow introverts!). You could do some behind the scenes images, or lifestyle images, depending on what works well for your business. Include them at least one in every nine posts, so you show up in your 9-grid if someone visits your Instagram bio.
Use a mix of photos and graphics posts
Some makers only post images of their products, but using a variety of different types of posts gives opportunities to connect with your audience in different ways. For example, you could create a quote post with words that resonate with your audience. Or ask your audience a question that they can answer in the comments. These types of posts can help to build an emotional connection with people and keep them coming back for more of what you do. It is also another chance to incorporate your brand colours in your social media posts and create a cohesive look in the top nine images of your feed, which are the ones people see first when they visit your bio.
If you are short of post ideas and need some help to get your creative juices going, download my free workbook – How to brainstorm 70+ post ideas for social media and start building your content strategy to stop the scroll!
Check your Instagram insights and re-create more of your best performing posts
Here’s how:
- Go to your Instagram bio
- Click on the three bars in the top right corner
- Tap on Insights
- Tap on overview
- Scroll down and click on Top Posts – see all
Once here you can explore other types of engagement using the dropdown menus at the top of the page and filter according to different time periods. This will give you a great feel for which type of posts are doing well. Once you know that, you can create more of the same!
DOORS OPENING SOON!
Doors to our brand new course, Design Skills for Makers, are opening soon. To be the first to hear the details and receive a VIP discount on the full price of the course, join our waitlist now!
If you would like to be kept up to date about our latest blog posts and receive special offers and discount codes then join our email list – we call it the Maker Biz Design Club. It is FREE to join! We are here to help you improve your design skills to create your own beautiful graphics for your small business. You’ll also get access to our free resource library which includes design resources and social media graphics that you can post straight away, or add your own text to for your own messaging. Sign up below and I’ll see you on the inside!