Your Complete Guide To Content Formats On Instagram
When you publish content on Instagram, you’re spoilt for choice when it comes to format. But in the midst of all these different types of posts, you may find yourself wavering in your content strategy: would a video be more effective than a photo? Should it be a post or a story? And why not a live broadcast?
With a number of different formats on Instagram, we’ve put together a list of the different formats, and examples of what to post on each.
We’ll break these down for you below:
Images
Images are indeed the basic format on Instagram. When it was created, the idea was above all to show people’s daily life in its most beautiful light: pretty shots of breakfast, family walks, or incredible sunsets.
Today, Instagram images are much more than that: they serve as a branding tool, both personal and professional. Brands share photos of their products, artists post their photos, drawings or graphic illustrations, and influencers show and define their brand image through photos of their daily lives.
What to use Images for?
- Infographics
- Checklists
- Memes/Tweets
- Personal
Carousel Posts
The carousel can feature a mix of photos and/or videos. So it can be useful for many aspects of your Instagram strategy: showcasing an entire product line, expressing your creativity with aesthetically pleasing and consistent content, or storytelling with photo dumping.
What to use Carousels for?
- How-To’s
- Detailed Tutorials
- Storytelling
- Case Studies
Reels
Today, video is the best way to keep users’ attention on Instagram. Not to mention that video on Instagram can take many different forms: reels, stories or lives, each type of video can be very useful in your content strategy. Whether it’s to increase your brand awareness, engage with your community or grow it, right now, video is king on social media.
What to use Reels for?
- Short Tutorials
- Trends
- Education
- Entertainment
Stories
The story is the most instantaneous Instagram publication, as it will only remain accessible for 24 hours organically. Stories appear at the top of users’ news feed, with the most recent ones first: it is therefore a format that requires a more regular publication than the others, ideally once a day, to reach its audience.
What to use Stories for?
- Promotional
- Personal
- Engaging
- Build Community
As you can see, Instagram is full of opportunities to publish creative, engaging and authentic content on its platform. Need guidance with your Instagram strategy? Let us help you. Click here to get started.