115. What are some Instagram content ideas?
Trying to post more on Instagram but don't know where to start? 🤷🏼♀️ Then you'll want to make way for inspiration in this fun episode of Brand Therapy! In this solo episode, brand strategists and hosts Phil and Lauren have a frank discussion about easy ways to create content on Instagram. From addressing the elephant in the room (it's not about you; it's about your audience) to speaking directly to camera, this episode will encourage you to keep it simple and start posting!
Episode transcription
Phil
Well, hello there. Welcome to Brand Therapy. I'm Phil.
Lauren
And I'm Lauren.
Phil
And this is the podcast where we help you position, build and promote your brands in that order. We talk about all different kinds of things. And sometimes we have guests, sometimes we don't. Did you just hear that I just mumbled my words, I'm trying to correct those times.
Lauren
No, you are so hard on yourself. And in today's episode, I think the key to success is actually not being hard on yourself, and going with the flow theme of the episode. Yeah, continue.
Phil
We're continuing, we are bringing you a topic today, that is one you can Google, it's one that you can find on Instagram, there are resources being hurled at your head at all different times, and lots of good ones I might add. It's a topic that you can find out there. But we thought that we would do it, we would cover it and we would bring our own take to this conversation. And the topic is because you already know cuz you click the episode listen to so it's no surprise to you, is Instagram Content Ideas.
Instagram content ideas, what I like about this is yes, there's lots of resources online that point us in the right direction for creating, but the need for this never ends. I think one of the things that people struggle with the most is being active and consistent on Instagram, I'll be the first one to admit, I'm literally holding my hand up in the air that I will get really into Instagram for a week or two. And then I find that I get so into it that I need a break after that. And isn't the name of the game to be consistent rather than going 10 posts in one week. and then 10 the next week, and then zero the next week, to actually spread out those 20 posts over a month or whatever it is and be consistent. And I think if we can talk today about content ideas, and maybe bring a different perspective to this topic that's been covered before, we'll land somewhere that our listener finds useful.
Lauren
Great. So to kick things off, before we go on to the actual content ideas, is that before you think about the how the how of posting, you need to think about the why of posting. A lot of our clients will come to us and they'll be focused on Oh, okay, how do I post this quote? Or how do I do this? How do I do that? How do I make it on brand? How do I make an odd brand, which do you want, that is music to my ears and yours to fill? Because we won't be able to stay on brand. But more importantly, before you figure out what you're going to be posting, I think you need to figure out why you're going to be posting and who you are going to be posting for. So wouldn't you say?
Phil
I would say I would go so far as to say if you don't have the why, then you're not going to have the ammo, the motivation, you need to stay consistent. The ideas don't matter. Other life forces will enter your world and they're going to rob you, they're going to take you and occupy you and Instagram will not be a priority, if you're not crystal clear on why you are there.
Lauren
Okay, I'm gonna actually interrogate you for a little while.
Phil
Go for it.
Lauren
Why do you post on Instagram?
Phil
Well, Instagram is the social media platform that I enjoy creating on the most, I get a lot of personal satisfaction, staying in touch with people I know, and honestly, staying in touch with people I don't know that well. And teaching, educating inspiring people to feel empowered to make positive changes, small steps better than no steps to build their brands position, build and promote their brands, as we say in this podcast episode. But I guess, for Instagram, I handle that a little more independently. And I love all the visual opportunities for me to stay on people's radar.
Lauren
Great and who are you posting for?
Phil
I am posting primarily for women. And I would say Well, I know for my analytics that it's between 24 to 34 is typically my age range. On Instagram, my audience is a little bit different than say a one on one client that I'm working with. On Instagram. It's more about teaching people how to do things themselves.
Lauren
Great. Yeah, I was gonna challenge and push you a little bit. But you actually arrived where I was hoping you would go.
Phil
What did you say or what were you? How would you answer that? Because you're involved in this too.
Lauren
Not as much but just from an somewhat external, somewhat neutral perspective. I think that Instagram is an accessible way to learn how to brand using your personal branding methodologies without necessarily having to invest. That's where I see Instagram for you. It's, as you said, kind of bite size information with tips on how to position, build and promote your brand. But because of the visuals, I think there's more of an educational opportunity than say a podcast, because you can actually walk people through things.
Phil
And someone might say, well, what's the point of investing so much time on a platform like that, if it's not gonna lead to clients? Well, no one said, it's not gonna lead to client. I think Instagram is one of the most powerful platforms to build what we call proof of concept, a living example of what you know, how you know, and how you communicate that it lives there. And I think a lot of people are seeing that a lot of people, you know, when you're active, and you're consistent, you're staying on the radar of people, your audience, and who knows how that will spread, and how that will transcend and affect people in a really positive way.
LaUREN
Mm hmm. So when you listeners are starting to think about Instagram, and considering what content ideas you might want to be putting into action, I would encourage you to first stop and think with absolute specificity of who your target audience is on Instagram. And I know that being specific can be really scary, because you don't want to leave anyone out. But trust us, when we say from learning with clients and seeing clients grow incredibly on Instagram, the more specific you are, the more direct you are about who your audience is, and how you're going to help them, the more you will grow.
PHIL
Great. Let's do it. Let's get to some content ideas.
Lauren
Okay. It's a big topic, really a big topic. I am a big fan of teaching lessons with content. That's kind of my favorite stepping stone for clients. Because when you teach a lesson, it's less about you, and it's more about the lesson itself. So if you're nervous to be on camera, or if you're nervous, and dabbling, and Instagram, you need to own your area of authority, and just tackle one thing. A lot of times clients will be overwhelmed, because they'll want to tackle a big topic and they go, oh, I don't think I can split that up, or it's too big. And it's gonna be really hard to encapsulate and one post, or I need to make it really, really long. But I think that it's important, the more micro the lesson, the more impactful it is.
Phil
Yes. And it's the type of thing that you experience. When you're in the trenches of creating, you'll discover that actually the topic that you think you're making a carousel on or writing an Instagram post about, it's actually too big. Because there's too much to unpack there, which means take that idea, set it aside and for now drill down and make it more specific. I think the more specific it is, the better it typically is, as long as you're aligned with what your audience wants.
Lauren
Now, for another idea, I really think that asking for input from your audience, or from anyone who follows you is super useful, because it can help you get to know them a bit more. Even if you've got a handful followers, not that many, you can still ask what they need help with, what they are going through, get their input on a certain thing, ask them if they agree or disagree with a quote or a standpoint or whatever. The more that you encourage conversation, the more opportunities there are to acknowledge people in your community, which means the more brand loyalty that you'll ultimately have.
Phil
I have a caveat for this one, because I think all too often people are asking questions almost too often now. And I think you need to be really intentional with the questions you're asking.
Lauren
Can you give an example?
Phil
Yes, ask questions where you need to know the answers. Otherwise, it becomes a bit boring to participate in this. I'll give an example. Using Instagram stories to do some market research is a great idea. But make sure you're asking questions that are both useful for you, and also interesting to see the answers to. If the questions are too complicated or it's too lengthy. I think people tune out. Maybe two years ago, we didn't see people doing this as much asking their audience for content ideas. I would say now everyone's doing it. And I think there needs to be a limit to it because it gets boring really fast. But I love when people ask questions, and I'm excited to see what the answers are. So for example, by participating in a poll by contributing I can then see the answer. Or if it's a questions sticker, you're going to go live the next day to see those Q&A on the screen, or to share some of the entries, maybe some that don't have to be all that you share, but maybe sharing some of the favorites. That's all really interesting. And you tie that back to your content strategy. So that's the only little asterix moment I would put on that.
Lauren
Hmm. Another type of content that I personally love to see is a good behind the scenes moment. I love it, I love to see sort of how the sausage gets made, per se. So if someone is prepping for their day and outlining their schedule, I like to see what their to do list is, I like to see what they do for a break between calls, I like to see what they're reading their downtime. Whatever it is, anything that's normal, and everyday for you, I think actually gives a lot of context to who you are as a person, and it helps develop your brand further.
Phil
That's a hard one for people in the moment to even identify those because in our jobs, we are comfortable, and we're used to what we're doing every single day. But I think we forget that actually, other people don't do the same thing. And therefore they find it really interesting. Even if it's boring for you, because you do it every day or you're used to it, you need to remember that most of us are not encountering that every single day. So when we look to find those behind the scenes moments, you need to get good at auditing those content, moment, opportunities. The storytelling that is available to you around those moments that might be everyday and mundane for you try and listen and notice and audit those moments, particularly when they're visual or they make for good storytelling.
Lauren
Mm hmm.
Phil
Can you now question pause, what is one of your favorite behind the scenes moments, what comes to mind without thinking about it for very long.
Lauren
College nutritionist will lay out what her schedule is for the day. At the start of the day. She did this a lot more about six months ago than she does now. And I don't know why, but I found it so interesting to see her plan, between five to six, wake up and do yoga and have tea, between six to eight tackle emails between eight to eleven work on my content for the week. I found it really inspiring to see where she personally prioritizes her work and her hours. And it's just maybe like her even more than I already did, because I saw how much time she actually put into the content that she produced for me, the viewer.
Phil
Good example. She might even think, wow, my schedule that's got to be one of the most boring things available to me to make content. But it's actually really interesting for people and it's relatable. It was this is a bit of a detour but it's fast, so I'm going to go there are wonderful client Katie from Undefiningmotherhood on one of our client calls recently said how much she loves when people she follows on Instagram do the two camera videos talking to the camera. Which for example, she does great, Juli from PaleOMG is amazing at those. It's such an art and I feel kind of dumb doing it. But immediately after talking with Katie, I went and did it. And it performed really well. People really liked that. Again, it's one of those moments where I'm like, why do people want to see that they want to hear me talk to them in the camera?'' But you're recreating the in person experience. And it's just a simple, powerful way to keep in touch with people. So my favorite behind the scenes moment, still, and this has been at least a year or two was when a guest on our podcast, Ashley Rowe news anchor Ashley Rowe, did a Facebook Live showing us what she does during commercials on a newscast. And she actually took just with her phone she took us from the news anchor desk, around the corner through the hallway, showed us the cameras you know talked about what they kind of talk about or what happens next and how they plan and then boom back on live television. And it was years ago. And I still remember that so vividly, again, to your point, how the sausage gets made. And obviously that's like, that's a juicy brand and one where there's you know, I mean, it's so exciting for people because it's glitzy in its glamour, and it's what TV shows are made out of. But it can just be something simple, too. I mean, Everlane is another example transparency Tuesday was something that they did. And I love going behind the scenes to the shipping department of Everlane and meeting someone there and just seeing the humanization of the brand is really cool.
Lauren
Totally, it makes me think actually that Phil, it might be interesting for you to start mapping out your upcoming schedule during our call days and you could be tagging clients that you have upcoming meetings with. Call it with so and so just discuss blah, blah, blah, interview with boo boo like whoever blah blah, blah. It's very interesting.
Phil
I'll try it out. And actually one more shout out to Kate from A Sweet Whim she’s been doing more Instagram lives and behind the scenes I know she's a podcast listener. So this is a little spouse special shout out for her. But she's been taking us into her kitchen and showing us how she bakes and it's fascinating.
Lauren
Love it. Now another content idea for the right type of creator is related to goal setting. I love when someone shares personal and or professional goals, and I love even more to see if they actually happen. It's so fun and it's interesting. So I'll expand on two things. The first is there's one creator, I follow her name polly__wants. She has grown from about 5000 to 160,000 followers in the past year. She's a former Vogue editor, she lives in Seattle, and she has lost 50 pounds over the past year. Her body is incredible, but I digress. Polly does this pushup challenge where every day, every single day, she made a promise to herself over a year ago that she would do 10 push ups. And she's done it. And she says like day 372 and you see the video of her doing the 10 push ups in the same place. And then she's now added on a pull ups thing where she does a certain number of pull ups per day. And not only is it inspiring to see her dedication to something like that, but she'll also show you the transformation. She recently posted a video that showed day one of the push ups all the way to, you know, day 300 and something and to actually see her get stronger over time in the exact same environment and fitter over time was so fascinating. So that's one example from a wellness standpoint, there's one creator, Gordon Ly, @gordonly he's a videographer. He's a creator, he's based in Scottsdale, or Arizona has about 23,000 followers. Every month, he posts his goal number of clients and the goal value of those projects. And he has this big board in his office. And he updates you along the way as he makes wins. And if he achieves the goal or surpasses it, he tells you the amount of money that he made. And if he doesn't, he actually says, hey, I fell short. And this is what I'm planning to do next month to catch up, which is very vulnerable. Yeah, but it's very interesting. It's also a lot of money to do that. So that makes it very interesting and inspiring as a one person business to see how much money he's charging for things. I love that, huh?
Phil
Yeah, that's really cool. And it almost makes people kind of invested in his success just by sharing it. I think repetition is one of the most basic forms of branding, you know, repeating something that people will remember about you and associate with you. I've done it while I'm here recording at the time of this in Canada.
Lauren
Tundra diaries.
Phil
Exactly. I didn't even have to give you the example. But I decided once I got here to represent the monotony of waking up looking at the same view and not leaving that I would start a series called Tundra Diaries on Instagram. It's just the first slide every day I posted. It's the same old view, different weather conditions, but that's repetition. I knew it was going to go for 14 days. And it certainly has.
Lauren
You didn't do it on the weekend, though. I saw I was missing your diary. It was missing your diary.
Phil
And that's interesting because I thought it would be boring for people. I'd like to at least give them a break on the weekend. But you noticed, people love repetition. Okay, good. What else we got cookin Instagram content ideas. And I would even say these are like creative ideas, not just content ideas. But this is if you want to take things and get creative. I also think okay, I have one, any instance where you can show us your expertise or skills. You did talk a little bit about this in the first one, educating and teaching lessons. But I think it doesn't always have to be structured as a, here's what I'm teaching you today. My Live last week, well this week, was website critiques. And I didn't prepare at all for it other than to ask people to submit your website and I'll give you feedback on it. And I didn't prepare anything for that. But I was able to use the knowledge I have to throw people ideas and I'm still getting DM’s from people that I didn't even review at that time saying wow, I learned so much and I've already made changes on my website. It's been 48 hours.
Lauren
Incredible. I love it. Adding on to that testimonials are really really interesting. Gonna shout out my girl College Nutritionist just one more time. She doesn't know me but she's my girl because I reference her and on every freakin call and every freakin podcast episode, but she has no idea who I am. We DM’d once, but it was probably like an assistant. But anyway.
Phil
Do you remember that moment?
Lauren
Um, no, but I'm sure I could pull it up.
Phil
I thought you were starstruck.
Lauren
No, I was just really excited. I think she was talking about moving with her cat and an airplane and I gave recommendations. So lame. so lame. She does testimonials of people sharing their experience in her dieting program. And it's so inspiring because some will be like, I'm 10 days and I've already lost four pounds. This is amazing. It creates such intrigue. And she'll do all these testimonials back to back and it makes you wonder like God, what is the secret sauce, I've got to pay attention to what her advice is. So I love testimonials too.
Phil
Social proof when we're sharing a client project on our Instagram, rather than putting a quote of that person. I messaged them that day and I say, Hey, I sent an audio note or a little video that says, hey, Maria, could you do me a huge favor and quickly send back a video just like this in 15 seconds, it says Phil and Lauren are awesome, whatever, right? And then I put that in the story. I don't even warn them because they're gonna be worried about where they're filming it and that it's good quality and that they sound good to look at. I do it the day I say hey, can you show me a little video like this thing and put up my story. They do. Save it as a highlight so that when someone new finds you, and wants to learn about you, and that social proof will convince someone pretty fast that you are as good as you say you are.
LauREN
And it's easy. Great. Well, there's some of our content ideas.
Phil
There's lots as I said, there's lots of, you know, other resources you can find online. But I say this gets you started with some creative branding perspective, content ideas for Instagram. If you enjoyed this episode, let's continue the conversation. I'm @philpallen.
Lauren
I'm @thelaurenmoore.
Phil
#brandtherapy is where we'll keep that conversation going. If you took the time to listen to this, let us know we want to hear from you. It's not just a conversation between the two of us, you’re in on this too. And if you enjoyed this episode, we would be forever grateful if you left us a review in iTunes five star, five star that helps other people discover this podcast that we work very hard to create. And you know how this works, we'll be back again next week with a brand new episode and our new guests. It's gonna be good. It's gonna be juicy. We will see you then.
Lauren
Bye Bye.
Phil
Thanks for hanging out with us on Brand Therapy. Bye bye
