Biggest Instagram Content Creation Secrets

Instagram content is perhaps the most important part of your Instagram marketing strategy.

What you are going to share is going to determine whether or not you are going to grow or struggle.

So, the question is how are you going to create Instagram content that gets you great results? Well, that is exactly what I’m going to show you in this article.

Here’s what we’re going to cover:

So, are you ready to begin? If so, let’s dive in…

Think Like A Publisher And Not A Promoter

This is probably the biggest Instagram content creation secret that I am going to share with you if you’re one of those brands that just find it alright to sell all the time.

Instagram content that sells doesn’t attract anybody. Everybody just finds all of the “50% off” posts annoying, and they don’t attract any new customers to your business.

So, if you want to grow a real following, you better start being valuable and sell OFF the platform, not on it.

The only exception might be a launch or something that happens only a few times.

However, here is the catch. You NEED to share offers with your dream customers if you want to make sales and drive traffic.

So, how are you going to combine these two together? The answers are:

In-content promotion
The 80/20 content rule

Now, let’s dive more in-depth into how both of these things work. The first of the Instagram content creation secrets for promotion is doing it in a VALUABLE post that you share.

That means, for example, when you share a video, the video is going to have a call to action at the end of it.

This is working because, first, the call to action for the offer doesn’t interrupt the main flow of the message, and second, because you actually deliver value in the post and the offer acts as a relevant addition to the value you shared if they want to take it a step further.

But now, let’s move on to the second Instagram content creation secret when it comes to promoting which is the 80/20 content rule.

This rule is working like this:

80% of content = value
20% of content = promotion

That means, if you share 10 posts a week, 8 of those posts are going to be purely valuable (with in-content promotion) and the last 2 posts can be promotional like this:

Example of a promotional psot on Instagram

This is working because people want to buy, they just hate to be sold all the time (especially if they can’t buy.)

But when you promote only 20% of the time, they will be fully aware that there is an offer, and when they see it frequently enough, they are likely going to buy.

And they will keep on following you and building strong relationships with you as you share a ton of value as well.

Isn’t that just incredible?

But now, let’s move on to another Instagram content creation secret for your brand, which is…

Use Trends, Don’t Be Used By Them

This is a huge Instagram content creation secret, especially if you are the person that jumps on every trend the moment it appears, regardless of what it is.

That’s terribly wrong and can seriously hurt your brand. Just imagine a business lawyer dancing on reels.

You wouldn’t want a person like that to be with you in a court, right? Of course not.

You’d want somebody tough. But dancing on reels was and still is a huge trend. So, why is it a bad idea for the lawyer to leverage it when it would mean a lot of exposure for him or her?

It would mean wrong exposure. They’d likely just attract some kids who enjoy it and with which is Instagram flooded with.

And if they’d be seen by a real business owner who needs a lawyer, do you think they’d want somebody dancing on reels to represent them in court?

In the end, it is not as much about exposure as about attracting the right people. Remember that.

So, only leverage trends when they are relevant to your brand and your dream customers.

And now let’s move on to another Instagram content creation secret which is…

Follow The 40-40-20 Content Strategy

This Instagram content creation secret is really important and you need to follow it if you want to get results.

This Instagram content strategy consists of 3 steps and it is aligned with the 80/20 Instagram content rule so that you get the best results:

40% of content = attraction content
40% of content = nurturing content
20% of content = promotional content

Let’s talk a bit about each of these content parts. First, attraction content is the type of content where you are going to share something that gets you the most exposure.

It can be reels, or single-image posts, that are of a certain type (infographics, pointing reels, etc.) that get a ton of exposure but don’t help you build a big authority or strong relationships with your dream customers.

Example of the best reel tips for a ton of views reach post

This is going to be the content type that is going to bring new dream customers to your brand and make them follow you. But getting people to follow you is just the beginning.

You also need o build strong relationships with them, and earn their trust.

That’s why you also need to create nurturing content. this is the content type that is going to make your brand relatable, and also it is going to help you build authority.

Any social proof, a story that you have, personal accomplishment, personal experience, some behind-the-scenes moment, or real, in-depth educational piece of content that is going to help you show you know what you are talking about.

Make nurturing content fill up 40% of everything that you are going to share.

That means, if you’re going to share 10 Instagram posts per week, 4 of them are going to be nurturing, behind-the-scenes, or highly educational content.

And of course, the last part of this content strategy is, sharing promotional content.

That can be anything from a carousel promotion to a video promotion, depending on the thing that you are selling and what you need to structure your message the right way.

I highly suggest that you follow this strategy really carefully as it works. And now, let’s move on to another Instagram content creation secret which is…

Track Data And Improve

This is one of the biggest Instagram content creation secrets as a lot of people and creators actually forget to do it.

And that is a big mistake because unless you track data and improve, you are never going to know what works and what doesn’t work.

Of course, the easiest way you can track data is by using Instagram insights.

They are going to show you the majority of the stuff you need to take your content to the next level.

However, a far better option for businesses like yours is to get a tool like Sprout Social and get access to way more advanced data that is going to let you make improvements unlike anything else you did before and create Instagram content that is going to dominate your industry.