A simple guide to Instagram insights
Luke McCarthy
November 21, 2024
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Here, we share some content ideas to help you stand out and publish your most creative content yet.
Have you already jumped on the New-Year-New-Me bandwagon? Social media is a great place to start implementing some changes in how you engage and grow your audience this year.
Still, with so many competing priorities and so many platforms at your disposal, where do you start?
Here, we share 14 content ideas that can give you a headstart in planning your social media campaigns and making the most of your social media strategy.
B2C and B2B buyers are slightly different in how they evaluate brands. Even though we’re all people buying from people, business buyers usually have more than one decision-maker and different pain points than individual consumers, which requires slightly different content.
This is why we’ve split buyers into two sections. That said, there is an overlap, so some B2C ideas will work for a B2B audience and vice versa.
Regardless of whether you’re a B2B or B2C brand, online marketing is all about tuning into the needs and preferences of your target audience. It’s tempting to only post in line with current trends or create content that aims to boost your sales short-term.
However, for long-term brand growth, you need to make the most of social media listening and sentiment analysis to gain a better idea of what your audience truly wants.
In the meantime, let’s look at some B2C social media content ideas.
Social media is all about engagement. And the best way to engage your audience is to speak directly to them. For example, you can use the Stories feature on Instagram and click on the smiley square to ask your audience a question.
This is a great way to not only engage your followers, but also to conduct A/B testing with real consumers or create a buzz around a new product launch.
Starbucks hit the nail on the head when it asked its audience which food or drink product name it wanted to learn in American Sign Language (ASL). Not only did this show that the brand wants to be seen as inclusive, it also helped Starbucks to stand out from other coffee shop chains, and gave it the chance to promote several of its products.
Instagram Stories are also great for running time-limited discounts. Just insert a link that takes people directly to the product page and you’re already helping your sales team.
Want to create a buzz around your brand or grow your followers? Then launch a contest with an enticing prize. That’s exactly what beauty brand Missy Empire did last year. The brand posted an Instagram call-out in collaboration with Iconic London giving people the chance to win £200 store credit. The post garnered more than 1,500 likes and 3,300 comments. Not bad when you consider that the contest was only open for five days.
Tutorials are one of the best ways to attract the right audience as viewers are likely to be people who are both interested in your brand and keen to try something new. YouTube Shorts are great for tutorials as they can attract new viewers and show you what’s working and what isn’t. To create a short video:
Adobe did this really well to showcase the new AI editing capabilities of Adobe Firefly.
With so many ads and so much content vying for people’s attention (and money), it’s not surprising that consumers crave authenticity. UGC can be a real godsend for boosting your brand visibility. If your customers create their own content using your products, why not re-share it on your own page? That’s exactly what L’Oréal did when an influencer shared how she uses the brand’s Magic Retouch hair spray.
You can encourage UGC by creating specific hashtags or inviting consumers to share their favorite products and then re-share those posts across your website and social media channels. The #magicretouch hashtag has almost 10,000 UGC posts on Instagram.
Unsure how to find influencers in your industry? Vamp can help you filter influencers by platform, number of followers, location, age etc., shaving hours from your workload.
There’s a reason why comments are a key social media metric. Not only do they elevate your brand organically by showing how others engage with it, but they offer an opportunity to talk to your customers in a genuine and authentic manner.
Chewy, a pet supplies brand, did this really well when it responded to customer requests to deliver to Canada. Not only did this help to promote the growing demand for the brand, it was also an excellent opportunity to announce Chewy’s expansion, and show that it listens to customers.
Using the Carousel feature on Instagram, the brand collated several customer posts asking the brand to expand to Canada, and offered its response in captions.
Is there a big event happening in your region or your industry? Then creating content around this event is a great way to get more eyeballs on your brand. Mix it in with a bit of comedy and you’ve got yourself guaranteed engagement.
Just take a look at this Instagram reel that Peloton posted around the New York marathon, which features Rad Lopez. It has more than 1,800 likes (a decent jump from its other posts which sit in the low hundreds).
If you don’t have the time or energy to come up with a lengthy and original new post every single day, memes are your friend. Memes are popular because they’re both funny and relatable, not to mention easy to create.
Jimmy John’s, a sandwich chain, has mastered the art of memes by using them to promote products, announce product discontinuation, and show that the brand knows how to have fun.
People are curious creatures. Nobody can resist a behind-the-scenes sneak peek at how their favorite brands build and create products. Ikea is a very good example of how to make the most of this curiosity.
We all know the signature Ikea blue bag, right? Well, last year Ikea posted a short Instagram video demonstrating how it tests the strength of the bag. While the video itself is quite short and … well, mechanical, it’s prompted a lot of comments of customers gushing over how useful the bag can be. Not bad for a short video.
Influencer marketing has grown in popularity over the last few years, so finding ones in your industry to partner with can do wonders for your brand. Harnessing influencer content will give you access to all of their followers, and also offload some of the content creation from your team.
Here’s how Saudi Arabian brand Tamimi Markets achieved millions of impressions by partnering with Vamp-recommended influencers.
You’ll also find lots more examples of successful influencer campaigns here.
If you aren’t posting seasonal content, you’re missing out on a great opportunity to grow your audience. Christmas, Easter, Halloween, and other key dates are a great way to connect to people (and drive sales), and also to have some fun with your products.
Take a look at how Starbucks promoted its new reserve roasteries in this Instagram Reel. Chewy also used Reels to promote Chewy Clause – its seasonal fundraiser for animals in need.
Just because you’re selling to businesses, your content doesn’t have to be corporate and oh so serious. In fact, engaging and fun content almost always wins over dry and dull.
However, remember the differences we highlighted above? B2B buyers are less impulsive because there are often multiple people involved in the decision-making process. That’s why your B2B content needs to be both engaging and informative.
Here are four B2B content ideas to help you drum up a bigger audience.
A great way to showcase your expertise is to share industry news and give your take on it. Regardless of your sector, discussing news, policies, or changes in your industry can stir up conversations and even help you stand out from the competition as it shows your brand is current and informed.
Adobe, for instance, recently shared an article from The Verge on its LinkedIn account where its Chief Trust Officer, Dana Rao, discussed the implications of generative AI for copyright – an issue very pertinent to its industry and audience.
People want to work with brands who care about their employees. And what’s a better way to showcase your appreciation of your workforce than by publicly shouting about their work and achievements?
IFAC, the global accountancy organisation, recently used Instagram Carousel to share a quick Q&A with one of its employees. Not only does this humanise the brand, it can also help build a better work culture.
Your values matter, especially as environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues are becoming increasingly more important to both brands and consumers. And while every bit of content you post reflects your values as a business, posting content highlighting specific values you stand for as a brand can be a great way to attract the right audience and build rapport with like-minded customers.
Luker Chocolate regularly highlights its focus on sustainability and its support for local farmers – something that every customer can stand behind.
Are you sitting on piles and piles of customer data? Or, perhaps you’ve discovered a gap in the market that you can fill with new findings? Original research is a great way to drive traffic, backlinks, and yes, engagement. And you don’t have to only share long reports either. Take Canva. While LinkedIn is the go-to platform for B2B comms, many of Canva’s customers are micro-businesses so it does well on Instagram. This Canva Reel about design trends for 2024 got almost 1,500 likes and was shared on industry sites such as Creative Bloq.
Whether you’re a fan of social media or not, it’s vital for business growth. Not only is this where most of your customers hang out (and find their next favourite product), but it’s also where many brands strike up partnerships, start conversations, and simply show up for their industry every single day.
Navigating the social media space doesn’t have to be hard. Vamp is a dedicated influencer marketing platform designed to help brands like yours succeed at the social media game. Head to our Getting Started page to find out more.
