After many years of posting content on Hootsuite’s Instagram, we’ve been able to identify the common qualities of our top-performing posts.
To highlight what these are, we had our social team breakdown one of our most popular videos on Instagram, which earned over 125 comments and 5,700 views.
We’ll walk you through the essential elements that this post—and every Instagram post—should include. We’ll also give you tips on how to create the best content for your brand.
Bonus: Download a free checklist that reveals the exact steps an adventure photographer used to grow from 0 to 110,000 followers on Instagram with no budget and no expensive gear.
5 essential elements of a top-performing Instagram post
1. High-quality visuals
This is Instagram 101—visuals are everything. If you’re not posting high-quality visuals then you don’t have much to offer on this platform and won’t stand out in a sea of other branded content.
Not every brand will have the budget for expensive equipment or a professional photographer or video crew, but even renting a DSLR camera or hiring a freelancer can make a big difference in quality. Our #instalife video was created by experts on our brand and social teams using professional-grade software.
Choosing the right color scheme will vary for each brand. Some studies show that using blue hues over red will get you more likes. But we’ve found that quality, relevance, and consistency make the biggest difference.
We chose a bright, vibrant blue color theme for our #instalife post that would catch people’s attention as they scrolled through their feeds.
Pro tip: Try using VCSO Cam to edit your photos instead of only relying on the standard Instagram filters.
2. A compelling caption
While quality visuals are the heart of Instagram, any post worth its salt will include a well-thought-out caption. Your caption should…
