Are you wondering what to post on Instagram to grow your business and get more sales?
While posting high-quality images is a good start, you need something more if you want to attract tons of paying customers.
That’s why in this article, we’re sharing the best types of Instagram posts proven to increase sales for your business.
Here’s a table of contents to help you navigate this post. Just click on a section that you want to skip to:
- Instagram reels
- Viral giveaway posts
- Product placement Instagram posts
- Testimonials and review posts
- Sneak peek posts
- Instagram stories
- Instagram poll posts
- Instagram contest posts
- Shoppable Instagram posts
- Limited-time sales
Shall we get started?
What Type of Content Works Best on Instagram?
We’ve found several types of Instagram posts that are proven to attract potential customers and increase the brand loyalty of existing customers.
Let’s dive in and take a look at each one.
1. Instagram Reels
The best type of content to promote your brand via Instagram is by publishing Instagram reels.
Instagram reels are short videos that can help you sell more. They can be quick tutorials, behind-the-scenes looks, product demos, or just fun videos with your product in the background.
Instagram reels are great because lots of people see them, even if they don’t follow you. This helps you reach new customers. To learn how to create viral reels, here’s how to get more views on your Instagram reels.
Once you have some great Instagram reels, put them on your website to boost brand exposure and get more leads for your business.
Smash Balloon’s Instagram Feed Pro makes it easy to embed Instagram reels on your website. This way, site visitors can see your videos and are more likely to buy your products.
Want to try it for your own brand? Get Smash Balloon’s Instagram Feed Pro now and start showing Instagram reels on WordPress.
2. Product Placement Instagram Posts
Another type of Instagram post that’s great for generating sales is product placements.
Product placements are a smart way to get your product noticed on Instagram. They’re all about influencers posting pictures featuring your product in a natural, everyday setting.
It shouldn’t look like a forced ad; instead, the product should blend seamlessly into the influencer’s lifestyle.
Product placement posts work because they rely on social proof.
This strategy can also introduce your brand to a whole new audience – the influencer’s Instagram followers. These are potential customers who might not have discovered your product otherwise.
Once you have a collection of product placement posts on Instagram, why not curate them into a custom feed?
With Instagram Feed Pro, you can easily display Instagram feeds on your website in a few minutes.
This way, website visitors can see real people enjoying and recommending your product, further boosting your credibility and driving sales.
It’s like having a constant stream of positive customer reviews right on your homepage.
3. Testimonials and Product Review Posts
Speaking of customer reviews…
What if you’re a business without physical products to show off? Don’t worry! Testimonial posts on Instagram are just as effective at driving sales, too.
Sharing positive feedback from satisfied customers is a powerful way to build trust and credibility.
Don’t just post the testimonial itself — add your own comments and insights. Thank the customer for their kind words and highlight key aspects of their positive experience. This shows potential customers that you value their reviews and are actively engaged with your community.
Not only does it show potential customers you read their feedback, and care about what they think, it demonstrates you’re a business people can trust.
Plus seeing that other customers enjoy your products and services can be just enough to nudge people into buying.
Expert Tip: Add a custom Instagram feed of your testimonial and review posts to your sales page to encourage more sales and reduce cart abandonment.
For full details, check out this post on how to add a social media review widget to your website.
4. Viral Giveaways
Free is a pretty powerful word, right? That’s why many brands use it in their posts to grab peoples’ attention.
With that in mind, freebies and giveaways are among the most popular types of Instagram posts for attracting new customers.
When you give something away, you attract tons of people willing to try your brand.
Plus, it’s the perfect chance to grow brand awareness and encourage people to try your products before buying. If there’s no financial risk to them trying something new, what’s there to lose?
You can run a successful Instagram giveaway using RafflePress, the best WordPress giveaway plugin. As the most powerful and user-friendly tool on the market, you can launch your giveaway in a matter of minutes.
Even better, the ready-made Instagram giveaway template makes it even easier to get started.
Then, you can easily publish the giveaway in a WordPress post or distraction-free landing page to attract more entries.
Promoting your Instagram giveaway is just as simple. Copy the URL to your post or page and drop it in the social media posts to broadcast the launch to your followers.
Want to try other WordPress plugins for promoting your business? Here are the best WordPress giveaway plugins to boost your leads.
5. Sneak Peek Posts
One of the best ways to use Instagram for business and increase sales is to build excitement around a product. This works really well for new products because people are eager to learn more.
You can generate a buzz for new products by posting sneak peeks and teaser posts on Instagram. Or even a series of teasers revealing further information with each update.
This type of Instagram post builds tension and excitement while still giving people juicy tidbits of information to make them want more.
By the time you’re ready to release your product, your audience will be hyped up enough to snap it up as soon as it goes live.
Expert Tip: Compile your teaser posts into a custom Instagram feed wall to display on your website to make it easier for visitors to find, as well as engagement..
6. Instagram Stories
The great thing about Instagram Stories is you can post as many as you want without disrupting your main news feed. And that leaves room for you to get creative with your posts to engage your audience.
Even better stories let you take advantage of real-time marketing so you can post current, relevant content and get instant feedback from your audience.
Plus, the fact that stories last only 24 hours can create a sense of urgency that spurs people into taking action.
If you’re using, Instagram Feed Pro to show Instagram feeds on your website, clicking your stories opens them up in full-screen displays for an engaging browsing experience.
7. Instagram Poll Posts
Almost all brands want to know what their target audience wants. So, polling your Instagram audience is an excellent way to gather that crucial feedback.
With the polls feature on Instagram stories, you can ask questions and get ideas for what your audience does and doesn’t like.
Simply ask your audience a question and let them choose from 2 options. When the poll is over, you can use the results to tailor your promotions to peoples’ pain points.
Then you can use Instagram to provide a better service to your customers and secure more sales.
8. Instagram Contests
Earlier, we mentioned the power of giveaways for attracting loads of new customers. But Instagram contests work just as well.
While giveaways are more like prize-draws in that not much is needed for people to enter, contests tend to require more effort to qualify. And because more effort is required, participants are more invested in the outcome.
Contests are also a great way to collect user-generated content (UGC) from your audience, which you can use to promote your brand.
Here are a few ways you can use Instagram contests to gather UGC so you can boost sales:
- Run a photo contest asking users to upload a photo of them using your product to enter.
- Ask participants to share a video saying why they should win.
- Get entrants to upload a picture of your product in unusual situations.
- Ask people to share stories of how your brand had an impact on their lives.
- Challenge people to submit custom designs of your product.
You can quickly run UGC contests on Instagram with the the help of RafflePress.
Once you select a template, the plugin can set up the rules, start the giveaway, select a winner, and end the giveaway for you – all with absolutely zero coding.
Pro tip: Don’t forget to display user-generated content from contests on your website. Use YouTube Feed Pro to show a curated feed of YouTube videos participants submit as entries.
9. Shoppable Instagram Posts
Instead of a single link in your bio, you can use shoppable posts to link any of your Instagram posts to your product pages.
So when users click an image tag, they go straight to the product page on your website.
This works great since posts look like any other image in the feed, giving people a more organic shopping experience.
And because clicking takes them right to the product page, it removes several steps in the buying process.
With the Instagram Feed Pro plugin, you can link your Instagram posts to any page you choose. All it takes is adding the page link to the caption of your post on Instagram.
Then, you can display beautiful shoppable Instagram feeds on your website for people to browse and shop with zero fuss.
Do you want to know how to easily create shoppable Instagram feeds for your own brand?
Check out this step-by-step tutorial on how to set up Instagram shopping on your website for full details.
10. Limited Time Sales
Most people hate missing out on an exciting opportunity, so as a business looking to increase sales, you should leverage that fear of missing out (FOMO) to work to your advantage.
One way to evoke that sense of urgency in your audience is to run discounts or flash sales for a limited time. They’re a great way to grab attention and encourage shoppers to buy now in case they miss the deal.
Run your promotions for a short time to make it clear when followers should act. But don’t make the mistake of publishing sales posts all the time, as your audience will expect them continuously.
Instead, time discounts posts further apart to make people feel like they’re getting a valuable deal by buying now.
For even more ways of promoting your business on Instagram, see this article on clever FOMO marketing examples.
That’s it!
Now, you know the best types of Instagram posts to drive new customers to your website and improve sales. With the right tools and examples, it can be super easy to promote your business on instagram.
And if you embed Instagram feeds on your site, you can convert your site traffic into new followers and boost your brand’s presence on Instagram.
Ready to add integrate Instagram with your site? Get started with Instagram Feed Pro today!
FAQs on the Types of Instagram Posts
What type of Instagram posts are the most popular?
According to studies, carousel posts get the most engagement on Instagram compared to other types of content.
At the same time, posting other types of Instagram posts can be great for your social media strategy. You can reach different types of audience and provide fresh content to your Instagram followers.
What content do my Instagram followers want?
If you want to find out what content your followers want, a great option is to check Instagram Insights. This will show stats and insights about your Instagram account, including the engagement for your posts.
That way, you can see which type of Instagram posts are popular with your followers.
You can then embed these posts on your WordPress site to engage your site visitors as well.
What makes an Instagram post attractive?
Whether an Instagram post is attractive or not can depend heavily on your audience. If you check your insights, you can see which posts people will find attractive.
On top of that, there are a few rules you can follow to make your posts more attractive:
- Post short and snappy captions that includes a call-to action
- Add engaging photos or videos that grab people’s attention
- Use carousel posts with multiple photos and videos
- Regularly post fresh content when your audience is most likely to be active
Which niche is best for Instagram?
If you want the best niche for Instagram, the best option is to pick something that you’ve got an interest and knowledge in.
Try experimenting with different topics and see what your audience responds to.
More Social Media Marketing Tips and Tutorials
- Best Facebook WordPress Plugins for Your Website
- How to Use Social Media in Affiliate Marketing
- Best YouTube Plugins to Increase Your Subscribers Right Now
- Compelling Social Media Contest Ideas and Examples
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