BEST INSTAGRAM GROWTH TOOLS
Looking for cool things to post on Instagram?
Instagram is always offering a variety of opportunities to reach new people, connect with friends and family, and even expand your business results.
In fact, marketing is a big deal on the platform and Instagram is an authority when it comes to consumers.
Since 80% of internet users rely on Instagram to make decisions about whether or not to support a brand or business, it’s vital that you establish a branded and unique reputation that reflects your business and makes people want to be a part of your community.
What’s more, influencers are a dime a dozen these days, so if you’re looking to break into the influencer market, you’ve got to make sure that your strategy is on point and that you can offer brand partners valuable exposure and top-notch content.
For this reason, we’ve done an epic amount of sleuthing across Instagram to compile a list of content and post ideas to jumpstart or refresh your Instagram account.
Cool Things to Post on Instagram in 2023
It can be difficult to come up with a solid content strategy and work out what cool things to post on Instagram, so the more ideas and inspiration you have, the better!
From content types to post purposes and much more, we’ve got a lot of cool things to post on Instagram for you to try.
Let’s get going and talk about the best things to post on Instagram!
1. Awesome and Creative Instagram Collages
If you take a lot of photos, you may want to share them in a creative way on Instagram without having to show them one by one on the carousel feature.
The carousel feature is awesome, but it’s not the only way to share multiple photos.
If you’re having a hard time deciding which photos to post or want to showcase them all in one frame on your Instagram, use a collage app to help you create stunning collages with different borders and effects!
You can create collages that represent your brand and also have fun with your content in a way that users enjoy.
You may have seen them out there on Instagram, and if you’re wondering how, using apps like Instasize, PicCollage, or Pic Stitch will blow you away.
There are plenty of shapes, sizes, and designs to help you edit your collage to your brand’s aesthetic. Download the apps today for your device and give it a whirl!
2. Cool Landscape Shots
Landscapes aren’t just for nature accounts or architects— they can show your creative and photographic prowess and also intrigue your audience in a way that maybe you haven’t before.
Landscapes actually enjoy some of the highest levels of engagement on Instagram, so they can benefit you in more ways than one as far as being cool things to post on Instagram.
There are plenty of different landscapes that you can take, including cityscapes, water, landmarks, bridges, natural parks, and more.
When taking landscape shots, always ensure that you have good quality shots that offer your viewers something unique.
Also, use captions that encourage comments and tagging other users to get your content, even more, exposure and engagement.
3. Food Pics
Who doesn’t like a good food pic? Let’s face it, we’re always looking for new eats to try out in our own cities as well as in other cities.
If you’re looking to engage users and get their mouth watering through their content, take some food shots as an idea for cool things to post on Instagram.
Some different types of food shots that do particularly well are those that have nice levels of color contrasts or a unique image of them.
This can be done with a bird’s eye view shot of the whole dish or even centering the plate with some lovely backdrops.
In addition, you can take some food selfies that feature you holding the food item, showing the user that you yourself are enjoying it and that they just might, too.
You can also use engaging captions to get users to comment or tag friends in your
4. Selfies
Photos that include people always get more likes on Instagram and also get more comments as well. If you want to captivate your audience with cool things to post on Instagram, don’t be shy!
Instagram offers you so many different ways to enhance your selfies, including different filters that add flair to your photo and can change things up.
You can even post them to Instagram stories to feature your team, yourself, or anyone else relevant to your brand or business.
If you like, you can use Instagram stories to edit your selfies and add filters and then post them to your IG content feed later; simply save the content from Instagram stories and then upload it to your feed.
Mix it up— Instagram is about making connections and people want to see you. If you’re out of content ideas and need something to post, you can’t go wrong with a selfie.
Instagram Picture Ideas for More Likes
The following types of content are bound to get more likes than other content types simply because people enjoy them and are happy to show their support when they see them float across their feed. Let’s take a look at some more cool things to post on Instagram.
5. Cute Animal Posts
Who doesn’t love a precious puppy, kitten, or other furry friend?
If you come across a sweet pup on Instagram, you probably won’t be able to keep going without a double-tap.
Use the furry friends in your life to boost your Instagram performance.
Feature your animal in your content in relevant and fun ways that reflect your brand image or business. That way, people can relate to you and will engage with your content!
If you come across animals in any real-world setting, you can also use them to feature as a cute animal post.
People love animal encounters and want to see them to brighten up their day. Bonus points if the content features puppies or baby animals.
You can use animals to show that you’re a tender person and also can create some unofficial brand representatives with fun photos!
6. Baby Pics
Babies are the human versions of animal posts, so people are bound to like them as well.
You can feature little ones in your picture to boost your engagement and get more likes and comments on your Instagram posts.
7. Cool Car Pictures
Cars have been pretty much a status symbol since they were invented and there is no slowing down when it comes to the awesome and elaborate things that cars feature these days.
When you see an awesome car, you can include it in your Instagram content to boost your level of cool.
Instagram content with cars always performs well and shows motion as well as a level of luxury.
Even old cars with character can also give your content an edge. Bonus points if you’re in the photo, or better yet, featured in the car!
Showing diverse types of content can get you more engagement and help you relate to more people in your target audience.
Check out some Instagrams that feature car photography so you can get some ideas on how you might work it into your content strategy when considering which cool things to post on Instagram.
8. Provocative Photos
It’s widely known that, yes, sex sells. Does that mean you should post a bunch of naked photos and try to claim fame that way?
Of course not! There are artistic ways that you can be a bit edgy and provocative when thinking about cool things to post on Instagram.
You can also use your curves or sculpted muscles to feature products and elements of your business or brand that people may want to buy.
This is a popular strategy for Instagram influencers and companies in certain niches.
If you got it, flaunt it— that’s what they say! Just make sure it’s appropriate for your target audience, fits with your brand image, and follows Instagram guidelines.
Must-Have Content Ideas for Brands, Businesses, and Other Professionals
There are plenty of businesses, brands, influencers, creators, and more fighting for the attention of users in their target niche.
Stand out and show your professional side with some of these cool things to post on Instagram.
9. Your Home or Location
If you have a physical location to feature in your posts, do it. This can be for influencers, brick-and-mortar businesses, creators, and more.
Even if you don’t have a set location, get yourself a regular location that you can claim as “yours” that you can regularly feature in your content.
People like to see stability as well as have a look into your everyday life.
If you do have a physical location for your business, not showing it is doing you a huge disservice! Show your restaurant, show your boutique, show your office.
It helps you to draw in more clients and customers as well as build relationships with your followers and viewers.
People tend to want to visit places that look awesome or have a particular energy— leverage that and feature your location.
If you’re a lifestyle blogger or influencer, show your home off! This is another great option when considering what cool things to post on Instagram.
10. Your Products
This isn’t something groundbreaking— if you have products, take awesome shots of them! You have to use your Instagram to promote your products without trying to be too salesy or annoying about it.
You want users to look at your product photos and see something eye-catching and something that your business is proud of and passionate about.
Showing this energy through photos increases your reputation and credibility.
Also having other users endorse your products help you to establish a reputation for your products and feature them better on Instagram.
If you need some inspiration, check out @gucci— they’re always super imaginative and artistic with their content.
Another account to check out is @benefitcosmetics— they’re pros at showing off their products and featuring users and tutorials.
11. User-Generated Content
Alongside product endorsements, you can build a following that creates content for you as far as cool things to post on Instagram go, which helps your account to get more engagement as well as build up hype that encourages other users to post stuff about your company, product, etc.
This is called User-Generated Content (UGC).
When a user tags you in an IG story or mentions you in an Instagram post, you can then share that content and make it a feature that you share with your followers.
Many benefits to this:
- The user shares the post, showing that you shared them
- Their friends see it
- Your followers see that you pay attention to your followers and clients and will want to participate
- Using branded hashtags to create a content feed will give you a constant bank of UGC.
When you show your followers that you care through features, you are going to be much more respected and your reputation and brand exposure will grow.
UGC is also proven to get more engagement on Instagram.
12. Feature Your Team or Employees
As we have mentioned a few times, photos of people get more engagement when thinking about cool things to post on Instagram. Plus, people want to see who is behind your business and want to see the team that makes everything happen!
Here are some great reasons to feature your employees:
- They’ll share it on their own IG
- They look awesome and are a great representation of your brand
- Great people featured on your IG increases your reputation and credibility
- Prospective employees see the benefit of working with you
- And more!
When you have a strong team behind you, you shine. Remember the phrase— you’re only as strong as your weakest link. When people see your awesome team, people will consider you to be trustworthy and worth supporting.
13. Quirky and Funny Signs
People use social media not just to see what other people are doing and share their awesome lives, they also want to enjoy their time and be entertained.
If your business or brand can contribute, better for you.
Instagram users follow accounts that provide value, and a good laugh is extremely valuable these days.
Use funny signage and quotes to post something that your followers can enjoy and will also reflect positively on your business.
You’ve probably seen the classic, “Beer colder than your ex’s heart.”
This is a popular feature for many bars out there! Find something that works for your niche and run with it.
Additional Business and Brand Post Ideas for Instagram
If these more obvious cool things to post on Instagram weren’t enough, we’ve got a few more that just might help you to take your content strategy to the next level.
14. Products in Action
Static product shots that are creative and interesting are great, but don’t get too comfortable.
Offer users something unique that provides them with a different perspective on your product.
Showcase your products being used— as we talked about above, @benefitcosmetics, among many other cosmetic brands, are pros at this.
You can definitely get some ideas from them no matter what your niche.
@REI is another great account that knows how to feature their products in use and also gives useful tutorials and tips via IGTV that help their clients feel more confident and want to use their products more frequently.
UGC can also help you to show your products in action, so you ultimately have many options to implement this!
15. Behind-the-Scenes
People are nosy and love to imagine themselves in a variety of different situations and picture themselves at all the different events out there.
This is what behind-the-scenes photo and video content can help you do when trying to find cool things to post on Instagram.
This is especially popular to feature on Instagram stories. After the BTS look, you can pin the stories to your Instagram highlights for later viewing.
If it’s a longer BTS feature with interviews and more, you can also use IGTV to give a more solidified presence on Instagram.
@influencersinthewild is a hilarious example of how all of your favorite Instagram influencers get their top shots.
It features videos from users and their own creators alike and is quite popular!
@TSA also has a surprisingly hilarious account that shows all of the crazy and ridiculous stuff they confiscate at airports.
They also offer tips and tricks about traveling.
16. Events
Always feature events that you hold or attend on Instagram— people love to see you being an active part in the community and participating out there in the real world.
This is especially important when you host events because you can make a big deal out of them and show the world how awesome and professional your brand, business, or endeavor is.
It can help to generate interest in your account as well as your products, services, or future events.
17. Collabs or Showcases
Work with other people in your industry to show that you are able to collaborate and are liked by others in your niche.
This also helps you to gain exposure from more users in your target audience and both or all collaborators can benefit from doing so.
You can also use UGC to showcase your products and your happy clients; even direct interviews will work.
If you want more exposure even still, you can aim to work with some influencers that will promote your product/service/etc. and showcase it to their followers.
18. Big Grid Posts
You may have noticed upon visiting a musician’s Instagram page that they have a bunch of photos posted that create one large image when thinking about the best things to post on Instagram. This is a great way to highlight new product launches, events, special menus, new content, and much more.
Be creative! You set your own limits. How do you create these big grids on Instagram?
There are many apps available that will take your single photo and create them into multiple photos that you can then post to your Instagram feed.
Tip: Before doing this, if you really want to draw attention, you can archive all of your previous posts so that when people visit your IG profile, they won’t see anything except for the big grid image that you’ve posted.
Talk about dramatic! Make a statement and get people’s attention.
19. Videos
Videos are a go-to Instagram content type; while they weren’t the reason Instagram was created, they certainly are the reason why IG is still so popular.
With features like IG stories, reels, IGTV, and in-content video posts, if you haven’t been posting video content, what are you doing with your life!?
Video content on Instagram gets you more engagement and gets users checking out your content longer and more frequently.
Don’t wait! Up your video game. Take a look at our article about how to upload high-quality Instagram video for more tips.
20. Layout
Layout was introduced by Instagram years ago and allows you to create a type of Instagram story that includes multiple pictures within the same story.
This is great if you want to take pictures of something from different angles or spice up your Instagram stories without driving yourself crazy.
You can access this option via the Instagram story camera and it’s easy to select; you’ll then take the four photos right from within the app.
After you take the pics, you can move on to edit your story as you would any other.
21. Photo within a Photo
If you’re a bit confused by this, just Google “John Stamos and Nick Jonas.”
You’ll see exactly what photo within a photo is when you take a look at this hilarious circumstance that ensued between the two.
Inception! If you want to show your artistic side, consider using the photo within a photo technique.
22. Mirror Shot
Who doesn’t want to show the cool mirrors in the bathroom or other funky things going on in their surroundings? Mirror shots can be creative and unique.
Extra points if you get a group mirror shot, an exotic-looking mirror, or incredible background images.
If you need some inspiration, take a look at the hashtag #mirrorshot and you’ll see plenty of creative users with their mirror shot in full effect.
23. Announcements
If you have a big event or an announcement coming up, don’t forget to use Instagram.
You may even gain more of a following if you use Instagram exclusively to announce new events and happenings.
Some things you can announce include:
- Events
- Workshops
- New products
- New services
- Additional locations
- Partnerships
- Anything else noteworthy or interesting
24. Reposts
Reposts are great once in a while; they show that you know what is important and relevant on Instagram and can help you create relationships with other users and accounts on the platform.
Don’t let it replace your content creation, however— you still want to make sure that you have your own unique and original content so that you have your own voice.
When you repost, always give credit to the original poster or creator and also mention them.
You can even use an app like Repost to make sure that everything gets reposted just the way you want it to, especially if you’re interested in including the caption of the OP.
25. Quotes
Quotes have always been popular, even before the days of social media.
We identify with words of wisdom and are constantly looking to relate with other people and ideas that seem to match our ideas or current circumstances.
Not only that, quotes can motivate people and also give some insight into your brand philosophy and ideology.
Quotes may seem hard to implement, but it’s really easy when you use the right app. You can use apps like Canva, Quotes Creator, Quote Maker, and a slew of others.
They make it super easy and even enjoyable to grace your IG feed with lovely quotes that make your followers think.
Check out @bossbabe.inc for some inspiration.
26. Blog Posts
You can post photos of your new blog posts directly to Instagram to draw attention and funnel traffic to your website or blog.
Don’t forget to include the link in your bio since there are no clickable links on Instagram.
Accounts like @buzzfeed and @wearemitu do this very well.
27. Something Complete Unique
If you want to completely reinvent the wheel and get something going that nobody has done before, go for it! Experiment and try out some new things.
Now that you’ve got a number of cool Instagram content ideas, you have to think about logistics— how are you going to get your content out to a good number of people?
One of the best ways to do this is through hashtags. You have to use hashtags on Instagram in order to be discovered by new users on the platform.
For best results, you need to know which hashtags to use. Avoid overly popular hashtags for two reasons:
- When a hashtag is very popular, many posts use it and the hashtag feed is constantly being refreshed with the new content. Your content will be pushed down the feed too fast to gain reach.
- Generic or popular hashtags are used on many types of content in many niches. You need targeted hashtags to gain the reach and exposure from the right type of users.
For instance, one of the most popular hashtags on Instagram is #igers. This hashtag isn’t going to get you targeted users in your food industry niche; this will just get you seen by who knows what kind of users.
Develop a hashtag strategy that will optimize your content and get you seen by more people. Here are three tips to do just that.
Instagram Hashtag Tip 1: Use a Hashtag Generator
If you don’t feel like sitting around starting at Instagram and looking at a bunch of accounts in your niche, a hashtag generator is right for you.
Flick is the most popular hashtag generator for Instagram currently; they have created some very user-friendly features that make finding the right hashtag very easy.
You can use it to do hashtag searches in your niche and view hashtags that are right for your account.
You’ll have access to performance metrics and stats for the hashtags as well, and Flick uses the official Instagram API for the data.
In addition, you can organize your hashtags into sets for easy posting and particular content types; you can even see your own analytics, schedule posts, and more.
If you want to develop a strong overall Instagram logistics strategy with the best performing hashtags in your niche, Flick is for you.
Instagram Hashtag Tip 2: Study Popular Accounts in Your Niche
As we mentioned, you can also take a look at popular accounts in your niche to see what they’re doing and what’s working for them.
Even if you use a tool, you can still do this— it is always valuable to see what type of content your competition is posting and how they are designing their captions and hashtags to get good results.
Note details like how many hashtags they use, what type of posts get the most engagement, and common or repeated hashtags that you may notice.
This can be valuable for your own modeling purposes in devising your hashtag strategy in the most effective way.
Don’t copy them, but take note of what is working and make it your own. After all, imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.
Instagram Hashtag Tip 3: Create Your Own Branded Hashtag
If you want to create a resource for your brand that not only helps you get more reach but creates a solid base for your content, creating a branded hashtag is the tip for you.
You can use this alongside tips 1 and 2 and it will make your overall brand more reputable and more powerful. This has been done by many brands, but very notably, Coca Cola.
Coca Cola started the #shareacoke hashtag campaign and it blew up on the platform, creating tons of user-generated content as well as a hashtag feed specifically for content that featured Coke.
In addition, it generated interest around the brand.
Create a catchy and relevant hashtag for your brand or business and use it in every post.
Encourage your followers, clients, family, friends, and whoever else to use it in relevant posts as well.
You can also use location tags in this way to create something visible and substantial for your brand, especially if you have a physical location for your endeavor.
Wrap-Up: Cool Things to Post on Instagram
So, there you have it! 27 cool Instagram post ideas as well as some bonus tips about getting your content seen by more people through hashtags.
What kinds of posts get you the most engagement? What are the best things to post on Instagram? We love to hear from you— let us know in the comments about your cool things to post on Instagram!
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Written by Eddie Hurst
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