27 Cool Things to Post on Instagram in 2024: Ideas from Top Brands & Influencers

Instagram is one of the top social media platforms today, with over 1.3 billion monthly active users worldwide as of 2022 (Statista). With such a massive global audience, brands and influencers are constantly looking for ways to create content that engages.

In this comprehensive guide, we‘ll dive into 27 awesome ideas to boost your Instagram game in 2024, with tips from successful brands and creators across industries. Whether you‘re looking for inspiration for your personal account or want to improve your business‘ Instagram presence, you‘ll discover creative and effective tactics to level up your feed.

Let‘s get started with some visual inspiration!

Captivating Photo Content

Photos still reign supreme on Instagram today. But generic snapshots won‘t catch the eye like stylish, well-composed images. Take your photo content up a notch with these ideas:

1. Showcase Your Creativity with Collages

Collages allow you to neatly arrange multiple photos into a single frame, adding artistic flair. Overlay images in unique shapes, patterns or frames using collage apps like Layout from Instagram, PicCollage or Adobe Spark Post.

Benefit Cosmetics does this beautifully to showcase complementary products. The varied imagery and angles make for dynamic, eye-catching posts. Canva templates also make easy work of professional designs.

"Among social media site users in the United States, an impressive 36.6 percent said Instagram was the most visually appealing platform in 2021." – Statista

2. Captivate with Breathtaking Landscape Photography

Transport viewers to stunning locales and make them pause their scroll with dramatic wide landscape shots. These could range from first light over the Grand Canyon, to cherry blossoms in full bloom, to a reflective lake at sunset.

Go wide with your angles, use leading lines to direct the eye, and leverage lighting. Enhance the mood with subtle filters. Brands like Land Rover highlight exotic destinations. Even urban cityscapes can wow.

3. Entice Appetites with Delicious Food Photos

Who doesn‘t love browsing delectable food photos? To make your eats shine:

• Shoot plated dishes or individual ingredients up close, slightly overhead to emphasize colors and textures.

• Style your setting with flowers, cutlery, drinks or table accents to add polish.

• Ensure vibrant, uniform lighting – aim for natural light.

• Vary between portrait and landscape orientations for variety.

Mouthwatering food photography consistently ranks among the top-performing post types. Restaurants, bakers, and beverage brands have this content style down pat.

4. Flaunt Your Personal Style with Fashion Selfies

The outfit selfie is ubiquitous on Instagram – and for good reason. Show your followers fresh styling pairings and your latest clothing, accessory or beauty finds by snapping mirror selfies or street style outfits.

• Capture full-length or close-up shots to highlight details.

• Pose confidently and have fun with it!

• Ensure lighting is soft and even. Avoid shadows.

• Use unique or textured backdrops when possible over bland walls.

Influencers like Aimee Song (@songofstyle) rock the selfie game. Give followers outfit inspo showcasing your personal flair.

Photos Proven to Get Extra Likes

Some specific categories of photos have a track record of getting more engagement on Instagram. Lifestyle bloggers and influencers pay close attention to these themes:

5. Melt Hearts with Puppy Pics and Cute Animals

Photos of adorable, wide-eyed pets perform incredibly well. Share moments of your own fur babies being cute, silly or cozy. Candid shots come across as the most endearing.

Even wildlife like unique birds, deer fawns or squirrels can make for viral posts. Animals tug at heartstrings and remind us of what‘s pure.

Pro Tip: Geo-tag animal rescue or shelter locations and highlight their adoption work to also give back.

6. Spread Joy with Smiling Babies and Kids

Seeing glowing, happy babies and children instantly brightens a viewer‘s day. As a parent, safely share your little one‘s laugh, first steps or playtime.

Some tips:

• Monitor comments and disable if needed.

• Check your account‘s privacy settings.

• Obtain consent from other parents if posting photos featuring their child.

7. Show Off Style with Cool Cars and Vehicles

Vehicle posts also rev high engagement on Instagram. Share your own sweet ride, or capture eye-catching cars you spot on the streets. Some types that captivate:

• Vintage classic cars, from a pristine ‘57 Chevy Bel Air to a rugged Ford Bronco

• Luxury supercars like a sleek Aston Martin or elegant Bentley

• Custom modded Japanese imports with wild decals

• A futuristic Tesla Cybertruck or electric vehicle

Use lighting, locations and angles to amp up the visual appeal. Dynamic motion blur creates intensity.

8. Flaunt Your Figure with Stylish Silhouettes

Tasteful figure photos and silhouettes can earn high engagement, especially when done artistically. For women, this may include alluring shadow or contour poses. For men, fitness progress photos are popular.

When done elegantly, these photos allow self-expression and body positivity. Ensure proper lighting, minimal editing and consider black-and-white filters. Poses or simple coverups (a sheet, towel, etc) add a stylized effect.

Must-Have Content for Brands & Businesses

For companies and entrepreneurs, Instagram marketing is invaluable. Be sure to incorporate these crucial content categories:

9. Show Off Your Store, Cafe or Office Space

Give potential customers a feel for your business‘ location and ambiance. Highlight details like:

• Storefront or exterior

• Interior design style and branding

• Product displays and layout

• Employees interacting with customers

This builds familiarity and gets customers excited to visit in-person. Action shots come across as most authentic.

Pro Tip: Tag your location so it appears on Google Maps when users search nearby.

10. Entice Customers with Irresistible Product Photos

Mouthwatering product photos, demos and shopping flat lays convert browsers into buyers. Effective product photography strategies include:

• Hero the product against clean, minimal backgrounds

• Show products attractively packaged or merchandised

• Demonstrate products in context – someone wearing, using or experiencing it

• Create mini collections or color stories with complementary products

• Leverage natural lighting, clarity, angles and propping/staging

11. Showcase User-Generated Content

User-Generated Content (UGC) like customer photos or testimonials shows real people loving your brand. The most effective way to repurpose UGC is to:

• Share the post directly to your story or feed and tag the creator

• Add a hashtag like #repost, #feature or #shoutout

• Ask and obtain the user‘s consent beforehand

UGC delivers 3x higher engagement than brand-created content (Hubspot). It builds trust and community.

12. Introduce Your Team Members

Help followers get to know the talented people behind your brand. Share:

• Employee highlight reels or takeovers on Stories

• Candid photos of staff meetings, events or office antics

• Images of team members actively assisting customers or doing their jobs

• Employee milestones like work anniversaries

This humanizes your company culture. Followers appreciate the behind-the-scenes look.

13. Make ‘Em Laugh with Clever Signage & Captions

Injecting some wit and humor into Instagram posts helps connect with your audience. Try:

• Featuring funny café chalkboard signs or window graphics

• Creating your own laugh-out-loud signage and props

• Adding pop culture references, wordplay or puns to captions

• Using emojis and hashtags for extra amusement

Just ensure the humor aligns with your brand personality. A bit of silliness makes followers smile.

Additional Content Ideas to Promote Your Brand

Below are more types of posts to take your brand‘s Instagram presence to the next level:

14. Demonstrate Products in Action

Show your products being used in real life through demos, user-generated reviews and explainer videos. This could include:

• Someone cooking with your brilliant kitchen gadget

• Applying makeup with your cosmetic brushes

• Crafting with your art supplies

• Exercising in your activewear

Products come to life when shown in context. Leverage influencer marketing by gifting products in exchange for organic content.

15. Give a Behind-the-Scenes Look

Satisfy followers‘ curiosity by bringing them into the inner workings of your business. Share sneak peeks like:

• Product photoshoots

• Kitchens and manufacturing facilities

• Design studios and creative spaces

• Company offsites and retreats

Use Instagram Stories for real-time coverage. For longer videos, turn to IGTV or Reels. This insider access builds brand relationships.

16. Promote Events Large and Small

Drive event attendance, ticket sales orstream viewers by promoting happenings via Instagram. Share:

• Speaker lineups and conference schedules

• Venue shots, signage and stage setup

• Booths, activities and experiences

• Crowd shots and audience reactions

Combine feed posts with Instagram and Facebook Stories and Live video for extended exposure.

17. Partner with Brand Ambassadors & Influencers

Strategic partnerships with micro influencers and brand ambassadors in your niche expand your audience. Devise creative collaborations to co-create content like:

• Product reviews and demos

• Giveaways and contests

• Promotional discount codes

• Hashtag campaigns and takeovers

Set clear agreements for content usage rights and compensation. Use affiliate links so influencers earn commission driving your sales.

18. Make Major Announcements with Grid Posts

Turn to the Instagram grid for bold, graphic statements when unveiling major launches, campaigns or initiatives. Some examples:

• Showcasing a giant "SOLD OUT" sign for popular product drops

• Highlighting new locations with a branded map graphic

• Revealing rebrands or packaging redesigns

• Making public statements on social issues relevant to your audience

Large text and bright, uniform colors make these announcements pop. Pair with Instagram Stories for extended impact.

19. Educate and Engage Through Short Videos

Video dominates social media today. On Instagram, keep videos short, engaging and informative. Post:

• Quick how-to tutorials

• Employee takeovers

• New product demos

• FAQ highlights

• Business developments

• Well-edited Reels with music and effects

Videos under 2 minutes have the highest completion rates. Repurpose video across IGTV and other platforms too.

20. Get Creative with Interactive Instagram Story Layouts

Leverage Instagram Stories creative tools like:

• Quizzes and polls to crowdsource feedback

• Q&As and AMAs to build connections

• Emoji sliders and sticker questions to gauge sentiment

• Countdown stickers to build anticipation for sales or launches

• Layouts to display tiled collections and multi-part narratives

Take advantage of Stories‘ interactive features to engage your audience.

21. Add Shoppable Product Tags

Instagram Shopping lets you tag products in posts so followers can seamlessly view pricing, variants and checkout without leaving the app.

To enable:

• Submit your catalog to Instagram through a platform like Shopify

• Tag products using the tagging tool in the Instagram app

This removes friction in the shopping journey. Over 130 million people tap to reveal tags each month.

22. Immerse Fans with AR Effects and Branded Lenses😎

AR effects bring products and branding to life in a fun, cutting-edge way. With Spark AR Studio, you can create:

• Try-on experiences to digitally show makeup, glasses, jewelry etc. on users

• Branded filters that interact with faces or scenes

• Interactive product visualizations and demos

Promote your effects via ads or influencers so they go viral. AR boosts engagement and brand visibility immersively.

23. Spotlight Launches and Milestones

Build hype by announcing new products, grand openings, rebrands, company milestones or momentous achievements. Share:

• Bold graphics spelling out key details

• Behind-the-scenes preparation

• Ribbon-cutting photos and ceremonies

• Images of new products or spaces

Pair announcements with Instagram Story coverage for extended exposure. These moments demonstrate business vitality.

24. Repost Relevant & Relatable Content

Curate and repost (with credit) other accounts‘ content that would resonate with your audience. This could include:

• Industry thought leaders, brands or influencers

• Happy customers highlighting your product

• Partners showcasing co-created content

• Event speakers discussing relevant topics

Commentary on reposts further connects the dots for your audience. Tagging accounts builds community.

25. Inspire with Motivational and Uplifting Quotes

Blend inspirational sayings with visually branded imagery, colors and fonts to capture followers‘ attention.

For example, an art supply company could combine a "Creativity is intelligence having fun" quote (Einstein) on a textured watercolor background image.

Quotes appeal to emotions and relate. Use thoughtfully selected messages to reinforce brand values.

26. Entice Viewers to Visit Your Blog

Increase website visitors by previewing your latest blog headlines, imagery and excerpts.

• Share graphics highlighting key stats or takeaways

• Post relevant photos and covers from the blog piece

• Use linking apps like Linktree to drive traffic to the full article

This gives followers a taste of your thought leadership. Ensure a clear call-to-action.

27. Keep ‘Em Guessing with Unexpected, Novel Content

To keep your audience on their toes, throw curveballs with outside-the-box interactive content, like:

• An advent calendar-style mystery countdown

• A spot-the-difference game

• An interactive quiz or choose-your-own-adventure

• Reviews of quirky products beyond your niche

Unexpected formats break through the noise and get people talking. Don‘t be afraid to experiment!

Pro Tip: Research and Optimize Hashtags

Now that we‘ve covered captivating content strategies, let‘s discuss targeted hashtag use to maximize reach. Here are 3 tips to research and test top-performing hashtags:

Leverage Instagram Hashtag Analytics Tools

Platforms like Display Purposes and RiteTag analyze Instagram hashtag performance data to suggest optimal hashtags. Benefits include:

• 1 billion+ posts indexed with up-to-date metrics and search volume

• Filters for banned or spammy hashtags

• Ability to save sets of hashtags organized by campaign or post type

These tools provide real hashtag intelligence based on live Instagram data.

Study Hashtags Your Competitors Are Using

You can also manually research hashtags in your niche by looking at posts from competitors and industry leaders. Take note of:

• Which hashtags they use most frequently and consistently

• Their average number of hashtags per post

• Mix of well-known and long-tail hashtags

This research reveals solid hashtag options. Give them your own branded spin.

Create Your Own Signature Hashtags

Invent 1-2 signature hashtags uniquely tied to your brand that customers can rally around and generate UGC, like:

Promote your custom hashtags prominently on your profile, website and packaging. Get creative with relevant wording.

Key Takeaways

• Hook followers with compelling photos using collages, epic landscapes, appetizing food shots and fashion selfies.

• Earn extra engagement with cute pets, kids, luxury vehicles and tasteful figure photos.

• For brands, highlight your space, products, team and UGC while experimenting with behind-the-scenes content and shoppable posts.

• Research data-backed hashtags and create signature hashtags to maximize reach and awareness.

With a strategic, creative approach, the opportunities to connect with your audience on Instagram are endless. Let these ideas spark inspiration to take your content to the next level in 2024!

What resonated with you most from this guide? Are there any other awesome Instagram post ideas I should cover? Let me know in the comments below!