After many years of posting content on Moyens I/O’s Instagram account, we were able to identify commonalities of our top-performing posts.

To highlight what they are, we’ve done our social team analysis, one of our most popular videos on Instagram, which has garnered 125+ comments and 5,700+ views.

We’ll walk you through the essentials 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.

5 key elements of a top-performing Instagram post

1. High quality visuals

This is Instagram 101—images are everything. If you’re not posting high-quality images, you don’t have much to offer on this platform and you won’t stand out in a sea of ​​other branded content.

Not every brand may have the budget for expensive equipment or a professional photographer or videographer, but even hiring a DSLR camera or hiring a freelancer can make a huge difference in quality. Our #instalife video was created by our brand experts and social teams using professional quality software.

Choosing the right color scheme will differ for each brand. Some studies show that using shades of blue instead of red will get you more likes. But we’ve found that quality, relevance, and consistency make the biggest difference.

For our #instalife post, we chose a bright, vibrant blue color theme that will grab people’s attention as they scroll through their content.

Pro tip: Instead of relying solely on standard Instagram filters to edit your photos, try using VCSO Cam.

2. A compelling title

While quality images are the heart of Instagram, every post has a well thought out caption. Your caption should conform to the basic principles of good copywriting: it should be clear and error-free, engaging and contain a clear call to action.

There is a trend towards longer, editorial-style Instagram captions. If it makes sense for this post, it’s worth a try. As a general rule, you should always cut out unnecessary words to take into account your audience’s time.

Our #instalife post was effective because it was short and informative as well as staying true to our celebratory mood. We reused some of the copy from our other promotional content to make sure we have a unified message across channels.

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Pro tip: Include a call to action in your post that directs people to a link in your bio.

Hashtags are an important part of finding and engaging with your Instagram community. By making your content more discoverable, your chances of attracting new followers and getting more likes and comments increase.

There is no magic number of hashtags to use in a post, but if you use more than 10 it can start to look like spam. It’s always better to be selective and make sure they’re relevant to your brand, industry and campaign. No matter how many hashtags you use, you should always hide them in comments or use line breaks to avoid clutter.

Not only did we create a campaign hashtag specifically for our #instalife video, we also used relevant hashtags like #hootsuitelife, #marketing, #socialmedia and #announcement to make our content more discoverable to a wider range of people.

Pro tip: Always double-check hashtags to make sure you’re thinking about what they mean.

4. Community involvement

If you want your community to interact with you then you should connect back. Knowledgeable Instagrammers understand that building community through interaction is one of the best ways to increase your followers. You should reply to all comments with as helpful information as possible.

Using Instagram to announce big news is an effective way to build a community and engage with your superfans. It’s something celebrities do really well and more brands need to emulate.

It wasn’t easy for us to hit Instagram first with this announcement as our followers have been waiting for this updated feature.

Pro tip: Try a sneak preview of an Instagram-exclusive event or behind the scenes.

If you’re creating a video or taking photos for a social campaign, you should know beforehand that it’s designed for Instagram. Content should be tailored for the channel to be as effective as possible.

Instagram provides the technical specifications that all posts must follow. Our #instalife post also followed Moyens I/O’s list of best apps for Instagram videos:

  • 15 second length
  • <20 words per video frame
  • square format
  • Optimized for sound off viewing

Pro tip: Create your Instagram content for a mobile-first experience.

If you follow these guidelines and make sure your post has all five of these key elements, you’re well on your way to creating a top-performing Instagram post.

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Save time managing your Instagram presence using Moyens I/O. From a single dashboard, you can schedule photos and post directly to Instagram, engage with viewers, measure performance, and run all your other social media profiles. Try it for free today.

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