10 Ideas For Instagram posts, for creatives
Creative Content Ideas for Instagram and Social Media Channels
What’s the hardest part of content creation for your social feed? For me, it’s actually producing the fresh content that I have planned… I thought I would share with you my most engaged posts and how I created them.
Here are my top 10 easy ways to get fresh original creative visual content onto your feed.
Colour palette inspiration
Looking at colour is a lovely way to inspire your viewers, and providing you have a good image is easy to create. If you are short of images there are lots of free ones on Canva to choose from. I always recommend using your own image but I think it doesn’t matter too much if you need to borrow from a trusted resource. Never use an image that is not yours and that you do not have permission to reproduce. unsplash.com is another great resource for free photography.
I have created a little video tutorial on how to create a simple colour palette post for social media on Canva,
A tutorial showing you how to create a colour palette post for Instagram using Canva.com
2. Photography montage or diptych.
You can download the layout app for Instagram onto your phone, and easily make diptych montages of your photos. The theme could be colour, lines, textures or flowers, like this one I made of Roses in my local park. There are options for different amounts of images and shapes, when you are happy, download the image to your photo gallery and schedule or post when ready!
3. A walk in nature
I am lucky enough to walk every day in the beautiful New Forest, with my 4-legged best friend Brodie, and I love to whip out my phone camera as soon as I find something beautiful in my surroundings, sometimes it’s by the sea sometimes it’s in the forest, if I was in an urban setting I would still be looking for something that might otherwise be overlooked. Finding a theme can make this a bit easier, so shapes, different textures, anything that is bright in colour contrast, don’t be afraid to get up close and go a bit abstract, just one corner of something sometimes creates interest. Just make sure it’s in focus by selecting the object with your finger on the screen. This also helps set the light exposure too. Follow HerOutdoorz for tips on what to look for each season in nature.
4. I see faces…
A fun one, do you see faces in everyday objects? Have a look around you now, can you see a face on something, a plug socket or a random rock even? I think this one is easier if you are really bored, I often find them on trains! This is called face pareidolia you can read more and see some funny photos here.
5. Look for a visual theme with your camera
As I mentioned earlier for the diptych, finding a theme can be fun, so maybe the theme is geometry, numbers, typefaces and signs, and decorative letters, I make a point of looking for clothes on washing lines. There’s an Instagram account I love dedicated to just this here. Maybe it’s colours or fabrics, and patterns, again get up close, and make it hard to see the whole picture so the mind has to work harder.
6. Start sketching
If you have an iPad a great app to get creative with is Procreate, you’ll need an Apple pencil, or the pc equivalent of course - and watch some Youtube tutorials, or if you don’t have an iPad get out a sketchbook and grab something from the garden to draw, I always think my sketches look better in a photo than in my sketchbook!
7. Try something new
Now we are free to go outdoors again, there are so many creatives running day courses, a watercolour painting day is next on my list and I recently did a printmaking course with artist & printmaker Jo Morley It was really good to get outside my comfort zone and try something new, I came away creatively inspired and invigorated! Of course, I documented it with my camera, photographed my work and turned it into a story on Instagram too.
Show us something old
If you are like me you’ve got piles of old sketches and working drawings stashed away in sketchbooks, get your phone camera out and take some photos of any that are relevant to your strategy, you can then clean up the image with the camera editing app and add some filters and you’ll be surprised how great the image looks. You can theme this to fit in with your current content plan or topic.
9. Take a day trip with your camera, somewhere new
Travel broadens the mind, there’s nothing like getting creatively inspired than seeing new places with fresh eyes! Visit galleries and museums and snap away at local sites of interest, remember there are always going to be lots of photos of these places on image libraries, so concentrate on the little details, things perhaps no one else is looking at… You don’t have to go far… it could just be 20 miles away. I’ve never been to Stockbridge in Hampshire, would be a good day out I think.
10. Make a flat lay
A flat lay is an image taken from above of an interesting arrangement of relevant items. I would focus on one main subject and bring in other items to add visual interest, or maybe you could add lots of items and make them into a pattern, or again use colour to arrange the objects. You then need to take an image from above with your phone (minus your toes) I use a coffee table to place my objects on so I’m not standing on something wobbly. A floor is also a good option! Remember to use your phone’s photo editing software to lighten and sharpen the image. This is good for picking up on trends and news or maybe even themed & relevant national days.
Want more tips & ideas for your creative content?
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