Let's be real. Creating content for Instagram is tough. It can be a challenge to consistently come up with fresh ideas and keep your audience engaged. But don't worry, I’ve got you covered.

I’ve compiled a list of the top 18 tips for creating better IG content that will help you create content that resonates with your audience and takes your Instagram game to the next level.

Producing better IG content happens in 4️⃣ stages:

✅ Cultivating Creativity

✅ Creative Development

✅ Copywriting

✅ Posting

Phase 1: Cultivate Creativity

👉🏾 #1 Spend 15 minutes 5 days a week to study IG posts in your niche 

and any post that you see experiencing a lot of engagement on your Explore page and suggested Reels.

Pay attention to what they're doing and how they're creating their content.

But remember, inspiration is not the same as imitation. Use their ideas as a starting point, but find ways to make them your own.

Create Saved folders by month for this so it’s easier to manage and use as a tool.

I title my “Broad Inspo - MONTH/YEAR “Niche Inspo - MONTH/YEAR

👉🏾 #2 Study your old content: what worked well, what didn’t, why? And note these observations in your phone or on a notepad.

👉🏾 #3 Writing down your goals, observations, tasks, and ideas

can help you stay organized and focused, increasing productivity and efficiency.

This also enables you to process and analyze them more effectively, leading to better problem-solving and decision-making.

Phase 2: Creative Development

👉🏾 #4 Keep it simple. 

Most creators report that their highest-performing content was their simplest concepts. People can digest and relate to simplicity way faster than extravagant displays.

👉🏾 #5 Create an epic mood board.

Mood boards are a powerful tool for content creators looking to develop a cohesive visual style for their profile. To create an epic mood board, start by defining the overall mood or aesthetic that you want to convey.

This could be anything from vintage and retro to modern and minimalist.

Next, gather inspiration from a variety of sources, including Pinterest, Instagram, and other content creators.

Look for images, colors, textures, and patterns that align with your aesthetic and save them to a folder or Pinterest board. Then, use a tool like Canva or Photoshop to create your mood board, arranging your images in a visually appealing way.

Canva has many mood board templates you can draw inspiration from. Don't be afraid to experiment with different layouts and color schemes until you find the perfect combination.

Using your mood board as a reference when creating your content ensures that everything you produce is consistent with your brand and vision.

👉🏾 #6 Use templates from Canva, Creative Market, and Etsy for graphic content.

👉🏾 #7 Remember, your time is your money.

If it takes you 2-3 hours to build your carousel graphics and your story templates outsource them.

Your time is worth at least $100/hour, do not waste it on creating a product you could pay someone to make better than your skill set.

You are value-based creator.

If you can afford $20/mo, you can afford to outsource an incredible carousel design on Fiverr.

Yes, you can spend $5-10 and get a bomb design. All you have to do is share design inspiration and the words you want on each slide.

Pro Fiverr tip to save $$?

Under your profile settings dropdown, click “Post a Request”

This will allow you to get the best price on Fiverr and set your requested monthly deliverable and budget.

Phase 3: Copywriting

👉🏾 #8 Use emotion.

Tap into your audience's emotions by using emotive language that resonates with them. Depending on your brand and audience, this could be anything from humor to inspiration.

👉🏾 #9 Include a call-to-action (CTA).

Encourage your audience to take action by including a clear CTA in your caption. This could be anything from asking them to comment, like, or share your post to directing them to your website or product.

👉🏾 #10 Add value.

Your captions should add value to your audience's lives by providing them with helpful tips, insights, or entertainment. Make sure your captions are relevant and align with your brand's messaging.

👉🏾 #11 You want to stick to simple hooks that are seven words or less in all of your content.

Look to your competitors that are growing and that get good engagement for hook inspiration.

👉🏾 #12 Use high-value niche-specific keywords in your post, at the very least use three...keywords are the new hashtags.

👉🏾 #13 Use 3-8 high-value hashtags

Use FlickTech for hash group recommendations related to your niche and post content. Keep in mind competition level.

👉🏾 #14 Using hypnotic wording in your Instagram posts can help grab your audience's attention and keep them engaged.

Here are 5 ways to use hypnotic wording👇🏾

✅ Use power words: Power words are words that evoke strong emotions and can grab your audience's attention. Examples include "amazing," "epic," "mind-blowing," and "incredible."

✅ Use sensory language: Sensory language engages your audience's senses and helps them visualize what you're describing. Use words that describe how something looks, sounds, smells, tastes, or feels.

✅ Use active voice: Active voice makes your writing more engaging and dynamic. Use active verbs that show action and help your audience visualize what's happening.

✅ Tell a story: Storytelling is a powerful way to grab your audience's attention and keep them engaged. Use vivid language and descriptive details to transport your audience to another time and place.

✅ Be specific: Specific language helps your audience visualize what you're describing and makes your content more memorable. Use concrete nouns and specific adjectives to describe what you're talking about.

👉🏾 #15 Use a totally different hook in your caption so users don’t get bored and assume the caption is not valuable to read.

👉🏾 #16 Take advantage of copyrighting tools.

There are several tools that can help you streamline your writing process and improve the quality of your copy:

✅ Grammarly is an AI-powered writing assistant that checks your spelling, grammar, and punctuation, making it a great tool for proofreading and editing your copy.

✅ Hemingway Editor is a web-based app that analyzes your writing and suggests improvements to make your copy more concise and readable.

✅ CoSchedule Headline Analyzer helps you craft headlines that are attention-grabbing and engaging by analyzing your headlines for emotional impact, word choice, and length.

✅ Power Thesaurus is a crowdsourced thesaurus that helps you find alternative words to use in your copy, allowing you to avoid repetitive or boring language.

✅ Yoast SEO is a WordPress plugin that helps you optimize your copy for search engines by providing suggestions for improving your content's readability, keyword usage, and more.

✅ Chat GPT: You can use Chat GPT to actually write your captions for you, you just have to be sure to prompt it well in order to get a valuable response.

An example prompt that will give valuable output:

 “Write me an Instagram caption with a maximum of 700 characters. Write in short sentences, less than 8 words. Write in a casual tone and make the post easy to read for a 13-year-old. Having a starting and closing bold statement, Give some [actionable tips, examples, stories, inspiration]. The target audience is [X] who want [X]. Use the best content writing methods. The topic is about [X].”

Phase 4: Posting

👉🏾 #17 Post on your high engagement times according to your personal analytics.

👉🏾 #18 Schedule ahead, so you can asset your content layout and topic strategy.

Also scheduling ahead is so helpful because life happens. We get busy and forget!

Social media scheduling apps can help content creators streamline their social media strategy and save time. Here are some of the best social media scheduling apps:

✅ Later is a popular Instagram scheduling app that allows you to schedule and publish posts to Instagram, as well as other social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest.

✅ Hootsuite is a comprehensive social media management tool that allows you to schedule and publish posts to multiple social media platforms, including Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Instagram.

✅ Buffer is a user-friendly social media scheduling app that allows you to schedule and publish posts to multiple social media platforms, including Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Instagram.

✅ Sprout Social is a social media management tool that allows you to schedule and publish posts to multiple social media platforms, as well as analyze your social media performance and engage with your audience.

Remember to choose an app that fits your needs and budget, and use it to schedule your posts in advance to ensure consistent and timely content.

📲 Final Thoughts

Creating great Instagram content is hard work, but it doesn't have to be stressful.

Whether you're looking to cultivate your creativity, improve your creative development, master your copywriting skills, or perfect your posting strategy, there's something here for everyone.

So go and create amazing content that resonates with your audience and take your Instagram game to the next level. You got this!

With these 18 tips, you'll be a pro in no time 🖤