The ultimate guide to effective photo posts on Instagram

The original staple of Instagram is the photo post. For 15 years this has been the backbone of the Instagram experience and while Instagram has developed in leaps and bounds since its inception, the humble photo post is still integral to many business content strategies. 

Whether you’re a total beginner to content creation or a seasoned social media strategist, by the end of this article you’ll have the knowledge and tools to create your most effective photo posts on Instagram…

Why photo posts are a great place to begin

Photo posts are the most simple content type to create and publish on Instagram, which is why they are a great place to start for businesses that are new to content creation. The barrier to entry is extremely low when designing and posting which is exceptionally useful when content creation efforts have time and financial constraints. Effective photo posts can be as simple as adding text to a background or taking a photo with a phone camera. However, there is a huge amount of scope to provide more complex, polished photo posts to pour resources and skills behind as a business grows. Ultimately, no matter how sophisticated the media is, photo posts help to keep the brand in the mind of its audience. Many brands choose to publish photo posts in-between more complex content creation and publication.

Sizes and aspect ratios for photo posts

Photo posts can be portrait, landscape or square. Many businesses choose to create portrait posts as they take up the most space on a screen which can be highly visually appealing, especially when scrolling through the main Instagram feed. Opting to share portrait photo posts is like taking up more real estate for the same amount of time, effort and money. The main grid on Instagram profiles also uses the same aspect ratio as portrait photos, so creating and publishing content in portrait can stop images being awkwardly cropped when put into a profile’s grid. However, as shown by the examples below, any orientation of photo post can be effective.

The current sizes for Instagram post creation are:

• Square Posts: 1080 x 1080 pixels with an aspect ratio of 1:1
• Landscape Posts: 1080 x 566 pixels with an aspect ratio of 1.91:1
• Portrait Posts: 1080 x 1350 pixels with an aspect ratio of 45

Where photo posts show up on Instagram

When photo posts are published they are shared to a group of users’ Instagram feeds, potentially appearing in the feeds of followers and as suggested posts to people who are not following the publisher’s profile. They can also appear on the explore page and in search results. 

Photo posts remain on the publisher’s profile as part of their main grid permanently unless the posts are archived or deleted. This is the first place many users look when exploring a brand on Instagram. 

How to make photo posts show up in more places

As part of the upload process locations, music, tags and collaborators can be added to a photo post. Hashtags can be added to the post’s written caption. These elements can be utilised to get a photo post to pop up in more places on the platform. 

Here are some examples:

• Photo posts using a hashtag can pop up in hashtag searches

• Location tags place photo posts in an interactive map on Instagram

• Music links together all posts that use the same sound

• When working in collaboration with others, a photo post can be shared across multiple Instagram profiles

By incorporating one or more of these connectivity functions, photo posts can show up in multiple places on Instagram, making higher reach and views more likely. Track metrics such as reach, views, engagement and audience demographics with Minter.io - the social media analytics tool for businesses.

Different business approaches to photo posts

There are lots of different ways to approach photo post creation. Sharing images of products, memes and text on backgrounds can all be part of an Instagram content strategy. Graphic design and AI can also be a component of your imagery.

Here are some examples:

• Product imagery

• Photographs

• Memes

• Text added to photos

• Text added to backgrounds

• Graphic Design

Different business approaches to caption writing

Alongside media in a photo post is the opportunity to write a caption (also known as the description). Creating a short and snappy caption is favoured by many brands, while others have lengthy descriptions which provide context to the imagery. Some brand choose to put hashtags and tags of other accounts hidden under the ‘more’ button. The first line of the caption is the most important as users have to tap ‘more’ to read the full description. Therefore, focusing on an eye-catching opening is crucial if you want users to read more and stay on the post for longer.

Here are some examples:

• Short captions

• Long captions

• Tag hidden beyond the ‘more’ button

How to create your own photo posts

To create your own Instagram photo posts:

1. Open the Instagram app.
2. Select the creation plus button in the centre of the bottom of the screen.
3. Make sure the 'POST' setting is highlighted at the bottom of the screen. If it’s not, tap ‘POST’.
4. Either upload a picture from your camera roll or take a photo.
5. Edit your post by adding filters, text and/or music using the on-screen icons.
6. Hit the blue ‘Next’ button at the bottom of the screen.
7. Add a caption and additional details before hitting the blue ‘Share’ button at the bottom of the screen to publish the post.

By utilising the inspiration and instructions in this article, you can harness the power photo posts have to offer. These simple, yet effective, pieces of content can enrich your presence on Instagram, helping you connect with your audience and grow your business in the process. Whatever your approach to media and captions, with Minter.io you can pinpoint the techniques that resonate best with your audience. You can also find multiple Instagram metrics broken down by content type. This will help you see what is working for your brand and where you can improve. Head to Minter.io now to reveal your results.