Key Elements:

- 8 types of images that perform best on Instagram

- 4 steps to help you share amazing posts on Instagram that can double  conversions

- Basics of using video on Instagram

- 6 types of videos that perform well on Instagram

- Tips to help you create more effective video ads

- Most popular Instagram updates driving the highest engagement

- Best practices for using visual content on Instagram

- Best practices for using visual content in Instagram Stories

Today and without competition, visual content reigns supreme on all social media platforms, especially on Instagram, which, thanks to its continuous updates and improvements, is considered  one of the most powerful digital marketing platforms, and the most effective in e-commerce.

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The important question now is, how can you optimize your visual content and stand out from competitors on Instagram?

Are you ready to grow your influence and make the most of Instagram for your brand? In this article, you will learn the exact details of using images and videos that capture the target audience’s attention and increase their conversions.

First,  and fortunately for us, there are several types of images and videos that have proven effective in attracting the target audience and driving conversions.

8 types of images that perform best on Instagram

Indeed, there are several types of images on Instagram that deliver outstanding performance and drive a lot of engagement. Let's take a look at 8 types you should focus on:

1-  User-Generated Content (UGC) Images

Currently, user-generated content is considered the most effective in marketing brands; because it is authentic, showcases the quality of your products, and displays your customers' happiness with them. Therefore, it resonates strongly and serves as social proof  guiding visitors about the satisfaction  and trust of other users in your brand.

So do not be surprised to learn that user-generated content images receive  a lot of attention and engagement on Instagram.

2- Behind-the-Scenes Images

Behind-the-scenes refers to those photos taken by employees or during the stages of production and manufacturing, which are almost as powerful as user-generated photos.

When it comes to purchasing, users and customers love to get an insider look at your business, which includes discovering how a product is made or how a service is delivered, as well as photos showing happy workers.

So if your employees post photos about your business on Instagram, do not hesitate to share them. The key is that these photos must be real and unauthentic.

3- Educational Content

I know that educational content dominates more on Pinterest , but this type of content also performs very well on Instagram.

A huge percentage of users love to see new ways to use a product. For example, I am almost 99% sure that if Starbucks posted a video showing how to prepare one of their drinks, Instagram would explode with engagement.

You can also use an animated image (GIF) showing only part of the project, with a simple caption prompting the audience to visit your site to view the remaining steps in detail. This way, you will drive more organic traffic to your website.

4- Images with Perfect Visual Composition

Do you sometimes notice that resource photos look much more appealing and beautiful than others, even without understanding the reason behind it?

According to a study by  Curalate which provides  some fascinating insights on the important visual elements in an Instagram photo, it indicates that:

• Users prefer  photos that have a background over photos that do not.

• Lower saturation photos perform better than highly saturated ones.

• Images with a single dominant color get higher engagement than multi-colored ones.

• Cool blue-toned images are preferred over reddish ones, and light images are preferred over dark ones.

In general, high-quality photos of your products will perform much better than photos that look like they were quickly snapped with a mobile phone and look a bit blurry.  (Learn how to photograph products professionally and at the lowest cost)

5- Influencer Images

Photos featuring influencers drive more engagement. Whether showcased on your own account or theirs, these posts will help your brand gain a massive following and buyers for your products.

6- Motivational Images

Nike is the absolute king of brands that share motivational images on Instagram, and now they have plenty of followers and posts supporting their strategy.

You can share motivational quotes on a plain background, or highlight them by blending text with an image  related to the product or your brand. The latter suggestion is the best option whenever possible; even if users decide to share it, this makes it trackable and capable of attracting a new audience.

7- Contests and Giveaways

It is logical that  photos announcing contests and giveaways get a lot of engagement. After all, who doesn’t love to win?

8- Seasonal / Trendy Images

Injecting your brand into ongoing trends is a great way to gain free followers, making seasonal posting an excellent opportunity to boost sales or thank your followers for their continued support.

Trendy images and participating in popular topics give you a unique way to show off your brand's personality, but be sure to use this tactic very carefully so it doesn't backfire.

4 steps to help you share amazing posts on Instagram that can double  conversions

Step One: Present Images for Action-Driven Attention

How can Instagram posts drive purchases? It depends on how the image or video of the product or service is displayed. For best results, choose a photo that is well-composed from all angles  to leave a lasting impression on the viewer.

• Find an Interesting Angle

When taking a product photo, the angle must be interesting enough to force the viewer to stop and look. Once your eye is behind the lens, take your time and look for a creative angle; you'll discover the best one after several experiments.

• Focus on Lighting

Lighting doesn't just make an image visible, it adds a dramatic element to it. It doesn't matter if the photo is in color or black and white, good light can bring out the emotion needed to excite the customer.

If you plan to photograph your products yourself, make sure you adjust your lights or the angle of natural light according to the highest standards.

• Use Filters

When it comes to posting photos or videos, you will find that Instagram stands out from other platforms with its filters.

Using filters may seem like just fun for personal accounts, but you will find that you can also use them to your brand's advantage.

Not only do they add drama to your products and services, but they also make them appealing to different age groups; studies indicate that non-traditional filters and effects are highly favored by younger users.

This doesn't mean you have to use filters on every single photo you post on Instagram; use them only on the photos that need them.

Step Two: Tell a Story with Image Captions

An image alone cannot give a complete picture. Sometimes it is helpful to add an image description. All you need is an engaging and accurate description of the product rather than just listing its features.

Step Three: Add Relevant Hashtags

We are all familiar with hashtags and well aware of how popular they are on Instagram, so why not use them to expand the reach of your posts? A hashtag can be a highly useful tool if used correctly.

Step Four: Use Calls to Action (CTA)

Using clear calls to action in your posts can be one of the best conversion tools for your e-store. They help capture the audience's attention and compel them to convert to your website or take the action you desire.

Imagine, when Instagram started, it relied entirely on photos. Now we can say it is all about everything visual. Videos can be shared in the feed, stories, as well as through IGTV, and they can also be used to create highly converting advertising campaigns.

Each of these options has different requirements you must keep in mind when using video on Instagram. Now, let's explore them.

Basics of using video on Instagram:

Basics of Posting In-Feed Instagram Videos

• Videos can be up to 60 seconds long.

• Videos play automatically without sound.

• You can use video in multi-image posts.

• Aspect ratios of 1:1 or 1.9:1.

Basics of Posting Videos in Instagram Stories

• Stories must be 15 seconds or less.

• Stories are full-screen mobile-optimized content.

• Make sure to use stickers and emojis to help your content stand out.

Tips to help you create more effective video ads:

It is easy to think about using videos on Instagram, but which types are best for your brand at this stage?

1- Brand Videos

These typically focus on brand awareness and storytelling. They are designed and presented to the audience to introduce the brand or  drive more sales because they highlight the features that make a product  or service unique and valuable. You can also include behind-the-scenes content in them.

2- Product Videos

Your product videos can take many different forms, but they always focus on one or two products and explain why the audience needs them in their lives, or highlight what value this product can add to you and how it can make your life easier.

3- Tutorial/Educational Videos

These videos often overlap with product videos, but they focus more on how to use and get the most out of the product rather than just fully listing features.

These might include, for example, showing how easy it is to clean a certain type of blender or 6 recipes you can cook in this oven.

4- Fully Educational Videos

Sometimes, this is one of the best marketing strategies, where you literally teach people everything about the industry. You might not even mention your product or video at all, focusing instead solely on building relationships and credibility with your audience.

5- Live Videos

When you go live, people take notice. Seize this opportunity to interact with your audience, showcase tutorials, and answer user questions.

6- Customer-Generated Videos

These can either be videos created and shared by your customers, or videos you created to showcase in a unique way the content shared by your customers. It can be a custom compilation of photos they uploaded or reviews they posted.

Tips to help you create more effective video ads:

Whatever video ad format you choose, here are ten tips to maximize their effectiveness:

1- Make the first 10 seconds of your video fast-paced and highly engaging to force users to notice that it is a video and not an image.

2- Add text. Since sound on Instagram is muted by default, it is best to include text to capture the audience's attention and guarantee your message gets delivered.

3- In Instagram video ads, you must define a problem and show how your product or service solves it.

4- Focus on a single goal, and do not try to combine multiple goals in one video.

5- Make sure the video appears organically first on your audience's feed, then activate the ad after that.

6- If the call to action on a video ad drives to a landing page,  make sure it is mobile-optimized.

7- Maintain visual consistency in the video, which includes colors, video style, and the audio footprint.

8- Add a clear Call To Action.

9- Create multiple versions of Instagram video ads and perform A/B tests  to see which one resonates best with your audience.

10- It is preferred to deliver video ads to the audience when they are connected to WiFi.

Most popular Instagram updates driving the highest engagement rate recently:

1- Product Tagged Photos Published on Instagram

Tagging products is a game-changer on Instagram. It gives you the ability to tag any image of your products with a specific label containing the product's name and price.

This effectively turns the post into a mini-sales page, making it one of the best tools to drive sales directly through the Instagram feed.

See how ikeasaudiarabia uses shopping tags. They tag the product, and if a follower clicks on those products, they will be linked to a product page inside Instagram and have the option to view each item directly on their website.

Here is another example from NOON

They built this photo with a strong focus on the product and its prominent use.

2- Multi-Images in the Same Post

Multi-image posts are a magnificent way to tell stories. Try to use them to showcase your product or tell an engaging story about your team. These photos give you the chance to be more creative in displaying different aspects of your brand.

Airbnb uses this type of photo in its Instagram feed to tell stories about both hosts and their listings.

Follow the post below as an example, which is about a listing belonging to one of their users in Idaho, designed in the shape of a potato:

Notice they started by showing the exterior of the house. They didn't just focus on the multi-image feature to display the home's shape, but also highlighted the surrounding scenery that the customer can expect to see upon arrival.

Then Airbnb takes us through the door with an interior shot:

The second photo doesn't just show the stark contrast between the inside and outside in terms of color and composition, but also showcases outstanding home styling.

The final photo takes them deeper to explore the finer details within the home:

See how the photo's color palette changed once again!

Every image in this series works together to help Airbnb followers experience the property as if they were actually there.

Using Multi-Image Instagram posts is an outstanding tactic because it seeks to create realistic experiences for users.

3- Animated Images on Instagram

Animated photos like GIFs or Boomerangs can boost engagement with your posts on Instagram. They are also a great way to show off different features of your product that are not easily shown in a static image.

See in the following example how Bellroy Instagram shares its wallet design. Without motion in this post, Bellroy's followers would never be able to see the functionality of this moving part of the wallet. The GIF also does a great job of refreshing Bellroy's feed, which consists mostly of static images.

The image must be replaced with the GIF  located at this link to show the referenced motion: https://www.instagram.com/p/Bw_eCq0lO5O/

By combining these animated images with videos, brands are able to make their hosts much more interesting.

Best practices for using visual content on Instagram:

• Replying to all comments as much as possible increases overall engagement, thereby  helping you rank higher in the Instagram search algorithm.

• Remember that audience-focused content is important, and your goals are important too, but if you don't keep your audience in mind while designing it, your efforts are useless.

• Only use long videos or multiple images to highlight a specific goal  where their effectiveness will be higher. Otherwise, you risk losing the viewer's attention and trust.

• Leverage Instagram's complementary features to influence your target audience and expand your pool of followers, such as: Stories and IGTV.

Best practices for using visual content in Instagram Stories:

• Use stickers. Gifs and stickers add life to your stories.

• Use Hashtag stickers, poll stickers, and promote an upcoming event; use them all to drive interaction or increase conversions. This will increase the effectiveness of your stories and give you new ways to enhance your goals.

• Cut a single video into multiple parts and use it to tell a cohesive story in bite-sized, attention-grabbing clips.

•  Use storytelling and suspense tactics to hook users' interest in your content and compel them to watch more.

• Make them more impactful with Highlights. An Instagram highlight allows you to add past stories to different "featured collections" that appear on your homepage. You can organize them into categories and use them to extend the lifespan of your stories.

Key Takeaways:

Instagram is an important marketing strategy platform where users actively engage with brands, discover products, and often purchase them.

To get the most out of marketing on it, you must pay special attention to the images and videos you share. Therefore, keep in mind all the elements covered above:

- Types of images that perform best on Instagram.

- Steps to help you share stunning posts on Instagram and double conversions.

- Basics of using video on Instagram.

- 6 video types performing well on Instagram.

- Tips to help you create more effective video ads.

- Most popular Instagram updates driving the highest engagement.

- Photos published on Instagram with product tags.

- Multiple photos in the same post.

- Animated images on Instagram.

- Best practices for using visual content on Instagram.

- Best practices for using visual content in Instagram stories.

This will help you achieve the maximum benefit organically. You can also use ads and hashtags on organic posts to expand your reach and connect with a new audience.

To get the best results, I always recommend planning your calendar one to three months ahead to find enough time to track results and optimize your tools.  (Learn how to build an effective Content Calendar that helps optimize content and increase engagement)

Share with us, do you rely more on image or video marketing in your Instagram campaigns? And what stops you from using the other type?