The Anatomy of an Engaging Instagram Post

Here’s the anatomy of an engaging Instagram post… it really works — I’ll prove it!

This morning, I did an instant Instagram audit and the results were… well, actually dismal. My official engagement rate on Instagram has never been lower than it is today. 

But! Let’s be real — at the end of the day, the “audit” was run by a bot and it doesn’t know what my goals are on the platform, or what’s crackalackin’ in the DMs. (I made four sales & nabbed two significant leads via the platform this week, so… it’s still working.)

That being said, the whole point of Instagram is to reach your people. I peeped through my top performing content to pull examples for this post and whaddaya know, I haven’t been practicing what I preach. 😂 Can’t wait to get back into the game right alongside you!

Visuals

Yep, the feed is less polished & curated than before, but visuals are still important. Your perfect fit person should be able to recognize your brand from the images you post — and if your content is consistently compelling, that’ll be enough for her to pause the scroll.

Also PSA: infographics and carousels have been performing exceptionally well over the past year-ish.

The Caption

There are three types of posts in an effective content marketing strategy.

1. Nurture — helpful content that’ll keep your readers coming back for more
2. Golden Goose — promotional posts that’ll get dollars into your jeans
3. Amplify — often called visibility boosters… but it comes AFTER you learn to nurture & convert your audience 😉

When you create content in all three of these categories, you’ll take your audience on a journey from curiosity to engagement and finally, to purchase. (That’s the whole point, right?)

Since you have a different goal for each type of content, you’re going to structure the posts differently.

Nurture

Love on your readers hard and become a go-to resource for them. That way, they’ll appreciate and trust you enough to buy when you’ve got something to sell.

Here’s how to structure a Nurture post:

• An engaging visual (if you’re just diving in, Canva is a great tool!)
• The hook / headline
• A call to action, optional
• The juicy goodness
• A call to action, repeated (ask any questions below, hit save)

Golden Goose

This is a business, not a hobby… and that means you gotta step up and SELL your offer. Dollars in your jeans, baby!

Here’s how to structure a Golden Goose post:

• The hook / headline
• Agitate the pain
• Etc.
• A call to action (buy now!)

Don’t count on these posts getting a ton of engagement.

Amplify

These posts might seem a little fluffy — but they’re engaging, shareable, and savable. That means they’re top notch content for priming the algorithm and reaching new eyeballs, if that’s your jam. (These are the ones that you’re here for, let’s be honest.)

Here’s how to structure a post that’ll amplify your reach: 

• The hook / headline
• A call to action (aka share with your friends, hit save)
• Very short caption
• This should go before a golden goose post to prime the algorithm.

I know that quotes can feel a little cheesy & played out but seven out of my nine most engaging posts ever are quotes. If you sprinkle ‘em throughout your content it’ll boost your engagement rate. (Just remember that there are more goals than just engagement on the platform!)

And there you have it! That’s the general anatomy of an engaging Instagram post!