Consider pouring your heart into an Instagram post, only to see it fade into oblivion, lost among countless others. Frustrating, right? Now, picture that post going viral, attracting thousands of likes and comments, and elevating your profile to new heights. That’s the power of understanding what is viral marketing—creating content so engaging and shareable that it spreads rapidly across platforms, grabbing attention and driving real results.
This isn’t just wishful thinking. Understanding how to create a viral post on Instagram is crucial. It can turn your dreams of social media stardom into a reality.
This guide will break down viral content, exploring the different types and how to create it. You’ll also learn how to use Instagram to your advantage, including tips on hashtags, timing, and more.
Table Of Contents
- Benefits of Instagram Marketing
- How to Viral Post on Instagram in 12 Simple Steps
- 16 Content Ideas for Viral Instagram Post
- 15 Best Niches for Instagram Marketing
- Create Viral Shorts In Seconds With Crayo
Benefits of Instagram Marketing
The Game-Changing Visual Potential of Instagram Marketing
Instagram thrives on images and videos. Unlike other platforms that mix text with visuals, Instagram focuses solely on sharing stunning photos and engaging videos. This emphasis on visual content presents a unique advantage for marketers. Research shows that people process visuals 60,000 times faster than text, recalling 80% of what they see compared to just 20% of what they read.
This means visuals are key to grabbing attention and delivering messages. On Instagram, you can showcase your products and services through eye-catching visuals instead of relying on lengthy descriptions. You can also use the platform to highlight your brand’s personality, share user-generated content, and create a community around your business. The possibilities are endless, and the results can be game-changing.
The Sky-High Engagement Rates on Instagram
Instagram boasts some of the highest engagement rates of any social platform, with users liking more than 4.2 billion daily posts. This is a huge advantage for marketers who want to reach and engage their target audience. While Facebook's organic reach has plummeted, your followers are likelier to see your Instagram posts.
Instagram can build brand awareness, foster community, and drive traffic to your website or online store. Plus, the platform’s emphasis on visuals and aesthetics allows for creative storytelling and brand-building opportunities that differ from other social networks.
Your Customers Are Probably Already on Instagram
Whether you’re on Instagram or not, there’s a good chance your customers are using the platform. This means they might already be posting about your business, which can be a valuable opportunity to engage with your audience. For example, if your company has a physical location, customers may share photos from their visits and tag your business.
This user-generated content can help you build trust and credibility with potential customers. Even if you’re not ready to launch an Instagram marketing strategy, creating an account to monitor posts about your brand is wise. This way, you can stay in the loop and share this content if it aligns with your marketing goals.
Instagram Is a Powerful Tool for Brand Building
Instagram is a powerful platform for building brand awareness and establishing your business’s identity. With more than 1 billion users, the platform allows you to reach a large audience and showcase what makes your brand unique. Instagram is centered on visual content, so you can use eye-catching images and videos to tell your brand’s story, share its values, and highlight its personality.
This can help you connect with your audience more deeply and foster brand loyalty. Additionally, Instagram offers various features to enhance your marketing efforts, such as Stories, Reels, and Shopping. These tools creatively enable you to engage your followers and drive traffic to your website or online store.
Instagram Offers Robust Advertising Options
Instagram provides various paid advertising options to help businesses reach their target audiences. These include photo ads, video ads, carousel ads, Stories ads, and sponsored content. Instagram ads can help you achieve various marketing goals, such as increasing brand awareness, generating leads, and driving sales.
The platform’s advanced targeting capabilities allow you to reach specific demographics, interests, and behaviors, ensuring the right people see your ads. Instagram provides detailed analytics to track your ad performance and optimize your campaigns. Overall, Instagram is a powerful tool for any business looking to enhance its marketing strategy.
Related Reading
- What Is Considered Viral on Twitter
- How Many Likes Is Viral
- How Many Views Is Viral on Twitter
- Importance of Viral Marketing
- What Does Going Viral Mean
- Content Marketing Storytelling
- Core Components of Modern Marketing
- Storytelling Marketing Examples
How to Viral Post on Instagram in 12 Simple Steps
1. Use Crayo AI for High-Quality Videos
Crayo AI is a powerful tool for creating high-quality video shorts. With Crayo, you can produce unlimited shorts in no time. The platform automatically generates captions, effects, backgrounds, and music.
To use Crayo, simply write an outline or prompt, customize the style by selecting a background video, voice narrator, and music from Crayo’s free templates, and export your video. This tool is a game-changer for anyone looking to create viral videos quickly and easily.
2. Establish the Goals for Your Video Marketing Strategy
Before creating any videos, it’s essential to establish your goals. What do you want to achieve with your video marketing? Common goals include increasing brand awareness, generating leads, and boosting sales. Once you know your objectives, you can create videos that align with your goals and measure their success.
3. Launch a Video Teaser Campaign
Teaser videos are a great way to build anticipation for an upcoming product or event. These short clips generate excitement and encourage viewers to share the content with their networks. When creating teaser videos, keep them under 20 seconds and release them strategically to maximize impact.
4. Describe the Target Audience for Your Videos
Understanding your target audience is crucial for creating successful videos. Research their demographics, interests, and online behavior to inform your content strategy. Use this information to create videos that resonate with your audience and encourage them to engage with your brand.
5. Invite Expert Guests to Join Your Live Stream
Collaborating with industry experts can help boost your brand’s credibility and reach. Invite these guests to join your live streams or create pre-recorded content together. Their presence will attract followers to your brand and create valuable content that positions you as an authority in your field.
6. Determine Your Video Content Types and Create Storyboards
You can create many types of video content, including tutorials, behind-the-scenes, and product showcases. Research what types of videos perform best for your audience and create a content calendar around these insights. Once you have your topics, develop storyboards for each video to plan the visuals and messaging.
7. Repurpose Old Video Content for Instagram
Don’t let your old videos go to waste. Repurpose this content for Instagram by creating new edits, adding fresh messaging, or turning it into different formats, such as carousels or reels. This strategy will save you time and effort while providing your audience with valuable content.
8. Plan the Pre-Production
Pre-production is a crucial step in video creation that involves planning and organization. Brainstorm ideas, create scripts, and develop short lists to ensure a smooth production process. This preparation will help you stay on schedule and produce high-quality videos that meet your goals.
9. Organize a Q&A Series About Your Products
Q&A sessions are a great way to engage your audience and provide valuable information about your products or services. Use these opportunities to collect questions from your followers ahead of time and create content that addresses their inquiries. This approach will help establish trust with your audience and position your brand as a helpful resource.
10. Create Videos in Batches
Video creation can be time-consuming, so developing a system that streamlines the process is helpful. Create videos in batches around specific themes or topics. This method lets you focus on one type of content at a time, making the production and editing processes more efficient.
11. Share Your Videos on Social Media or Embed Them on Websites
Once you’ve created your videos, it’s time to share them with the world. Post your content on social media channels, embed it on your website, and distribute it through email marketing. This strategy will help maximize your videos’ reach and engagement.
12. Deliver Results With Instagram Video Ads
Instagram video ads are a powerful tool for reaching your target audience and driving conversions. Use engaging visuals and compelling calls to action to encourage viewers to take action. Test different ad formats, placements, and targeting options to optimize your campaigns and improve performance over time.
16 Content Ideas for Viral Instagram Post
1. Capture Your Travels
Do you enjoy using your travel rewards or hitting the open road? Document your adventures to create engaging and entertaining content for your audience!
2. Embrace the Potential of Instagram Live
Instagram Live offers a unique opportunity for influencers to connect with their audience in real-time. This feature can help you reach new followers and provides options for monetization, such as Super Chat.
3. Discuss Current Events
There’s no shortage of significant news stories to cover these days, from politics to science to business. Sharing your insights on current events can spark meaningful conversations and engage your audience.
4. Experiment with Stop-Motion Animation
Stop-motion videos may require patience and practice, but the results can be visually stunning. This creative technique can add a fresh twist to your video content and showcase your artistic skills.
5. Give a Behind-the-Scenes Look
Your audience craves authenticity, and behind-the-scenes content delivers. Whether it’s your creative process, workspace, or team, sharing exclusive glimpses into your world can strengthen your connection with followers.
6. Highlight Your Team Members
Every influencer has a support system, whether family, friends, or colleagues. Featuring your team in your content adds a personal touch and helps your audience get to know you better.
7. Show the Value of Your Product or Service
If you promote a product on Instagram, don’t assume your audience understands its benefits. Create content that demonstrates its value and addresses potential consumer questions.
8. Create Recap Videos
Recap videos are a versatile content format that can summarize events, highlight favorite moments, or showcase your work over a specific period. These concise videos are easy to produce and share.
9. Utilize FaceTime for Content
You can record Instagram video calls. Use this feature to connect with guests or collaborators and create engaging content that sparks conversation among your followers.
10. Showcase Collaborations
Partnering with another creator can introduce you to new audiences and inspire fresh content ideas. Highlighting your collaborative work can strengthen your connection with existing followers and attract new ones.
11. Incorporate Music into Your Videos
Instagram offers a vast library of songs and sounds to enhance your videos. Use trending audio to increase your content’s discoverability or create original music to showcase your personality and creativity.
12. Start a Countdown Series
Create countdown content to build excitement for upcoming events or launches. These videos engage your audience and encourage them to anticipate the big day with you.
13. Celebrate Holidays with Your Audience
Holidays are a fun opportunity to connect with your followers and create themed content. Share your unique traditions and invite your audience to participate, fostering community and engagement.
14. Explore Time-Lapse Video Opportunities
Time-lapse videos compress hours of activity into seconds, creating visually captivating content. This technique can be used to showcase projects, events, or personal challenges engagingly.
15. Experiment with Animation
Animation can add a whimsical touch to your videos and allow creative storytelling. Even simple animations can capture your audience’s attention and encourage sharing.
16. Announce Product Launches
Create teaser content before new products are released to generate buzz. This strategy builds anticipation and encourages followers to engage with your content and brand.
15 Best Niches for Instagram Marketing
1. Traveling: A World of Opportunities
The travel sector is enormous. Today's travelers love to visit new places and share their experiences on social media. Consider this: 60% of travelers, including 97% of millennials, post their travel photos online. Furthermore, 87% turn to social media for travel inspiration, and 40% of consumers under 33 prioritize a destination’s Instagrammability when planning trips.
These statistics demonstrate that Instagram offers countless opportunities for aspiring travel bloggers. If you enjoy traveling, you can monetize your Instagram presence in various ways. For instance, the couple behind the Salt In Our Hair blog travels the globe.
It earns a living by creating travel content, including stunning photos and videos, writing blogs, and promoting travel-related products on its popular Instagram account. Its cohesive, eye-catching feed showcases its photographers' skills and serves as a platform to encourage its photo filters.
2. Fashion and Personal Style: Monetization Possibilities
Fashion and personal style remain profitable niches on Instagram, with influencers earning up to $10,000 per post, according to Hopper HQ. To capitalize on this sector, consider launching a unique clothing line using Gelato’s customizable apparel, partnering with well-known fashion brands to share affiliate links, collaborating with companies to promote their products through engaging content, offering exclusive paid styling tips, and providing personalized virtual styling sessions for a fee.
The fashion niche boasts high engagement rates and diverse revenue streams, making it ideal for maximizing profitability. Use Gelato's mockup generator to create visually appealing, shareable Instagram content in seconds.
3. Beauty: Influencer and Brand Opportunities
Social media plays a significant role in the beauty industry. Today, 65% of teens discover and purchase beauty products through social media and influencers. This trend explains why 96% of beauty brands maintain a presence on Instagram. Before purchasing, modern users seek beauty tutorials, makeup hacks, and product reviews.
This niche offers numerous ways for brands and influencers to connect with their target audiences, boost eCommerce sales, and promote their products. Influencers like Huda Kattan, who has 39.3 million followers on Instagram, exemplify this model. Kattan promotes her beauty brand on the platform and utilizes IGTV to share makeup tutorials, product reviews, and beauty hacks, generating millions of views.
4. Sustainable Living: Authenticity and Engagement
Sustainable living is more than a trend; it’s a booming niche with impressive engagement. According to a Nielsen report, 73% of global consumers would definitely or probably change their consumption habits to reduce their environmental impact.
Here are a few ways to monetize this niche
- Partner with brands to promote eco-friendly products and showcase zero-waste or sustainable fashion.
- Sell Gelato’s customizable products, such as reusable tote bags and eco-friendly apparel.
- Share DIY projects for upcycling, review sustainable products, and offer tips for eco-friendly living.
- Collaborating with brands in these profitable niches can lead to lucrative sponsorships and affiliate marketing opportunities.
- Remember, authenticity is vital in this community.
5. Health and Fitness: High Revenue Potential
Today, people are concerned about their health. The fitness industry is booming: its total revenue achieved $244B in 2023. Regarding Instagram, users are looking for health and fitness products, workouts, and tools. Thus, this niche is another great way to promote fitness products and services and make money on the platform.
Let’s take the fitness tracker tool Whoop, for example. The company shares valuable tips on reaching athletic peak performance, which helps it prove its niche expertise, promote the tool, and attract new customers. For Whoop, Instagram marketing is a great way to grow the subscriber base. However, the company allows its fans to use the tool for free.
In partnership with Talkable, Whoop has developed a referral program that drives over 10% of new subscription sign-ups. This offer benefits all customers: advocates get a free month of service, and referred friends receive $30 off the first-month subscription.
6. Home Decor and Interior Design: Creative Avenues for Monetization
Home decor and interior design are lucrative niches with significant Instagram engagement. According to Statista, the global home decor market will reach $838.6 billion by 2027, reflecting high consumer interest.
Here are a few ways to monetize this niche
- Partner with brands to showcase furniture, artwork, and decor items.
- Use Gelato’s range of customizable products, like art prints and canvas prints.
- Share room makeovers, design tips, before-and-after transformations, and interior styling ideas.
- Leverage Instagram Stories and shoppable posts to drive sales and collaborations.
- The key is to create engaging, visually appealing content that reflects the latest trends in decor.
7. Lifestyle: Connecting and Engaging Audiences
Believe it or not, we love talking about ourselves: 80% of social media posts are dedicated to our lives, thoughts, and opinions. It’s in our nature to compare our lives with others, so it’s no wonder an average Instagram user spends 53 minutes daily on the platform.
Oliver showcases his lifestyle, and it grabs the attention of Instagrammers – the influencer has over 716k followers. With a solid following, it’s no wonder brands of all sizes and shapes want to collaborate with Oliver. Here’s how he promotes products on his profile:
8. DIY Crafts and Handmade Goods: E-Commerce and Engagement Opportunities
The DIY crafts and handmade goods niche is booming, with the global crafts market expected to reach $50.9 billion by 2024 (Source: Grand View Research).
Instagram is a visual platform perfect for showcasing creativity through:
- Use Gelato's customizable products to create and sell unique art prints directly to your target audience.
- Monetize your crafts by offering paid online classes or exclusive content.
- Take orders for personalized items crafted to individual tastes.
- Building a strong brand presence through strategic collaborations with influencers and promoting your Gelato print-on-demand products via stunning Instagram posts can help drive engagement and sales.
9. Parenting: Connecting Communities and Sharing Valuable Content
Modern parents are more connected than ever. According to Business Instagram, 68% of Millennial moms use Instagram daily, the average mom checks Instagram six times daily, and 78% take action after seeing inspiring content on Instagram.
Moreover, dads are also active on the platform: almost half of the dads follow businesses, and 69% take action from the content they see. Simply put, the parenting niche is gaining in popularity. This means an excellent opportunity for parents to connect with other moms and dads, share their parenting tips, and make money on Instagram.
Naomi Davis, also known as Taza on Instagram, is an excellent example of a parenting blogger celebrating family and motherhood on the platform. Raising her five kids, Naomi shows off her life, shares her tips, and inspires parents around the globe.
10. Travel and Adventure: Leveraging Engagement for Profit
Travel and adventure continue to be a lucrative niche on Instagram, with travel-related content seeing a 40% higher engagement rate than other types, according to Hopper HQ.
Here’s how to profit from this
- Partner with hotels, airlines, and travel gear companies for sponsored posts.
- Use Gelato's customizable merchandise, such as travel journals, mugs, and apparel.
- You can tailor these items to feature unique travel graphics or inspirational quotes.
- Create and sell digital content, such as eBooks and exclusive travel itineraries.
- Utilize Instagram to drive traffic to a monetized blog featuring ads and affiliate links.
11. Business: Valuable Content and Engagement Opportunities
Today, people have various business opportunities at their fingertips. It’s easier than ever to make money online or start your home-based business. Thus, people are looking for business tips, tricks, hacks, and how-tos; they also follow successful entrepreneurs and businessmen to draw inspiration from them.
When it comes to business accounts, no matter what you choose, whether you promote public speaking tips, online marketing tools, or startup ideas and failures, the main idea is to share valuable tips and tricks on how to make money.
Gary creates massive pillar content (videos, IG stories, posts), sharing tips and tricks on running a business. But if you’re not one of the world’s most well-known fashion entrepreneurs, you may have trouble posting high-quality visuals of your business activity. However, you can use business stock photos in your marketing content to grab your followers' attention and share your expert thoughts on niche topics.
12. Food and Cooking: Engaging and Monetizing Audiences
Food and cooking enthusiasts reign supreme on Instagram, with the platform's 1.16 billion users (Statista) highly receptive to culinary content. Influencer Marketing Hub shows food influencers can earn $1,000 to $10,000 per post based on follower count and engagement.
Here are some ways to monetize this niche: Share high-quality cooking tips, recipe photos, and tutorials—partner with food brands for sponsored content. Sell personalized recipe books using Gelato's customizable products. Promote online cooking classes or virtual workshops.
13. Music: Engaging and Monetizing Audiences
Who else loves music? Most people are fond of music, and 20% of the population claims music can feel like a friend. Thus, people love listening to music and playing musical instruments. Ariana Grande (167m), Selena Gomez (161), and Beyoncé (135m) are among the top 10 most-followed Instagram accounts of all time.
With the music industry's popularity, musicians can monetize their Instagram accounts in many ways. Here’s how Sellfy’s user, Adam McInnis, makes money as a music industry entrepreneur. Being one of the top Sellfy sellers in the music niche, he has earned 20K in two months, and Instagram helps him promote his products.
14. Animals and Pets: Opportunities for Engagement and Monetization
According to Grand View Research, the pet industry is booming, with an estimated market size of $232 billion by 2030. Instagram is the perfect platform to leverage this growing demand from animal lovers for pet care tips and products.
Here’s how
- Share adorable moments, product reviews, and brand endorsements.
- Pet influencers like @jiffpom have millions of followers, showcasing the potential for high engagement.
- Use your platform to raise awareness for animal welfare and collaborate with non-profits, which can also attract charitable partnerships.
- Sell custom pet products like personalized pet beds, feeding mats, or apparel.
- Gelato’s customizable products can be perfect for creating unique, branded items.
- Leveraging Instagram analytics tools and Gelato’s mockup generator can optimize your sales strategies and boost profitability in this lucrative niche.
15. Photography: Showcasing and Monetizing Talent
As a photo-sharing tool, it’s no wonder that Instagram is all about photography. Today, users upload 95 million photos and videos daily. Whether you’re a brand or influencer, you must take eye-catching images to create a cohesive Instagram feed and stand out from the crowd. Thus, the platform's photography industry is popular (and profitable). For example, Keydrin Keylo Franklin is experienced in photography and uses Instagram to promote his tutorials.
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- Viral Social Media Posts
- Viral Marketing and How to Craft Contagious Content
- Types of Viral Marketing
- How to Go Viral on X
- How to Get More Reach on Twitter
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- Instagram Marketing Strategies
Create Viral Shorts In Seconds With Crayo
Crayo AI is the fastest way to create short videos. Create unlimited short videos at once. Crayo even auto-generates captions, effects, background, and music for you. Take advantage of an opportunity of a lifetime and make easy money with the Tiktok creator fund program. Go from ideas to short videos in seconds:
- Write an outline/prompt,
- Customize the style (select a background video, voice narrator, and music from Crayo’s free templates),
- Finish and export! Go viral, make money, and make clips in seconds with Crayo.
Try Crayo’s free clip creator tool today — just click the ‘Try Now’ button on our homepage to get started. No account required! Go from prompt to viral short videos in minutes with Crayo.