31 Engaging Content Calendar Ideas For Instagram (2024)

Instagram is the #1 way that consumers stay connected with their favorite brands. People want to connect with businesses and individuals on a deeper level. Insta posts and Reels allow you to tell stories, show your personal and business journey and keep people engaged.

However, filling a content calendar can be a real challenge without a social media manager taking the reins.

We’re going to share over 30 Instagram content calendar ideas to help you fill up an entire month’s worth of content for your posting schedule.

Why You Should Have Instagram Content Calendar Ideas?

Not sure what a content calendar is or why you need one? It’s a detailed way to handle your social media posts. You’ll create a calendar that includes:

You can create your calendar on Google Sheets or in Excel, or you’ll find plenty of third-party posting tools that allow you to make a posting schedule and will even handle the posting for you.

Consistent posts lead to greater exposure and followers. Your posting will also satisfy Instagram’s algorithm to help your content get seen more.

31 Instagram Content Calendar Ideas

Fill up your Instagram posting calendar for an entire month with the following ideas:

1. Q&A

Engage your audience with a bit of questions and answers. You can ask followers to ask you questions and then answer them in a post or Story. You can also gather data on the questions that people ask your business most often and:

Q&As are engaging and allow you to humanize your account.

2. Share Testimonials

Testimonials show your business’s credibility and will help you build trust with your audience. You can do a few things:

Videos are extremely powerful for testimonials and will add a lot of credibility to your post. Some businesses will go as far as hiring a videographer and having customers come into their place of business for a professional shoot. 

3. Share an Inspirational Story

Inspiring stories are shared stories. You can either showcase an inspiring employee’s story or one of your follower’s stories. Perhaps a follower is recovering from a major illness, and you want to share their story with the world.

Adding in an inspiring story is a great choice when trying to fill content calendars, but spend the time to verify the story.

4. Create a Poll

Polls are engaging posts that you can add to your Story. You’ll find that followers engage with polls and they’re very easy to make:

5. Post Product Promotions and Photos

If you sell products, promote them. You can post just a picture of the product or even before-and-after promo photos. Imagine if you owned a lawn mower company. You can post a picture of the lawn mower, but it would be better to show:

You can also work with your marketing team to share product promotions.

6. Share Breaking Industry News

Industry news is always a good last resort. If you can’t find something to post, create a news post. If you know that there will be news releases on a certain date, you can plan these posts into your social calendar.

7. Spotlight Employees

Do you have an employee that exceeds expectations? You can make them spotlight employees for a post.

You have a few options here:

You’ll showcase your team to your followers and build employee morale with these types of posts.

8. Share a How-to Video

You know your product better than anyone in the world. Even if you’re not the manufacturer, you can create a how-to video that shows followers:

How-to and educational videos are some of the most engaging and are good posts to add into your calendar.

9. Share a Fun, Relatable Meme

Memes are lighthearted, relatable and fun. You can make memes using numerous platforms, such as:

10. Interview an Expert

Expert interviews offer you a wealth of content that you can add to your Instagram content calendar. You can connect with an expert in your industry, even if they work for you, and create:

You can also break the full interview down into multiple video posts that you can share.

11. Make an Announcement

Announcements can be made in image or video format. You can create an announcement for:

If you have something newsworthy or very important to share, make it a major announcement in image or video format.

12. Hop on a Trend

Trend hopping is often organic and can’t be planned, but you might be able to make this type of post work. For example, you may know that the New Year is coming up, so you can hop on the inevitable trend that occurs before the big day.

You can look for trending topics by:

Pay close attention to the influencers that you follow because they’ll be sure to post about trends that you can hop on, too.

13. Celebrate a Milestone

Milestones ought to be celebrated. You can post on any major milestone, such as:

If your followers are the reason for you reaching the milestone, you should thank them in your post. Followers love when you appreciate them.

14. Create a Challenge

Challenges are a fun way to keep your followers engaged, and they can span multiple days, too. You can choose a goal, such as:

Of course, you can challenge your followers and offer a prize, or you can simply challenge them to better themselves.

15. Create a Mini-Series in Your Posts

Businesses and individuals can share a “mini-series” inside of their posts. For example, you can post 10 photos that show people how to assemble your product, change a flat tire or virtually anything.

Posting a mini-series will require quite a bit of creatives, but they’re a great way to:

16. Share a Statistic and Talk About It

Did you find an interesting stat or fact? Share it with your followers and talk about it. If you’re an expert in your field or industry, your audience will love the insights that you share.

17. Throwback to an Older Post

Did you have a successful post from the past? Share a throwback to that post. Throwbacks are fun posts that your followers will enjoy.

Maybe you had a fun team event in the summer and captured a great photo of everyone having a good time. In the winter, you can share a throwback to that post and talk about how you’re dreaming of summer or wish you could relive that moment.

Posts like these tend to get a lot of engagement, so share them whenever they’re relevant and it’s appropriate.

18. Offer a Sneak Peek of an Upcoming Item

If you’re getting ready to launch a new product or service, promote it on your Instagram account by offering a sneak peek at it.

Your followers will feel like they’re getting an exclusive look at something before anyone else (which they are), and you’ll generate excitement and buzz about your launch.

19. Share a Behind the Scenes Video

Users want to get to know the people behind a brand. It makes your business feel more human and relatable. To humanize your brand, create a behind-the-scenes video and share it with your followers. 

They’ll get to see your team members and learn more about your company culture. Sharing fun moments among your team makes your brand more relatable and appealing to your followers.

20. Share Your New Blog or Video Content

If you’ve recently published a new blog post or video, share the news with your followers.

Not only is this a great opportunity to post on Instagram, but it will also help drive more traffic to your content.

If you post blogs regularly, you can add this kind of content to your calendar every month. It’s a simple way to keep your audience engaged with your brand and spark discussion about the post’s topic.

21. Create Holiday-Themed Content

Holidays are always a great opportunity to create content for Instagram. Along with the most popular calendar holidays, you can also create content related to more obscure holidays that your followers may find interesting.

For example, January 28th is National Fun at Work Day. You can create videos showing your team having fun at work or even throw a party and share it on Instagram to celebrate this holiday.

22. React to or Comment on a Viral Post

Hop on a trend train by reacting to or commenting on a post that’s recently gone viral. Offer a different perspective or controversial opinion. 

Video posts work best for this content idea because you can fully express your thoughts and takes on the viral post.

23. Share Fan or Customer Photos

Give a shout-out to fans or customers by sharing their photos. You can ask them to submit photos, or you can choose followers at random to feature. If you’re taking the second approach, consider reaching out to the follower first to get their permission to share.

Posting this kind of content will help your audience feel valued, and it’s a fun way to create a sense of community.

24. Schedule a Giveaway

Giveaways often go viral on Instagram, and they can be a great way to build brand awareness in a short period of time. 

You may not be able to offer giveaways every month, but they can be added to your content calendar whenever you can offer them.

Make sure that the prize is valuable enough to compel your audience to take action, and be sure to set clear parameters for entry (e.g., like, comment, follow and share).

25. Share an Inspiring Reel

Reels get a lot of engagement on Instagram, and they give you an opportunity to share more interesting video content. Users love inspirational stories, quotes and imagery, and they’re far more likely to share these kinds of reels with their friends.

Dedicate time to sharing inspiring reels that are relevant to your industry or niche. 

Inspiring your audience may help them take the next step with your brand (e.g., making a purchase) and build trust. 

26. Share a Short Demo

If you sell a product, you can share a short demo on your Instagram account. Adding demos to your content calendar can help sell your product because your followers can see how it works and the best way to use it.

You don’t have to demo the entire product. For example, if you’re a SaaS company, you can demo just a single feature of your platform. By taking this approach, you can spotlight different features and continue offering “mini” demos as fresh content.

27. Share Life or Product Hacks

Everyone loves a good life hack. We’re all looking for ways to get things done more quickly and efficiently. If you sell products, create content that shares great tips and hacks on how to use them.

Even if you don’t sell products, you can share your hacks for:

Instagram users love this kind of content and will eagerly share it with their own followers and friends.

28. “Thank” Your Followers

Your followers and customers make your business possible. It’s important to acknowledge this and thank them for their support.

Whether you reach a new follower milestone or some other achievement, this is the perfect opportunity to thank everyone. 

Thank-you posts help your customers and followers feel valued, and they can drive engagement. At the same time, you build a positive reputation in the community.

29. Ask Your Followers a Question

If you really want to drive engagement on your Instagram account, ask your followers a question. Asking a question gives your audience an opportunity to interact with your brand and your content. 

The key to success is to ask questions that people will be eager to answer. Pose questions that will make people want to jump at the chance to join in on the conversation.

You can ask questions related to:

You can also ask your followers to simply share their thoughts or experiences on a specific topic or product. 

HubSpot, a marketing and software company, asked their followers on Instagram to share their favorite marketing tips. 

Along with boosting engagement, asking questions can also help you better understand your audience. 

30. Share an Infographic

Infographics are always popular with social media users. People love statistics, and they love sharing them with others. 

Gather some interesting statistics related to your industry or niche and start creating infographics to share with your Instagram following. 

You can also create infographics for:

Infographics are perfect for Instagram because they are visual and eye-catching. They’re a great way to boost post engagement, so be sure to add them to your content calendar.

31. Host a Live Video Event

Live streams are a great way to boost engagement and interact with your followers. Instagram is a great platform for live sessions. In fact, 45% of live stream viewers in the U.S. use Instagram for viewing live streams, which is higher than the 31% that use YouTube for this purpose.

Make live events a part of your content calendar. You can use virtually any of the other ideas on this list for live streams: Q&A sessions, demos, promotions, announcements, how-tos and more.

If you host live streams once a month, your followers will start looking forward to it and tune in.

Wrapping Up

If you’re serious about growing your Instagram following and boosting brand engagement, consistency is crucial. A content calendar will help you stay consistent and create content intentionally and strategically. Use these ideas to fill up your Instagram content calendar, keep your audience engaged and grow your following.