Instagram is an undeniably powerful marketing tool, but with over 25 million businesses on the platform today, it’s critical you take the time to create well-designed and thoughtful Instagram posts to stand out. You’ll need to apply a strategic design plan to your business’s Instagram to attract a loyal following and find success on the app, long-term.

However, creating a clean and cohesive Instagram feed takes design skills you might feel you lack. Plus, Instagram’s algorithm favors brands that post atleast once a day — that time commitment could be adding to your stress.

If that’s the case, you’re in luck — there are ways you can create pre-made Instagram post templates, so you’ve got a stash ready-to-go. Plus, by ensuring you use the same templates for different posts, you’ll have an easier time creating a cohesive and aesthetically-pleasing feed.

Choose your post format

While traditional Instagram posts to your permanent timeline are more long-lasting and allow for comments and likes, you shouldn’t underestimate the power of Instagram Stories, which can be used for more immediate needs and occasions.

In fact, 500 million accounts use the Instagram Stories feature daily. So, when you’re creating your post, ask yourself if it warrants publication as a story or as a traditional post.

Choose an image

Maybe you’ve decided your post doesn’t need a photograph and that text overlay on a solid-color background will work for you. If that’s the case, hop over to the next step.

If you’ve decided you do want to use a photograph – particularly if you want one as the background for text overlay – you’ve got a few options.

• Take a photo on your phone or with a camera. No need to be a professional photographer for your Instagram posts.
• Use a photo from your company’s files. This works well if you need to utilize team photos or product photography, which may be better quality.
• Use a stock photo that pertains to your business (just make sure you don’t use the same one multiple times!).

Add design elements

Instagram post templates come with design placeholders for text with special fonts and other elements. Your next step is to alter, add, or remove any elements that you see fit. This includes updating the copy so it reflects the information you want followers to know and/or the action you want them to take.

Upload to Instagram

Once you have your photo saved, it’s time to upload it to share with your followers. For a traditional post, open Instagram, click the “+” button in the bottom center, choose your photo, add any filter, description, or hashtags, and click “Share.”

For an Instagram story post, click on the camera icon in the top left of your screen, access your camera roll in the bottom left of the screen, choose your image, minimize the date that shows up to the point where it can’t be seen, and add any further design elements – like a GIF or additional copy – to the image. From there, click “Your Story” on the bottom left.