You know what they say about content: you publish once and distribute forever. One way to put this into action is by learning how to turn articles into Instagram posts.
This repurposing strategy can help you diversify your content, expand your reach, and generate more social media engagement. However, maintaining the quality of repurposed content may be time-consuming and require some specialized skills, especially if you’re managing multiple social media accounts. You’ll also need to ensure your content is relevant and stays fresh.
In this article, I’ll explain how you can turn blog posts into Instagram posts, including post ideas, and best practices to implement. Let’s get into it!
Benefits of turning blog content into Instagram posts
Content repurposing involves creatively adapting existing content into different formats suitable for other platforms.
Wondering what marketers or small business owners stand to gain when repurposing old content? Here are three benefits of repurposing your blog content into Instagram posts:
- Extended lifespan of articles
By repurposing content for Instagram, you’re giving your blog content a second wind. You get to maximize your initial effort to create the article and sustain its impact afterward.
- Increased visibility
Repurposing is a no-brainer if you want more reach. You can use a specialized tool like Planable to organize, schedule, and even post Instagram content strategically to optimize visibility and increase audience interaction.
- Catering to audience preferences
Everyone consumes content differently, so repurposing gives you access to more people. Instagram’s different content formats also allow you to cater to various types of Instagram users.
How to convert a blog post into an Instagram post
Converting a blog post to an Instagram post can be quite tasking, but a well-structured IG content calendar will be your greatest ally in staying organized.
Here’s a simple step-by-step process to guide your content repurposing:
1. Identify the key points in the blog post
Start by deciding what you want to repurpose. Ensure you thoroughly read the article and understand the main points, message, and noteworthy information.
Identify three to five key takeaways or exciting points that may resonate with your Instagram audience. These key points will serve as core messages for your repurposed content, making it easier for your audience to consume and relate to.
For example, if you wrote a how-to article all about social media content creation, you could use the steps explained in the article to create a carousel post.
A perfect example is how this blog post about Instagram story ideas was turned into a carousel post using eye-catching visuals and a simple approach.
Planable’s repurposed Instagram post from an blog article
2. Create engaging content
The next thing you want to do is ensure you create for socials. People on social media platforms are attracted to captivating captions, great hooks, and high-quality images and videos.
Visuals should be your next focus after you’ve perfected your IG captions. You can design visually appealing graphics that complement your captions by using tools like Canva, Photoshop, or Adobe Spark.
Relevant photos, infographics, or even short video clips are also great for creating engaging content:
- Infographics are great for data-driven points.
- Quotes can be visually presented to highlight exciting statements from the article.
- Images should be high-quality and relevant to the content.
Another great example is this article about what to post on Instagram turned into an Instagram post.
Repurposed Instagram Post in Planable
3. Leverage Instagram’s range of features
Instagram is a social app that prioritizes different content formats for users. Knowing which format works best for different articles is essential for repurposing. With Instagram, you can create:
- Carousel posts: If you have multiple points to share, consider using a carousel post to allow users to swipe through different takeaways.
- Stories: Share key points as Instagram stories, possibly with swipe-up links to the full article (if you have over 10k followers or a verified account).
- Reels: Create short, engaging videos summarizing the article’s points or discussing its implications more personally.
You should track how your target audience responds to each format as you experiment with them. This way, you’ll learn which ones work best as part of your content marketing efforts.
Planable’s built-in analytics feature provides you with all the info you need to see your top-performing posts, as well as engagement reports for extra insights.
Social media analytics dashboard in Planable
4. Add hashtags and mentions
Contrary to what many are saying, hashtags are not dead. Only the irrelevant ones are being phased out. The rule of thumb for using hashtags is to ensure they relate to your content, be that Instagram Stories, Reels, or feed posts.
Hashtags: Using relevant and trending hashtags can give your posts more visibility. Instagram allows you to use up to 30 hashtags in a post, but it’s best to use five to 10 relevant ones.
You can also include mentions, capitalizing on trends for expert-led content from industry leaders.
Mentions: If the article mentions specific individuals, brands, or organizations, tag their Instagram accounts in your post or caption to increase engagement and visibility.
Check out this blog article on social media content pillars and how it was transformed into an engaging carousel, using hashtags that were directly relevant to the content.
Blog article repurposed in an Instagram post on Planable’s IG account
5. Plan, post, engage
Once the preparation is done, it’s time to hit the share button. Using a social media calendar can help you plan and manage your content and streamline your repurposing processes.
To schedule your posts: You can use Instagram’s native scheduler or a specialized IG tool to save time and effort in the process.
Post scheduling options in Planable
And remember! Engage with your audience after you post, monitor comments, and interact with followers to encourage further discussions.
5 types of Instagram posts to create from articles
Need some ideas for Instagram posts you can create from repurposed content? I’ve got you covered:
1. High-performing Instagram carousel posts
Carousels on Instagram will never go out of style. You can select the key points of your article and turn them into a carousel post. Use multiple images and fun visuals in the carousel to make it even more attractive for your social audience.
To keep the quality of your posts high and increase engagement, use an all-in-one social media management tool like Planable. With Planable, you can schedule your carousels, organize your Instagram feed, and continue consistently serving your audience.
2. Engaging, eye-catching infographics
You’ll always go right with visually appealing infographics. Leverage blog articles that contain rich data, graphs, statistics, or charts to create shareable images for your social channels.
The visuals can make it easier for your audience to digest complex information and push them to learn more about what your content is saying. Adding a strong call to action (CTA) to your infographic can prove helpful in driving traffic to the blog article you’re repurposing.
3. High-engagement tutorial Instagram Reels
If you have many how-to guides and tutorial articles on your blog, you can shorten them into a series of short videos for your Instagram account. Make them simple, use clear instructions, and incorporate storytelling into the narration and caption.
The goal is to deliver a practical, relatable, and educative Reel to your followers. Video content tends to perform well, reaching more people and helping build a stronger audience on the Instagram app.
4. Fun Instagram Stories snippet
When it comes to social media content consumption, tapping into your audience’s curiosity is important. Once you pique your target audience’s interest, you can steer their attention towards your repurposed blog post.
Make fun story snippets about your blog post. It could be a funny story example you cited, a controversial opinion, or a strong POV. Then link the blog article to your stories and watch them head over to the blog to satisfy their curiosity.
5. Animated GIFs and memes
Like video content, animated GIFs attract people’s attention. They are short looping videos that convey a message in a playful and captivating way. Because they are often funny, they go viral more easily on any social media platform.
For example, suppose your blog article is “A guide to social media marketing”. In that case, you can create an animated GIF showing how social media managers react when they get clients, lose clients, and other fun things relating to points in the article and share it with your Instagram audience.
See an example of this meme on Instagram by Pretty Little Marketer.
How to use Planable to turn articles into Instagram posts
As a creator looking to thrive in 2024, repurposing should be a big part of your content marketing strategy. And Planable is the perfect tool to collaborate on crossover content.
With Planable’s Universal Content features you can plan, collaborate on, and approve any written content. This means you can take a new blog post from ideation through to repurposing, and then schedule your Instagram posts to go live all in one place.
Collaboration on a blog post in Planable
You can use Planable’s highly customizable and visual content calendar to map out your blog and social media strategies, with color-coded tags and filters to help you see the most relevant information at any given time.
Content calendar in Planable
As you collaborate on repurposing your blog post content for Instagram, you can get real time feedback through comments, annotations, and suggestions directly on the post.
Collaboration on an Instagram post in Planable
Planable’s IG grid view (combined with the ability to polish pictures and edit videos) means that you’ll always keep your profile on point.
Instagram grid view in Planable
Then, approval of your repurposed posts works according to how you set things up, with four levels to choose from: none, optional, required, or multi-level.
Approval flows in Planable
Using an IG content planner like Planable, you can go beyond just effortlessly scheduling your Instagram posts and build a consistent presence across every major social media platform.
Repurposing blog articles into Instagram posts best practices
What should you do if you want to ace repurposing your blog articles into Instagram posts? Here are my secrets:
- Stay true to your brand: Your content style, tone, and visuals must align with your brand identity and Instagram aesthetic.
- Follow copyright laws: Instagram is strict on copyright. As a creator, you should always credit the original article and remember to obtain the right to use any images or content you post.
- Analyze performance: Don’t just keep repurposing without tracking what’s working. Use Instagram Insights to track the performance of your posts and adjust your content strategy based on what content resonates most with your audience.
Ready to reach more people on Instagram with repurposing?
Content distribution is an essential part of a sound marketing strategy. As you plan and create your blog content, keep in mind how you can extend its reach by repurposing it for Instagram.
Now that you know how to get started, what to consider, and how to organize your repurposing processes, go ahead and start working on those Instagram posts.
Want to try a tool designed to make things easier? Try Planable and get 50 free posts!
Huge fan of product-led content; nerding out on deep research and thoughtful perspective on everything SaaS and marketing. You can always find Inks scrolling through socials or immersed in a good book.
