What to post on Instagram when you've run out of ideas

Feeling that familiar shadow of content paralysis?

Here are some things that might just help…

You know the drill. You're staring at your phone, cursor blinking in that empty caption box, and your brain has officially checked out. Nothing feels right. Everything sounds forced. You've posted your product seventeen times this month already and honestly, even you're getting bored of looking at it.

If this sounds familiar, you're not alone. Instagram burnout is real, and it happens to everyone (including me! I completely checked out of my own business Insta almost immediately, focusing on LinkedIn instead because it was all just too much).

BUT! Here’s the good part. You don't need to reinvent the wheel every single time you post. You just need a few solid ideas you can reach for when your creativity has left the building.

Stop trying to be perfect

If you're stuck because you're trying to make every post a masterpiece, that's your problem right there.

Instagram rewards consistency over perfection. A slightly wonky photo that you posted beats the hell out of the perfectly curated image that's been sitting in your drafts for three weeks because you're "not quite happy with the lighting."

Post it and move tf on. Nobody's scrutinising your content as much as you are (and if they are, that’s just a bit weird tbh).

The stuff that works (and doesn't need a film crew)

Show something mid-process

Not the finished result, that gloriously messy bit in the middle, where you're halfway through and it looks terrible but you know it'll be good eventually. People like seeing the work, not just the polished end product.

Got a half-written email campaign? A mood board covered in sticky notes? A desk absolutely buried in paperwork? All of that is content. Caption it with something honest about what you're working on and you're sorted.

Answer the question you get asked all the time

You know the one, tha thing clients always ask in discovery calls (even though your FAQs are RIGHT THERE on your website). The question that makes you go "oh god, not this again" because you've explained it 47 times already.

Write a post about it. Better yet, make a quick video where you just... answer it. Just chatting straight to the camera, like you’re talking to a pal.

People are clearly confused about this thing, so help them out. And save yourself from answering it individually for the 48th time.

Reshare something that worked before

Nobody remembers what you posted six months ago. They barely remember what you posted last week.

Find a post from your archive that did well, update the caption if you need to, and post it again. You can even be upfront about it: "Sharing this again because apparently half of you missed it the first time."

Your newer followers definitely didn't see it. Your older followers won't care.

Post about the thing everyone's getting wrong

There's always something. Some myth in your industry that won't die. Some terrible advice that keeps circulating. Some DIY disaster you see small businesses attempting all the time.

Call it out! Explain why it's nonsense, and tell people what they should be doing instead.

This is easy content because you're probably already ranting about it to your mates anyway. Just rant on Instagram instead.

Share something you found helpful

A podcast episode, an article, a tool you've started using, something another business is doing that you think is brilliant.

You don't need to create everything from scratch. Sharing useful stuff makes you helpful, and being helpful makes people like you. Groundbreaking stuff, I know.

Show your workspace (however messy it is)

People are nosy. They want to see where you work, what your desk looks like, whether you're a coffee or tea person, if you've got a pet that interrupts Zoom calls.

You don't need a Pinterest-perfect home office. Just show them what it looks like when you're actually working. Mug rings on the desk and all.

Talk about something that didn't work

People love this one. The campaign that flopped or an idea you were excited about that turned out to be rubbish.

Nobody's winning all the time, and pretending you are just makes you look like you're lying. Be honest about the stuff that didn't land. People appreciate it more than you'd think.

Go behind the scenes on literally anything

Packing orders. Prepping for a client meeting. How you plan your content (oh, the irony). Recording a podcast. Editing a newsletter.

The boring admin stuff you do every week is interesting to people who don't do what you do. Film it on your phone, chuck it in a Reel, add a caption explaining what you're doing and there's your content sorted.

Run a poll or ask a question

Stories make this stupidly easy. Ask people to vote on something. Get their opinion. Let them choose between two options.

Then (and this is the important bit) actually use their answers. Make a post based on what they said. It's content that writes itself and makes your followers feel involved at the same time.

Share a client result (with permission, obviously)

People love a before and after. If you can show what a client came to you with and what you helped them achieve, you’re showing your audience what you can do for them, too!

This doesn't need to be a full-blown case study with graphs and testimonials (though that's great if you've got it). Just show the work you did and why it mattered.

People want proof you can do what you say you can do. Give it to them.

What you don't need to do

You don't need to jump on every single trend. Most of them don't suit your brand anyway, and trying to force it just makes you look like you're trying too hard.

You don't need to post every single day if you've got nothing worth saying. I'd take quality over quantity any day of the week.

You don't need to overthink your captions. Write like you talk - if you wouldn't say it out loud to a client, don't write it in a caption.

And you definitely don't need to stress about this as much as you probably are.

Just post something

The Instagram algorithm doesn't care if your post is a work of art. It cares if people engage with it.

So stop waiting for inspiration to strike and just pick something from this list. Film it on your phone, write a caption that doesn't make you cringe (okay, it might make you cringe a little bit, but that’s okay!), post it, and then go do literally anything else with your day.

You'll have another idea eventually. And when you don't, you've got this list to come back to.

If all of that STILL seems too overwhelming, it might be the sign you’ve been looking for that you could use an extra set of hands to help you out with your social media…

Wow, what a coincidence - that’s me!

Drop me a message and let’s chat about how I can help shufty that overwhelming sense of Instagram panic out of your brain, and into mine.