Instagram is by far and away my favourite social media platform. I just love the positive vibe. Over the years I’ve put a lot of time and effort into growing my Instagram account and now have over 11k predominantly local followers on my @mollyinderbyshire account. I’ve made great friends (some of who have now translated into genuine, real life friends) and have had some amazing opportunities from it. Here are my most useful Instagram posts about Derbyshire of 2021, and some tips about how to create content on Instagram that people will want to save.
Helping small businesses grow on Instagram is one of the services I offer as part of my freelance social media consultancy and coaching work. Scroll down for some tips to produce this kind of content yourself.
My Top 10 Most Saved Instagram Posts in 2021
The idea for the top ten most useful posts comes entirely from the lovely Sarah, Girl About Hampshire. Follow her on Instagram here.
My top ten is determined by the number of ‘saves’ they received (although I’ve only counted the first most saved post if I’ve posted about a topic more than once).
10th – Veganuary – The Best Vegan Food in Derbyshire
This post, featuring the gorgeous neon sign at Plant (their photo credit) was saved 29 times. You can read more here.
9th – 10 lovely Derbyshire Places currently open for Takeaway Coffees and a Walk
Saved 30 times, this post was popular during lockdown (let’s hope we never have to go back to that miserable time). You can read the full blog post here.
8th – Cosy Pubs in Derbyshire and the Peak District
Saved 38 times, this gorgeous shot of the Royal Oak Hurdlow (their photo credit) worked a treat to promote my guide to cosy pubs in Derbyshire and the Peak District.
7th – Favourite Farm Shops
This beautiful shot, taken by Stretton Hall Farm Shop of their incredible cake counter was used to promote my blog post, which has since been updated to 12 Favourite Farm Shops was saved 41 times.
6th – 3 Quirkily Romantic Places to Stay in Derbyshire and the Peak District
This post was to celebrate Valentine’s Day and was saved 43 times.
5th – Dog Friendly Derbyshire Dales
Several other posts promoting my 60+ dog friendly places to eat blog post also made the most saved list, but this got the most saves (62). I suspect it’s because of the gorgeous Snowy!
4th – Favourite Beer Gardens
My blog post on the best places with outdoor seating in Derbyshire is by far and away my most popular blog post, so it’s no surprise that this was a popular Instagram post. This was saved 104 times.
3rd – 5 Quirky Places to Stay in Derbyshire and the Peak District
This post was saved 131 times. Read about our most recent mini break, staying at The Cow luxury B&B.
2nd – Pram Friendly Walks in Derbyshire
Saved 161 times, this post about pram friendly walks was a huge hit on Instagram. You can read the full blog post here.
No. 1 – THE most useful post I published last year
This post was saved a whopping 202 times. It’s a list of 19 brilliant playgrounds in Derbyshire, you can read about that in more detail here.
If you’re just here for the Derbyshire content – that’s all folks – thank you so much, as always, for reading.
But, if you run a small business – or maybe you’re a blogger looking to develop your own socials – maybe the next bit is more useful for you.
What on earth is a save on Instagram?
Users can save posts by tapping the little ribbon icon on the right hand side underneath the photo. To access your saved posts, go to your profile page, tap the three lines in the right hand corner and then tap ‘Saved’ (with the same ribbon icon).
Why should I care whether or not people save my posts?
It’s certainly not the only metric you should be paying attention to. And there’s lots of myths about how valuable saves are… but ultimately think about it as a user. When you’re scrolling on Instagram, which content do you save? Personally, I save posts that I want to come back to. Posts that are particularly useful to me… and that means that I come back to that account and am more likely to eventually buy into whatever it is they’re offering.
How to create content on Instagram that people want to save
Here are my top tips for creating saveable content on Instagram:
Provide value
People will generally only save posts that they want to return to in the future. So aim to be useful – or informative. What tips can you share? If you’re a café or restaurant maybe share a recipe, or provide a wine pairing for a popular dish. If you’re a beauty salon consider sharing some seasonal skincare tips – or whatever it is that your audience is coming to you for.
Remind people to save it
Don’t beg and for goodness sake don’t plead for people to save every single one of your posts (because unless it’s someone totally and utterly in love with you, they just won’t). But if a post is genuinely useful a gentle little reminder to save it is fine.
Don’t exhaust yourself trying to make every post save-able
Posts like this take time and planning. Unless you are some kind of content creating machine you probably shouldn’t be churning out content like this much more than once a week. Rotate this high value content with other types of content e.g. Reels.
Repeat your best content
Use your insights to analyse which of your posts are resonating best with your audience. Then repeat them! Not everyone will see all of your posts so don’t be scared to repeat yourself. And/or ring the changes with a different picture, a slightly different slant etc.
If this all sounds like too much work and you’d like some help developing this kind of content for your own socials – get in touch.
To find out more about how to develop your Instagram to get more sales, head here.
Please feel free to share this post with anyone looking to grow their Instagram account.
