Whilst product-based businesses may hold a lot of the Instagram spotlight, there are still plenty of ways you can use it as a service-based business owner to reach and engage with your target audience. Here are 15 Instagram content ideas for autumn to get you started.

1. Share a personal story about your business journey

To build on mental health awareness, why not share a meaningful post with your audience about your own personal experience i.e how you manage your business/job whilst balancing your mental health and your top tips? People open up more to businesses that share more behind the scenes as it helps establish a human connection with your audience. But only share what you are comfortable with and what feels authentic.

2. Do a quiz relevant to your business

Depending on what sector your business belongs to, creating a fun quiz can be a great way to connect and entertain your audience. You can make it relevant to your business or more general, for example, if you are a dog walker, test your audience on their knowledge of dog breeds or simply quiz them on autumn traditions.

3. Answer some FAQs

Have you noticed that your audience or prospective clients have been asking the same questions lately in your Instagram DMs? Turn them into a social media post or answer them personally on Instagram Stories to show your audience that you hear them and are listening to their needs.

4. Share your current achievements of the year/month

Have you had a recent win in your business? This could be anything from recently attaining or retaining a client, recruiting a new team member or reaching a small milestone in your business such as publishing 10 blogs to your website. Share it with the world and your professional network and emphasise how small wins are just as important to celebrate in your business as hitting the bigger milestones. It’s important as small business owners that we support each other in our successes.

5. Share any special offers for the month

Do you have an e-book, a special offer on one of your service packages or any last-minute consultation slots for the month that you can announce? If so, let your audience know on all the platforms you use, especially Instagram Stories or your email newsletter.

Don’t be afraid to shout about it! Reshare the offer bi-weekly or once every week depending on how well the offer is performing. People can easily miss things with the influx of content on social media these days, so don’t assume if you’ve announced something once that it’s been heard.

6. Solve a common myth or mistake in your industry

Whether it’s specific to the autumn season or relevant all year round, myth bust a fact that’s common in your industry. You can make it as humorous and light-hearted as you like. For example, if you’re a graphic designer, what’s a common mistake you see non-graphic designers make?

7. Share your favourite resources of the month

As human beings, we crave information and learning more about the world around us every day. If you’re an expert in your field, that makes you an excellent candidate for educating your audience on something new that they might not know about and this includes resources. Whether it’s books, podcasts, articles, a quote, or a social media blogger, share your favourite resources with your audience every month or so. You could even turn it into a monthly newsletter.

8. Share a how-to hack

On Instagram, hacks are quite literally everywhere, especially in the social media marketing world. It could be tips for filming a new reel idea or the quickest way to create a social media template. Whatever it is, people can’t get enough of them. The key is to share a hack that hasn’t been shared a million times over before. If you can break through the noise and share something valuable that hasn’t been shared before, you’re onto a winner. Utilise your expertise.

9. Show the behind the scenes

The truth about social media is that people are nosey! We want to know what the people we’re following are getting up to and having even a small glimpse into the behind-the-scenes of a business can be amazing for brand awareness. You don’t have to be doing anything exactly mindblowing with your day, even showing your morning routine can be enough to get people interested. The most popular way to do this is by video on TikTok or Instagram Stories or Reels.

10. Do a giveaway

Although product-based giveaways are infinitely more popular, especially on the likes of Instagram, service-based giveaways can still do wonders for your engagement. If it suits your business, why not give away a discount, free offer or free initial consultation for example? Your clients and potential customers will definitely appreciate it.

11. Share testimonials and success stories

If you don’t have any already, client testimonials are great for social proofing your business and showing off what your business can do to prospective clients. Always ask clients to leave you a testimonial, then pop it on your Instagram. You can even turn it into a mini case study to show off your strategy for achieving success.

12. Share a shocking statistic

Following on from sharing your favourite resources idea, did you find any interesting or shocking statistics related to your industry that your audience would want to know about? Remember to keep it concise and punchy and offer your expert opinion as to why it is important or what it means for your industry.

13. Repurpose an old post or piece of content

If you’re ever feeling totally stuck for content ideas, repurposing old content is often a much quicker solution. Look back on your Instagram Insights - what performed well that you can potentially transform into something new? For example, if you did a social media post about top tips in your industry, flip it on its head and discuss “mistakes to avoid”. You can find out more about ideas for repurposing your marketing content over on our blog here.

14. Share an insight from your career

What’s something you wish you knew before you started? Again, it could be specific to your industry or personal to you. Consistently showing the human side of your brand and admitting the mistakes you made along the way show growth and maturity that your audience will wholly appreciate.

15. Show off your latest client work

Did you recently complete a client project, campaign or single piece of work that you are proud of? With your client’s permission, share it on your social media platforms as a way of social proofing and showing people what you’re capable of. The more consistent you are with this the better.

We hope you find these Instagram content ideas useful for the autumn season. Do let us know if you try any of them out! For more marketing tips and advice, subscribe to our newsletter.

15 Instagram content ideas for service-based businesses for autumn