Instagram Flipbook 2026

Cruising is back with Hays Travel!

Contents Welcome! ...................................................................................................................................................... 3 Why Instagram is important for business ....................................................................................... 5 Content calendar planning .................................................................................................................... 6 Why plan Instagram content?..............................................................................................................7 How to plan a content calendar.........................................................................................................8 Content calendar example...................................................................................................................10 Navigating Instagram on a phone ..................................................................................................... 13 How to create an Instagram post on Emplifi ................................................................................ 15 Captions ........................................................................................................................................................ 16 Why captions are important...............................................................................................................17 Captions best practice..........................................................................................................................18 Caption ideas...........................................................................................................................................20 Content ideas for stories ...................................................................................................................... 23 Story ideas................................................................................................................................................24 Story guidelines......................................................................................................................................25 Instagram post guidelines ................................................................................................................... 27 Photography & filming tips .................................................................................................................. 29 Text overlay ................................................................................................................................................ 32 Benefits of using text overlays..........................................................................................................33 How to add an overlay.........................................................................................................................34 Audio in reels ............................................................................................................................................ 37 Analytics ...................................................................................................................................................... 39 Reminders .................................................................................................................................................... 41

Welcome to your Instagram how-to guide! This flipbook breaks down the basics so you can navigate Instagram confidently and with purpose.

🌟 What you can expect...

📝 The next steps are...

Content & ideas: Inspiration for posts, stories, reels, & more How to use Instagram: Step-by-step tips for navigating features Tips & tricks: Hacks to grow your reach & engagement Best practices: Do’s & don’ts to make your profile shine

Read the welcome pack : Get familiar with the guide & its tips

Explore each section: Flip through content ideas, tips, & best practices Try it out: Apply what you learn on your Instagram profile Reach out anytime: Have questions or need support? We’re here to help

INSTAGRAM TRAINING

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✌

Why Instagram is important for business

Build your brand – showcase your offers, values, and story visually.

Reach your audience – connect with millions of users.

Drive engagement – encourage likes, comments, shares, and conversations.

📝

💪

Boost bookings & leads – turn followers into customers with strategic posts.

Stay competitive – your competitors are on Instagram, don’t get left behind!

INSTAGRAM TRAINING

Why plan Instagram content?

🎯 Keeps brand consistent – Audience are aware of what to expect

Content calendar planning

💬 Improves engagement – Makes posts consistent, relevant, and intentional

✅ Post with purpose – support your goals (reach, engagement, bookings)

🎨 Stronger brand look and feel –

Cohesive posting and clear messaging

🕙 Efficiency – planning saves time to focus on creating higher-quality content

INSTAGRAM TRAINING

How to plan a content calendar:

Define content pillars

Set your goals

Posting schedule

Post ideas

Track and adjust

What do you want your content to achieve? Examples: Engagement, brand awareness, leads, bookings.

3-5 main themes you’ll be posting about consistently. Examples: Educate, behind-the-scenes, testimonials, etc.

Choose frequency and days by looking at previous successes.

Brainstorm hooks, captions, and visuals whilst including trending topics or seasonal posts where relevant.

Look at what’s working and edit

posting times, formats and topics depending on performance

INSTAGRAM TRAINING

Content calendar example

What to avoid:

Content type

Pillar

Post idea

CTA/engagement

Copying trends that have no relevance

“5 hidden gems you can’y miss”

‘Save this for your next trip!’

Monday

Carousel

Destination guides

“3 packing hacks every traveller needs”

‘Comment your favourite hack’

Inconsistent schedule

Tuesday

Reel

Travel tips

“Morning routine when travelling”

‘Share your morning routine!’

Wednesday

Reel

Behind-the-scenes

Posting without goals

“Sunset from the top of a famous landmark”

‘Tag a friend you’d go here with’

Thursday

Reel

Experiences

“Top 5 beaches in Greece”

‘Save & share with your travel bestie’

Neglecting engagement by not responding to customers or followers

Friday

Carousel

Travel inspiration

“Quick travel diary: Exploring New York”

‘Comment where we should go next’

Saturday

Reel

Personal journey

Low quality photos or videos can reduce engagements

‘Message us with your photos to be featured’

Sunday

Reel

Testimonials

Customer spotlight

INSTAGRAM TRAINING

Home page Here you’ll find posts and stories from people you follow

Profile View and edit your account from this section

🏠

👤

Where: Tap the Home icon on the bottom left

Where: Tap your profile picture on the bottom right

Navigating Instagram on a phone

Search Use this feature to find people, videos, and topics

Messages Send private messages

🔍

💬

Where: Tap the message icon in the top right of Home

Where: Tap the magnifying glass on the bottom bar

Add text overlay (optional)

✏

Post Share photos, videos, or stories from here

➕

• On the edit screen, tap Edit • Look for Text or Aa • Type your text • Move the text by dragging it on the screen • Change size or style if needed • Tap Done or Next

Where: Tap the magnifying glass on the bottom bar

INSTAGRAM TRAINING

How to create an Instagram post on Emplifi

Step 1: Open Emplifi Publisher in your browser Step 2: Look for the “Create post” button in Publisher Step 3: Click to add media (photo/video) from your files

Step 4: Type your caption (the words that go with your post). You can include hashtags (#) and mentions (@) here too Step 5: Choose post options (Set scheduling time, add your labels, and finally preview the post) Step 6: If you want it to go out right away, click “Publish.”

INSTAGRAM TRAINING

Why captions are important

haystravel

They tell a story

They guide action Captions with CTAs when appropriate help to convert followers into customers

Captions

👍

Captions add meaning, context, and personality to drive engagement

haystravel

📖

They build relationships Consistent, authentic captions help build trust and deepen your connection with your audience

They boost discoverability Captions containing hashtags increase your chances of reaching new audiences

💑 😊

🔍 💬

INSTAGRAM TRAINING

Captions best practice

What to avoid:

Hashtag overload – Aim for 3-6 relevant hashtags to drive new followers

haystravel Keep captions short and snappy (ideally under 125 characters in total)

haystravel Use hashtags strategically focusing on target market and audience (#HaysTravel, #Travel #holidayinspo) #holiday #funtimes #solotravel

Sales-heavy posts – Strive to educate or inspire through captions instead

#short #snappy #relevent

Long paragraphs – Use line breaks and spacing for easier reading

Overuse of emojis – Emojis should enhance the caption, not overwhelm it

haystravel Include a Call to Action (CTA) where appropriate – ‘Save this post for later for your next travel adventure!’ #instapost #save #action

haystravel Use emojis thoughtfully to catch attention, add personality, enhance and break up sections of text #hearteyes #emoji #personality

INSTAGRAM TRAINING

Caption ideas

You dream it. We book it 🍹✨

Still thinking about this place 🥰

Your dream destination is closer than you think 🌴️✨

Passport ready. Worries not invited 🌎

Where to next? ✈

Collecting memories, not things 🌍

This is your sign to travel more 🌴✈

Fell in love with the view 🥰🌅

Sandy toes, no woes 🏖

Beach vs city vs mountains 🌊🏙⛰

If travel is calling… we answer ✈️

Because the world is too big to stay in one place 🌍

Solo, couple, or friends trip ;<

Letting life unfold here 🌴

POV: you finally took the trip ✈👀

Turning ‘one day’ into ‘booked’ ☀

Sun, sea, repeat ☀🌊️

Stress-free travel starts here ✈

Worth the flight ✈️

Boarding passes & big dreams ✈

INSTAGRAM TRAINING

Top tip- Make sure you pack this... “

BEACHES MOUNTAINS

Content ideas for stories

Travel tip of the day: packing hacks, airport tips and forex advice

Polls: ‘Beach or city break?’ or ‘Window or aisle seat?’

Quizzes: ‘Guess the destination’

Hays Travel staff are very friendly and helpful... “

Customer testimonials: share positive customer feedback (with permission)

Weekly wrap up: destinations booked from the week or what’s coming next

Travel bucket list: Share your dream destinations and ask followers for theirs

INSTAGRAM TRAINING

Ideas for Instagram stories

Story guidelines

Keep a clear and consistent theme per story series to help content flow naturally.

Hays Travel

Limit to a number of 5 story slides at one time to avoid overwhelming viewers.

Don’t post feed-sized images to stories – always use the correct 9:16 ratio.

Add closed captions to videos with speech using Instagram built in-tools.

Behind the scenes: What is going on in and around your branch?

Booking trends: Insights on what destinations are popular.

Supplier & partner posts: share relevant content from other profiles.

Interactive & engaging: quizzes, polls, countdowns etc.

Share UGC: users tagging Hays in content.

INSTAGRAM TRAINING

Hashtag overload: Including 1 User Generated content (customers either in branch or in resort) or EGC Content (Educational, community partnership, special occasions, personal holidays) Minimum x1 reel per week: Supplier content, Hays Travel created content, self-made content (educational, personal travel) Minimum x3 series of stories per week: (3x of 4-5 stories) – User Generated Content, share supplier posts, promotions, interactive & engaging, destination trends, events, supporting local community Engagement Posts: Follow & engage with local businesses/organisations that have relevance to branch: charities, shopping centres and community pages etc

Instagram post guidelines

INSTAGRAM TRAINING

Sound Quality

Video Tips

Lighting Tips

Photography & filming tips

Having people in the videos as a focus

Use a mini mic if possible, to provide the best quality sound

Face natural light (e.g. a window) when possible

Having stuff happen in the video passing by as a sort of b-roll style content

Film in quiet places with minimal distractions

Avoid bright lights or windows behind you

Test audio before filming

Use ring lights or soft lights indoors if necessary

Short & snappy video clips

Long clips (20 seconds), aswell as the short and snappy

Avoid harsh shadows or overexposure

Refrain from moving phone too much or too quickly

INSTAGRAM TRAINING

What to avoid:

Camera Angles

Camera Movement

Shaky footage can be distracting to viewers

Poor Lighting can make visuals look of poor quality

If using a phone, keep elbows tuckets to reduce shake

Eye-level camera – creates a natural, trustworthy connection with viewers Straight, level framing – Video remains professional and easy to watch Balanced framing – ensure you stay being the clear focus most of the time Clean & simple background – keeps attention on you and your message

Keep movements slow and steady to avoid distraction

Keep viewers engaged by avoiding distracting background noise

Ensure to keep phone vertical to suit majority of platforms

Use movement with intention (move closer to emphasise something important or to tell a story)

Background noise or poor audio stops viewers from engaging with the content

INSTAGRAM TRAINING

Benefits of using text overlays

haystravel

Text overlay

Helps your audience quickly understand the purpose of your post

Adds context to your content

Highlights key messages

haystravel

Boosts engagement rates of your content

Visually appealing and easier to digest

Provides inspiration to viewers

INSTAGRAM TRAINING

How to add an overlay

Capture a photo or video or upload from your gallery

Tap the ‘Aa’ text icon in the top right corner

Type your message

INSTAGRAM TRAINING

🎵

🔉

Use trending sounds wisely as trending audio increases discoverability, however, don’t force trends; pick ones that match your content

Match your music to your content’s mood: chill, upbeat, funny, or dramatic Example: beach clips relaxing waves or tropical tunes

Audio in reels

💬

Add your own voice - Narration or mini commentary can make your content personal

INSTAGRAM TRAINING

Analytics

Profile > Settings > Account > Switch to Professional (Business or Creator) Step 1: Change to a professional account

Step 2: Open insights

Step 3: Check individual posts/stories

Profile > Insights

Open post/story > View Insights

Main Sections: Activity: profile visits, clicks, reach & impressions Content: posts, reels, stories, likes, comments, saves, reach Audience: followers, locations, age, gender, most active times

See: reach, impressions, likes, comments, shares, saves Stories: forwards, backwards, exits Top tip: Look for posts with highest reach & engagement

INSTAGRAM TRAINING

REMEMBER VISUAL FIRST APPROACH, EVERYTHING

SHOULD LOOK EYE-CATCHING THAT YOU POST

Reminders

INSTAGRAM TRAINING

Call 0191814 8004 Email socialmedia@hays-travel.co.uk

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