At first, using Instagram was fairly simple—you would take a nice picture, throw a filter on top, and then post it. The platform has made leaps and bounds since those days and is now filled with creative graphics.
If you want to present a polished online brand or use the platform to promote your business, you almost need to become a full-time designer.
Luckily, Canva has multiple templates and features that make it easy to create designs. To top it off, most of these features are available with the free version of Canva, so there’s no excuse for you not to explore them.
Getting Started With Canva
If you’re new to this software and the design world in general, there’s no need to be intimidated. Unlike professional software like Photoshop, Canva is extremely user-friendly. In fact, its intuitive interface is made especially for non-designers.
When creating either an Instagram post or Story, you can pick from hundreds of templates that Canva offers, and start playing around. It has a collection of free pictures and images that you can drag and drop into the template, or you can upload your own.
When you’re happy with the final version, you can either download it or post it to Instagram directly from the mobile app. That said, here are several ways you can use Canva to improve your Instagram posts.
1. Create Posts With Inspirational Quotes
You’ll often see quotes overlaying pictures on Instagram. With these posts, people hope to motivate, inspire, or share a piece of advice. By typing “quote” in the search box of the Templates tab on Canva, you’ll receive a variety of options in which you can input your favorite sayings.
All of the elements in the template can be modified, including font face, text size, pictures, and borders. Our pro tip for a slick design is to match the colors of the text to the image you use.
Canva makes this process incredibly easy, as it lets you know what colors the image includes. Don’t forget to think of a good Instagram caption to go with it.
2. Make Collages
Sometimes, one picture is just not enough to convey all that you want to say, and a photo reel might not hit the spot either. If you want to include multiple photos in one frame, Canva offers a few options.
First of all, it has endless grids you can choose from. These sit under the Elements section of the menu. And they are not your run-of-the-mill grids—they can include 12 pictures, each in a different size to create a beautiful puzzle.
Another option sits under the Templates tab. You can search for either “collage,” “grid” or any other keyword that you think will fit. The benefit of collage templates is that they are much more creative, allowing you to add text, background colors, and tell a story with the way you choose to arrange the pictures.
3. Add Sequential Images to Your Stories
Most of Canva’s design options for a regular Instagram post are also applicable to Stories. These include creative templates with texts and photos, as well as collages and grids. But to make your Story even more interesting, you might want to post a coordinated series of photos.
When you hover over Story templates, you’ll see that some of them say “Free,” while others indicate that they are “1 of X.” Click on one of the template series, and you’ll see all of the pages included with that template. You can use as many of these pages as you’d like.
Each page is designed slightly differently, but the same thread runs through all. This will help you convey one idea or a set of pictures in your Story, making it one cohesive post. All of the pages can be posted in one go through the mobile app.
4. Create Custom Highlight Covers
Have you seen Instagram profiles with clever Highlight covers? They typically convey whether you’re about to watch a Highlight about fashion, food, pets, and so on. With Canva, you can make your own Highlight cover too.
As you guessed, this option is also available in the Templates tab. Type in “Instagram Story Highlight Covers,” and you’ll receive an array of beautiful options. To top it off, some options offer a number of variations to cover the different Highlights you may have on your feed.
Can’t find the cover you want? You can create your own with a blank Story template. Simply add a circle element in the middle, and then browse the rest of the Elements library for an image to place on top.
5. Spruce Up Quizzes and Questions
When you want to include a question, poll, or quiz sticker in your Story, it doesn’t have to look boring. Canva has this option covered as well. Again, search for “quiz,” “poll,” or “question” in Templates and pick your favorite.
Most templates conveniently have a dedicated spot where you can add your sticker. Canva also offers different “get to know me” quizzes; ones you can post blank and have your friends screenshot and participate in.
6. Animate Your Stories and Posts
This is truly one of Canva’s most enjoyable features. Almost everything that was mentioned up until now can also be animated.
At the top of Canva’s editor, there is an Animate button. The free version lets you pick one of six options that will make your photos and text appear gradually on the screen, creating a much more dynamic post.
Another option is the Videos tab on the left side of the screen, which contains short videos. You can include them in templates, as a background, or inside a collage, creating an eye-catching post. You can, of course, also upload a video of your own. There is even music that you can add on top.
You can also type “animated social media” into the Templates search bar. This provides a variety of templates, all with animated elements that you can spend hours messing around with.
Nailing Your Instagram Post with Canva
There are so many possibilities with Canva that it may become overwhelming. The most important thing to remember is that less is more.
If you really like a template, try making as few modifications as possible, instead of piling on more and more elements. When in doubt, always stick to just one font, as well as just one or two colors to present a polished image. When uploading your own images remember to always use high resolution.
One of the greatest benefits of this software is that if you’re fresh out of design ideas, you can always look to the templates for inspiration.