How To Use Canva For Instagram Posts For Your Business

We all know that Instagram can be an invaluable marketing tool for any business, but if you need help using it to its full potential, this guide may be the best place to start.

In this easy-to-follow tutorial, we’ll show you how to use a popular platform called Canva to create Instagram posts that help you to grow your social media audience, captivate that audience’s attention, and boost sales.

Getting Started With Canva

Canva is an online platform that gives you everything you need to create a wide range of designs for different purposes within a few quick clicks. 

This means that even if you have zero design experience, you can still create graphics that rival those produced by a professional graphic designer.

If you’d like to learn more, you can read our introductory guide to Canva, but for now, let’s show you how to create an account and get started.

Try Canva free for 30 days!

1. Head to Canva.com

Visit the Canva website and click ‘Sign up for free’ to create a free Canva account.

2. Sign Up

To sign up, enter your email address, connect with Google, or log in using your Facebook account. 

To access even more high-quality templates and design tools, you can opt to try a free trial of Canva Pro.

If you don’t, you can still use Canva’s free plan to follow the rest of this tutorial. 

How to Create and Publish Instagram Posts With Canva

1. Choose the Instagram Post Format

To create Instagram content from scratch, find the pre-designed Canva templates for Instagram content by typing ‘Instagram’ into the search bar provided and selecting your post format. 

2.  Choosing a Ready-Made Template

Choosing your post format will present you with thousands of pre-made templates that you’ll later be able to customize using Canva’s editor.

You can scroll through the vast catalog of designs or use the options to the left to filter by

• Features
• Style
• The theme, subject, or topic
• Color scheme.

If, for example, you run a fashion-related business and want a modern look for your post. 

You can select both filters to find designs that better suit your brand.

Alternatively, if you have a specific purpose for your post, such as promoting a new sale, you can select ‘sale’ from the theme options to bring up the most relevant Canva templates.

When you’ve found the template you like, click on it to open it up in the Canva editor.

3. Add Design Elements.

Now comes the fun part; customizing that template, so it creates the kind of attention-grabbing brand image that makes your business stand out with different design elements such as backgrounds, photos, icons, and other graphics. 

Changing Your Canva Background

To change the background, click any spot on your template that doesn’t have an existing design element.

This will bring up several options, including the ability to delete your background, change its color, or apply a selection of different photo effects.

If you want to change the background, click the ‘Elements’ button from the left-hand menu and type ‘background’ into the search to access a collection of different background options.

When you have the background you like, click on it,  drag it into your design and drop it into place. 

Adding and Replacing Photos

Changing your photos is just as simple. 

First, click on the photo and tap the trash can icon to delete it. 

This will leave you with an image placeholder that you can fill with a new image.

To use images from your device, select the uploads option from the menu and select the photos you want.

To use one of the thousands of free stock photos available, select photos and use the search bar to find the kind of images you want.

Whether you upload a photo or use a stock image, adding them to your design is as simple as using the same drag-and-drop process you used to create your new background.

Adding Icons and Graphics 

Canva also has a wide selection of graphic elements, such as icons, stickers, and illustrations, that you can add to your design. 

Find these by going to Elements – Graphics. Again, the process is the same:

Use the search function to find what you’re looking for, then drag the graphic into place.

4. Customize Fonts and Text

To alter the wording on your post, click on any text element you want to change.

You can delete, copy, or move that text element around or use the top menu options to change the font.

You can also use this menu to change the color.

To add more text to your post, select the text option from the menu.

You can add primary customizable headings or use font combinations to select some beautiful pre-designed text elements.

5. Downloading the Canva Template

When you’re happy with your new design, you’re ready to download it and upload it to Instagram.

First, go to Share – Download and select your preferred file format.

Canva recommends using the PNG format for social media posts.

Once you’ve done that, you can click the Download button to save the file to your device.

Canva Pro users can change the size of their design, save their files in a lower quality to save space, and even remove the background, but we recommend doing so for social media content.

6. Upload to Instagram.

Finally, all you have to do is upload that design to Instagram the same way you would with any other post.

How do I share Canva directly to Instagram?

If you find all that uploading and downloading too cumbersome, you can always share your Canva designs directly to Instagram.

To do this, you’ll need to have your account connected to a Facebook page that you can manage via the Facebook Creator Studio.

To start, tap the ‘Share’ button again, only this time, select ‘Share on Social.’

Next, select Instagram Business.

Click ‘Connect Instagram Business via Facebook’ and follow the on-screen instructions until you see this screen:

You can now select that account to prepare your post.

Add your caption and hashtags, then tap ‘Publish Now.’

Within a few seconds, you’ll get a confirmation that your post has been published and is now live on your Instagram profile.

How to Schedule Instagram Posts

Canva Pro also has an option for scheduling posts ahead of time. This allows you to set your Instagram account to autopilot by creating a bunch of content in advance and assigning it to be published at a time and date you choose.

Here’s how to do that.

1. Open the Share Options and Select Schedule

From your design page, go to Share – Share on Social. This time, select the ‘Schedule’ option.

2. Select a Date and Time for Your Post

On the calendar, set the date and time of your post. When you’ve done that, click ‘next.’

3. Select Your Instagram Business Account

Next, select your Instagram account or any other social media channels you want to publish to. 

See the previous section on direct publishing to Instagram for instructions on connecting your Instagram and Canva accounts.

4. Write Your Caption and Schedule 

With your account selected, add your caption and hashtags, then click the ‘Save and Schedule’ button.

5. Continue in the Content Planner 

After you’ve scheduled your post, you’ll be redirected to the Content Planner page. 

Here, you’ll find your scheduled post and a schedule of different events that provide excellent opportunities for promoting your business.

Clicking on any of those events will present you with a collection of themed Canva templates you can use to create Instagram content around the event in question.

You can also click on any date in the calendar, create your own events, and design and schedule a post for them.

How to Use Canva for Instagram Stories?

Creating Instagram Stories is every bit as easy as creating regular posts.

The only thing you have to do differently is search for the Instagram Story format from the Canva homepage and select your preferred Instagram template.

This will open the story template in the Canva editing tool, and you can use this to change, add, and remove design elements using the same steps outlined in our Instagram post tutorial above. 

That said, there are two extra features you may want to know about:

1. Adding Animations, Videos, and Sounds

Click on any element in your story design and select ‘animations’ in the top menu. 

You can use this to apply any number of special effects to those elements to make them stand out from the crowd.

You can also navigate to the ‘Elements’ tab to find royalty-free videos and music files that you can add to enhance your story even further.

2. Publishing Stories

Sadly, Instagram doesn’t allow a direct publishing feed or scheduling stories and reels from desktop devices.

If you want to use Canva for Instagram stories, you’ll either need to save them to your mobile device or use the Canva app for smartphones to create and share your stories.

Frequently Asked Questions

How to Use Canva for Instagram Posts: A Final Top Tip

Once you’ve mastered using Canva to create amazing Instagram posts, the world is your oyster.

Using the same processes and techniques outlined above, you can create, share, and schedule content for all your social media platforms, create thumbnails for your YouTube videos, graphics for your blog posts, and even design your own business cards.

If we could offer you one final tip to help with all this, consider upgrading to Canva Pro to use this powerful graphic design tool to its full potential. 

After all, while the free version offers thousands of templates and plenty of tools, there are few things more frustrating than coming across a beautiful template or feature and learning that it’s off-limits to free users. 

Given Canva’s low cost, this small investment could soon pay dividends for your business in terms of creating a solid brand image, outshining your competitors, and attracting customers.

For more tips, see our guide to 22 low-cost ideas for marketing your business.