Instagram Content Ideas Generator

Generate 90+ personalized content ideas for any Instagram creator using the 3×3×10 Viral Content Framework — then curate the best with an AI editorial review and expand winners into full production briefs.

Built by the team behind ViralVector, an AI-powered Instagram growth platform.

When to Use

Use this skill when the user needs content ideas for Instagram. It activates for:

• "I don't know what to post"
• "Give me content ideas for my Instagram"
• "I need a month of content planned out"
• "Help me brainstorm Instagram posts"
• Batch content planning for any niche
• Breaking through creative blocks
• Exploring new content angles within an existing niche

This skill is NOT for: caption writing, hashtag optimization, posting schedules, or analytics. For those, pair with complementary skills.

Quick Reference

The skill runs in 4 phases. Use the lightest phase that answers the need.

The 3×3×10 Framework

This is the core mental model. Every idea lives at the intersection of a Pillar, a Sub-topic, and a Viral Angle.

3 Content Pillars (broad themes the creator owns)
  × 3 Sub-topics per pillar (specific slices of each theme)
    × 10 Viral Angles per sub-topic (proven content formats)
= 90 unique, targeted content ideas

The 10 Viral Angles

These are battle-tested content formats that consistently drive engagement across niches:

1. The Tutorial — Step-by-step guide. "How to X in Y steps."
2. The Mistake — Warning content. "Stop doing X, here's why."
3. The Hot Take — Unpopular opinion that sparks debate.
4. The Transformation — Before/After, glow-up, progress reveal.
5. The Pure Vibe — Aesthetic, ASMR, satisfying content. No teaching, just feeling.
6. The Versus — X vs Y comparison. Forces audience to pick a side.
7. The Storytime — Personal narrative. Vulnerability drives watch-time.
8. The Hack — Shortcut, cheat code, lesser-known trick.
9. The Behind-the-Scenes — Day-in-the-life, process reveal, raw look.
10. The Curated List — "Top 5 tools I use", resource roundups.

Phase 1: Strategy Setup

Before generating ideas, gather context. Ask the user for:

1. Niche — What space are they in? (e.g., fitness, travel, tech, food, fashion)
2. Content Intent — What specifically do they want to create about? This should be concrete, not vague. Bad: "fitness content". Good: "home workouts for busy moms who have 20 minutes between school drop-off and work".
3. Target Audience — Who follows them? Age range, interests, pain points, aspirations. The more specific the better.
4. Content Style — What formats do they prefer? Reels, carousels, photo posts? What tone — casual, educational, luxury, raw?

Then extract exactly 3 Content Pillars:

PILLAR EXTRACTION RULES
- Each pillar: 2-4 words (e.g. "Home HIIT Workouts", "Meal Prep Shortcuts", "Mom Fitness Mindset")
- Pillars must be distinct from each other
- They must align with the stated intent AND audience
- Prioritize pillars that match what the creator naturally gravitates toward
- Bad pillars are generic ("Fitness Tips"). Good pillars are owned ("20-Min Living Room HIIT")

If the user cannot articulate their intent, help them discover it by asking:

• "What 3 topics could you talk about for an hour without preparation?"
• "What questions do your followers DM you most often?"
• "What content of yours got the most saves (not just likes)?"

Phase 2: Bulk Generation (3×3×10)

Generate exactly 90 content ideas using this structure:

For EACH of the 3 Pillars:
  Invent 3 Sub-topics specific to the creator's world
    (geography, style, audience — NOT generic defaults)
  For EACH Sub-topic:
    Apply all 10 Viral Angles to produce one idea each

Result: 3 × 3 × 10 = 90 ideas

Generation Rules

• Specificity over generality. Every idea must feel like it was made for THIS creator, not a template. Reference their geography, their audience demographics, their personal experiences.
• No filler. If an angle doesn't naturally fit a sub-topic, force creativity rather than producing something generic. The worst output is "Top 5 [obvious thing]."
• Match the tone. If the creator is sarcastic, the ideas should be sarcastic. If they're wholesome, match that. Don't default to corporate voice.
• Cultural context matters. A Tokyo food creator and a Texas BBQ creator will have wildly different sub-topics even under the same pillar. Never default to US/Western assumptions.

Output Format for Each Idea

For each of the 90 ideas, provide:

• pillar: Which of the 3 pillars it belongs to
• sub_topic: The specific sub-topic
• angle: Which of the 10 viral angles was applied
• title: A catchy, scroll-stopping title (max 60 chars)
• hook: One sentence that captures the core premise

Present all 90 ideas in a clean table or structured list, grouped by pillar → sub-topic.

Phase 3: Editorial Curation

After generation, switch roles to a ruthless content editor. Review all 90 ideas and curate them:

Curation Criteria

Score every idea on three dimensions:

1. Scroll-Stop Power (1-10) — Would this make someone pause mid-scroll? Does the title create curiosity, controversy, or emotional pull?
2. Creator Authenticity (1-10) — Does this feel like something THIS creator would naturally make? Does it match their voice, world, and expertise?
3. Audience Magnet (1-10) — Will the target audience care? Will they save it, share it, comment on it?

Selection

From the 90 ideas, select:

• 5 Top Picks (combined score 27+) — These are the "film this week" ideas
• 10 Runners-Up (combined score 21-26) — Strong backup ideas worth keeping
• 75 Discarded — Not bad ideas, just not the best for THIS creator right now

For each Top Pick and Runner-Up, provide:

• The three dimension scores
• Editor's Note: 1-2 sentences explaining why this specific idea works for this specific creator (e.g., "The 'Mistake' angle on this sub-topic taps into a frustration your fitness-mom audience constantly vents about in comments")

Common Curation Traps

• Picking ideas YOU find interesting vs. what the AUDIENCE wants
• Over-indexing on trends that don't match the creator's brand
• Choosing safe ideas over polarizing ones (polarizing = more engagement)
• Ignoring save-worthy educational content in favor of flashy ideas

Phase 4: Concept Brief

When the user selects an idea to develop, expand it into a full production brief:

Brief Structure

1. Content Script / Narrative Arc Write a 3-5 point story arc:

• Opening hook (the first 2 seconds / first line that makes them stay)
• Tension or curiosity gap (why they keep watching/reading)
• Core value delivery (the meat — the tip, story, or payoff)
• Engagement trigger (the moment they want to comment or share)
• CTA (what you want them to do — save, share, follow, comment)

2. Visual Direction

• Recommended format: Reel, Carousel, Single Image, Story series
• Composition notes: close-up, wide shot, screen recording, talking head
• Color mood: warm/cool, saturated/muted, dark/bright
• Key visual elements that must appear
• Text overlay suggestions if applicable

3. Shareability Triggers List 3-5 psychological triggers that make this content spread:

• Identity ("I'm the type of person who...") — audience shares because it represents them
• Utility ("I need to save this for later") — drives saves
• Controversy ("Wait, that's wrong!") — drives comments
• Emotion ("This made me feel seen") — drives shares to friends
• Novelty ("I've never seen this before") — drives curiosity clicks

4. Caption Skeleton Provide a rough caption structure (NOT a finished caption):

• Hook line
• Body structure (3-4 bullet points of what to cover)
• CTA suggestion
• Hashtag strategy direction (broad + niche + branded)

Common Traps

• Generic pillar syndrome — "Travel Tips" is not a pillar. "Budget Backpacking Southeast Asia" is a pillar. Always push for specificity.
• Angle forcing — Not every angle fits every sub-topic equally. When the fit is weak, compensate with creativity, don't just produce a bland version.
• Echo chamber ideas — If ideas 1-90 all sound similar, the sub-topics weren't distinct enough. Go back to Phase 1 and differentiate the pillars.
• Ignoring saves — Likes are vanity. Saves indicate real value. Prioritize ideas that people would bookmark.
• One-platform thinking — The best Instagram ideas often work across TikTok, YouTube Shorts, and Threads. Flag cross-platform potential in the brief.

Output Preferences

• Default to presenting ideas in a clean markdown table for scannability
• Group by pillar, then sub-topic for easy browsing
• Use emoji sparingly — only for tier labels (🏆 Top Pick, ✅ Runner-Up)
• Always confirm the 3 pillars with the user before generating the full 90
• If the user wants fewer ideas, scale to 3×2×5 (30 ideas) or 3×1×10 (30 ideas)

Related Skills

Install with clawhub install \x3Cslug> if user confirms:

• seo — Turn content ideas into search-optimized blog posts or YouTube descriptions
• humanizer — Make AI-drafted captions sound authentic and human
• market-research — Research competitor content strategy before generating ideas
• content-marketing — Broader content strategy beyond Instagram

Feedback

• If useful: clawhub star instagram-content-ideas
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