How to Create Promotional Instagram Images

TL;DR

• Use our Canva templates to create Instagram images from your phone (or desktop) in minutes
• Select a Feed or Story template, customize your text and imagery, and save and upload your design directly to Instagram
• Check out Playbook Creator Services to learn more about our Instagram image design services

When you’re ready to promote your app, you need images for Instagram Stories and Feed posts. Canva is by far the easiest solution to create these on your phone. Here is our simple five step process — including premade Canva templates — for creating Instagram images in minutes.

How to Edit Templates in Canva on Your Phone

Note: The following instructions are for the Canva mobile browser, not the Canva app.

The most important thing to keep in mind when designing images is to stay on brand. Stick with the same fonts and colors you’ve been using throughout your app to create brand consistency.

1. Create a free Canva account or log in to your existing account

2. Open the Instagram Feed Posts or Instagram Story Posts template and click “Use template”
   

   

3. Select your Feed or Story template
   
   Note: There are two Instagram Feed templates and two Instagram Story templates to choose from. Swipe left to view each. When you’ve chosen the one you want to edit, move on to the next step.
   
   
   
   
4. To customize text, click the placeholder text and add your own copy
   
   Note: You can change the font, font size, and color by toggling through the options at the bottom of your screen
   
   
   
   
5. To customize the image, click on the placeholder image and click “Replace” at the bottom of your phone screen
   
   To upload media from your phone’s library, select “Upload media.” You can upload directly from your device, or Facebook, Instagram, Google Drive, and Dropbox.
   
   Select your photo and click "Add."
   
   Once your photo has been uploaded, click on it and it will be dropped onto your canvas.
   
   
   
   
   
   
   To use Canva’s free stock imagery, select “Photos” at the bottom nav bar on your screen and use the search function. Click a photo to add it to your canvas.
   
   
   

Save & Upload Your Design

You did it! Now all that’s left to do is save the image and upload it to your app.

To save and upload your design

1. Click the upward pointing arrow in the upper right corner.
   

   

2. Click “Download”
   
   "All pages” is selected as a default. Click to select and download only the templates (pages) you made edits to
   
   Make sure to select “JPG” as the file type, then click “Download” once more at the bottom
   

   

3. Upload the file to your Instagram Story or Feed.

4. For additional images, lather, rinse, and repeat the above steps to create more cover Instagram images!

How to Edit Templates in Canva on Desktop

The most important thing to keep in mind when designing images is to stay on brand. Stick with the same fonts and colors you’ve been using throughout your app to create brand consistency.

1. Create a free Canva account or log in to your existing account
2. Open the Instagram Feed Posts or Instagram Story Posts template and click “Use template”
   
3. Select your Feed or Story template.
   
   Note: There are two Instagram Feed templates and two Instagram Story templates to choose from. Swipe left to view each. When you’ve chosen the one you want to edit, move on to the next step.
   
4. To edit text, double click the placeholder text and add your own copy
   Note: You can change the font, color, and size
   
   
   
5. To customize the image:
   
   Select a stock photo (in the left navigation panel) OR
   
   Upload your own photo (via the left navigation panel)
   
   Click on the image (either in Photos or Uploads) to add it to your canvas, which will look something like this:
   
   
   
   Click on the image you just added to your canvas and drag in an upward motion to swap out the placeholder image.
   
   

Save & Upload Your Design

You did it! Now all that’s left to do is save the image and upload it to your app.

To save and upload your design

1. Click "Download" in the upper right corner.
   
   "All pages” is selected as a default. Click to select and download only the templates (pages) you made edits to
   
   Make sure to select “JPG” as the file type, then click “Download” once more at the bottom
   

2. Upload the file to your Instagram Story or Feed.

3. For additional images, lather, rinse, and repeat the above steps to create more cover Instagram images!