Are Instagram saves still important in 2025?

There was a time when saves were considered the ultimate metric to monitor on Instagram, especially when likes were being de-emphasised. But now that Reels dominate reach (which relies on metrics like watch-time, shares and re-posts) the picture is more nuanced.

Ultimately, whether saves matter most depends on the kind of content you’re sharing and the feeling or action you want to spark in your audience.

What exactly is ‘Saveable’ content?

Instagram saves are most important when you are:

• Sharing recipes, workout routines or shopping guides
• Showcasing design, décor, or fashion inspiration
• Offering event details or itineraries
• Providing a tutorial, insider tips or “how-to” explanations
• Sharing frameworks or step-by-step strategies to follow

It’s more of a bonus when you are:

• Creating relatable memes or trends (these are quick-hits)
• Tapping into cultural commentary or hot takes (the moment fades fast)
• Celebrating team wins or behind-the-scenes moments (high connection but less need to refer back)
• Posting motivational quotes or affirmations (occasionally saveable, but more likely a share or feeling in-the-moment)

Swwim’s Top Tips for generating more Instagram saves

1. Long, rich captions

Now that hashtags are dying, the caption itself has never been more important. Focusing on keywords will signal to the algorithm what the content is about. But writing longer, more in depth captions is a great way to make your post more saveable. Sometimes, users are saving the post, just for the caption. Think about recipes, often the full instructions are in the caption. So don’t be afraid to include lots of detail in your caption, and worry less about including it all in the post itself.

2. Engage with your audience

Encourage your audience to save posts by using interactive stickers in Stories to drive to posts. Including call-to-actions in your captions is helpful. Using phrases like, ‘save this for later’ or ‘come back and tell us...’ are great ways to boost saves.

3. Evergreen content

Evergreen content is content that retains its relevance over time. Things like recommendation-packed posts, travel itineraries, insider tips, checklists and how-tos are great ways to get your audience to save content that will be relevant to them for weeks or months to come. See our blog post on evergreen content to find out more.

4. Remind users to create collections

Collections are a super handy feature for users. It allows users to organise saved posts by category such as workouts, tutorials, industry news, restaurants, home inspiration etc. Of course, posts that fit into those categories are more likely to be saved. But a great thing to do is simply remind your audience to use the collection feature!

5. Focus on snack-able learning

Keep this phrase in mind. When sharing educational content, aim for short, actionable tips that can be consumed in 30 seconds. This is often saved for later. Think checklists, frameworks, or three-step guides.

See how we've included Instagram as part of our client's social media strategy in this case study.

If you'd like more ideas and help with your content creation, drop us a line at hello@weswwim.com!