Twelve angles for the same nine tiles
- By likes. The classic: the nine posts your audience rewarded most.
- By saves. The nine most useful things you published — it flatters a different year.
- By comments. The nine posts that started a conversation.
- The personal edit. Your nine, against the numbers. The gap is the story.
- Top 9 vs bottom 9. Two grids, one comparison: what you thought would work, and what worked.
- One per month. Twelve months, nine slots — the constraint forces a real edit.
- Palette nine. Ordered by colour, not by date or likes.
- First post of each season. Four seasons, nine posts, a rhythm you can see.
- Nine that aged well. Posts that kept collecting likes months later.
- Nine you almost didn't post. The ones that surprised you.
- Two-columns recap. Your nine beside the nine your audience would pick.
- The blank year. An honest recap of a quiet year — fewer posts, more meaning.
Making it hold together
Nine images chosen for different reasons can look like a mess. Two rules fix most recaps:
- One metric, one grid. Do not mix likes and saves in the same nine.
- One palette. Let the card's colours come from your photos, not from a template.
The caption matters as much as the grid
Most recaps get a one-line caption. The ones people save explain the choice: which metric, what surprised you, what you would post again. If you need openers, there are 24 caption ideas for your top 9.
When to post it
Between 27 December and the first week of January. Earlier and the year is not over; later and the feed has moved on. Export both a Story (1080 × 1920) and a Post (1080 × 1350) so you can use the same card twice.
Questions
What is the best top 9 idea?
The one that matches what you want to say. By likes is the default; by saves or comments is usually more interesting for a creative account.
Can I mix metrics in one grid?
You can, but it stops being a ranking. If you want to compare, use two grids side by side.
Should the caption be long?
A single line works for the story format; one short paragraph explaining the choice works better on the feed.
Related: Top 9 2026 · Best nine 2026 · Caption ideas