The process of creating a cohesive feed but high quality content is a daunting task. This process is constantly evolving as you learn and your aesthetic develops. A reminder is if you are just starting out, it won’t happen overnight. The influencers that you love the feed of, their feed has been constantly developing over years. Personally my Instagram is continually evolving as I start to focus more on the content I am creating and the vibe I am wanting to translate. So how do you begin this process, you ask? The below elements are areas that I focused on when I started going down the path of improving my Instagram. Continue reading to gain a little insight into what you can implement to improve your Instagram.
Find your Instagram niche or theme
The decision on your niche is daunting. There is literally a niche for every thing, from cat lovers to fitness or fashion. However, with this said choose something that you are passionate about and love. Whether this is baking, painting or doing makeup. It is a guarantee that there is a niche and a community that will love your content. Feel free to be very niche specific and by this I mean a niche within a niche. For example petite fashion, hiking while traveling or vegan baking. Personally I have not strictly stuck to one niche, my Instagram is a combination of fashion, travel and lifestyle. When choosing your niche be sure to decide on something that allows you to create content with ease. If you are a business the product or service you sell or the industry you are in is technically your niche. Then it a matter of deciding on the style and aesthetic of your content you will be sharing.
Select a colour palette
A colour palette isn’t a vital element to consider when improving your Instagram. But it does make life easier, personally I view it as a way to curate and create the content I post. Many years ago when I didn’t exactly know what I was doing, I would just post randomness. Needless to say it looked messy and not all that put together. As time went on, I soon became aware of the colours I was drawn to. White, pink and blue became my primary colours. Eventually adding green as a way to broaden my content. I also view a colour palette as a branding tool, without knowing it I started developing the look and feel of my personal brand via my Instagram. I have then translated it into my branding for my business.
When I talk about a colour palette assisting in the curation and creation of your content, I suggest using it as a tool. Referencing back to it when I posted anything, the quality of content was not there and it wasn’t a visual representation of the brand I was creating. Due to the implementation of a colour palette, when I am in the process of creating content and then curating my feed I am able to have the determine whether that piece of content fits and flows within my overall aesthetic.
Editing is your best friend
Whether you are editing via your phone or computer, editing is a vital part of improving your Instagram. VSCO, ColourStory to Lightroom, there is an abundance of applications that you can use to edit your photos. Figuring out the look and feel you are after in terms of editing is overwhelming. For many years I was using VSCO and the HB1 filter and eventually figured out Lightroom. When I was in the process of figuring out the editing style I wanted to take, I found 4 presets I liked. Placing them over an array of different photos from beach, fashion to flatlays to determine how they looked. I then placed them in a planning app to see how it looked overall. After some time my decision was made. My editing like many aspects of my Instagram is continually developing and changing. I have since then created my own presets that I use across my photos.
I highly suggest finding a style of editing you like via any application you are comfortable with using. Then implement the same preset across all photos. Implementing the same filter across all your photos allows for consistency and cohesion. Depending on the filter/preset the temperature, tint, whites, contrast to name a few will allow all the photos to appear similar in style. Especially when placing them beside one another in your feed.
The above is an example of one of my client’s Instagram feeds before implementing a preset, colour palette and cohesive editing.
Plan your Instagram feed
For some the planning of your Instagram may not be an important aspect. However, it allows you to view how your Instagram feed flows and how each photo works beside one another. There is several apps on your mobile that allow for the ease of planning your feed. Such applications as Plann, UNUM, Later and Planoly. My favourites are Plann and UNUM. I started out using UNUM but switched to Plann. This is simply due to not being limited to the amount of posts you are able to plan, compared to UNUM which only allows for eighteen posts. Experiment with what app works best for you and your needs and stick to that.
I am a perfectionist and the planning process is tedious, especially due to creating content regularly and needing to incorporate it into an already planned feed. I suggest sitting down with a whole variety of content you are wanting to upload and move certain photos around to see what works and what doesn’t. Recently my aim is to concentrate on more white, pink and a hint of brown/cream (as seen in some of my location shoot photos.) I break it up via adding blue and occasionally green. In terms of my content, I aim to not have for example two flatlays close to one another. Whether that is on the same line, above each other etc. The planning process for me is when all my content comes together and I can see how it all works with one another. I’ll sit there moving photos around and placing them in different spots to see what works and what doesn’t. If it doesn’t feel right, I move it elsewhere and keep moving it until I like how it flows overall with the surrounding content. I will be discussing tips on how to plan your feed in a future post.
The quality of your posts
Whether you are a business, blogger or influencer the quality of your content is paramount. Previously I was posting anything and everything, with no real thought as to the quality of my posts. I was attempting to create quality content but looking back my creativity and skills weren’t where they are today. Nor was my since of aesthetic and style as to where I was wanting to position my content and how I wanted it to look. I suggest sitting down and determining what style of content you like and what you would like to share. This comes back to the niche/s you chose. Now having the creativity, skills and vision of how I want my content to look I only post what I am happy with. If I am questioning it or if there is something I am slightly not happy with I won’t post it. I can’t tell you the amount of times I have gone and reshot content because I wasn’t happy with it. If I believe that the photo in question isn’t up to my standard, I will not post it.
Post regularly to your Instagram
This all comes down to how often you are wanting to post to your feed. There is numerous aspects to consider when deciding this. The things to consider are below.
- When are the best times for you to post? Is it several times a day and are they spaced out enough to not overcrowd your feed.
- Is there certain days where engagement is higher?
- How many times a day do you want to post?
- How many times a week do you want to post?
- Do you have enough content and create enough content to be posting numerous times a day or week?
Posting regularly does come down to personal preference. Some accounts post twice a day or once a day/seven days a week where is others post once a day on every other day. This is something I personally need to work on and create a schedule for when I am needing to post.
I will be discussing further with you all the evolution of my Instagram over the time, as well as tips and tricks for Instagram and photography. If you would like me to discuss anything in particular don’t hesitate to let me know and any questions feel free to leave them below, email me at codiezofia@outlook.com or DM me on Instagram @codiezofia