April 15, 2019

How to Create A Captivating Feed

When it comes to Instagram, your aesthetic is incredibly important. By now, most everyone in the marketing world is aware of just how effective of a tool the social media powerhouse is for marketing strategy. Of all the social media platforms, Instagram has the highest potential for conveying a visual aesthetic and is perfect for lifestyle brands and beyond to showcase a “digital portfolio.” In fact, 66% of visits to IG business profiles are from users that DON’T follow them. A visually pleasing feed may just be what someone needs to hit that follow button, and push your brand to top-of-mind. That said, the space is crowded and to get noticed you have to stand out!

Creating a visual feed can be somewhat overwhelming in the beginning, so we’re here to give you our top tips on how to get started.

Photography

Using good, quality images is the basis for finding success on Instagram. Instagram is through and through a visual platform, so providing appealing and top-notch content for your feed is extremely important. Because Instagram is accessible to everyone, more than ever before, businesses have the opportunity to showcase their work to a large audience. That said- images that are grainy, out of focus or shaky can reflect negatively on your business! You don’t have to have world’s fanciest camera gear (an iPhone takes wonderful pictures!) BUT do make sure that you’re putting your best foot forward by choosing high-quality photos.

Color Study

Have you ever noticed that certain IG accounts have an overall “theme” when you go to their profile? They may be using similar colors or types of photos, alternating photos with graphics or switching between color schemes. We call this a “color study.” When planning out your content for IG, we think it’s important to pay attention to what your profile will look like once it’s posted. Will it look cohesive? Does it match your brand’s overall aesthetic? Planning ahead and making sure that the photos and colors work with each other is a great way to guarantee your feed will accurately depict your brand. Lifestyle brands and bloggers do this particularly well. A few of our favorite examples of good color study in lifestyle brands can be found on Mate the Label, House Raccoon and Twin Sparrow Co’s Instagram feeds. Not a lifestyle brand? You can still play off of your brand colors—local ATL coffee bar Muchacho does this well. Another great example of a corporate feed is WeWork. Though it’s not quite as easy to tell their color story, if you look closely you’ll see it!

Captions

When it comes to writing captions, there are many different approaches! This is where you can get really creative in terms of voice and let the personality of your brand shine through. We tend to lean towards short n’ sweet captions with a couple of emojis, but there are times when longer captions make more sense. Often times bloggers or motivational accounts tend to have longer and more intimate captions while accounts such as lifestyle or restaurants may use the shorter approach. No matter if you choose to use short or long copy, make sure the caption is engaging, grammatically correct and original!

Hashtags

Hashtags are a great way to gain additional exposure on Instagram! They can help you get discovered, find content similar to yours, and connect with people. When using hashtags, there a few keys rules we usually follow.

  1. The sweet spot in terms of number of hashtags is eleven.
  2. Find ones that really resonate with your audience- don’t pick hashtags that are too common. Do your research.
  3. Switch up hashtags periodically to see which combination works best and to reach different and new audiences.
  4. Place your hashtags either below the caption or comment them on your post once it’s up. We prefer the comment method as the comment will be hidden after it’s posted.  

If you’re looking for more info on how to find the right hashtags and how to use them correctly, read further in this article here.

Consistency

Our number one tip on creating a captivating feed is to post consistently! This is by far the most important factor when it comes to growing a following and having an engaged audience. If you think about the accounts you love to follow on Instagram, they likely post as often as once a day. Now think about if your favorite account stopped posting as much. Would you lose interest in the account? Most likely. Having a consistent presence on social paired with quality content will unlock loads of potential for you. Getting in front of your audience often will increase chances that someone buys from you, comes to visit your store or reaches out for your services.

Social media, particularly Instagram, is undoubtedly one of the best tools you can use to market your brand. Strategically curating a feed is incredibly important, but it’s truly just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to social media marketing tactics. Don’t know where to start? Or need help pushing ahead of the pack? Contact us to find out how our team can help with your social media and content efforts!