Full Service Social Media Marketing

Instagram can be a hard game to play. On a platform with millions of image uploads every day, how can you make your profile stand out?

Here are 5 useful tips to help you create that thumb-stopping Instagram feed.

DEFINE YOUR TONE

This step definitely needs to be completed before moving on to the next steps. Your branding should be in place before you begin laying out your social media strategy. This will make it easier for you to coherently establish your presence online and tell your story in a thoughtful way. Is your brand fun and quirky? Maybe you're motivational and inspiring? Or perhaps you're educational and little more serious? Whatever it may be, define it.

FIND A THEME

Now that you’ve identified your tone, it’s time to find your “aesthetic”. Not only does each individual image need to stand out on its own, but they also all need to work together as a whole. To obtain this cohesive look, you'll need to apply some sort of design treatment to each image. We call this the theme. Are you a bright and fun brand? Go for a colourful theme. Is your brand edgy and trendy? Maybe you want a monochromatic look. Finding the right theme for you can be a process, so allow yourself some time to scroll for inspiration.

"Ok, but I'm not a designer, once I find my theme - how will I execute it?"

We thought you'd ask that. If you have the budget, hire a designer (like us!). If not, don't fret, there's an app for that! We like VSCO cam, a simple tool that allows users to search and save tones and filters.

DON'T JUST CREATE CONTENT, CURATE IT

Creating an on-brand image for every day of the week can be extremely time consuming. (Trust us, we know! It's our job.) And yes, that is typically the cadence for posting on Instagram - once a day. Sharing content daily keeps you in your followers feeds, but don't overshare! Posting more than once or twice a day might get you unfollowed for “spamming”. They're a finicky group, those Instagrammers! So where will you find these brand aligned images? A healthy mix of user-generated content, stock imagery, reposts and your own photography and graphics will save you loads of precious time. You've got a business to run, after all!

PRE-PLAN

Worrying about finding something to post every day, and actually remembering to share these posts is a stress you don't need. We like to plan our Instagram feeds 2 weeks in advance, this way if something comes up, it's easy enough to move things around and fit them into the schedule.

Don't worry - there's an app for that too! We use Planoly, a handy tool that allows you to schedule your photos, stories and even save hashtag batches. It will send you a notification when it's time to post. Easy peasy.

AND DON'T FORGET ABOUT STORIES

Even with your design process in place, not every image is going to fit into your feed cohesively. Don't let great content go to waste, share it in your stories! Think of this as a 2-for-1. The stories feature allows you to get in front of your audience a second time within the same platform, but in an interactive and unique way.

Now that we've covered the basics, does it all feel like too much for you? Don't worry, we can help! Contact us, and we'd love to help you create that thumb-stopping feed.

Don’t forget to follow us, leave us a 👀 comment so we know the blog sent you. Happy scrolling!

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