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Instagram Inspiration

Not getting the results you hoped for on Instagram? Perhaps the answer could lie in the look of your grid.

One of the first things we do when we view a profile on Instagram, is to read their bio, check out the number of followers and then see what the grid looks like. Not everyone has a creative eye, but the look and feel of your posts should create a good first impression to any reader. This process takes about 5 seconds – and can be the difference between someone following your account, to them disregarding you completely.

Not everyone follows an account because of the way it ‘looks overall’ and it won’t necessarily get people to discover your page but it does go a long way in establishing people who are going to become loyal followers and potential customers – people who like what they see, stay interested for longer.

With an Instagram grid that is pleasing to the eye, with eye-catchy content and interesting posts, you are more likely to grow your following. The slight increase over time will or can results in hundreds, if not thousands, of new followers – which is great for business if it means more people are seeing your content.

 

 

The grid layout

You may spend most of your time swiping through your phone’s Instagram feed without actually visiting other profiles, and in that case you’d not be overly familiar with the layout of Instagram. But if you take a few moments to visit some profiles, you’ll see how they are laid out. This is called a grid.

Posts are displayed in rows of three, stacked on top of each other, each time pushing the previous post down the grid.

As it is always posted this way, it’s easy to create patterns or repeatable orders of three to keep the grid moving and to emphasise the things you want to highlight the most.

This could be represented by a brand colour, a quote, or something relevant to your profile.

When you’re deciding which looks best, it’s great to have a tool which can help you see the visual before you post. And also to have a scheduling tool that can help you plan ahead – we personally love Tailwind (actually for both Instagram and Pinterest!) as it takes the hard work out of posting. Have you tried it?

So, thinking about the different ideas of layouts, these could vary between:

• Random
• Diagonal
• Tiled
• Rows
• Line down the middle / on the side
• With boarders
• Mixed

Let’s look at these a little further – which grab your attention the most and how could you think to use these ideas in your own Instagram profile?

Random

We love this example of a random Instagram grid, it’s pleasing to the eye, fun-loving and inviting. It makes you feel happy and best of all, you want to keep scrolling. Depending on what your business is about, it can work for you too and is especially desired if you want Instagram to be easy. Try to still stay on brand though, keeping the same filters and colours, and making it eye-catchy to your trusted followers.

Diagonal

This is a popular choice for Instagrammers. It gives it an instant theme, easily branded by the choice of colours or filters and is a fairly easy grid to keep. To keep this going, you’ll need to post your chosen ‘diagonal’ every 4th post.

 

Tiled

This again is easy to follow, remembering to keep things alternate. This is good if you want to use a strong colour, or have lots to say, enjoy using quotes etc. It’s consistent and clean and your followers will know what to expect next for each post! Here at KJP Creative, we like the idea of both the diagonal and tiled look, so we’ve mixed them up a bit – here’s what ours looks like:

Rows

This layout is when you have images that you really want to show off – Instagram is the perfect place to highlight good photography and / or branded content. You could keep it to every row or three is one block, or you could mix it up a little and keep every third row as a block. Each row usually would tell a story or share a message

 

Vertical lines

This is just the opposite of the rows except you’re going in a vertical direction instead of horizontal. They look pretty, thought out and entices a reader to keep scrolling!

 

Without boarders

The majority of posts on Instagram are square, and they fill as much of the post as possible within the allocated space. But what if you could create a different effect but not using all the square space? Check out this example – it’s different and unique and extremely eye-catching.

 

Coloured blocks

This really is something that stands out if you get your colours right. Always stay true to your brand and identify with your audience through your colours. You can create some pretty eye-catching and inspirational content with the right choice of colours. And the same goes for a black and white theme, you can’t go wrong with that, especially if you’ve got some great photography behind it.

 

 

Puzzle theme

Have you ever thought that your posts don’t have to be stand alone? By getting creative, you can come up with very inspirational content. Not everyone will notice or realise the impact of these posts when looking at them individually, but take a look at the bigger picture and you discover a masterpiece!

 

Mixed

And at the end of this list, you couldn’t miss off the mixed up Instagram feeds! They are both creative and eye-catching and definitely worth exploring. Images roll into each other, two or three posts can become one gorgeous design. You don’t have be limited to the traditional border either – think outside the box!

Whatever style you decide to go with and whichever theme you settle on, remember to keep it branded, with your business tone of voice and ensure that you’ve got some great copy behind each post. Utilise hashtags, inspiring text and always giving value to your readers on every post.

If you’d like to chat about your social media marketing plan, and especially Instagram, we’d love to talk. Strategy and planning are key to an engaging and inspirational social profile. Raise your brand profile, grow your business and see results – all with the use of strategy.