5 Steps to Create an Instagram Aesthetic for your Brand
Whether you’ve intentionally created one or not, your Instagram feed has an aesthetic, and that aesthetic is often your potential customer’s first impression of your brand. Instagram users gain a lot of insight into who your company is and what you represent simply by looking at your feed.
Because of Instagram’s unique three-column grid, visitors to your account experience your visual content before they look through individual posts and read the captions. That’s why it’s so important to intentionally create an aesthetically pleasing feed, one that aligns with your brand’s core values and is consistent with your brand’s personality.
A cohesive Instagram aesthetic will greatly improve your brand recognition and gain you more followers which will convert to more sales. And while this all sounds like a great theory, if creating an on-brand aesthetic for your brand’s Instagram account is a new concept to you, don’t worry. We know it can feel like a super daunting task BUT no need to worry because we’ve created a simple 5 step process to get you started!
5 Steps to Create the Perfect Instagram Aesthetic for Your Brand
Step #1- Choose a theme that aligns with your branding.
Choosing a theme for your Instagram aesthetic can feel overwhelming as the possibilities are truly endless. However, if you take a moment to really tune into your brand’s values and personality you should be able to narrow down your options. Consider asking yourself the following questions:
- What values are important to my brand?
- What kind of content are we going to post?
- Who is my target audience?
- What is the overall vibe we want to convey?
Next, it’s time to decide exactly what your theme is going to be! Need a little inspiration? Check out these examples of popular Instagram themes:
- Minimalist theme
- Bright and white theme
- Colorful theme
- Illustration theme
- Black and white theme
- Flatlay theme
- Vintage theme
- Puzzle grid theme
- Colorblock theme
- Pastel theme
- Product focused theme
- People-focused theme
Step #2- Which color palette is right for your brand?
Color is a very powerful marketing tool that affects the behavior and mood of your customers. Believe it or not, selecting the right colors to use for your brand has an enormous impact on product sales. In fact, research has found that color influences consumer buying decisions by around 85%. Color also plays a major role in the overall aesthetic of your Instagram feed. That’s why choosing the right color pallet is so important!
So, how do you choose what colors are right for your brand?
If you already have an existing logo and website, use the color/s that already exist within your brand. If you don’t, to keep things simple, just start with one color that you love or that you already use frequently. As time goes by you can easily add in another color or colors that match or complement your existing color.
Start infusing your chosen color into your Instagram pictures. It doesn’t have to be excessive – subtle use of your color will do the trick. The color can appear in the background of your photos, in the subjects or objects, in clothing, or even in your graphics. Before you know it your color palette will flow effortlessly throughout your feed.
Keep in mind when editing your photos or using filters, it’s important that your photos stay consistent and cohesive. Use the same filter on each photo. Over editing and using different filters can majorly change the tones of your colors and the overall look and feel of your photos.
Step #3- Design your grid layout.
Now that you’ve established your theme and color pallet, it’s time to figure out your grid layout. The grid gives your followers and potential customers a quick, birds-eye view of your brand. If you consistently post a wide variety of different visuals like graphic announcements and quotes, close-up portraits, group pictures, and object flat lays, you can keep the design of your grid easy by avoiding posting the same type of visual consecutively and creating a consistent posting pattern.
If you want to take your grid layout design up a notch consider the following designs:
- Checkerboard effect
- Design row by row
- Create a vertical column
- Create a horizontal column
- Turn your grid into a rainbow
- Turn your posts into a puzzle
Don’t fall into the trap of simply sticking with one type of content. When you have a color palette that is cohesive, you can use an assortment of textures, themes, and typefaces all while staying on-brand.
Step #4- Plan and schedule your feed.
If you want your Instagram aesthetic to flow effortlessly, you’ll need careful planning and intentional posting. It’s nearly impossible to keep up with an aesthetic when you’re posting on the fly.
When you layout your posts ahead of time you will be able to see what posts look good next to each other and which posts don’t. You’ll also be able to spot which pictures could use more or less use of your color pallet. Though this process may seem time-consuming, it will actually save you time in the long run.
Take advantage of free tools like Planoly or Preview that let you drag and drop your content without actually posting anything until you’re ready. Then you can schedule your posts ahead of time to be automatically published exactly when you want them to be.
Step #5- Don’t neglect your instagram stories!
Now that you’ve created a gorgeous Instagram aesthetic, be sure to carry that aesthetic into your stories. Even though Instagram stories don’t show up on your feed, and are only visible for 24 hours, it’s important to stay on-brand in all aspects of your social media.
Another small change that has a big impact on the overall vibe of your Instagram page is your story highlight covers. Choose colors and icons for these covers that match or complement your brand colors and overall aesthetic.
The “swipe up” feature alone is enough reason to invest in designing and creating cohesive and aesthetically pleasing Instagram stories. Previously, you needed over 10,000 followers to access this feature but it has recently been released to all Instagram users! Consider designing story templates that align with your Instagram vibe. This way you can quickly update the pre-designed layouts with graphics and text for new content.
What's Your Instagram Aesthetic?
You’ve got the content, you have a good following and now it’s time to take your Instagram page from average to amazing. We can help with that!
The first step is finding a theme for your account. Are you looking for something dark? Light? Pops of color or monochrome? It’s up to you. Next, choose a color palette that complements the look and feel of what you’re going for. From there, plan out all of your posts in advance so they are cohesive with one another – this will make them easier on both yourself and your followers. Finally, use Instagram stories as an easy way to promote new products without cluttering your feed.
Are you needing more direction or help to design your Instagram posts? You’re in the right place! NLC‘s unlimited graphic design packages are the solution. Want to know how we can help curate the perfect aesthetic for your brand? Book a free consultation with NLC today.