Pumpkin spice, remote jobs, and Instagram grids – fall of 2021 has landed, and these are the hottest trends to keep an eye on (that is if you’re asking the Socialistics team). Level up your Instagram grid with these few simple hacks, we’ll give you the rundown of what you should be doing and why you should be doing it.
Looks, Matter
You may not judge a book by its cover, but we certainly judge an Instagram by its feed. When people visit your page, you want to WOW them with the aesthetics; level up that grid! Draw them in to look for more, like your images, and best case, read your captions! Did you know the human eye naturally draws to colors and associate a mood or feeling? Without influencing someone, you have the ability to tap into their emotions with a simple Instagram post. Be sure your feed represents you, your brand, and your mood. Once your brand is established, layout your grid! Choose a color theme, a pattern, a grid flow – and stick with it. When you log in to a page, take note of what grabs your attention. Is it the long-winded screenshot or is it the image of the dog wearing sunglasses? We know our pick.
Fill the Buckets
When developing your business plan, chances are you established content pillars or “buckets” to fill for your marketing team (if you didn’t, it may be time to contact us). Be sure your Instagram speaks to these buckets. Let’s say you sell one product, you’re passionate about a nonprofit, and you’re looking to promote your brand. Three buckets, three pieces to spread out on your feed. If you post about the product today, use tomorrow to share about the brand itself. If you post about your brand, next up, the nonprofit! You get the idea, level up your instagram – spread out your content and cover all aspects that make your brand stand out from the rest.
Use Your Words
Let’s talk about copy. Dreaded by many, feared by some, loved by your audience. Instagram is 90% aesthetics, but that other 10% – that sells your brand! When developing copy for your images keep a few things in mind.
Short & sweet – typically Instagram users are in it for the long haul, keep your message short and to the point
Use minimal hashtags – don’t spam your audience, keep these authentic.
Clickable links – if you don’t know, now you do. Clickable links DO NOT work in Instagram feeds. If using a URL, keep it simple or refer to the old fashion “Link in Bio”.
Influenced
If you’ve got them, flaunt them. Nothing sells a product quite like a well-known influencer and a great product photo. User-generated content SELLS. Capture your product in the wild and incorporate that into your feed. These are the product images that develop a relationship with your audience.
Go, Go, GO!
Don’t stick to static images, be sure to mix in some motion! Using videos, GIFS, and any other form of a motion image will bump your page up in the algorithm and keep users engaged. We refer to this as a “screen grab” – you’re scrolling aimlessly and BOOM your screen grabs your attention because there is motion! One other tip, be sure to make the video cover match your feed. There is nothing worse than messing up your grid over a bad cover image.
There you have it, five tips to be sure your brand stands out on Instagram. Be authentic, have some fun, and always keep your audience in mind. Don’t forget – the average adult attention span is 3 seconds or less when scrolling. You have THREE seconds, don’t waste it. If you’ve made it this far and you’re unsure where to start, we have JUST the team of experts ready to chat. Oh, and give us a follow on Instagram…
Here are few samples of IG grids we’ve created for our clients.
