HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE! I am so excited to see what 2018 has in store for me. Currently polishing up my goals and ready to start ticking things off. Which brings me to today’s topic. Ever wonder how well organised some people’s Instagram accounts appear. From themes, to quality of content. I definitely quickly press follow as soon as I come across an aesthetically pleasing account in my niche.
Last year, My goal was to grow my following from 3K to 10K. I knew this was going to be a challenge because its not easy to grow an audience organically. But, I thought maybe by tidying up my theme and layout, that could attract an audience and to my amazement, I managed not only to surpass the 10K mark (Whoop whoop) I went on to 15K. This might not be a big deal to some but hey, I was over the moon to see that just by making certain changes to my account, I managed to grow my audience.
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Photo Credits: Matoka
With the new age of digital influencers, Instagram is by far one of the most utilised app by most (if not all) bloggers and Influencers. Instagram is a fantastic visual platform and its yet another way to express yourself as a blogger, a photographer and someone who is looking to build their brand. It’s by far my favourite social media platform as it gives me the freedom to be creative while allowing me to connect with others.
In 2017, Instagram had undergone quiet a lot of changes. There has also been an increase in number of influencers taking Instagram feeds seriously in terms of how they layout their feeds and what theme they adopt. It being a virtual platform, the first thing one sees when they come across your account, is your theme, then of course your bio.
Here are some of our tips on how to create a perfect Instagram Account!
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DECIDE ON A THEME AND STICK TO IT
Deciding on a theme can be a little daunting . However, I would recommend checking Pinterest for ideas. It could involve you, editing your pictures a certain way each time by using the same filter or if you are tech savvy – create a preset in Lightroom. There are some readily available presets out there which could make your life so much easier however, that comes at a cost because they are not free. You could also try using apps like Colour Story and VSCO to help you pick the perfect filter for your edits. On my Instagram, my theme is to have a quote in between my pictures and I have maintained this theme for some time now making it aesthetically pleasing to the eye. So remember, you need to pick a theme and stick to it.
Here are a few of our favourite Instagrammers who all have beautiful portfolios sticking to a theme:
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PLAN YOUR FEED AHEAD OF TIME
With apps like planoly and Tailwind, you can plan your content way ahead of time and it saves you the hustle of constantly being on your phone to keep up appearances. Planoly is a visual planner and scheduler for Instagram.
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CREATE QUALITY RELEVANT CONTENT
If you take your Instagram account seriously, creating quality content is key. Before you post anything, you need to ask yourself whether that picture goes with your theme/brand. For example, if you are a beauty blogger, posting a random photo of your cat, would not entirely make sense because it will look out of place. Your viewers are there for your beauty posts and its most likely that the odd picture will not even get that many likes. Clear pictures are a must have if you want to have an aesthetically pleasing feed.
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CREATE A FEELING
Its important to connect with your audience on Instagram. When someone visits your feed they need to understand exactly what it is they’re looking at. And they will only follow you if they can see a clear category and theme. That’s why it’s important for you to pick a subject.
I am an advocate women empowerment and being optimistic in life therefore, I make it clear through my quotes (which people love) and captions. I want my audience to be influenced into believing in themselves. So, choose a subject that best suits you and your personality and make sure you convey it all the way through. Ps. Don’t just copy exactly what someone else is doing. People can see right through that and it just doesn’t make sense to be a replica of someone else. Be inspired and make it your own.
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CONSISTENCY
Just like any other social media site, consistency is key. If you want to stay relevant on Instagram, you need to always have something to share with your audience. On this note, you need to remember that in as much as you want to post daily, that content has got to be of good quality. Give it a thought before just posting anything for the sake of.
There you have it guys. Hope this post will help you in some way.
What tips would you include to this list of building a Smashing Instagram Account?
