Just like most things, Instagram as well needs a planning process. In order to transmit your brand’s values and identity, you need to have a grid/feed that portrays it. You virtually have around 5 seconds to make the first impression on your new visitor. In this blog, we will be discussing how you can plan your Instagram feed in advance to not get in a creative mess cycle.

In order to grab your visitors’ attention, you need to let go of the thought that a single good post will do the job, you need to start thinking in terms of a whole feed.

Click here to learn how to design a perfect feed.

Here is a 4 step framework.

• Decide on an aesthetic
• Find your content
• Make use of filters
• Preview and review

Decide On An Aesthetic

Start off by looking for inspirations, look at other accounts, see what inspires you and what resonates well with your brand’s identity and values. Also, look out for post patterns, color palettes, and everything that makes the accounts unique.

You have to also look into your branding. You need to reflect your branding identity into your Instagram account. Look into your brand’s colors, fonts, tone of voice, and so on…

Before proceeding with your artwork, create a mood board. A mood board will allow you to clearly see what you want to create.

Find Your Content

Once you have a visual representation of how you want your feed to look like, now is the time to find and decide how to make it happen.

It is now time to decide on your type of media. What will truly take you in your desired direction? User-generated content? Videos? Stock content? Gifs? You can always use a combination of all.

Remember to make sure not all of your content is stock content because studies show 95% of millennials prefer genuine and real content over unrelated ones.

Make Use of Filters

If not all your content will have the exact same color pattern, turn to your graphic designers to make sure all of the posts have a similar look and feel. If you do not have access to professional designers, easy, there are tons of mobile apps and software that can help you with filters and more. You can also use Instagram filters as well.

Choose your method of design and start applying and testing filters that will allow your feed to look consistent.

We recommend VSCO, Lightroom, and Picsart.

Preview and Review

Now that you have the content and all-in-all look of the feed, take time to organize your posting schedule. Create a grid on your computer and see what pattern works with your desired goal.

Have a clear blueprint of media types, decide on which should come in your grid first.

A great way to do this can be by testing with distinctive compositions. Try setting active images nest to calmer images to give the grid its distinctive feature.

Finally, your aesthetic grid ready, now step into the process of reviewing your work to check if the end result is reflective of the mood board you first created. Make sure, your brand’s identity is apparent and clear. If not, rearrange and swap and reedit your posts until you reach your desired grid/feed.