Ways to visually plan your Instagram feed

Introduction

The aim of every Instagram account owner is to grab the attention of their visitors and transform them into followers. Planning Instagram feed is thus the most important step towards drawing more and more people to your account. Definitely artistic and stylish feeds that do not blend in the crowd cannot be a day’s show. It needs efforts in planning and organization.

For any Instagrammer, the most important moment is when someone who is just exploring feeds and stories, catch the attention of their post and compel the visitor to take a look at who you are through your profile. Instagram feed is the first impression of your profile to the unknown and the known.

 The Instagram feed shows off your personality and tells a lot about your mindset to the people. Therefore, it is essential to curate worthwhile content with sincere efforts in planning and organizing the visually appealing feed. Make sure your feed is unique and does not turn heads of the people to other accounts. With the advent of latest trends in editing and posting stylish pictures on Instagram, a lot of spurts are required to show off your profile to the world.

Leave a long-lasting impression by getting the users involved in your Instagram feed with these tips and tricks to plan your Instagram feed visually

According to a research,

38% of users check Instagram multiple times a day

1.      Pick the creatives wisely

Check out the profiles of the contemporary influencers to understand the use of aesthetics for your profile that matches your personality. Understand which feeds are liked by your followers and what is the aspect that they like the most? It could be the color combination or the crisp content or the pattern of the pictures added.

Scan through the most popular profiles to get an idea of the vibrant aesthetics that will show off your style and personality. Keep in mind the impact of different pictures that are posted at various locations. A dark and moody post may look apt for beaches while the colorful and attractive feed is for a bright sunny morning.

Your mood and personality can be easily depicted with the choice of colors in your feed. Thus, be sensible in the selection of palette to avoid looking fake and disconnected from the crowd. Keep a perfect blend of colors, patterns, textures to stay visually enticing for the visitors.

To highlight your content, choose the color scheme that brings positivity and interest among the users. As the user scrolls through your profile, the visuals should be so alluring that one cannot take their eyes off the screen.

2.       Stay uniform in filters and unique in feed

Photo and video editing tools help you in organizing consistent and cohesive feeds for the users. The choice of filters and editing process should be the same while posting to stay uniform and visually tidy. Many free apps are available online to edit pictures and videos quickly.

Often, the free apps give you the liberty to use their preset packs with complementary filters, ready patterns to make your feed attractive. You can save the adjustments and settings to be able to recreate similar effects to all your feeds so that your pictures are consistent and neat to look at.

Consider creating Boomerangs, GIFs, stories that are visually appealing to the audience, using the apps that are readily available at no or minimal cost. Scale up your videos without difficulty to best fit your style and creativity. Let the videos match with the rest of the feeds and not look like an odd man out.

You can give your pictures and videos a professional finesse with most of the apps that offer predefined content and filters to speed up your work. There are readymade tools to edit brightness, contrast, and background to create personalized feeds in order to grab the attention of your followers instantly.

3.       Strike a balance

Credibility is built through unique, original and creative feeds. Move away from the fake and hypothetic content and stay focused on what is real. You must not only take time to plan the feed, but also ensure the feeds look consistent when added next to each other. Lighting, location, reason – everything matters in a curated content.

While posting pictures or content, you need to give a thought on its appearance on the page as a whole. The feeds should be rightly balanced and look visually pleasing when someone visits your page. Too crowded or busy feeds may lose the interest of the visitors. Break things up when necessary.

Grid planning is key to the finished look. It should be easy to scroll down the content while being able to view the whole content. Capture the eyes of the audience by adjusting the color scheme and the grid to your advantage.

Think about how you want your viewers to look at your page. What would hold their attention on to your feed. Place the right content in terms of quantity as well as quality.

4.       Plan ahead

 It is time to make it or break it when you post the content on your page. Think and plan in advance as to what goes in when and where. Consistency in posting is as important as to placement on the page. Too clustered feeds often escape the eyes of the visitors.

Let your feeds look flowy and connected. There are apps to help you check out how your feed will look on your page. You can swap the positions of the photos and rearrange the content as per your choice to make the page look visually attractive.

Upload and save drafts much ahead in time. You can then view, edit, rearrange or change the content as per your liking without delaying the post on your page. If you know what goes best for the users, you will surely know when to post your content to get the maximum views. You can time it accordingly if you plan ahead.

You can also schedule your post in advance to be regular in posting feeds. It is essential to post regularly when you want followers to check out your profile. Your followers will be aware of the time of your posts and can know when they can view your latest feed.

Final words 

Let the viewers know what to expect from your feeds and let them follow you for what you are! Do not go overboard creating professional content. Keep it casual and relative for the users. If you invest time in planning and curating your content, the posts will surely capture user engagement in terms of likes, comments, and shares. Play around with features and functionality to curate and recreate content that is the game changer on your profile.

Do you wish to build a strong Instagram presence in 2019? We Just Social makes it easy for you to grow your reach and engagement thus, making your account more visible to different brands.

Tips to increase Instagram engagement

instagram engagement

Do you want to increase your Instagram engagement, but wondering how to do it? Well, you are not alone!

With more than 800 million active users, Instagram has become one of the biggest and fastest-growing social media platforms. Whether you are a blogger, influencer, or a business who wants to market its brand online and gain an organic following, Instagram is the best choice for you!

But, let’s first understand what exactly Instagram Engagement is? 

By Instagram engagement, we are talking about the number of loyal and organic followers you have on your Instagram account as well as their degree of interest, involvement, and dedication towards your posts, videos, stories, and other content. 

To grow your reach and audience, it is essential to increase your engagement rate. This is one of the main goals of every influencer. But, due to the constant changes in the Instagram algorithm, and a high amount of competition between many brands and influencers, it is quite challenging to do so. 

Best time to engage followers?

According to Hubspot, posting between 9:00 AM. to 6:00 PM CDT from Tuesday to Friday is by far the safest time to maximize engagement. Thursday has the highest amount of engagement in the week, whereas Sunday has the least engagement.

Tips to increase Instagram engagement 

Here we have compiled eight easy to implement tactics that can help you improve Instagram engagement in no time. 

 

So, let’s get started. 

 

1.        Identify your niche

The first step to become a successful Instagram influencer is to know your niche or area of expertise. Just because your favorite influencer is doing something and is earning a lot doesn’t mean you should do it too. For example, you see a successful fashion influencer having a significant amount of following on Instagram. And, you thought that you should start doing the same, even if you don’t have the slightest knowledge or interest in it.

But, this is a very wrong approach. Before choosing a niche, it is crucial to ask yourself these two essential questions:

  • Are you genuinely passionate about it?
  • Do you have enough knowledge and expertise in it?

Based on these questions, pick a niche that truly interests you. It can be anything such as food, travel, lifestyle, fashion, DIY crafts, or a combination of these.

Remember: what works for someone else may not work for you. Thus, always choose your niche wisely.

2.        Write an interesting bio

After identifying your niche, you need to start creating a bio that immediately attracts people’s attention. A bio is something that a brand or potential follower sees first on your profile. So, it is crucial to make it as appealing and engaging as possible.

Always remember, your bio can make an impactful first impression on users. It just takes them a few seconds to scan your bio and decide whether they should follow you or not. Therefore, an exciting Instagram bio can bring you more followers than a boring one.

3.        Make your Instagram feed attractive

Once you have written an interesting bio, it’s time to work on your Instagram feed. A visually appealing feed is essential, especially if you are trying to become an Instagram influencer.

You can choose a particular theme for your feed and edit your photos according to it. For editing, you can use various tools such as Lightroom, VSCO, or in-built filters on Instagram. Also, to give your feed an incredible visual appeal, take your photos in plenty of light and high-resolution.

Remember, when your feed looks goods and attractive, brands and users are more likely to follow you and like your photos.

4.        Post content regularly

As an Instagram influencer, it is essential to know when and how often you should post on Instagram. Many successful influencers post daily, while some posts 2-3 times a day or even a week.

According to various studies, the influencers who post daily or even 2-3 times a day are more likely to boost their engagement than those who post once or twice a week.

So, it is crucial to make the right schedule to increase your reach and audience. Also, make sure that you stick to it.

But sometimes, it’s difficult to follow that particular schedule. Hence, there are various tools like Buffer, Ripl, Tailwind, etc. that can help you create and schedule your content in advance and set the date and time for posting. As a result, your content gets posted automatically without doing it yourself.

5.        Share Stories

Sharing photos on your Instagram feed is not enough to be a successful influencer. Instagram stories are equally important and even more effective. Since its launch in 2016, Instagram stories have become a favorite tool of many influencers to share their personal images and videos.

Instagram stories allow you to create a series of images and videos that disappear after 24 hours. You can also add stories as ‘highlights’, even after they disappear. These highlights appear below your profile bio.

Where Instagram feed allows you to post polished images related to your theme, stories open up opportunities to publish more real and authentic content such as behind the scene pictures, pictures of your family and friends, etc. You can also add your personal touch and style to stories with the help of texts, filters, emoji, and other interactive tools such as polls, Q&A sessions, where you can invite the viewers to share their opinions as well suggestions for your next story or post.

You can even tag other accounts, add hashtags, and location on your stories. This is an excellent way to build relationships and make your content discoverable to people who aren’t even your followers.

Therefore, stories allow influencers to build interactive stories. Moreover, it can also prove to be a useful tool in increasing your Instagram engagement.

6.        Use interesting captions

An image or post without a caption is just like a book without a title. Posting the right photo is of no use if your followers are not able to figure out its meaning. Thus, captions help in expressing the true meaning and feelings behind that photo.

Brands and potential followers look at your photos and read the caption to understand the meaning behind it. So, if you want to receive more engagement from brands and people around the world, follow these tips that can help you write a perfect caption-

  • Your caption should be long and exciting.
  • It should be relevant to your photo.
  • It should be nicely written without any grammatical errors.
  • You can use emojis to add emotions and levity in your caption.

Pro tip: You can also tell a story behind that picture, such as your experience while clicking it, your memory related to that photo, etc.

It takes a long time to draft a great and attractive caption. But, as you practice more and more, you can surely master this art in no time.

7.        Choose the right Hashtags

Hashtags are essential because they enable your content to be explored by other Instagram users. Hashtags are popularly used in Instagram posts by all influencers and brands to increase their engagement.

Instagram allows you to use a maximum of 30 hashtags on your photos. And, choosing the right one is crucial for your Instagram strategy. According to a study, a post with at least one hashtag showed 12.6 percent more engagement than those without even a single hashtag.

Many influencers think that using hashtags having high search volumes is good for the visibility of their posts. But this is not always the case. High search volume hashtags come with high competition too. So, the chance of your post being discovered using these hashtags is very low. Hence, it is advisable to choose those hashtags that have decent search volumes because using these will make your content more discoverable.

Some of the tips you can follow while choosing the right hashtags are –

  • Don’t use 30 hashtags in all your posts.
  • Use trending hashtags that are relevant to your photo.
  • Find the best hashtags by going through the posts of your competitors.
  • You can even use a combination of hashtags with search volumes varying from 10,000 to 1 million.
8.        Interact with your followers

Instagram is all about meeting new people and interacting with them. Many people invest their small amount of time and energy into viewing and following your Instagram profile. Therefore, you must value their time and interact with them.

However, interacting with your followers should not be considered as a task. Instead, you should take out some time from your busy schedule to specifically engage with your followers. This not only improves your image but also helps in retaining the interest of your followers into your profile.

Here are some ways through which you can effectively communicate and engage with them on Instagram:

  • Use the Instagram Live video chat feature.
  • Host giveaways and contests.
  • Use polls and Q&A sessions.
  • Follow, like, and comment on others’ photos.
  • Post at the right time, when you’re likely to get maximum engagement.
  • Use call-to-action in your captions.

You can’t increase your Instagram engagement overnight. Hence, you need to be patient and make sure that you follow the above eight tips and tactics efficiently.

Want to grow your Instagram account the right way? Please reach out! We help many individuals and brands to build their following in just a few months. If you are looking to increase your Instagram following & engagement, or become an influencer, get in touch with us now!

How to promote your travel blog on Instagram?

Introduction

A Travel Blog, of course, is edifying! You have definitely taken efforts to punch in the information so that it reaches the right audience. And if this is your first blog, the satisfaction of engaging users is heartening. Many users follow travel bloggers on Instagram in search of new adventures and getaways. Travel is quite a common hashtag on Instagram. You just need to reach out to the right kind of people who are using Instagram like a channel to research travel destinations. 

It is rewarding to share your travel experiences with the world outside. Share your stories, pictures and travel locations on multiple social platforms to spread your knowledge. Your content should be lucrative, entertaining and informative to find its way from your Instagram page to the outside world. Ignite the interest of the adventure lovers through your appealing posts.

Add a little extra punch into your Travel blog to stand out of the run-of-the-mill. Be a perfect match of good pictures with excellent content.

Here are a few strategies you can use to get your Travel Blog hitting the top on Instagram.

According to a research,

51% of Instagram users access the platform daily, and 35% say they look at the platform several times per day.

   1.     Add an eye-catching caption

A picture speaks a thousand words and Instagram is all about pictures. Unlike other social media platforms, Instagram is not about long posts and lectures. Hooking up a picture with a flashy title increases visibility for sure.

Jazz up the picture with a compelling caption to add value to the content. Likes and comments swell up when the picture is blended with the right caption. To make travel blogger’s life easier, Instagram captions can be derived from the blog content itself, especially from the portion that you wish to highlight.

2.        Find your niche

Before you begin to write, you need to answer questions to yourself. Think of what ignites your interest? How is your writing style? What drives you to write further? You could be a solo traveler, couple, campers, or adventurers.

Focus on content that matches up with your niche. The ideal audience will stick to your blog only if they relate to the content. You need to write about your experiences, struggles, achievements during the travel. Think of what the audience wants to see. Write what your followers appreciate.

3.        Build loyal followers

It is a known fact that if you wish to influence the audience, apart from trendy content, you need more followers on your Instagram page. Networking is the key to stand out of the crowd. Travel bloggers can only monetize their content if they fall under the umbrella of Influencer.

Keep the visitors engaged with quality travel content so that they turn into followers quickly. Be responsive and responsible for your followers. If there are queries about any of your posts or comments that you like, do respond and appreciate when necessary.

4.       Plan your content and stay consistent

To stay in the minds of the people for long, it is essential your content is current and entertaining so that it goes viral in no time. Create content in lieu of events happening around you to have a lasting impression. You may read other blogs of well-known bloggers to get ideas in engaging the users positively.

Plan ahead and keep the pictures and write up ready way before you wish to post it. Be consistent in your interactions with followers. You can go live and respond to the queries on a particular day of the week, or post a blog at a particular time to earn the trust of your followers.

You can also start a travel-related conversation about the challenges during traveling.

5.       Get it on Instagram stories

The recent reports show that people are more inclined towards Instagram stories, as it is quick and crisp. Instagram stories form an excellent way to envision the scenes behind the adventure.

Yet another feature is the quick transition from Instagram stories to other websites. The link to the blog is just a swipe away for the followers.

Instagram stories are highlighted on top of the page and do not mix with other feeds. Thus, it is easy to find and help your followers to refine their search in no time.

Share your Instagram stories at varied timings. Not all your followers are online when you post a story. Thus, to gain further exposure, you may want to go live at a specified time.

6.       Post high-quality pictures

To shine in the crowd, it is important to post impactful images that go well with the blog. Don’t use the phone or low light equipment. Instead, invest in powerful digital cameras with great features and reasonably priced.

Pictures play an important role in a travel blog as it showcases the beauty of the locations. Adding regular smartphone captured pictures may shut down the interest of the followers. Thus, capture pictures and videos from digital cameras.

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7.     Partner with other marketers and Influencers

When two people with common interest, promote a project together with a shared audience, it is called as co-marketing. Partner with other influencers to market your travel blog. It enhances exposure to both influencers and attracts more audience. It is a win-win situation for both. Tag the other company or blogger you are associating with.

You may choose adventurers, travel companies or other bloggers to promote your travel blog jointly on Instagram.  Occasionally, you might add a guest post for other influencers when they agree to promote your blog. You can also participate in Travel chats of other bloggers and add your valuable comments.

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8.     Outsource editing work

You cannot have it all. You may be excellent at creating content for your blog and add wonderful pictures to complement the same. However, content needs to go through a third eye view. Content may need a quick fix that might escape your eyes.

Remember, Instagram is about a broad view in seconds. Unless your work is engaging, users can anytime turn head to other numerous blogs available. Find some talented and inexpensive sources to edit your pictures and blogs to outshine in the thousands of blogs.

Final words 

When one searches for a travel blog, millions of blogs appear on screen. Thus, making it difficult to find the right content you want to read. Instagram is a picture perfect social platform for Travel Bloggers. The dazzling pictures with hashtags and caption to blend with it are sure to grab the attention of the users. 

Want to grow your Instagram account the right way? Please reach out! We help many individuals and brands to build their following in just a few months. If you are looking to increase your Instagram following & engagement, or become an influencer, get in touch with us now!