The Power of Instagram Aesthetic: Why creating a considered art feed matters
In today's digital age, social media platforms have become an integral part of our lives as artists. Among them, Instagram stands out as a visual-centric platform where creativity and aesthetics reign supreme. With millions of users and countless images shared every day, standing out from the crowd can be challenging. That's where the importance of crafting an aesthetically pleasing Instagram feed comes into play. In this article, we'll explore why investing time and effort in creating a visually captivating feed is essential and how it can benefit you as an artist.
First impressions matter.
We often say that first impressions matter, and the same holds true for your Instagram feed. When someone visits your profile for the first time, your feed serves as their initial glimpse into your content and personality. By curating an aesthetically pleasing feed, you can instantly captivate your audience, leaving them intrigued and eager to explore more.
An aesthetically consistent feed helps convey a cohesive brand identity, showcasing your values, mission, and unique artistic style. By carefully selecting colors, themes, and inspirations that align with your personality and art practice, you create a visual narrative that resonates with your art buyers and fosters a stronger connection with your audience.
Be engaging.
Instagram feeds that are visually appealing tend to attract higher engagement rates. Followers are drawn in by captivating visuals, and they are more likely to spend time exploring your content, liking, commenting, and sharing your posts. Additionally, a curated feed with a consistent aesthetic encourages followers to return for more, fostering a sense of loyalty and connection.
In the vast sea of art feeds on Instagram, creating a unique visual identity can you apart from others. Aesthetically pleasing feeds help create a distinct personality and style that people can recognize and remember. By consistently incorporating your signature aesthetics, such as you art, color schemes, process videos, and your studio life, you can establish a strong visual identity that your audience instantly recognises.
Instagram's [dreaded] algorithm is designed to promote engaging content to a wider audience. When your feed is visually appealing and receives higher engagement, the algorithm recognizes it as valuable and is more likely to display your content to a broader audience. As a result, your reach expands, and you have a better chance of attracting new followers who are enticed by your aesthetically pleasing feed.
As an artist, a visually curated Instagram feed demonstrates professionalism and attention to detail. An aesthetically pleasing feed showcases your commitment to delivering high-quality content and creates a perception of trustworthiness and credibility among your audience. Always have your ideal art buyer top of mind as the person you are communicating with through your Instagram feed.
Check out my art practice Instagram feed @sarahdaly.art, where I balance colours, themes, inspiration shots, artwork and studio life. I create my feed deliberately to appeal to my ideal art buyer.
Want to dive into the ‘how’?
Here are some practical tips and strategies to help you create a more aesthetically pleasing Instagram feed:
1. Define Your Visual Theme: Choose a consistent visual theme or style that aligns with your brand or personal preferences. This could involve selecting a specific color palette, using a particular editing style, or focusing on a certain subject matter.
2. Plan Your Content in Advance: Create a content calendar or plan ahead to ensure a cohesive flow of images on your feed. Consider how each photo will look alongside the others to maintain consistency and visual harmony.
3. Use High-Quality Images: Invest in a good camera or utilize the advanced features of your smartphone to capture high-resolution images. Clear, sharp, and well-lit photographs will greatly enhance the overall aesthetics of your feed.
4. Consistent Filters and Editing: Apply consistent filters or editing techniques to your photos to create a unified look. Experiment with different editing apps or Instagram's built-in editing tools to achieve the desired aesthetic.
5. Consider Grid Layout: Pay attention to how your images appear together on the grid view of your profile. Experiment with different grid layouts, such as using a checkerboard pattern, alternating colors, or creating thematic sequences.
6. Balance Visual Elements: Aim for a balance of colors, textures, and subjects in your feed. Avoid overcrowding your feed with similar types of images, and mix up your content to keep it engaging and diverse.
7. Storytelling Captions: Enhance the visual appeal of your feed by crafting compelling captions that accompany your images. Engaging storytelling can create a deeper connection with your audience and add context to your visual content.
8. Incorporate Negative Space: Don't be afraid to leave some areas of your images or feed intentionally blank. Negative space can provide breathing room, draw attention to your subject, and create a clean and minimalist aesthetic.
9. Use Grid Preview Apps: Utilize grid preview apps that allow you to visualize and plan the arrangement of your images before posting. These apps help you see the overall aesthetic of your feed and make adjustments as needed.
10. Seek Inspiration and Iterate: Explore and gather inspiration from other Instagram accounts or websites that align with your aesthetic goals. Adapt and refine your style over time, learning from your own experiences and experimenting with new ideas.
Remember, creating an aesthetically pleasing Instagram feed is an ongoing process. It's important to find a style that represents your artistic style and evolves with time. Your feed should talk directly to your ideal art buyer.
You can learn more about your ideal art buyer in The Full Time Artist Formula: the global research-backed online course for artists.
Be inspired by Instagram feeds you love and engage with. What can you learn from these to bring into your own Insta feed?
Tools
To achieve an aesthetically pleasing Instagram feed, several social media tools can assist in planning, editing, and curating your content. Here are some popular tools that can help:
1. Later: Later is a comprehensive social media management tool that supports scheduling and organizing content for various platforms, including Instagram. It offers a visual content calendar, drag-and-drop feed planner, and the ability to automatically schedule posts. Having the visual feed planner is really important for me to get the right aesthetic. This is the tool I use, but there are several others.
2. Planoly: Planoly is a visual planning and scheduling tool specifically designed for Instagram. It also allows you to visually plan and arrange your posts on a grid, preview how your feed will look, and schedule content in advance.
3. UNUM: UNUM is a visual planner and analytics tool for Instagram. It lets you plan and preview your content, organize your grid, and analyze the performance of your posts and followers.
6. Canva: I use Canva every single day. I love it. Canva is a versatile design tool that offers pre-designed templates and customizable elements to create visually appealing graphics and images. It provides a wide range of templates for Instagram posts, stories, and highlights covers.
7. Snapseed: Snapseed is a powerful photo editing app developed by Google. The best bit? It’s free! It offers a variety of editing tools, including filters, adjustments, and selective editing, allowing you to enhance the quality and appearance of your images. It is the level up on your phone editor.
My advice? Experiment with different tools to find the ones that best suit your needs and aesthetic preferences. We haven’t including pricing info (other than for Snapseed) because it tends to change. Look out for longer trial periods rather than shorter ones. Also look for tools that let you use them without adding your credit card details first (because who hasn’t forgotten the trial end date and got an unwelcome charge?).
A caveat.
Instagram is great for artists. But. And there is a big BUT. Chasing followers is not how artists achieve a reliable career. We did the research. Instagram doesn’t lead to reliable art sales. There is more to the picture (pun intended!) Want to know what does lead to a reliable art career? Click the button below.