How To Get an Instagram Feed That's Interesting and Engaging
Having participated in different webinars focusing on branding, in particular utilising Instagram more effectively, I'm now super conscious of what I'm posting on that platform. This paranoia, unfortunately, has me frozen because I haven't posted anything for 2 weeks now. Yeah, 2 weeks! In the world of social media, that might as well be 2 years, lol.
What I have been doing though is looking at other accounts for inspiration and ideas on how I should continue my branding and post images that tell a story (which is key if one wants engagement). I've also been hunting for ideas on how I want to brand my quote images, in the past, I simply posted ones that were pink but not personally branded.
I thought I had the branding down because I paid attention to the colour scheme, however, I haven't been getting the engagement I want so clearly something's amiss. And that something is being interesting. Mattie of Mattieologie said in her webinar that
Being pretty is useless if you're not interesting.
So how does one become interesting? Well, by telling stories apparently. So why is that so hard? Am I overthink it? (Going 2 weeks without posting a single picture is definitely overthinking it, lol). But I'm at a place I guess where I just need to do something and so I figured starting with this blog post was as good a start as any.
It's easy to believe that one's story isn't interesting, especially in contrast to "everybody else's" uber-exciting and beautiful life as seen on the Gram. I definitely felt this, but I realized that just because I'm not where I want to be, doesn't imply that my story is boring. The root of the issue is, am I comfortable telling my story at this point of my journey?
Here are some of the beautifully branded Instagram accounts I've come across:
As you can see, there are a number of different ways one can tackle this dilemma, and Google has no shortage of other references on exactly how to do this. From YouTuber Michelle Phan's article to Bustle.com, examples and advice are given on how you too can have a pretty Instagram feed.
As you find other inspiration and ideas, don't forget to be you. Branding ultimately works because it's individual and should reflect your lifestyle and/or business. It's tempting to simply copy what someone else is doing, but being a copy-cat can only last so long and building a following based on a lie isn't wise because the truth eventually always comes out. Be interesting and get engagement by telling your story, and whether you believe it or not, you are interesting, so don't be afraid to tell your story, through beautiful pictures.
Be blessed!
Which one's your favourite? Is your Instagram branded/themed?