So, it’s no secret that stories on Instagram get higher engagement and more views so where does your grid sit going into 2020 in a story heavy instagram. Firstly, let’s be honest, not many people scroll down anymore, they are only scrolling across and secondly, everyone will have seen a dip in engagement on their grid posts simply because of this. People are not looking for them anymore. People only want to engage in stories. But, let me hold you there and remind you that grid posts are still extremely important and give you some ideas to walk away with for your grid in 2020.
Firstly, remember that your grid on your instagram profile is your home page. Imagine that you had no website, your instagram grid is the only way to turn viewers into customers. In the same way your website should be based on converting interest, your instagram grid should be too. This means that you should be making sure that you have a good bio, great highlights that are branded as well as ensuring that your posts are telling a story of your brand. The image must always have a purpose and be on brand and you must be sharing pictures in your grid that fit together into a home page like edit.
Secondly, explore ways of making your content stand out in an Instagrammable world. We have all seen the same coffee shop pictures, or the same holiday pictures or the same casually in a cute autumn outfit type pictures in Instagram and you can make these stand out with your captions but I want you to think about how to make them stand out simply just from the picture. Firstly, think about how to make your pictures less edited. Yes, yes yes, I know that we all need to edit out photos but over editing to the point where it is that Instagram orange glow is going to become less interesting to users so instead try to go for a softer edit which just enhances a couple of the colours and maybe a few lights and shadows without going to heavy into an unrealistic photo look.
Another way to think about your photos is to share less of the instagram staged type photography and more of the kind of uncouth, realistic, authentic type of photo. Perhaps try to explore taking photos of your self on the go or including some more honest and vulnerable photography to capture peoples attention when they do scroll through the grid, for example, we are not looking for the most beautiful picture to double tap on anymore, they are looking for pictures that tell a true and authentic story that they can connect to.
Also, think about whether your grid is inclusive. Unless you are a personal brand and especially if you have a product business you need to be thinking beyond how you use the product and more into how inclusive are you making your products appear. Are you using different genders in your photography? Are you using different ethnicity? Are you using different ages? Remember that as much as we view the world in our eyes we have to make our business reflect the world and not just our own realities.
The next big thing that I would encourage you to explore is video and motion. When you are creating your instagram posts use video and/or motion to make sure that you can repurpose the content. So, firstly as a post it will autoplay and people will stop to see more and secondly, you can use this type of post in your stories and IGTV’s to repurpose your content across the different areas of Instagram. You can use apps like Enlight Pixeloop and MoJo to add animated elements and you can use stock videos like Pexels to create short looping videos.
Why not go over and beyond just sharing a photo and personalise those photos on your grid with doodles, stickers, emoji’s, anything fun that fits in with your brand. If you are not highly skilled at emojis and overlays etc you can you use instagram itself by uploading your photos into stories, using their draw feature, using their stickers, using their emoji’s and saving it back into your camera roll to use again. You will see a lot more creative design coming into peoples posts in the future and it helps your grid stay on brand as that home page as well as helping your posts stand out in that Instagram scroll.
Memes: if it fits with your brand and your client then don’t be afraid to explore these. They can trend very quickly, meaning that you get lots of eyes on a post yours and they can also convey personality and brand values in your grid as well as being most likely to be shared by other uses therefore directing more people towards your account. You can create your own memes or share ones that you have come across but don’t disregard the power of a meme.
So there you have it, lots of things to think about and to work with to make sure your post are standing out in an increasingly heavy Story’d instagram. There are many many fun ways to edit posts, there are other ways to also make your posts stand out and if you don’t have much time to get super creative with them the one thing I would say is don’t forget to share your posts into your stories.
Hope this helps, catch you soon
Inge x
