How to stand out on Instagram

If you’re wondering how to stand out online - especially during current times as more people and businesses pivot their services online and the digital landscape gets inevitably busier - you’re not alone!

As a brand designer, with a focus on helping my clients build a presence on social media, one of the most common questions I get asked is -

‘how do I make my brand stand out, get seen and heard on Instagram?’

Whether building a business or a personal brand, your Instagram needs to reflect your overall brand style.

From image filters to colours, fonts and tone of voice, it’s important to maintain as much consistency on this platform as possible in order to create a cohesive brand experience.

Potential customers are now just as likely to search for your business on Instagram as they are on Google so having your Instagram looking it’s best and a true reflection of your brand values, is paramount in building brand recognition and trust amongst your audience.

Therefore mastering your Instagram aesthetic to reflect your brand style is the perfect place to start when it comes to marketing your business on social media and getting those all important results that help achieve your business goals.

Here are 3 ways you can showcase your brand style and get creative with your visual aesthetic on Instagram.

1. Photography style

As you’re probably aware, Instagram is all about the visuals therefore your photographic style is a really key element for curation and building a recognisable ‘branded’ aesthetic on this platform.

But you might be thinking - Helen I’m not a photographer, I just take pictures on my phone!

Even so you can still benefit from setting some photographic rules to direct your photography. Think about where you shoot your content, is it often in natural light? Do you shoot indoors and can play around with shadows? Do you live in a climate that is mostly bright and sunny (lucky you!) or is it mostly overcast (yup), in which case work with what you have rather than against it.

Similarly, if you use stock imagery, try to buy sets of images or buy individual images from the same photographer (as they are likely to edit their photographs in the same way maintaining a consistent style) rather than downloading individual images one at a time from different creators. Search for photographic ‘stock photo bundle’ on sites such as Creative Market or search by photographer on free stock sites such as UnSplash for example.

The more you are consistent with your photographic style and colour choices, the more it becomes a consistent part of your overall visual aesthetic - part of the process of ‘standing out’ and curating a recognisable style.

2. Filters and colour scheme

Pulling your brand colour through your feed is a very simple and effective way to brand your Instagram.

Therefore it goes without saying that if you have a brand colour palette you should absolutely be using these colours as much as possible within your Instagram content. Background colours, text colours, the colour of props selected for image creation - take any opportunity you can to incorporate your unique colour palette!

If you don’t have a branded colour palette, another way you create a ‘colour scheme’ within your feed is through the filters or photographic edits you make post creation.

Filtering effects such as lowering saturation, adding colour washes, increasing contrast all work to visually communicate certain qualities of your brand so first think out what is the overall effect you are aiming for and then choose 1-2 filters that can help you achieve this.

PRO TIP: Choose an editing app and buy a pack of filters such as A ColorStory or presents for Lightroom for example is a great way to optimise different types of images but still maintain visual consistency. Similarly adding subtle effects such as scratches or grain can also emphasise feelings such as nostalgia for example, so don’t be afraid to go a little further to help your followers connect on an emotional level.

3. Graphic effects

Instagram is the perfect place to get creative with your brand style and is often the key to creating fun and engaging visuals.

Within the Mum-Folk brand design package, I always include patterns, textures and decorative elements that can help a client bring their brand story to life within their visual designs on Instagram.

Try adding branded illustrations or decorative elements over images, layering images over patterns or textures and using distinctive shapes that are associated with your brand.

Playful elements work really well on Instagram so it’s also easy to see why adding doodles and playful interactive gif elements have helped to make some accounts take off. Just make sure it suites your wider brand style before you add these effects and don’t go overboard otherwise your feed could look too busy.

Using graphic techniques such as black and white or duotone effects also work really well at standing out and stopping the scroll. Again just remember not to overdo these techniques as overuse can have the opposite effect, diluting the impact of your visual.

PRO TIP: Use graphic treatments such as black and white effects strategically, for example for styling one type of content or for helping user generated content blend into your feed. This way your audience won’t become visually blind to the effect, it will help signify the type of content and you will still make an impact and hopefully leave a lasting impression.

I hope these tips help! Comment below if you put any of them into practice.

Branding your Instagram is a huge subject and one I could talk a lot about therefore this is just the tip of the iceberg for building and strengthening your brand online!

If you would like to dive in more into how you can really create your brand aesthetic on Instagram and through your social media content and messaging then check out the workshop below.