Frequently Asked Questions: The Instagram "Grid"
FAQ: What About My IG Aesthetic?
How much energy should you be putting towards your grid?
Every once in a while, I try to answer a lot of the common questions people ask me (or ask in general) about social media marketing. Have a question? Shoot me an email and I’ll answer yours too!
Question: Do I need a curated Instagram feed to grow my following?
Long version
Yes & No. Of course you want your overall aesthetic to be cohesive and reflective of your brand. To that end, you want to make sure that everything you post on Instagram—and on your social media in general—is true to your core message. In doing that, a natural aesthetic will materialize—one that is purely based on your core messaging and content pillars.
Ask yourself:
What is it that I am trying to convey?
Does this piece of content get any of those messages across in an aesthetically pleasing way?
If so, then post away! Because chances are, after the initial follow, your audience is not viewing your content in the grid format. They’re viewing it as it comes down their timeline, sandwiched in-between the other people they’re following. Beyond the initial follow, you want people to engage and perform specific actions with your content. So all that work you’re putting in making sure that your grid is perfectly situated? I’m not going to say it’s a complete waste of time, because if you like it I love it! Seriously, it doesn’t hurt to have a nice grid aesthetic. But is that what’s driving the actions, clicks, and conversions you need? It’s a hard no. It’s cute though.
Short version
What your content needs to do is be eye-catching enough to get your audience to stop scrolling, engage and click what you told them to click. Perfectly matching the color of the photo you posted before is a non-factor here. ALSO these grid situations where you break up any image into 50 large pictures to make one big picture? Do me a favor and check the engagement on those posts. Better yet, ask yourself “If I saw a blown up image of the tip of someone’s fingernail come across my TL, would I stop or keep scrolling? Right.
Super Short Version
Don’t stress yourself. Make sure your images are eye-catching and engaging. A natural aesthetic will materialize.