Do you ever come across those flawless Instagram feeds that seem to always be posting new and exciting content that fits their brand, looks amazing, is authentic while still being a little bit polished and seems to always be consistent? When you come across a feed like that, you can believe nothing is left to chance– the curator of that feed knows exactly what they want to post to achieve their end goal which is often growing brand trust, increasing their following or boosting sales.

So how do they know what to post? Is there some kind of magical formula that you’re missing out on? Is there a secret tool that can magically tell you what exactly to post each day? It’s less magic and a little more work but following our steps below, you’ll be able to figure out the best content to post on your Instagram feed. 

Step 1 – Determine Your Deliverables

What are you using Instagram to market? Are you a small business with a product? Are you a freelancer selling services? Or an influencer showcasing your values, personality and things you like to gain more influencer opportunities? The bottom line is that everyone is using Instagram to market something to the masses. Define exactly what your deliverables are and write them down on a list. Leave no deliverable left off the list. For example, if you sell products, list each product you have for sale. If you have services, list them. 

Step 2 – Dream Your Feed

If you could have a flawless feed full of the best images that represent your brand and speak to your ideal client, what would they be? Grab a pen and paper and dream up your ideal feed! Seriously… stop reading this post and DO IT! If you imagine product flat lays on a beach, write it down. If you imagine images of you in creative postures across your city, write each of your ideas down. If you imagine coffee shops, pastries and plants, write it all down. This dreaming process will help you determine the kind of imagery that can build up your feed.

Step 3 – Apply the “Ideal Client + Brand” Filter

Similar to using A6 on VSCO or a Lightroom Mobile Pre-set, you need to put a Filter on ALL of the content you think you want to put onto Instagram. The filter you need is called “Ideal Client + Brand”. Go to your ‘dream feed’ list and read off the first item you wrote down. Using your ‘Ideal Client + Brand’ filter ask if this type of imagery fits with your brand and speaks to your ideal client. If the answer is Yes + Yes then circle it on your list. If the answers are No + No, cross it off– this type of content doesn’t support your business objectives on Instagram so it’s not worth posting.

Step 4 – Plan It Out

Those that made the cut from your “Filter” + your deliverables = your content!

Plan to get the content you need by setting aside some time to take photos or have a photo shoot done. Get images that fit in with your deliverables and the kinds of images that made the cut from your “Ideal Client + Brand” Filter. Once you have your content, pop it into a scheduling app like Planoly and then organize it so it looks pretty! All that curated content is going to look so good on your feed.

BONUS TIPS

• Images of people always perform well! Show YOU and your personality!
• Stay consistent– use a consistent pre-set to make all your images look uniform even if they are taken on the go!
• Track your insights to see how your content is performing. Post more of what performs well and less of what doesn’t.

If you were hoping you’d see a list of “30 things you can post on Instagram”, let me tell you, the work you’ll put in here is WAY more worth it because it is going to be completely tailored to YOUR BUSINESS! When you complete steps one through four, you’re putting the effort it to really understand the best kind of content for your feed.

We love talking about pretty grids, but even more so, we love talking marketing strategy! We have a pretty epic course called Navigate the Wild that goes over EVERYTHING to do with Instagram, strategy, Facebook, your website, email marketing and more! 

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