Make visually interesting social media feeds

Contributors

@jamaicawinshipgmail-com @andreea-macoveiciuc-content-expert @danielisler1gmail-com


Business Benefits

Show consistent brand personality and grow follower counts.


Assess your current social media feeds to determine what needs to be improved upon.

Consider:

  • Do we have a consistent brand voice across social media channels?
  • Do we use each platform for its strengths, for example, Instagram for visual content and Twitter for short-form content?
  • Do we use a mix of different types of media?
  • What do we excel at on social media? What can we improve upon?
  • Is there anything that needs to be removed?
  • What are our goals for social media?

Make a mood board: a physical or digital board of ideas and inspiration.

Seek inspiration from Pinterest, blog posts on design trends, influencers, and artists.

Design your feeds by thinking of each as a whole, instead of as individual posts.

There are many stylistic choices to craft aesthetically pleasing feeds that look good as a whole, including:

  • Color block.
  • Minimalist.
  • White borders.
  • Black and white.
  • Vertical lines.

Some Instagram accounts choose a grid layout, like Marvel’s WandaVision account because it is visually striking, but there are some downsides to consider, such as limited spontaneity and lack of individual appeal.

Choose a color palette for your feeds, such as your brand colors, and follow color theory for each post.

Consider creating your own filters or using pre-made ones.

Choose a content strategy for each social media channel based on its target audience and your goals.

Each social media channel has different advantages, purposes, and audiences:

  • Instagram: Visual content with captions for advertising and brand awareness.
  • YouTube: Video content for entertainment and instructional videos.
  • Twitter: Short-form, conversational content for public relations and customer service.
  • Facebook: Text and visual updates with mostly generation X and millennial audience.

Invest in high-quality visual content that meets your budget and follows copyright law.

  • Hire a professional creative agency for content creation.
  • Take photos with a smartphone and natural lighting.
  • Commission artists for design work.
  • Use stock photos or fair use images to enhance social media feeds.

Customize graphics by using an online design tool like Canva, Visme, Adobe Spark, or Crello.

Consider using multiple types of visual media in posts.

Visual media includes typography, photography, videos, quotes, graphic design, and illustrations. For example, IBM’s Instagram feed uses quotes, videos, infographics, images, and more, all with a cohesive color palette and styling, to keep people’s attention as they scroll.

Create a style guide for your marketing and content teams to use across social media platforms.

Include a color palette, font choice, filter options, photo and video preferences, and dos and don’ts. Make guidelines for written text on each platform as well.

Plan out your feeds in a design program like Adobe Illustrator, Photoshop, or Planoly before posting.

Visualize your feed content as a whole by laying out your feeds first in a design program, or by grouping visuals for a campaign together in the same document. Creating feed mock-ups in a program like Adobe Photoshop and workshopping content as a team supports the design process.

Last edited by @hesh_fekry 2023-11-14T16:15:38Z