Instagram is competitive. More than 25 million businesses use the platform to capture attention, fuel interest and compel their clients into action. With so much competition, considered, exciting and professional images are necessary in order to make you and your feed stand out.
Instasize has easy to use tools to help you choose, shape and create exciting, unique images. Compelling content drives action. It makes people want to share, comment, and click. Here are four easy tips to help you master the art of creating outstanding images that will make everyone want to ‘like’, share and comment.
1] Create the perfect profile photo
Before visitors read anything on your Instagram bio, they see your profile picture. First impressions are worth a million words and your profile pic is like shaking hands in an IRL introduction. The right profile photo can work miracles: it should be clear and deliver a direct idea of who you are.
Therefore, you probably want to remove any distractions. Things like misleading facial blemishes can be detracting from the quality of your photos. Instasize’s enhancement tools allow you to remove temporary blemishes, smooth and achieve a glowing complexion and whiten your teeth while desaturating backgrounds.
2] Polish your personal moments and vacation pics
Personal moments like having brunch with your best friends, ‘catching rays’ on your first tropical vacation, playing mini-golf with your dad on Father’s Day or smooching your bae introduces and showcases your personality and interests to your visitors and friends. “Behind-the-scenes images” are what make you human and shows that you are part of a supportive community.
Have a behind-the-scenes shot that is less than professional? A crooked horizon line, predictable composition or missing information can really detract from the image. Using the built-in grid within your camera is an easy way to prevent crooked lines, centre your composition and add visual interest to your photos.
The grid on your camera helps to frame the subjects and objects that you want to take a photo of, it can even help you plan your Instagram feed. Optimizing the way you take and post photos will improve and enhance the way you use your Instagram, and the way people respond to your photos. “
Your goal is to get Instagram users to stop scrolling once they see your image,” explains Sarah Dawley, Senior Copywriter at Hootsuite”. The more interesting and memorable your photos are, the better.
3] Using unique frames and borders to help establish your ‘look’
Establishing your ‘look’ on Instagram means creating your own personal brand, even if you are not technically a business. Your ‘look’ helps make you recognizable on the platform. You want your content to be familiar: your pics need to be easily distinguishable from the sea of other pics available.
This increases the chance that people will engage (e.g., ‘like’ or comment) with your posts. This can be achieved by using filters, like everyone else, OR you can add an interesting personal frame and/or background border.
Adding Instasize’s fun and creative frames to photos add chic and make your Instagram pictures unique. Not everyone uses frames on Instagram and that’s exactly why you should.
A background border that either reiterates the content (IE: a floral print used with a pic of you in your best hat in a beautiful garden) or contrasts and redefines the photo (a tiger pattern while you’re cleaning the bathroom) adds a layer of visual meaning to your pics. You’re complex, don’t settle for simple pics. Be playful, be different, frame it!
4] It’s more than just words: using creative text-styles to increase visibility
When it comes to creating interesting posts, the text is just as important as the image it describes. On Instagram, the text is more than just words; it is an image and should be treated with the same creative care as your photos.
Great text or relatable quotes will add context, show off you and your brand’s personality, entertain and compel people to engage with your photos via likes, shares, and comments. The best text is clear, concise, easy to read and understand. But it is also another way of grabbing and keeping your follower’s attention.
Using a text-style tool to customize your text is a great way of adding flair, colour and shape to your words while having fun and sending out your own personal message. ‘Text Styles’ ensure that your content is interesting and memorable, and most importantly, recognizably you.
Instasize’s text tool features preset layouts that are on trend, and customizable to complement your aesthetic and match your brand. For more help with this and other unique ways to create stellar Instagram content, see Instasize’s Blog and Tutorials. Your Instagram site is your playground, your temple: make it yours.
