How To Create An Aesthetic Instagram Feed

If you want to get new Instagram followers, having a beautiful and cohesive Instagram aesthetic is the key to turning visitors into followers.

Having a curated Instagram aesthetic is one of the best ways to grow your account, build a following and show off your brand's unique style and tone.

And the good news is, you don't need pro photography skills or expensive editing software to really nail your aesthetic.

Watch our free video to learn how to design, curate, and plan an Instagram aesthetic for your feed and stories to attract new followers:

Why is a Cohesive Instagram Aesthetic So Important?

You might be thinking: why is creating a cohesive Instagram aesthetic so important?

Your Instagram aesthetic is one of the best ways to get more followers and grow your account. And this year, creating a cohesive Instagram aesthetic is more important than ever!

More and more people are turning to Instagram to search for their favorite businesses. That means, your Instagram profile is now just as important as your website's homepage.

Your Instagram feed is the first thing a visitor sees when they land on a new profile, so it's important you make a good impression. When a visitor lands on your profile and knows exactly what they can expect to see on your feed, they're much more likely to hit that "follow" button.

Creating an Instagram Aesthetic Step #1: Choosing an Instagram Aesthetic

The first thing you'll want to do is decide on the Instagram aesthetic you want for your profile. A great way to get started is just by looking for inspiration.

What do some of your favorite feeds look like? Are they bright and airy? Dark and moody? Do they follow some sort of pattern?

Taking the time to think about these things while you're browsing your favorite profiles will help you decide what "aesthetic" will best represent you and your brand.

You'll also want to consider what types of photos you'll be posting. For example, even if you prefer a light and bright feed, if you live somewhere like Seattle, it may be a hard look for you to achieve.

Make sure you consider what and where you'll be shooting, as this will be what you can maintain consistently. And consistency is really key when you're creating your aesthetic and should be considered above all else!

Another way to help you determine what look you'd like to create on your feed is by creating a mood board.

There's a ton of different programs and apps, like Pinterest, that you can use to create a mood board. Creating a mood board is a really great way to help you get your creativity flowing and guide you in deciding what you want your feed to look like.

When you're creating your mood board, make sure to include a mix of colors, textures, patterns, and quotes to help you better visualize what your Instagram feed should look like.

Once you've created your mood board, take a step back and decide what words come to mind? Your mood board should be a visual representation of what you want your Instagram brand to encompass.

And once you have a clear picture in your head of what you'd like your photos and Instagram feed to look like, it will make the editing process a cinch!

Ready to create your own Instagram aesthetic? Create a free account today and start planning and designing your Instagram feed with Later's drag & drop visual planner!

Creating an Instagram Aesthetic Step #2: Editing Your Photos For Your Instagram Feed

The best way to create a cohesive Instagram aesthetic is during the editing process. Choosing the same filter, set of filters or editing "rules", will help you keep your photos looking consistent and "fit" together.

If you're looking to give your photos a more professional look, Lightroom is by far one of the most powerful photo editing tools out there, especially because you can use ready-made Lightroom presets!

Lightroom presets are one-click photo editing tools that can dramatically speed up your workflow and give your Instagram photos a professional look.

Using Lightroom presets on your mobile device can give your Instagram feed a serious upgrade and help you create high-quality Instagram Stories content (which we'll talk about in step #4!).

While mastering Adobe Lightroom on desktop takes time and practice, using Lightroom presets on the mobile app is a quick and easy way to take your Instagram photos to the next level.

Since many presets are offered in "packs" or collections, you can choose from a selection of filters for each of your photos while still maintaining a cohesive look on your Instagram feed.

This year, many popular Instagrammers have even released their own preset collections, making it easy for you to achieve the same look and feel as your favorite influencers!

There's really no one-size-fits-all filter, so it's really important you play around, and figure out what filter is the best fit for your photo. Try find a "set" of filters or presets that all have the same look or feel to help you maintain that consistent aesthetic on every photo you're posting.

Creating an Instagram Aesthetic #3: Create Balance on Your Instagram Feed

After you've edited your Instagram photos, you're going to want to think about how they'll look next to each other. It's important to create "balance" on your feed, and make sure it's not too busy or cluttered. You want to make sure it's easy for new eyes to move throughout your feed without interruption.

The goal here is to create a depth of field, similar to what you learn if you've ever taken a photography class. A great way to do this is by placing more busy photos next to clean or minimal photos to break things up a bit.

If you're a business selling products on your Instagram feed, you can do this by mixing up your product shots, with some user-generated content post, lifestyle photos or any other different types of content you plan to publish.

If you haven't already, it's really time for you to start thinking in "grid-terms". This will help you achieve a nice "balanced" look on your Instagram feed and help you create that killer aesthetic.

Creating an Instagram Aesthetic #4: Maintaining Your Aesthetic in Your Instagram Stories

Previously, when you'd hear about an Instagram aesthetic, most people would just think about their feed, but now that's all changed!

When crafting your Instagram aesthetic, you'll also want to make sure you're thinking about your Instagram Stories.

Creating cohesive Instagram Stories are a great way to build your brand and keep your followers coming back for more. This can be as simple as using the same Instagram "font" all the time, or using your brand colors when using text or drawing tools.

While Instagram Stories continues to grow in popularity, brands are taking stories as seriously as their regular Instagram posts by creating highly designed stories that stand out on Instagram and stop people from swiping past your story.

You might notice brands and businesses like @oakandfort, taking the design and style of their website (like logo, font, color palette, and tone) and applying it to their Instagram Stories design.

If you want to create gorgeous Instagram Stories consistently, try using Instagram Stories templates!

Instagram Stories templates have really been growing in popularity this year, with businesses and influencers creating their own branded stories that have a really uniform color, tone, style, and format.

There are also heaps of apps like Canva and Unfold that can help you create beautiful and cohesive Instagram Stories with their ready-made templates.

Instagram Stories templates are a great starting point for creating your stories, and Later has created 19 free templates that you can try out that are completely customizable to suit your brand's aesthetic!

Designing templates for Instagram Stories make it easy to create stories from your phone or computer, and ensures that everyone on your team can create on-brand content.

Generally, Instagram Stories templates are pre-made layouts with graphics, text, or animations that you can edit to fit each new story.

By using the same (or similar) templates for your Instagram Stories, you can create cohesive, on-brand stories that align with your business as a whole.

If your Instagram Stories design and style don't match the aesthetic of your profile page, you're going to be missing the chance to introduce your brand to new audiences and leave a lasting first impression.

Creating an Instagram Aesthetic Step #5: Scheduling Your Cohesive Instagram Feed

Planning out your content in advance is really what's going to make or break your Instagram aesthetic. You don't just want to focus on how you're editing your photos, but start considering what they look like next to each other, and what's beside, below or on top of your new posts!

The best way to pre-plan your feed and make sure everything's flowing together is by using a visual planner like Later.

Later's visual Instagram planner shows you exactly what your Instagram feed would look like — and it's seriously a game changer. The visual planner lets you easily rearrange or swap out photos to find that perfect balance for your Instagram feed.

Scheduling out your posts ahead of time doesn't just help you maintain a consistent aesthetic, but it also helps you to post regularly, which is also really important when you're trying to get more followers.

Again, new visitors on your profile are much more likely to convert into followers when they know exactly what they can expect from your feed, and your Instagram Stories.

And that's our five easy steps to creating a killer Instagram aesthetic covered! By having consistent elements across your website, Instagram posts, and stories, your brand will have the chance to really unify your aesthetic and style from every single angle.

And now that you've learned exactly how to create and curate an Instagram aesthetic for your brand, you're ready to design, execute and show off your very own beautifully-crafted Instagram profile!

It takes some planning, but once you've created an Instagram aesthetic that really wows, your Instagram account will go from strength to strength!

Ready to create your own Instagram aesthetic? Design, curate, and plan your feed using a free Instagram marketing platform like Later !