Struggling to create a cohesive feed to make your Instagram stand out? 

This blog post will explain how to keep your feed on brand and perfect that Instagram aesthetic for your brand! 

It is really important to develop a cohesive and branded look for your Instagram feed in order to increase both brand recognition and loyalty.

This ultimately will drive an increase in follower engagement with your content as people scroll through mindlessly on the ‘gram because they will be able to recognize your content…you’ll be able to connect with your ideal client!

Here are ten creative and valuable tips to make your Instagram feed more cohesive!

1. Create and develop a Pinterest mood board. 

This is where you will house everything that you love including all your inspirations. 

Spend an afternoon doing a brain dump pinning everything you love.

Some great ideas include your favorite outfits, travel destinations, places, books, designs, to other people’s content. 

2. Use Coolors.co to develop your brand color palette. 

You can use some of your favorite images and upload it to Coolors.co and from there select different colors from the photos to create your own cohesive and unique brand colors. 

Be sure to select colors that compliment your brand vibe and personality. 

Another great tip is to look through your closet and recognize the colors you tend to wear most often and incorporate them into your palette selection process. 

Pick between 4-5 colors that you really like to create a cohesive color palette. 

Check out this sample color palette created from using images off @brandvivaciously

3. Choose a theme and feel for your feed.

When you envision your brand and feed what types of emotion and feelings are you trying to evoke in your followers? 

Create a list of 3-5 words or feelings that encompass the meaning of your brand vibe, IG feed, and brand colors. 

Now create a list of words that don’t describe your brand vibe, that way you can avoid creating a look and feel that isn’t authentic to you!

When all these elements are aligned and feel true to you, the content you create will naturally make your Instagram stand out. 

If you’re struggling with what type of content to post, you can check out these customizable branded Canva templates to get started without feeling overwhelmed!

You’ll be on track to creating a themed and cohesive Instagram feed in no time. 

4. Select 2-3 brand fonts. 

To find brand fonts you can use the fonts tool on Canva to find free font combinations that are readily available for all Canva users as inspiration and/or as a starting base.

Additionally, Myfonts.com is a great alternative to sourcing fonts from inspo images. 

Similarly to uploading images to Coolors.co for brand colors, you upload an image on Myfonts.com to identify what the font being used is in any graphic or image. 

Be sure to select a header font, a body font, and one speciality font such as a script font.   

5. Pick a grid layout. 

Instagram is a visual-first platform so creating a cohesive Instagram feed that is eye-catching to followers is paramount. 

The benefit of using a specific grid layout is it allows your brand to tell a story, gives your profile a visual voice, and also sends a clear message of what you are trying to achieve.

Once you have identified what your brand message and story is that you’d like to communicate to your audience selecting an appropriate grid layout is the next step. 

Some of the different types of grid layout options available to make your Instagram feed stand out include: 

Checkerboard Grid

Row-by-Row Grid

Rainbow Grid

Puzzle Grid

6. Create and use a set of Canva templates. 

Branded graphic templates help you create content really fast while keeping content on brand all the time. 

You will not be designing from scratch every time you go to post, allowing you to stick to your brand colors, fonts, elements, look, feel, and aesthetic resulting in a more cohesive Instagram feed.

You can create a set of IG feed templates, IG Story Highlight covers, IG reels covers and IG Live replay covers with your brand colors and fonts that you can simply edit and use when planning your content for the month – check out these pre-made, customizable templates as a starting point!

Or you can bring your big brand vision to life with the Social Media Branding Package.This is a one-stop shop service for building a cohesive, stand-out brand AND content strategy that work hand in hand. 

7. Use the same filters for all your images and photos.

To ensure an on brand look and aesthetic using the same filters and look for all your photos will create a more seamless and cohesive vibe for your Instagram feed. 

Some great tools for creating and maintaining branded filters and presets include Tezza and Lightroom; they both have presets and easy-to-use editing tools all for free. 

Making a uniquely branded preset has never been easier to achieve that perfect Instagram aesthetic. 

8. Ensure image backgrounds match your brand vibes. 

An easy way to keep your Instagram cohesive is to take on-brand photos of yourself, and here is how you can do that… 

Be sure to wear your brand colors and take some photos of yourself against a branded background. This background can be a wall that is your brand colors or in environments that match your brand vibe.

If you find yourself constantly taking photos outside, be mindful of this and keep it on brand with the types of colors, textures, and elements you include in your brand photos. 

For example, if you are standing in front of a purple wall and that is not one of your brand colors it will make your Instagram feed look a little bit off.

Clashing colors, vibes, and feel is something we would want to avoid when developing a cohesive look and feel. 

9. Maintain consistent type of lighting in all images and photos.

Lighting does not have to get too complicated.

If all your photos have a bright, airy feel with natural lighting stay away from darker lighting or flash that can create shadows for future photos. 

And vice versa. 

The goal is to maintain the look and feel of your images and content to tell a cohesive feed story.

10. Create a copy guide for your brand voice. 

This will include all the do’s and don’ts of your brand voice. 

Be clear on what types of words your brand will use.

And, what word your brand will not use. 

And stick to it. 

Think “if my brand were a person, who would it be?” 

“What would it sound like?”

Determining who your brand is, your brand personality, and brand message are all vital aspects that need to be developed and understood to be able to have an Instagram feed that stands out. The Vision Book I created is a great tool for this!

Any misalignment or clashing elements will trigger confusion and your Instagram feed will lack the flow and cohesiveness. If you want to find your authentic brand strategy, check out this brand strategy quiz I created to help you understand how to show up in your business in alignment with your unique energy, personality & Human Design.

Not sure where to start with your brand voice? I can help you build your brand cohesively from scratch inside my brand development coaching programs. You can also get a one on one experience with the social media branding package.