Instagram is my favorite social media platform. I love its visual focus, which allows me to represent my brand personality at a glance through images.

I also love the results it delivers for my business. For example, in the last few weeks, I’ve attracted 2 VIP Intensive clients and 1 private coaching client through Instagram - that’s 18K in revenue.

BUT DON’T JUST TAKE MY WORD FOR IT, CHECK OUT SOME OF THESE STATS FROM HOOTSUITE:

Instagram has over 300 million monthly active users who’ve shared over 30 billion photos to date and post 70 million photos per day!

• 85% of the top brands use Instagram as a marketing strategy.
• Instagram’s per-follower engagement rate is 58 times higher than Facebook and 120 times higher than Twitter.
• Now, stats are great and they can be exciting to consider, but they don’t take into account some of the non-trackable KEYS to creating success on Instagram.

Frankly, it doesn’t matter how many brands experience success on Instagram, if you’re not asking yourself the following important questions before you post an image, I can pretty much guarantee that your success will be lackluster.

7 QUESTIONS TO ASK BEFORE YOU POST ANOTHER IMAGE TO INSTAGRAM:

1. Does my image match my color palette?

Remember, Instagram is a visual platform and sticking to your color palette is a great way to make your feed looks consistent and “on brand”.

You don’t have to be perfect about this, but you DO need to make sure your images match your general color scheme.

Check out my Instagram feed here. You’ll see that I use neutrals of blacks, warm grays & browns with pops of red & gold. You generally don’t see any super bright color in my feed unless its red.

If I do use other colors like green, purple, blue, etc. I try to keep them earthy shades so they don’t distract from my reds/golds.

2. Does this filter look consistent with the rest of my images?

Instagram has many filters to choose from that can make your images look old, dreamy, sharp, bright, etc.

It’s ok to use filters as long as you’re consistent.

For example, if all your images use a sharp/crisp filter & then you randomly throw in a filter with a soft/dream-like quality, this looks inconsistent.

Or of all of your images display bright, bold colors and then you randomly throw in an image with a yellowed, old-looking effect, this looks out of place.

3. Does this image align with my brand personality?

If your brand personality is wise, deep, & spiritual, (for example), a cartoon/comic strip image does not align with that personality.

On the other hand, if your brand is loud and in your face, then soft, serene-type images won’t align with your personality. You need images that are loud and “in your face” just like your personality.

4. Does this image align with my brand style?

Your brand style is informed by your personal style - the way you dress & decorate your home.

If your style is modern, your images must be modern too - clean lines, open, spacious and uncluttered.

If you use images of people in your Instagram feed, make sure those people are dressed in your brand style.

For example, if you’re looking for an image of a woman working on her computer, but the one you find is a 20-somthing punk rocker and your brand style is classic/preppy…you need to look for a different image.

My brand style is summed up in 3 words: Edgy, Elegant and Nature-Inspired. Every time I post an image, I ask myself if that image aligns with those 3 words.

5. Is this image related to my business?

If your Instagram account is a business account, every image needs to relate to your business.

This isn’t to say you can’t post a personal picture here and there - but when you do, you need to relate it to your business in the caption area.

And please, if you’re posting personal pictures and your Instagram account is for business, please spare us on too many pics of your dog/lunch/baby (unless you’re a dog trainer, nutrition coach, or coach for new moms).

6. Does this image up-level the quality of my feed?

When someone new lands on your Instagram profile, you have about one second to capture their interest.

A new visitor looks at your feed as a whole, specifically the first 6-9 images to determine if they resonate with you and your brand. If they like what they see, then they will click into individual images to explore your feed further.

Because your feed is viewed as a whole (how all the images look together and relate to one another), it’s very important to consider how each image you post will impact the look and feel of your entire feed.

Avoid images that are washed out, grainy, have bad lighting or are generally just poor quality. These images ALWAYS down-level the quality of your feed.

Although I know it can be tempting to share an image from your dinner party celebrating your first 10K month in business, if there’s not a clear, well-lit picture from that evening, refrain!

7. Is there too much text on my image?

By now, I’m confident that you get my point about Instagram being a visual platform…and so I’m sure you can understand that when you post an image with lots of tiny text, that this distracts from the visual look and feel of your Instagram feed.

Especially when someone is looking at your entire feed where the images appear much smaller. They can’t even read what the image says.

Including one, to a small handful of words on your image is fine, but If you have a lot to say about an image - use the caption area - that’s what it’s for.

Final Thoughts

Instagram can be a great way to build your brand awareness and attract clients, but not if you’re inconsistent with high-quality, on-brand images.

Because Instagram is a visual platform, your images are of utmost importance. If you’re not seeing the results you want, go back and look at your feed.

If you were a prospective client who landed on your profile, would you want to stick around and explore, or would you hit the back button?