“Help, I’m not landing any collabs lately. Can you take a look at my Instagram feed and tell me what I’m doing wrong?”
I get a variation of this question daily.
First, nothing is wrong with your feed. If you’re posting content you love, that you’re proud of, then nothing you’re doing is wrong.
Of course, some brands have a specific aesthetic in mind and all brands want a high ROI (return on investment: i.e. investing product, time and money in you in exchange for advertising).
I try to answer as many comments and messages as I can, but I figured I should put the info in one concise place and help answer,
10 Instagram Tips to “Fix” Your IG Feed
If you’re looking for a way to put your best foot forward for growth and partnerships, here’s an easy checklist:
- Make sure we know what your niche is (and make sure you know what your niche is). Brands want to know who your audience will be and what kind of marketing they’re going to get from you (the same way potential followers want to see what kind of content they’ll be getting if they hit that follow button).
- Plan out your feed. Apps, like Planoly and Later, are great for when you’re done batch shooting content. You can plan the order of your posts, and have everything prepped and ready to go for optimal posting time (just be careful saving drafts on Instagram. If you log out, they disappear.)
- Decide if you’re going to use presets. It’s always okay to change up your page aesthetic. Keep in mind that ideally when you are pitching to brands, your grid will have at least 12 consistent pics / reel covers for that great first impression.
- Whether or not you decide to use presets, try to find a color scheme to work with for consistency. This will help minimize the tweaking and planning you need to do.
- Make sure what you’ve decided to share and the aesthetic you’ve committed to is something you’re passionate about. This will help prevent burnout in the long run and will help attract both the right followers and brands.
- Optimize your bio (I sent an email about this on my mailing list, so if you’re subscribed you saw it there first) and ensure your email is in your bio and you’re using all the characters allotted in the name field. **And don’t put “for collabs email:” brands already know why your email is in your bio and this can be off putting (plus a waste of characters to use in your bio).
- Collabs are great, but brands want to see that you’re not over saturating your content (and your audience) with constant ads. Make sure you’re filling your feed with content not just about products too.
- Utilize Reels! Brands know that Instagram is pushing video content and especially in 2022, you want to showcase that you’re down for fun transitions, new trends, and sponsored video ads.
- Your kids are cute, but we want to see you! Find ways to show up on camera (hmmm should my next post be on being comfortable in front of the camera) and on your feed. We also want to see the space, not just close ups. Show us around your home, your city, your adventures. Take pictures close up and zoomed out. Give us a variety of content to look at.
- I’ve said it before, but you can totally make it as an influencer without your camera. How? By paying attention to light. To keep your photos the best quality and attract more brands with your pictures, utilize natural light, shade, play with angels and avoid direct sunlight.
Don’t overthink it but do treat it like a job. Now go check your feeds, apply these 10 Instagram tips, and tell me what (if anything) needed some tweaking?
