All in the Details: 6 Tips for Refining Your Instagram Look

Many people make the mistake of focusing solely on their Instagram content. But while the substance of the content is very important, it’s only half the battle. Your Instagram look is based on multiple factors, and many of them are small on their own.

If you’re hoping to build a successful brand, you have to look beyond the content and consider the overall impression you are communicating to your audience. Whether you’re interested in developing a wider audience for your personal social media or you would like to market your brand more successfully, these six tips for refining your Instagram look will give your account the boost it needs and garner the attention it deserves.

1. Begin in the Bio

People might find you through your content, but they’ll also be looking at your Bio. A messy or worse, blank Bio is a lost opportunity to establish your brand. If you’ve been neglecting this part of your Instagram account, or you haven’t updated it in a while, it’s time to look at these key features:

• At least one sentence describing who you are and what you are about
• A link to a personal website, landing page, or product
• A branded hashtag
• Emojis if they fit your account aesthetic
• A logo or professional profile picture
• A memorable username

Here are two tips for maximizing your Bio: first, consider using a third-party app like LinkTree to give visitors the opportunity to visit several landing pages. Instagram only allows you to post one link, so make it count.

Second, many professionals and influencers make their Instagram usernames the same as their Twitter and TikTok usernames to create cohesiveness and brand awareness across multiple social media accounts.

2. Curate Those Hashtags

It can be tempting to hashtag dump and pull in every single hashtag you can think of, but that may not be the way to go for your overall look. Many people find they achieve better results by creating a branded hashtag and placing it in their Bio and content captions.

In addition to your branded hashtag, you’ll also want to include a carefully edited mix of hashtags in your content captions. An optimal mix consists of a few more niche hashtags alongside more generalized but still relevant hashtags. Try to consistently include between three and five hashtags so you’re searchable without appearing spammy or fake.

Additionally, keep those hashtags in the caption. It can be tempting to place captions in the comments, but they simply won’t pull in as many views there.

3. Your Visual Vibe

A visual theme gives your account a beautiful, polished look. You can arrange your posts in a grid layout, curating which photos or videos appear next to each other. Additionally, you can choose a color palette and vibe that you stick to consistently.

Some brands add a pop of their signature color to every post, no matter the subject. Others stick to specific filters or arrange the subjects in the photos similarly each time. Your look might be cleaner and more austere, or you might prefer riotous colors.

Whatever you choose, have at least one visual link that ties the photos and videos together. Think of it as the signature of an artist on each painting.

4. Captions Will Capture Their Attention

Think of your content captions as the icing on the cake. They add something extra that enriches the content experience. Your captions serve multiple purposes, including:

• Reinforcing what the content is communicating visually
• Delivering an authentic message or description
• Providing a way for visually-impaired users to understand your content
• Incorporating SEO words and hashtags
• Enhancing the visual experience with emojis or crafted prose

Your captions can be short or long, but just as with the photos or videos, consistency is critical here as well. Extended captions aren’t always wrong, but having no captions is certainly a no-no.

5. Know Your Audience

To know your audience, you’ll first need to know who you are. As you develop your personal brand and decide what your goals are, you’ll have a better idea of the look and theme you’re going for. But to truly home in on your Instagram look, you’ll want to think about who you’re hoping will be doing the looking.

Some audiences enjoy bright, flashy colors and busy photos, while others prefer calming, expansive, or minimalist looks. You will have greater success if you choose a specific style and work to attract others who love the same style.

In addition to knowing your target audience, it also helps to know your competition. Pay special attention to the most successful of your competitors and look carefully at their Instagram accounts.

Chances are you’ll find they’ve followed many, if not all, of the tips in this post. You want to avoid copying their look, but you can probably gain some insight into how to polish your own look. Check out several competitors and take notes. You can always grab great ideas from several sources and mix things up until you’ve got something that is uniquely your own.

6. Focus Your Content

Your visual theme isn’t the only thing you want to stick to when it comes to content. It can be tempting to post about all sorts of things, but including too many topics or wildly different posts can cause your audience to disengage.

Whether you’re building your personal brand or looking to design a more aesthetically pleasing personal Instagram account, sticking to certain types of posts will give you a more professional appearance. Choose just a few topics or pillars and organize content that ties into one or more of those. For example, if your brand is a gardening account, adding a post about cars would feel out of place for your followers and disrupt the professional look and feel.

The good news is that by strategically focusing on critical aspects, you can take your Instagram account from run-of-the-mill to polished and professional. You’ll likely see better engagement and growth in your audience base as well. With a bit of planning, you can create a unique look that will help you grow your base and showcase your content beautifully.