While there are so many ways to grow your business on Instagram, there are core strategies that work across any industry. One of those strategies is incorporating best practices for Instagram design. 

Let’s get into five of the best practices I recommend, why they’re important, and how to make them work for you in 2024. 

Create a Consistent Look & Feel

The number one best practice for Instagram design is creating a consistent look and feel. 

The goal is to have such a consistent aesthetic and such strong visual branding that your customers can recognize your content anywhere. You want them to be scrolling through their home feed, or checking the Explore page, and instantly recognize your content.

Nutbar does this so well, along with Moon Juice and Acid League. They all have distinctive, strong visual brand identities that they consistently use in each and every Instagram post. Another brand is Our Place. 

There’s three things you need to create a consistent look and feel on Instagram. The first is a strong brand identity, courtesy of an experienced brand designer. The second is product photography that aligns with your new brand identity. I recommend my clients stick with one photographer so the look and feel is consistent over months, if not years. And the third thing you’ll need are social media templates for your grid posts, stories, and reel covers. The templates will make it so easy to quickly create that consistent look and feel for every single Instagram post.

Ensure Readability

Have you ever looked at a billboard, a product’s packaging, or a social media post and realized you have no idea what it says? Maybe it’s a super funky font, everything is smushed together, or perhaps it’s white text on a black background (the worst). I get a headache just thinking about the last one. 

It doesn’t matter how “unique” or “original” your design is, or how valuable your content is, if nobody can read it. Which is why the second best practice is to ensure your Instagram posts are readable. Follow these guidelines: 

• Make sure the text is large enough to be read without squinting. The exact font size will depend on your brand font, but you can try a few different sizes and see how they each look on your phone screen. 
• Double check that there’s enough spacing between each letter and each word. Again, double check this on your phone screen. 
• Use this contrast checker. 

Check Your Feed Before You Post

If Instagram design is one of your 2024 priorities, you need to check what your feed will look like before you post the content. 

I do this for myself and for my clients, every single time I create content. My social media calendar template comes with the exact Instagram grid planner I use. You’ll be able to see what your feed looks like and make any adjustments before posting. Plus the calendar comes with space to add post ideas, captions, hashtags, and product links.

Extend Your Look & Feel to Video Content

For the most part, we’ve talked about photos and graphic design. But what about video content? 

The same things apply. 

Your video content should be consistent with the look & feel of the rest of your marketing. When you’re filming a video, set it up in a space that fits your branding. 

For example, if your branding is very bright and colourful, film in a space that’s bright and colourful, not one that’s dark and neutral. If you’re adding text onto the screen, use InShot to add your brand fonts and colours. If you’re adding music, use music that matches your brand identity. Don’t forget to use reel covers that fit your Instagram feed. 

Always Add a Call to Action

One of the simplest ways to get more out of each post is to add a call to action at the end. In stories, this could be a final slide with a link to learn more or shop. In carousel posts, this could be a final slide encouraging customers to leave a comment or save the post for later. 

It doesn’t have to be complicated, but it does have to be there, and ideally on its own slide. Adding a CTA on its own slide will have a bigger impact than shoving it at the end of a long wall of text. 

Learn more about Instagram best practices here.

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