• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Social Media Examiner

Your Guide to the Marketing Jungle

  • 🔥 Free Newsletter
  • 🎙️ Podcasts
    • Social Media Marketing Podcast
    • AI Explored Podcast
    • Social Media Marketing Talk Show
    • Our YouTube Channel
  • 🌟 AI Society
  • 🗓️ Marketing Conference
  • đź‘‹ About Us
    • Marketing Events
  • Search
  • Embrace AI & MarketingGet Ongoing Training & SupportBEGIN YOUR JOURNEY NOW

    How to Create an Instagram Style for Your Business

    by Anna Claire / November 21, 2016

    social media how toWant your Instagram feed to reflect your brand?

    Looking for ways to create an Instagram presence people recognize?

    Attracting your target audience on Instagram starts with a well-planned approach to your visuals.

    In this article, you'll discover how to define an Instagram style for your business.

    How to Create an Instagram Style for Your Business by Anna Guerrero on Social Media Examiner.
    How to Create an Instagram Style for Your Business by Anna Guerrero on Social Media Examiner.

    #1: Echo Your Brand's Visual Identity

    Brand assets like fonts, colors, and logos are important tools for creating brand recognition and recall. Use your assets consistently, and your followers can identify your posts more easily in the feed.

    Freshii's Instagram effectively incorporates their logo into their Instagram posts. While they don't add their logo to every photo, they do so often enough to create an association.

    Freshii incorporates their logo into many of their Instagram photos.
    Freshii incorporates their logo into many of their Instagram photos.

    Meanwhile, Cadbury's Instagram is all about repeating their iconic purple color. Not only does this reinforce their brand identity, it also creates consistency in their Instagram aesthetic.

    The Instagram feed for Cadbury's focuses on their iconic purple color.
    The Instagram feed for Cadbury's focuses on their iconic purple color.

    #2: Choose a Signature Filter

    One of the easiest ways to curate your Instagram feed and create a cohesive aesthetic is to find the right filter and stick with it. Although that doesn't mean you have to stick with a single filter for the rest of your Instagram branding life, it does mean limiting yourself to a few similar filters.

    It's a subtle visual hack but very effective, as you can see from the Illyria Pottery Instagram feed.

    Illyria Pottery uses one filter to create a cohesive Instagram feed.
    Illyria Pottery uses one filter to create a cohesive Instagram feed.

    TV personality Lauren Conrad clearly uses the same filter on every photo. This not only creates cohesion in her feed but also evokes a mood or feel for her posts.

    The Instagram feed of Lauren Conrad is unified by the use of the same filter on all images.
    The Instagram feed of Lauren Conrad is unified by the use of the same filter on all images.

    When choosing a filter, think about what feelings you want to evoke when people scroll through your Instagram as a whole. Classic? Vintage? Dark and provoking? Bright and airy? The right filter can help you capture a particular mood for your posts.

    Another fun way to think about Instagram filters is through actual scientific study. Refinery29 shares the best filters according to science.

    #3: Share How-To Content

    Using filters isn't the only way to be creative with your photos on Instagram. There are many other interesting ways to engage with your photography! Photo collages, for example, are a fun way to feature multiple images in a single post. They're visually dynamic and extremely useful for visual content marketing.

    AI Business Society

    Ready to Unlock AI Marketing Breakthroughs?

    If you’re like most of us, you are trying to figure out how to use AI in your marketing. Here's the solution: The AI Business Society—a new AI marketing community from your friends at Social Media Examiner.

    The AI Business Society is the place to discover how to apply AI in your work. When you join, you'll boost your productivity, unlock your creativity, and make connections with other marketers on a similar journey.

    I'M READY TO BECOME AN AI-POWERED MARKETER

    Naturally, brands like Benefit, which have a lot of products to feature, love making use of photo collages on Instagram. Collages are great for creating visual step-by-step guides like the one shown below. Add numbers, text, and even your logo to brand your collage.

    Benefit often uses photo collages in their Instagram posts.
    Benefit often uses photo collages in their Instagram posts.

    With this collage, Staples has a little fun showing their fans a clever way to repurpose floppy disks into a desk accessory.

    This Instagram photo collage by Staples shows a clever way to repurpose floppy disks into a desk accessory.
    This Instagram photo collage by Staples shows a clever way to repurpose floppy disks into a desk accessory.

    Video is also an important type of visual marketing content. Did you know that followers who watch videos are 85% more likely to buy the product? And by 2019, it's been predicted that 80% of all Internet traffic will be comprised of videos.

    Now that Instagram lets you share 3- to 60-second videos and has rolled out the new Instagram Stories feature, it's important to add videos to your visual content mix.

    View this post on Instagram

    Discover Proven Marketing Strategies and Tips

    Want to go even deeper with your marketing? Check out the Social Media Marketing Podcast! Publishing weekly since 2012, the Social Media Marketing Podcast helps you navigate the constantly changing marketing jungle, with expert interviews from marketing pros.

    But don’t let the name fool you. This show is about a lot more than just social media marketing. With over 600 episodes and millions of downloads each year, this show has been a trusted source for marketers for well over a decade.

    CHECK OUT THE SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING PODCAST NOW

    Easy Tomato Basil Pasta Bake via @goodful Serves 8 INGREDIENTS 1 (16 ounce) box fusilli pasta (or any similar pasta) 2 (28 ounce) cans crushed tomatoes ½ cup water ¼ cup olive oil ½ cup basil, torn 2 tablespoons dried oregano 4 cloves garlic, minced 2 teaspoons salt, plus more for sprinkling 1 teaspoon black pepper 3-4 large tomatoes, thinly sliced PREPARATION 1. Pre-heat oven to 450°F/230°C. 2. In a large bowl, mix together the crushed tomatoes, water, olive oil, basil, oregano, garlic, salt, pepper, and fusilli. 3. Pour the pasta mixture into a greased roasting pan and smooth the top into an even layer. 4. Line the top of the mixture with the sliced tomatoes and sprinkle with salt. 5. Bake in the oven for 40-45 minutes, until the pasta is fully cooked. 6. Enjoy!

    A post shared by Tasty (@buzzfeedtasty) on Sep 30, 2016 at 3:37pm PDT

    BuzzFeed Tasty deliciously monopolizes the Instagram video trend, at least as far as the food industry is concerned. Using fun background music and font overlay to showcase recipes, their videos can garner millions of views quite quickly.

    #4: Feature Product Images From Your Fans

    Social media is about being connected to your audience, and nothing does a better job of that than user-generated content. These types of Instagram posts are important for two reasons. First, they turn your Instagram feed from a brochure-like album into an organic and authentic storytelling vehicle. Second, they transform your audience into a community.

    Fitness entrepreneurs Karena and Katrina of Tone It Up! fame have perfected the ideal mix of images on their Instagram feed. Alongside their product promotions, they intermingle posts that highlight their “Tone It Up Babes” fitness stories. They allow Tone It Up's subscribers to tell real, personal stories about their journey.

    The Tone It Up feed on Instagram is intermixed with featured user fitness stories.
    The Tone It Up feed on Instagram is intermixed with featured user fitness stories.

    By using their own fans as influencers, Tone It Up is letting real users attest to their product's effectiveness and build serious customer loyalty at the same time.

    Pottery Barn is another great example of a brand that knows how to engage users with their own content. Through their hashtag campaign #mypotterybarn, they're able to find and repost the best images from their customers. You can also use this tactic to show potential customers how others are using your products.

    Pottery Barn uses the hashtag #mypotterybarn to find and repost their best customer images.
    Pottery Barn uses the hashtag #mypotterybarn to find and repost their best customer images.

    Nest, maker of programmable security cameras, shares user-submitted videos of what their customers' pets get up to while they're away. If user-generated photos are considered trustworthier than brand-generated ones, imagine how much more influential and engaging user-generated videos can be (especially ones that feature cats!).

    View this post on Instagram

    Mice of the world beware: cathletes in training. #NestCam

    A post shared by nest (@nest) on Aug 12, 2016 at 9:17am PDT


    Want more like this? Explore Instagram for Business!
    .
    Conclusion

    To successfully market to your audience on a visual platform such as Instagram, you need to develop an instantly recognizable presence. From your overall feed to the individual images and videos you post, each one should reinforce brand recall.

    Your Instagram feed, follower engagement, and even brand recall and loyalty are only as good as the images you post. That's why it's important to follow an Instagram visual style and stick with it.

    Use the tips above to help you create an Instagram feed that not only engages followers, but also reflects your business image.

    What do you think? What are your special tricks to create a visually appealing and cohesive Instagram feed? Do you have a favorite way to create posts that your fans will instantly recognize? Please share your thoughts in the comments!

    How to Create an Instagram Style for Your Business by Anna Guerrero on Social Media Examiner.
    How to Create an Instagram Style for Your Business by Anna Guerrero on Social Media Examiner.

    AI EXPLORED

    Curious About How to Use AI?

    Our newest show, AI Explored, might be just what you're looking for. It's for marketers, creators, and entrepreneurs who want to understand how to use AI in their business.

    It's hosted by Michael Stelzner and explores this exciting new frontier in easy-to-understand terms.

    Pull up your favorite podcast app and search for AI Explored. Or click the button below for more information.

    I WANT TO LEARN MORE ABOUT AI

    Tags: Instagram

    About the authorAnna Claire

    Anna works on the product team at Canva, an online graphic design tool that enables anyone to create amazing graphics to grow their businesses.
    Other posts by Anna Claire »

    Get Social Media Examiner’s Future Articles in Your Inbox!

    Get our latest articles delivered to your email inbox and get the FREE Social Media Marketing Industry Report (43 pages, 50+ charts)!

    Industry Report Cover

    Worth Exploring:

    Facebook

    Marketing Help Explore More →

    Instagram

    Marketing Help Explore More →

    YouTube

    Marketing Help Explore More →

    Linkedin

    Marketing Help Explore More →

    AI

    Next Frontier Explore More →

    Social Media Marketing Industry Report

    Get Free Report →

    Social Marketing Trends

    The data you've been missing!

    Need a new plan? Discover how marketers plan to change their social activities in the 17th annual Social Media Marketing Industry Report. It reveals what marketers have planned for their social activities, content marketing, and more! Get this free report now and never miss another great article from us. Join more than 385,000 marketers!

    Simply click the button below to get the free report:

    Footer

    Your Guide to the Marketing Jungle
    Copyright © 2025 Social Media Examiner®
    All Rights Reserved. Terms of Use | Privacy Policy.

    Helpful Links

    • About us
    • Our content via email
    • Our podcasts
    • Our YouTube channel
    • Our live show
    • Our social media marketing industry report
    • Our generative AI marketing industry report
    • Sponsorship opportunities
    • RSS