Feeling like your Instagram is lacking some spark? You’re probably not the only one. 

The platform evolves all the time, and content is becoming ever more stylised. What was once in is now out, and brands have had to change tact when it comes to the visual styles on their feeds – all of which forms an important part of a social media marketing strategy.

It’s no longer a ‘nice to have’ to ensure your Instagram grid layout is patterned, with consistency across the board, but a necessity. The same applies to the use of different content formats ranging from images to videos and carousels – that diversity of creative is a must. 

So how do you keep up? And how do you ensure your Instagram grid is both reflective of your brand and engaging for your audience?

We’re in the fortunate position of being a social media agency that lives and breathes creative best practice. Here, we’ve listed just a few key trends we’ve noticed from 2021 for you to try incorporating into your next content schedule… 

Colour gradients

A sliding scale of colors, blending into each other softly. They’re visually appealing, easy to bring brand colours into, and so it’s no wonder that they’re one of the biggest social media design trends around right now.

Many brands have used this style as the perfect background for memes, review reposts and giveaway announcements.

As an evolution of the concept,, we can also expect to see color gradients paired with elements of distortion and noise.

We utilised the gradient style, along with calming pastel colours, in this series of posts for Stress Awareness Week.

Keepin’ it real

Insta vs reality? Who knows?

Referencing the real world through more traditional ‘above the line’ styles is also becoming more and more prominent. 

Creating a ‘real world’ product, sign, newspaper or mural in the digital space can be a really effective way to bring historically important communication channels into the digital realm – blending old and new in an effective way. This trend is often deliberately very nostalgic, with references to decades gone by, and can have a strong emotional pull as a result.

Here’s one example we created for our own recruitment, creating a traditional newspaper job ad instead of a standard Instagram post as a way to stand out in people’s feeds.

Bringing in voices

Inspirational or motivational quotes on Instagram are nothing new, but we’ve seen their usage grow massively – particularly over the past 12 challenging months, as quotes have a unique ability to bring people together and soothe anxieties.

Whether they’re inspirational quotes for #motivationmonday, humour based quotes, consumer testimonials or reviews… formatting these into a quote graphic is a great way to bring them to life.

We utilised these during our #womenoftheweek series, pulling out key phrases that inspired our team and pairing them with other trends such as gradients and iconography to create swipeable carousel assets.

Instagram is no longer ‘just a photo sharing app’

Instagram’s founder has been pretty clear with his message that the platform is “no longer a photo sharing app”, and it’s important that we keep up. As such, animations and video are becoming more important than ever. But that doesn’t necessarily mean we all need Hollywood budgets to create Hollywood standard video.

When creating assets, it’s vital to consider how one or two elements can move to make it an overall more eye-catching and interesting experience for the audience.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Whats Up With Everyone (@whatsupwitheveryone)

Keeping up with the latest trends is a great way to keep your brand looking great and staying scrollable on Instagram. 

However, it’s incredibly important to ensure that they are aligned with your brand values and aesthetic. 

You want your feed to look authentically you, and consistently so.

Evolving your Instagram grid over time with new styles is important, rather than rushing many new content styles out all in one time. 

Let us know which of these styles you’re trying! 

If you need support with your graphic design, social media strategy, online content or wider marketing mix – get in touch with us at hello@ilkagency.com.