How to DIY your visual brand

In my last article, 'Does Your Instagram Feed Need to be Pretty', I talked about how creating a cohesive, visually pleasing look to your Instagram feed can benefit your business. Not only does it give you a unique look that no one else has, it also gives others a great first impression of your business and can increase brand awareness (make you more memorable). You can check it out here if you missed it.

In this, my follow up, I’m offering tips on how you can DIY your own brand style and colours if you don’t already have a consistent look, and don’t want to outsource the job to someone else. If that’s you, then have a go at these:

1. Create a mood board for inspiration

If you don’t have a brand style guide for your biz, then creating a mood board is the perfect place to start to get your own creative juices flowing. Pinterest or Canva is the best place to do this – add a mix of images that feels right for your brand, and aim for 3-5 colours.  Here’s a link to where you can have a go at this on your own in Canva.

2. Decide on your colour palette

This can be hard, but decide on your colour palette and stick with it.  Check out my recent IG post on colour psychology and how it’s used in branding to create an emotional response in customers. Think about why you’ve chosen the colours you have, and the message they’ll be sending to your audience.

3. Use images edited in a consistent style

Maintaining a certain ‘look and feel’ for your images will help keep your brand consistent. There are a few ways you can do this and it doesn’t mean you’re restricted to what you can post – it could be as simple as finding a filter you like and using it across all of your photos. There are lots of options for these online as well as within your phone apps.

4. Create your own social media templates

Templates that include your brand colours and some design elements that you can repeat over time is a great way to stay consistent. Canva has 1000s of options for these! Once you’ve selected a few just add your brand colours, adjust the design any way you like, and you have your own unique graphic designs ready to go when you need them! These are great for quotes and testimonials, as well as IGTV covers or anything else you want to add your own unique look to.

5. Plan your grid

By planning ahead you can ensure you’re getting a nice mix of posts across your feed that reflect your brand. You can still be spontaneous, but you’re more likely to be consistent with a plan, as opposed to posting on the fly where you’re more likely to show up inconsistently.

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Here are two of my photography clients and Shine members who post a variety of content on IG, but stick to a consistent style across their feed. What I love about both Kylie and Lisa’s grid is that they’re cohesive but not over-curated, so you still get a lovely human element that’s easy to connect with. And connection is what we all want with our audience, right?

On the left is Kylie from KMB Coaching and on the right is Lisa from AJ Stafford:

At the end of the day (and reiterating what I said in my last article) you DON’T have to have the most beautiful feed on Instagram. You can have a mix of professional photos, personal photos, stock photos (kept to a minimum), quotes, shares and testimonials – whatever works for you and how you want to show up! The important thing is to make sure your posts all work together to reflect your brand style.

If you have a go at DIY-ing your brand style, let me know – I’d love to see the result! 

Even better, tag me so I can check it out and comment.

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Would you love some amazing imagery to help you stand out online?  Get in touch and let’s chat about what we could create for you. 

If you’d love to build a powerful brand, be more visible and show up more consistently online, check out my new monthly membership where I’m helping driven female business owners do just that.

You can also connect with me online on Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn.  And make sure you sign up for my newsletter on my website if you’d like to receive articles like this and other insights around branding and business in your inbox.

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