Hey there Insta friend!
If you love Instagram as much as we do, you must have heard these words over and over:
In order to find success on the platform, you must post beautiful photos at regular intervals and throw in some hashtags. Then sit back and enjoy all of the followers that will come pouring in.
But here’s the thing: while this advice is valid, it doesn’t actually tell you HOW to do it.
If you’ve been left wondering what a cohesive feed actually looks like, how to achieve it and, most importantly, how to keep it up in the long run, this article is for you.
We at @EtsyHunter have made it our mission to scour Instagram each day in order to find the coolest, meanest, sleekest pics to share. It’s what we love to do!
Needless to say, we have learnt a thing or two about what successful Instagram accounts do and today we’re unveiling it all:
What Are The Best Instagram Feeds?
Our selections for the best Instagram feeds are:
What makes these Instagram feeds so cool?
Ok, let’s start off with a practical lesson and go through some of the coolest Instagram feeds out there.
You’ll get to see what they do to achieve a cohesive look, the way they manage their posts and the art of mix-and-matching.
The result? You’ll come out on the other side armed with your Instagram content goals. We’ll take a look at how to achieve them later on.
Cool Insta Feed #1: @etsyhunter
Well we had to start off with our feed of course! This feed is the captures the importance of community involvement! It’s all about sharing the best of the handmade world. Simply put, it helps people! Lots of them! It is also awesome to follow if you love makers/handmade/craft because you get to see the best of everything in one spot!
Cool Insta Feed #2: @roymeister
Megan Roy is a talented illustrator and an Instagram master. Her colourful, jolly feed instantly pops out in a sea of uniformity and will instantly compel you to click Follow.
Let’s list the key points of her feed:
- She sticks to a very specific color theme: pinks, blues and yellows.
- She alternates illustrations with real life photos.
- She uses negative space to make her feed look light and airy.
Cool Insta Feed #3: @joojoobswallets
JooJoobs is an Etsy shop with a focus on impeccably handcrafted leather products and a feed that’s full of eye-candy! Their strategic Instagram approach and impeccable photography will leave you desperately wanting to follow their profile and stay up-to-date with their latest products… brilliant, right?
Here’s how they do it…
- They stick to a moody color palette which works well with their brown leather products.
- They group similarly-themed images in blocks of 3, 6 or 9 photos which makes their feed look cohesive.
- They are not afraid to post similar photographs right next to each other, adding to a bigger visual story.
Cool Insta Feed #4: @EcoDeer
Home of handmade natural vases with a twist, Eco Deer is an Etsy shop centered around refreshingly simple designs for the modern home.
Insanely eye-catching right?
Here’s what they do:
- They alternate their product shots with inspiration shots curated from other accounts.
- They stick to their brand aesthetic: clean, minimalistic, airy.
- Main color palette? Lots of white and green, with the occasional pop of red and yellow. So relaxing to the eye!
Well, what do all these Instagram feeds have in common?
Consistent color palettes, a well-defined aesthetic and photos which never steer away from a set pattern, theme or mood.
Now let’s see how you can implement these into your own Instagram feed and where this approach will take you…
How An Awesome Feed Will Get You More Instagram Followers
Noticed this?
The best Instagram feeds out there tend to rack up thousand upon thousand of followers. The sky is the limit if you tell your story through a consistent, well-curated feed.
But you do have to put in the (extra) effort.
Whether you’re using Instagram as yourself or as a business, the guiding lines stay the same: a tightly cohesive Instagram feed will get you noticed in this vast ecosystem.
Here are a few of the benefits:
- You’ll develop a signature aesthetic and, thanks to it, you’ll be easily recognised in your industry.
- People have very short attention spans nowadays – a cool feed will grab and capture them as soon as they land on your profile!
- And last, but not least, an extraordinary feed is like a promise: “Follow me and you’ll see more of this.” Keep in mind that, in time, your feed will get stronger, less diluted and more specific. So you’ll gain more Instagram followers the more your work at it.
Remember, there are SO many people that will land on your profile after clicking on your name in a comment, after finding one of your photos in a hashtag search or after simply running into you on the explore page.
You want to make those people your friends.
If they see a cool Instagram feed, they’ll be much more compelled to turn the white button green instead of swiping back…
Score!
The more visitors you can turn into followers, the more efficient your profile. And the more followers you have, the more you’re likely to get. Such is the way of Instagram.
The Basics Of A Great Instagram Feed
Now let’s get down to the nitty-gritty.
These are the four elements which make for a cool Instagram feed:
- Photos
- Hashtags
- Captions
- Bio
Now let’s see how you can best use each one in your favor…
1. Photos
The best Instagram pictures are large, clearly focused and always tell a story.
Remember: nobody wants to see blurry, low-res shots in their feed!
Whatever approach you take (minimalistic, dark, retro, romantic), make sure you stick to it.
Tip: If you’re running a business account, pick an aesthetic that suits your brand ethos. If you’re running a personal account, you can choose whatever mood and colors characterise you best. Just stay consistent.
Your Instagram grid should flow and immerse viewers into a very specific atmosphere.
If you’re editing your photos with an app before posting, choose the same filters to achieve a high level of consistency between your shots. Apps like Snapseed, VSCO, Afterlight or good ol’ Lightroom will always help you put out photos with the same feel about them.
For tips on how to take, frame and compose your shots, refer to our photography tips.
2. Hashtags
You do want more eyeballs on your feed, right?
This is where hashtags come in.
Most Instagram users copy and paste as many high-traffic hashtags as Instagram allows (maxium 30), drown their captions in them, then cross their fingers and hope for the best.
Spoiler alert: that’s not how things should be. Don’t drown your photos with rows upon rows of hashtags!
Instead, stick to a more stomach-able number, say 15 to 20 hashtags, and split them in two. One half should describe your business, your craft or the story behind your photo (#etsy, #etsyseller, #handmade etc). The other half should be very specific and should describe what the photo actually shows (#leatherbag, #crochettoy, #pinkdress etc).
See what we’re doing here? The tags in the first category will allow your posts to be found by the general public, the second set will capture very targeted Instagram users who are interested in specific products.
Remember… it’s not about how many hashtags you use, but how suited they are to your specific goals.
3. Captions
Hey, not everybody is a wordsmith. And Instagram is such a visual medium after all, why would you even bother, right?
Wrong.
Captions are your golden opportunity to cement your bond with followers and visitors alike.
Take it!
The platform allows you to put around 2000 characters in there, so why not make all that space work for you?
Instead of thinking about your captions with dread, put a strategy in place and make a point to ALWAYS:
- Share a backstory, a conundrum or an emotion associated with the photo – basically, anything that cannot be captured by the camera.
- Include a crystal clear call to action. Whether it’s asking your followers to share their opinions, to answer a question, to tag a friend, to name a favorite song or to click the link in your bio, the point is to engage your audience and strengthen the connection you have going. Don’t assume people will guess what you want them to do or, even worse, have them swipe away after double tapping. Of course, the answers won’t flow in if you have under 1000 followers. But, as your account grows, so will the reply rate. Keep going!
- Include appropriate hashtags! (If you’re skimming through this, read above at number 2.) The right mix of hashtags will help you grow your community, post by post.
4. Bio
Having a well-crafted bio is key to an awesome feed.
How else can you tell people who you are and what you do in a concise and clear manner?
Here’s how to take full advantage of your Instagram bio…
- Keep it short and to the point. You only have 150 characters in total, so don’t waste any precious space. Make sure to include your preferred title, industry or something essential about you.
- Include a link. This is literally your only shot to include a clickable link in all of your Instagram profile. (If you paste it anywhere else, it won’t work.) Don’t know what to include? Try linking to your website, a specific blog post, or a Facebook page.
- Make your Instagram name work double duty. Here’s how: the name showing up in your bio doesn’t have to be the same as your username. So why not change it to something more descriptive or compelling? If you’re a business, you can change your name to hint at what you’re selling, while keeping the username as is. Boom, winner: your Instagram feed will become so much more attractive among search results!
What Kinds of Photos Make the Best Instagram Pictures
All the coolest (and most popular) Instagram feeds stir an emotion in their viewers.
Whether it’s “Awww!”, “Wow, awesomeee!” or “Oh, that’s SO inspiring, better double tap it now.”, these accounts never fail to impress.
So yes: generally speaking, clear photos that elicit emotions will always perform best. A cute puppy, a happy bride or a well-lit selfie will get more double taps than any product shot.
It’s just how humans are wired.
However, we’ll let you in on a secret…
You can take advantage of this fact and use it to make your Instagram feed one of the best out there. Even if your business is selling a “boring” product.
Here’s how:
Think of your Instagram account as a book with four, five or six chapters at most. What you want to do is to continuously add pages to these chapters (and these chapters only).
The pages are your photos.
And the book is your Instagram feed.
As for the chapters? Each one is a theme that’s chosen to closely match what your account is about.
This is probably the TOP SECRET of every wildly successful Instagram feed… they stick to just a handful of themes and only post photos that fit into one of the themes. Anything else gets scraped.
So get to work today: figure out the themes you want to center your account around and make a point of taking photos to fit them.
Ready for an abundant flow of Instagram followers?
Here’s your action point summary for what you need to do in order to have a cool Instagram feed:
- Start by deciding on a signature aesthetic, a color palette and a handful of general themes to create photos around.
- Bookmark this article and come back when you’re ready to pick your hashtags and to revamp your bio.
- Follow us on Instagram – OK, this one’s not compulsory. But we can’t wait to connect with you as well. :)
Join our 210k community today!