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Abandoning Perfection—The Trending Instagram Aesthetic

2020-02-24

The days of the perfectly curated Instagram feed are dying out, and for good reason—people are tired of seeing perfection. It doesn’t exist in the real world. The airbrushed & color-coordinated photoshopped grid that influencers model is becoming a thing of the past. So what does that mean for designers? If you don’t have to strive for perfection—what do you shoot for? In this Monday marketing minisode, Darla and Natalie share their take on what your Instagram feed should look like. What You’ll Hear On This Episode of ...

The days of the perfectly curated Instagram feed are dying out, and for good reason—people are tired of seeing perfection. It doesn’t exist in the real world. The airbrushed & color-coordinated photoshopped grid that influencers model is becoming a thing of the past.

So what does that mean for designers? If you don’t have to strive for perfection—what do you shoot for? In this Monday marketing minisode, Darla and Natalie share their take on what your Instagram feed should look like.

What You’ll Hear On This Episode of Wingnut Social

[1:30] The Instagram grid aesthetics
[2:38] The death of the perfect grid
[6:12] 3 things you should be doing on Instagram
[8:21] Represent your brand
[11:38] Blooper Reel!

Authenticity is key

The perfect Instagram feed is fading out and being replaced by what some would term as “ugly” photos—unedited, monochromatic, or quickly-snapped. Our smartphones put the world at our fingertips. Within minutes of snapping a photo, we can upload it to social media. Gone are the days of digital photography, intensive editing, and striving for painstaking perfection.

People aren’t looking for a sunbeam shining down from God on your Instagram feed. They don’t want to look at an airbrushed life that doesn’t exist in reality. What they DO want is authenticity. Darla and Natalie point out it’s why we are seeing the growth of micro-influencers. Large accounts are losing steam in lieu of REAL people sharing their everyday lives and businesses.

So what should your Instagram aesthetic be?

It’s about finding balance. Obviously, you still want your feed to have nice photos—but they don’t have to be unobtainable. Our director of Social Media—Shana Heinricy—shared a few key things to think about:

First and foremost, you want to infuse yourself into every post.
Include things that you enjoy doing that will still look good on Instagram. Have you recently traveled somewhere? Is there a project you’re working on? Share them with a focused story that shows off your personality or what it’s like to work with you.
Worry less about the images and how they fit together in a grid and more about how each of those images represent YOU.

You still want to reflect your brand, blend in with your style, and stay consistent across platforms. BUT focus on sharing nice photos that tell a story of who you or your brand are. They don’t need to be airbrushed perfection, just a reflection of your real authentic self.

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