How to Design + Plan a Winning Instagram

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Planning a winning Instagram takes time, effort, and skill. Personally, I'm always looking to up my Insta-game. I'm pleased to share an interview with professional photographer and awesome Instagrammer Jasmine Star this week.

I first met Jasmine Star when we were both speaking at Social Media Marketing World last year. So naturally I checked out Jasmine's Instagram and WOW! It's Instagram goals for sure. Jasmine is an L.A.-based photographer and business strategist. She's really nailed her Instagram feed, blog, and social media. But it didn't happen overnight or without a lot of hard work.

 

Without further ado, meet my friend Jasmine and learn how she designs and plans her Instagram.

A post shared by Jasmine Star (@jasminestar) on

How did you get started with social media and Instagram?

I was the MOST resistant person to social media.  When my friends prompted me to join Twitter in 2008, I waffled.  Like an Eggo.
Who cares about what I'm doing?  Who wants to know what I'm eating for lunch?  Will anyone care about my opinions on Justin Bieber?
As much as I resisted, I succumbed to peer pressure (sorry, mom!) and joined.  And then I noticed a crazy thing:  people cared about what I was doing, what I was eating, and–yes–even the Biebster.
That started a passionate relationship learning how to use all social endeavors (Twitter led to Facebook led to Instagram led to Snapchat), and I quickly leveraged social platforms for business growth.

How do you select photos for your Instagram feed?

As much as I would like to think of using my Instagram feed simply documenting my life and simple pleasures, I realized that if I'm using social media in a business capacity, it ain't about me.  It's all about my followers.  What do they want to see?  How can I help?  What can I share that'll empower them?  I select photos that position my business as the perfect fit for someone they can trust to share the newest and most effective ways to grow a business using social media and building a personal brand.  The photos and captions are intended to provide a personal look into my professional endeavors.

How many posts do you plan in advance?

I plan a month of content in advance.  This means that I'll be outlining an overview of my social endeavors so I know what, exactly, I'll be sharing that month.  I, however, actually execute my content a week in advance or in real-time as the specific post requires.

Social curator by Jasmine Star

What do you focus on when planning your Instagram grid?

I'm a firm believer in creating Categories for my Instagram grid.  Instead of getting overwhelmed with endless possibilities to post on behalf of my business, I've outlined 9-12 categories I create content around.  The key is to use categories that relate to my business, but don't necessarily have to be about my business.

For example, one of my categories is books, namely the books I've read.  Every couple of weeks, I update Instagram and share what I'm reading as a way to attract followers who share the same desire for self-awareness, business acumen, and literary creativity.  The books themselves aren't related to my business, but they can be used as tools to attract more of the right types of followers.

Social curator by Jasmine Star

I hope that Jasmine's story helps inspire you to create a winning Instagram feed. What will you get started with first? Share in the comments – I'd love to hear!

You might also love these articles:

How to Create a Winning Instagram on a Budget

How to Unlock the Key to Instagram Engagement

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2 Comments

  1. Hello Peg,

    Great tips here 🙂

    I love instagram and the fact is they are rising very quickly.

    Recently survey shows that small business are rising very speedy at this platform. I have my friend, who was running a accessories
    business on instagram, he just started for getting his services in my city only and with in a year he now provide his products
    through out the country.

    Lovely photos of the product, make the audiences attract here.

    Thanks for the share.

    Shantanu.

  2. Hello
    Peg,
    Instagram is lovely social media platform for sharing photos and videos. Now-a-days people use Instagram for their business and I also think this is best platform for starting business.

    Here, you nicely share how to design and planning winning Instagram.

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