How to Plan Your Instagram Feed on Canva (+ FREE Template)

Summary

In this video, Serena, the designer behind The Way Design Studio, shares how to plan a cohesive and aesthetically pleasing Instagram feed using Canva, a free and user-friendly tool. She explains the importance of defining your feed's aesthetic, gathering diverse content, and utilizing Canva’s Instagram planner template. Serena provides tips for arranging photos, editing images, and scheduling posts to maintain consistency. By following these steps, viewers can elevate their Instagram presence with an engaging, curated feed that reflects their brand's identity and vision.

Takeaways

• 😀 Canva is a user-friendly tool for planning and organizing your Instagram feed with a cohesive aesthetic.
• 😀 A well-planned Instagram feed enhances your profile's visual appeal and improves engagement with your audience.
• 😀 Defining your aesthetic is the first step in planning your Instagram feed—consider mood, color schemes, and overall vibe.
• 😀 If you have a brand, a clear brand guideline will help ensure consistency and a smooth content creation process.
• 😀 You should gather diverse content types—photos, videos, and graphics—that complement each other to create an engaging feed.
• 😀 Mixing lifestyle photos, product shots, and people images can make your Instagram feed more visually appealing.
• 😀 Canva offers free and premium templates, with a free Instagram planner template available to help you get started.
• 😀 Experiment with different layouts to find the one that best suits your aesthetic and tells a cohesive story.
• 😀 Canva’s editing tools allow you to adjust brightness, contrast, and saturation to ensure all images flow seamlessly in your feed.
• 😀 Scheduling your posts using tools like Instagram or Later saves time and ensures consistent posting.
• 😀 Following the steps of defining your aesthetic, gathering content, and using Canva's tools can help you create a stunning, cohesive Instagram feed.

Q & A

Why is planning your Instagram feed important?

Planning your Instagram feed helps to enhance the aesthetic of your profile, creates a more engaging experience for your followers, and helps establish your brand identity. It also ensures a cohesive and visually appealing look across all your posts.

What is the first step in planning an Instagram feed?

The first step is to define your aesthetic, which includes deciding on the mood, color scheme, and overall vibe you want to convey. Whether it’s bright and colorful or moody and dramatic, having a clear vision will guide your content creation.

How can knowing your aesthetic benefit a brand?

For brands, knowing your aesthetic and having a clear brand handbook with guidelines ensures smoother content creation and a harmonious look. It helps maintain consistency and cohesiveness across all posts, which is essential for brand identity.

What types of content should you gather for your Instagram feed?

You should gather a diverse range of content including photos, graphics, videos, and other visual elements. Mixing different types of content, such as product images, lifestyle photos, and portraits, will make your feed more engaging and aesthetically pleasing.

Why is it important to combine different types of content?

Combining different types of content, like product photos with lifestyle shots or close-ups with wide angles, ensures that your feed remains visually interesting and diverse. It also helps to showcase your brand or product in a more relatable and engaging way.

How can Canva help in planning an Instagram feed?

Canva is a user-friendly design tool that offers templates and customization options, allowing you to easily plan and visualize your Instagram feed. It provides both free and paid templates, and users can create a visually cohesive feed by arranging content in different layouts.

What is the checkerboard technique for planning an Instagram feed?

The checkerboard technique is a layout strategy where you alternate different types of content (e.g., lifestyle photos with product images) to create a balanced and visually pleasing Instagram feed. It's just one of many ways to organize your posts.

How can you edit your images within Canva?

Canva offers various editing tools that allow you to adjust the brightness, contrast, and saturation of your images. These tools help enhance your photos and ensure they flow seamlessly within your planned feed.

What tools can you use to schedule Instagram posts after planning your feed?

You can schedule your Instagram posts directly within the platform or use scheduling tools like Later to maintain a consistent posting schedule without having to manually upload posts.

How does using a free Instagram planner template help with feed planning?

A free Instagram planner template provides a visual representation of how your feed will look once your posts are live. It helps you experiment with different layouts and ensures that the content aligns with your aesthetic, making the planning process easier and more organized.