For someone who talks a lot of crap about Instagram, I sure do write about it a lot. 
After listening to the Instagram team chat about the app, and basically how your grid doesn’t technically matter, it really got me thinking about Instagram. I seriously go back and forth with that damn app: One second I love it, the next I hate it. I wrote a post recently, and talked about why we actually owe a lot to Instagram, but that doesn’t mean it’s still not frustrating from time to time.
Lately I’ve actually been enjoying Instagram. I’m connecting with people, I’m really loving the content I’m putting out, and I’ve been getting a good amount of inspiration (and was inspired to write this post).
For a while I was following the “filler” photo rule after Allie so kindly (read: not kindly at all, but it was all out of love) told me that my Instagram feed was a hot mess express. It was basically just photo after photo of me. It didn’t tell a story by any means, so I decided to switch it up a bit. For every full body shot of me, I would put a “filler” photo next. Whether it was a flat lay, a picture of the New York City skyline, or a detail shot from an outfit, it just had to go next to a full body.
And let me tell you…IT WAS STRESSFUL. Well, I mean, it is stressful.
So when Eva Chen’s team told us that your grid essentially doesn’t really matter (because, fun fact, most impressions and/or follows actually don’t come from profile visits), I pretty much jumped out of my seat. I’m going to try to post more intentional photos — to still tell a story through my photos, express my personal style, but also to post a bit more in the moment.
Part of me still enjoys the idea of a cohesive feed, so I rely on an app to help me plan accordingly.
I know there’s a million apps to help curate a feed, but my favorite has to be Planoly. For a while, I was using Snug but then there was annoying glitch that wouldn’t allow me to use the app when I didn’t have WiFi, so I turned to Planoly. I also started out using just the free version, but I didn’t want to be limited to a certain number of photos per month (and that included when you wanted to swap out images). Planoly also has an auto-post option which has been a life saver for me when I’m busy during the times I typically post. It’s also really nice to just be able to plan, write captions, and schedule all within one app. Planoly also has great insights that I review while planning my feed.
I realized something: The more content I have to share, the more I really enjoy planning and curating my Instagram feed. I know that seems super obvious, but sometimes I honestly don’t feel inspired by my own content. Over the last month or so, I’ve been feeling really good about what I’ve been putting out on Instagram (and my website), so it’s been fun!
What’s your favorite way to curate content for the ‘gram?
