5 Steps to Sharpen Your Social Media Aesthetic

Hey, you! Follow these 5 tips to step up your social media aesthetic. 🏆

1. Commit to High-Quality Content

Do you really want to succeed on social media? How bad do you want it?

OK then, make us a promise. Pledge that you’ll only post high-quality content.

Specifically, you will only share high-resolution images and video. You’ll genuinely strive to post dynamic content that intrigues and engages audiences. And of course, you will respectfully slap anyone who proposes sharing a pixelated photo.

If you’re committed to posting high-quality content, you’ve won half the battle. That’s because your content program gets exponentially easier when you have a steady surplus of fabulous content coming in.

2. Edit All Content the Same Way

To ensure visual continuity over time, edit all images and video the same way. That is, determine the specific look your content should have based on your brand – and edit everything to match that look.

If your brand is best represented by a bright appearance with low shadow, high vibrancy and a dash of contrast – then edit all content that same way. Or if you’re the moody type, opt for a darker look with more shadow and lower saturation.

Make sure color tones are aligned too. For example, content should not contain random shades of too much yellow, red, blue or otherwise between photos – edit them all to maintain the same color tone, which represents your brand’s vibe.

Now that you’re editing all posts the same way, you’ll notice your aesthetic is starting to taking shape!

3. Use a Dedicated Filter

Your aesthetic has come a long way – but we can take it farther still.

Next, browse the countless options for ‘filters’ that are available today and single out one that accurately depicts your brand. You could peruse filters on Instagram, those provided in iPhone editing, any number of mobile editing apps, or – for you creative types – you can try creating your own in Photoshop (like us).

So now that you’ve found your filter, we would recommend lowering the opacity until it looks like a subtle addition and barely noticeable. For reference, your opacity should probably be below 10%. This way your new filter doesn’t overpower your aesthetic and distract from content, but rather adds a subtle shade that helps unify visuals between posts.

By introducing a dedicated brand filter, you're creating a distinct look that people can associate with your brand. Over time, this can help establish that “Oh, that looks like [your brand name]!” effect.

4. Consider One Unifying Element

We’re a fan of introducing one signature element that further ties posts together.

For example, perhaps every sixth post you share a quote with the same background color as your filter – so that it reinforces your color scheme. Or you could post same-style content in groups of three, so that each line in your grid stands out on its own. Or maybe you create a special border, graphic overlay or color arrangement so that the overall aesthetic becomes even more defined and seamless.

The idea is to add yet another visual layer to increase cohesiveness.

5. Storyboard Your Content

Lastly, we would suggest storyboarding all posts prior to sharing. If you mock up all content before posting, you can select the photos or videos that tell the best story sequentially – as well as feel right visually.

We’ve found that storyboarding our clients’ content helps win their trust. They love that we mock everything up long before posting, and that we take great care in laying out a dynamic visual story each month.

To lay out posts, our team uses a custom template we designed in Photoshop, but there are a number of apps that carry out the same function, including Planoly, UNUM and others. These apps make it easy to upload near-term content and get a preview of what’s to come.

And that’s it! Master these five steps to put your best face forward on social media – and make a strong impression for new audiences visiting your page.

Now that your content’s looking great, consider increasing its visibility with social ads! Click HERE to read “5 Hot Tips to Create Killer Social Ads.”