For many creatives out there, Instagram is much more than a platform to share pictures of yourself with friends and the latest brunch you had (though there's nothing wrong with some good brunch inspo). Instagram can be an instant, personally curated online portfolio, showcasing your work, lifestyle and eye for design all at the click of a button.
Specifically speaking to those interested in fashion, IG can be one of the easiest ways for you to showcase your knowledge, all while documenting your daily life. I have walked into a few job interviews where my social handle spoke for itself - displaying my knowledge for taking a good photo, the importance of consistent aesthetic and content management, among other things.
If you've ever looked at any blogger, brand or fashion know-it-alls IG, you've probably noticed some similarities. Without diving in too deep, here's what a good Instagram comes down to three things: similar editing style across the board, consistent content and consistent posting.
In other words, you're creating your own personal brand. Having a recognizable brand is so, so important for marketing you and your work. When you are able to hone in on these things, you create a style for yourself that is easily recognizable as your own.
I could drag on and on all day about the power of social media and the potential reach it has, but for the sake of time, I pulled together a list of my personal favorite apps for branding yourself on Instagram. My list of must-haves, if you will, for having the perfect IG.
For Editing
Like I said, similar editing styles for all of your images help create a look of uniformity on your profile and further helps to make your pictures recognizable in the midst of scrolling. I'm sure if I pulled together images of some big fashion names you follow, you would be able to tell me which photo belongs to who, simply based off of photo style / editing techniques.
VSCO Cam
It was originally meant for you to take photos on the app itself, but I personally like to upload photos I take on my camera and edit them that way. The best part about this app is you can copy edits of an image, and go back to your grid and paste them on other photos.
A Color Story
This is my favorite app to use for bright, colorful photos. Its filter choices make everything more vibrant, which is perfect if that is the color scheme you are going for on your page.
AfterLight
This is the first editing app I downloaded when I first started really paying attention to Instagram. I think the fact that I'm still using it 3+ years later speaks a lot. It has a vast range of filter options and is fairly straightforward and easy to use.
For Managing
UNUM
UNUM is a feed-organizing app that was shown to me by the social media director of a magazine I used to work at (bless you, Hannah) and has been a game-changer since day one. This app works as a real-time feed, showcasing all of your already posted photos and leaving room above for you to plan and organize future posts, seeing how they look against one another. It also has a split-photo feature, perfect for those who like to break up images to create one large image on their feed.
Hootsuite
Hootsuite is a social media management platform that allows you to schedule posts, monitor multiple accounts from one dashboard and analyze post-performance, plus a million other things as well. As much as I would like to say my personal Instagram is so crazy, out-of-control popular that I need a third-party app to manage it, it isn't. But, I have used Hootsuite to manage other accounts and it is so wonderful I can't quite put it into words. It puts everything into one place for you and allows you to plan ahead, which is so necessary if you want to remain consistent.
Who would have thought five years ago when I posted my first-ever IG photo of my dog that I would be sitting here now talking about editing, managing and branding yourself through the app? If you are interested in doing anything where Instagram could potentially be used as a portfolio, or you just want a really good-looking Instagram, make sure you have the right tools to make the most of it.
