Getting Rid of the Instagram Grid

I recently took a personality test that said, among other things, that I like rules and order. Which, is true, but I’m not sure if it’s a blessing or a curse. Probably it’s a little bit of both.

The test results came at the precise moment when I was debating what to do with RAW Made’s Instagram account. As a creature of habit—and apparently rules—I was debating if I was being too stringent with my Instagram posting structure and the grid I had locked myself into.

Many of us take advantage of Instagram to connect with our community and share our work, daily behind-the-scenes, and cute doggy pictures. Although I love Instagram, soon after I started RAW Made, I found myself begrudgingly scrolling and scrolling (and scrolling some more) and not dedicating enough time to finding ways to grow the business. So, I researched and found apps such as Planoly and Later, I sat down for 2 days and scheduled my Instagram posts for the following 3 months. And then, I forgot about Instagram.

Well, I didn’t forget about it. I engaged with those who commented but my love for Instagram started to dwindle. See, another main reason I decided to schedule posts in advance was to create some sort of cohesiveness in the look and feel of my account.

I’d been slobbering all over these amazing branding agency or graphic designer Instagram accounts I admired where it seemed like they had a social media art director on full-time payroll.

I mopped up my slobber and started studying their accounts, took notes, and came up with a plan for my own account. My master plan was to create a sh*t-ton of graphics using cohesive filters, layouts, fonts, colors, etc. I created templates where I could replace the text and reuse them, and I even came up with a pattern: 1 picture followed by 1 graphic made with text followed again by 1 picture, and so on.

On paper, this all sounded great! But, as the weeks went by and I found myself posting graphics I had created 8 weeks before, I started to feel unauthentic.

I lost touch with sharing what was happening day-to-day, which happened to be exciting news about how my branding and website design studio was growing! I felt constricted holding off big announcements until 3 months in the future just because it would throw off my grid. I missed days like Pi Day, which as a nerd and a person who really likes pie was important to me. 🥧

It might seem like little things but overall I missed knowing that I was connecting with people in real time, not as it happened weeks ago. So I decided to get rid of the grid. Well, 85% of it.

I’m still creating graphics ahead of time because it saves time to batch design posts. I have a library of ready-made graphics for when I’m low on photos of real life (because not every day is that exciting). And I’m committed to re-purposing layouts and filters so that content creation is easier and involves less decision-making. I’m also engaging more with people I know or don’t know on Instagram.

Yes, this might lead to a less cohesive, not-so-grid-like profile, but it will be 100% authentically RAW Made and me. And that’s a win in my book.

Reach out to me on Instagram. It’s a blast!