As Instagram grew in popularity as a social media platform, so did the idea of an Instagram aesthetic. Influencers, brands, and even individuals have been judged on the quality of their overall feeds. But gradually, a shift has been moving through the Insta world, away from those painstakingly curated grids and towards more authentic snapshots of the lives of users and brands.
Why the decline in the perfectly curated Instagram feed? In this article, we explore some of the forces for change and how brands should react and adapt.
What is an Instagram aesthetic?
Even if you’ve not heard it referred to as an aesthetic before, you will be aware of the ‘on brand’ look many influencers and brands have on their Instagram feed. Photos are chosen to fit in with themes that run throughout posts. Consistent colours, editing style, filters and format of photos are all common, coming together to create visual impact and communicate personality and values. Although it falls under social media marketing, it has essentially become a modern branch of branding.
Some of the classic aesthetics include minimalist, with lots of white space and crisp lines; pastel, which as you can guess, exclusively features imagery with pastel hues; and colour blocking where bright bold colour themes are followed.
With accounts which cultivated an aesthetic taking off in terms of engagement and followers, more and more people were inspired to dedicate big chunks of time planning and achieving their personal aesthetic. It’s now a staple part of Instagram marketing for influencers and businesses, also filtering down to personal profiles. Vice even created jokey profiles about what your feed says about your personality.
The search for authenticity
The boom in these themed Instagram grids was huge. So what’s caused this heavily curated style to see a knock in popularity lately? There are multiple factors, but a big one is a search for more authenticity.
As we have discussed in our article on micro-influencers vs mega-influencers, authenticity has become a coveted quality in influencer marketing and social media marketing more widely.
The rise in Instagram aesthetics coincided with the rise in sponsored content and by association, heavily staged feeds are viewed with more scepticism. Consumers wonder whether this grid really reflects an influencer or brand’s reality, and similarly, are the ads on there from a place of authenticity? With uncertainty around these questions and a lack of trust, people are gravitating towards less rose-tinted accounts.
This was epitomised by some of the reaction to the ‘surprise’ proposal of fashion influencer Marissa Fuch. It was leaked that a branded pitch deck detailing the whole affair was sent round to brands months in advance, leaving a big question mark over how much of a surprise it really was. Although we are used to influencers inviting us into momentous occasions that tie in with their campaigns, the incident reinforced the idea that if it looks too good to be true, it probably is.
As well as a desire to see authentic content generally, there is a definite generational divide when it comes to the decline in overly curated feeds. Generation Z largely rejects the traditional Millenial approach to Instagram. For instance, the younger generation of influencers is more likely to post a snap straight from their phone, in contrast to many of their older counterparts who are committed to using a DSLR and Photoshop for every post. It’s candid, not curated, that they strive for.
Much of this generational divide can be linked to Gen Z not knowing a world without social media and rebelling against the path laid out for them. They are suspicious of leaving a presence that hangs around forever, gravitating towards ‘ephemeral content that disappears’, whereas Millenials are more interested in ‘permanent content that helps establish a commercially valuable identity’.
A greater focus on mental health and wellbeing is also pushing users of all generations away from those unrealistic aesthetics, as Jenni Hill from The Drum points out. Many of us, whatever age, have unfollowed ‘toxic accounts’, ones that uphold unachievable standards of beauty or lifestyle. People no longer what to be limited to scrolling through posts from those who ‘have it all together’ and are instead searching out more down to earth content.
The popularity of Jameela Jamil’s ‘I Weigh’ campaign is a testament to this. It was started as an antidote to what Jamil has called the ‘low self-esteem epidemic’, caused by unrealistic social media images. Today, @i_weigh has a staggering 760k followers on Instagram.
Of course, it is near impossible to be 100% authentic on Instagram and, ironically, even messy, more ‘real’ feeds are curated to an extent. In fact, these are arguably a whole new aesthetic. Even so, the change does represent a reaction to the traditional Instagram aesthetic and a craving for a less contrived presence.
Planning your brand’s Instagram feed
So, is this a signal to brands that they need to move with the times and become less constricted by an Instagram aesthetic? Well, don’t ditch the carefully thought out Instagram content just yet. There is still a huge case for maintaining it – if it’s in line with your brand values and wider branding.
Business 2 Community’s Kaleigh Moore sums up the decision nicely by asking whether you want to be relatable or aspirational. If you’re a brand that sells luxury or certain lifestyle-led products or services, then maintaining an aspirational aesthetic actually makes a lot of sense. In keeping with traditional advertising, you want people to feel that your offering is an opportunity to be elevated in some way – be that through an exclusive travel experience, purchasing an expensively made, high-quality piece of clothing, or anything similar.
An aspirational aesthetic still has to be grounded in reality, to a certain degree. Every social media marketer has probably heard of the infamous epic fail that was Fyre Festival. This is a peak example of how a picture-perfect social media presence can be a million miles from the actual state of a brand.
A disconnect like that, though unlikely to ever be on the insane scale of Fyre Festival, is potentially damaging for your brand. Make sure the quality of your products and services lives up to the quality alluded to in your Instagram aesthetic. You can’t wholly escape the need for authenticity, which is so closely tied to gaining consumer trust.
On the other hand, brands that want to achieve relatability shouldn’t necessarily drop their aesthetic altogether either. They should, however, definitely look towards low-key Instagram themes. Content that is fun, lighthearted and candid, not restricted by an unbending set of rules that must be adhered to for the ideal grid, is a way to convey ideas such as accepting imperfection and not taking yourself too seriously.
Incorporating user-generated content is another great way of keeping your brand’s feed down to earth. Fan photos are not likely to be professionally edited or studiously planned, which naturally brings an air of authenticity to your Instagram feed.
It also comes down to who you’re targeting. As mentioned, the Gen Z mentality is more aligned with the deliberately unstaged, unfiltered Instagram presence. If they are your target audience, that style of content is going to resonate with them, as they turn their back on ‘projecting perfection’. Meanwhile, although Millenials are questioning idealised Insta aesthetics to an extent too, they’re still much more likely to respond to a pleasingly styled feed. They are the creators of this model, after all.
Takeaways
It’s true, overly curated Instagram feeds are waning in popularity. Reactionary content from younger users, a rejection of unattainable standards portrayed by curated feeds, and a desire for authenticity have all contributed to a rise in unstaged aesthetics. But at the same time themed feeds still have their place.
Your Instagram aesthetic should be authentic in relation to your brand values. If that means being aspirational, portraying a dream lifestyle that is in keeping with your products, then that’s what you should do. Or if that means bringing a more relatable, less strictly curated vibe to your brand’s page, then that’s the way to go. Do whatever is right for your brand and audience.
