With >1bn monthly users, Instagram is a non-negotiable marketing channel. 130m users click on a shopping post every month and 200m of them look at one or more new business profiles every day. 90% of users follow at least one business on Insta and beauty, e-commerce & fashion all enjoy the highest rates of engagement. 79% of feed posts are photos and the most active age groups are 18 to 34 year olds.
If your business is on Instagram then, as well as observing all the basics, you have to at least keep up with the trends. Instagram grids and connected multi-images have certainly become a trend. Naturally, that doesn't mean you should always follow trends (there are actually some real downsides to Instagram grids which we will come onto) but you should be aware of them and consider adding them to your content strategy on Instagram in one way, shape or form, even if it's just for creating innovative single posts with a multi-image that works well when viewed in combination and in isolation.
We believe that, in moderation and for the right businesses, Instagram photo grids can be brilliant. We have done them ourselves to an extent on our own feed (primarily for example purposes) but you can see grids and multi-posts on many of the client accounts we manage like Smile Assured (see here).
When planned and executed well, grids and multi-posts can add a lot of value and design value to your Instagram feed but there is the old mantra that you can have too much of a good thing so don't end up with grid overkill.
There are definitely some other negatives with Instagram grids too that you will need to consider. Ultimately, if it's done badly then it's done badly and there's simply no value in you diluting your engagement across multiple posts if you can better maximise it with one quality image/post.
Diametrically, some brands Instagram feeds are so damn boring and regimented that they've lost any sense of fun and personality and absolutely need shaking up with grids!
If you are going to leverage this technique on your Instagram either for grid posts or just for single multi-image connected posts then, especially using tools like Photoshop (for which their are many free guides on YouTube for precisely this topic or you can also contact us for a free masterclass video guide that we've created which we'll happily send you). Very simply, you can easily learn how to create and post amazing Instagram grids and multi-image connected posts in just a matter of minutes.
Please do consider the following key takeaways before embarking on this journey:
The mantra of too much of a good thing runs true with grids so don't overdo them. If you're using grids then, in most cases, intersperse them with 'normal' posts.
Your grid pictures will appear on your audiences feeds as multiple parts of one composite image. Every image HAS to work in isolation and not just part of the panel. Posting multi-images for each component of your grid/panel can help mitigate this to an extent.
If you plan to use grids then you have to commit to it as an aesthetic since using them typically means that you will always have to publish 2 or 3 posts every time if you want to keep your Instagram feed neat and tidy with all the grids looking how they should. If you don't you can knock your grids out of kilter. Grids can thus become a hassle.
Grids are in many respects just a design workaround to the limitations of Instagram since you are effectively posting larger images to your feed than Instagram originally intended you to be able to. Make sure that you have a solid reason to use grids - don't just do them because you can. Ask yourself whether the grid is adding value to your audience and whether it's helping make what you are trying to say clearer and more accessible than you could with a single image or multi-image single post. If you can do it better with a grid then go for it.
There are many other areas of Instagram which may be more critical to your business than grids such as reels, stories, shops etc. Don't prioritise grids over all the other important basics.
We hope this blog has highlighted all the pro's and the con's of Instagram grids for you and if you contact us then we'll happily send you a free step-by-step guide on creating them yourself in Photoshop is helpful. Please do follow us yourself on Instagram at www.instagram.com/irigait