How to Create On-Brand Instagram Story Designs that Build Your Brand

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Choose a font style or two and stick to them.“Your choice of typefaces is as important as what you do with it” — Bonnie Siegler.The typeface you use massively affects the mood that you’re trying to create, what you’re trying to say, how you’re making people feel and what you’re trying to remind them of, so it’s essential to choose the right typeface for the job.Choosing a gothic blackletter typeface for a children’s apparel company, for example, is going to send the wrong message entirely and probably scare people away from purchasing! And using a super ornate script calligraphy typeface for a futuristic event probably won’t attract the right audience.Instagram gives you 5 built-in options for fonts: Classic, Modern, Neon, Typewriter, and Strong. If you’re not going to be creating your own templated designs for your stories, you’re limited to these 5 styles.Choose the one that fits your brand the best (two at most,) and stick with that. Use it consistently and combined with your colors, filters and other brand elements, your Stories will be recognizable in no time.**Select a set of filters that represent your brand.**One of the original features of Instagram is the filters. While those first filters still exist, there are now thousands of user-submitted options that are free to use. With great power comes great responsibility, however. **Having so many options is fantastic, but can be detrimental to your brand if used wrong.**Using a childlike, flowery, feminine filter is probably not going to be the right filter for a high-end, professional law firm that deals with the estates of the elderly. And a black and white one might not be the option to choose if your business sells party supplies for children’s birthdays – then you should be looking for fun, bright filters!To find the perfect one for your brand, swipe all the way to the right of your filter options, tap ‘browse effects,’ choose one to try, and hit the name of the filter at the bottom of the screen to ‘save effect.’ Then when you go to create your stories, your saved filters are there for you to use!

*[Browsing, selecting and saving a new filter in Instagram Stories]*Choose your filters carefully, and don’t go too wild. Pick a few goodies and use those regularly! Create Story TemplatesThere are some Instagram stories about sales, new collections launches, or announcements about holiday delivery dates, for example, that you’ll probably find yourself using over and over. **Instead of starting from scratch whenever you need these, why not make a template to streamline the process?!**Not only do templates save you time, but they also ensure that you stay on-brand every time, no matter who is creating your posts. **This consistency means that your stories are always recognized as your stories.**Something super easy to use like Canvacan be your go-to design tool for Instagram story templates. They have pre-made templates for you to use (some are even animated!) or create your own if you’re feeling creative.Again, remember to use your brand colors, fonts, patterns and images to ensure you’re on-brand from the start, and if you get stuck, reach out to a designer who can help you or create a template for you!

*[Instagram story templates in Canva]*Tell Your Brand StoryCreating on-brand Instagram Stories isn’t just about how they look; it’s also about what they say. It’s essential that whatever you post is adding to your brand narrative and telling your story.Brand storytellingis all about appealing to your customers’ emotions by connecting with them on a deeper level.According to, if people love a brand story, 55% are more likely to buy the product in the future, 44% will share the story, and 15% will buy the product immediately, so telling your tale is your secret weapon.Your brand has many stories, one of which is about your values, why you have them, and how you incorporate them into your business. Maybe sustainability is one of your values, so your Instagram stories could showcase yourrecyclable packaging, talk about your approach tocircular fashion,oreducate customers about sustainable packaging. All of these add to your narrative and engage your audience in more in-depth conversations about your brand.Another brand story you might tell could be about the attention to detail that you take in the customer experience, specifically in regards to your packaging. So your Instagram stories could include taking your customers behind the scenes of designing custom packaging tape, sharing your https://www.tendlyn.com.nz/blog/unboxing-creating-a-memorable-customer-experience/

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This is a guest post by Hollie Arnett, founder of Black & White Studios. She is a brand strategist and coach with a vision to make the world a better place, one brand at a time. Her mission is to help purpose-driven businesses build their brands by educating, equipping and empowering entrepreneurs through online courses, group programmes, and 1:1 strategy sessions.