Have you had a chance to see our amazing speaker lineup for the HAVEN Workshop?! We’re so honored to have Anastasia of The Identité Collective as our core branding and marketing speaker. Anastasia has been in the HAVEN community from the start and not only do we adore her kind, generous soul but she’s also a wealth of knowledge when it comes to helping interior designers (specifically) grow their businesses. Instagram is her jam, so it only felt fitting during the week of our launch to give you a look into the kind of genius you can expect from her at the Workshop. Alongside gorgeous photos of her new studio, she’s sharing her no-fail Instagram Editorial Calendar, plus 12 unique content ideas to help you keep things fresh and keep your online community engaged.

From Anastasia of The Identité Collective… An important facet of our work at IDCO is managing social media accounts for super talented and busy interior designers. When you’re putting out new content on multiple channels every day, it’s easy to feel uninspired or like you’re recycling the same types of images and words over and over. The key to variety (and efficiency) is creating and maintaining an Instagram editorial calendar that loosely follows a customized formula. 

If you find yourself stressing about social media engagement and relying on posting in-the-moment, we encourage you to take a step back and create a plan for your posts and schedule them in advance so you can save your mental energy for design while maintaining an active online presence. Batch scheduling is your friend!

Instagram Editorial Calendar Outline

• One detail shot from a finished project accompanied by a motivational quote, educational tip, or trick of the trade. The caption should resonate with your followers and give them some inspiration in the form of both words and good design. 

• One full-room shot from a project shoot of yours or a regram from another designer (be sure to give proper credit—our guide to Instagram etiquette here). The caption should briefly delve into what you enjoy about the specific design elements. 

• One portfolio image that you can tie a specific example of your design problem solving to. Share how you helped your client overcome some design-related issue and demonstrate your expertise. 

• One introductory post. This should be a high-quality headshot of you or someone on your team with a caption that shares about their experience and skill and even a fun tidbit of trivia if you have some on hand. 

• One full-room shot that correlates to your most recent blog post. Be sure to highlight the topic of the post in the caption and guide your followers to the link. 

• One portfolio detail shot you can tie into a phase of your process. For instance, you can explain why you selected the window treatments you did, detail how you sourced art for the space, or demonstrate how you tied the owners’ sentimental pieces into your design concept. 

• One stunning portfolio shot with a light-hearted caption, witty quote, or original thought you’d like to share with your audience. 

• One portfolio shot accompanied by a neighborhood or target market specific reference in the caption. You can mention a shop in town, a new restaurant that has opened, or a favorite weekend spot that your local followers might identify with or find interesting. Make sure to geo-tag the neighborhood in the post. 

• One image from a past blog post or project reveal with a caption that leads followers to the link. There is nothing wrong with recycling good content, especially with a growing following that might’ve missed the original post. 

• A day off post. This is your opportunity to post a more lifestyle-centric image that isn’t directly related to your design work. Give your audience a peek into your life behind the scenes, but keep it in line with your brand and aesthetic. 

• Repeat. Repeat. Repeat. 

Writers block while you’re batch scheduling your content? Coming up with new Instagram content ideas for interior designers can be daunting. When you’re running a small business—and specifically in the interior design industry—Instagram can feel like a full-time job in itself. To have an engaging presence on the platform, we always recommend posting a minimum of six times a week and adding to stories daily if possible. We have a few no-fail content ideas that take a unique, editorial approach to your Instagram content that always feels fresh and provides value to your dream clients. 

Instagram Feed Content Ideas

A Slider Image

Take a horizontal portfolio image, slice it into two images to share using the multiple image feature

Single Product Shot

Add visual white space to your grid by featuring a single product on a solid background + describe how you would use it or style it. Even better, set up a RewardStyle account so you can earn commissions on product links (here’s how). 

Education

Describe how you solved a specific design problem for a client (i.e., gave grandma’s vanity a facelift, opened the floor plan in a creative way, etc.).

Artwork Showcase

Post an image featuring a specific piece of artwork you used and explain why you used it and give information about sourcing it. 

Seek + Find

Ask your followers to spot a fun detail in the photo. The longer people look at an image, the higher it performs. 

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Instagram Story Content Ideas

If you haven’t jumped on the Stories wagon yet, now is the time! Stories are a great way to show “the process.” Followers love being able to get a glimpse behind the scenes and see how the professionals do it. The key, when deciding whether or not to put something on stories, is to consider your audience. Since Instagram is first and foremost a marketing tool for your business, your top priority should be posting what potential clients will find interesting as opposed to other designers. 

Voting

Post two design boards and allow followers to choose which one they like best, even if you have already decided. It’s work you’ve likely done anyway, so why not use it to boost engagement?

Ask questions

Asking product sourcing questions really boosts engagement and as a bonus, your followers probably know about a couple goldmines you haven’t heard of yet. 

Walkthroughs

Taking your followers with you as you check in on projects (especially during exciting phases like demo day) is a really fun way to pique their curiosity about the project and keep them engaged for the content you’ll eventually roll out about it. 

Videoing Daily Tasks

Create videos doing even mundane things like receiving furniture deliveries. Your followers will love a sneak peek of what you bought and you can give tips on what to check for before “signing.”

Styling Videos

Video all the accessories you bring for staging day and explain on film what made the final cut and why. It’s informational and gives some eye candy/inspiration.

Wallpaper Installation Video

Capture the installation process of wallpaper as it’s going up with the big reveal at the end.

Product Voting

Present options for certain products and let your followers choose which they like best. Make sure to follow up later and let them know what it looks like in the space or why you chose to go with the alternative. 

Tips for Keeping a Cohesive Grid with all Your New Content

Your actual feed should be a cohesive, lightly edited grid of professional/portfolio shots. If you’re a new designer with few project shoots, aim to post 30% original work and 70% regrams. Pro tip: be certain you aren’t posting all your project photos as soon as you receive them, even if you only have a few finished projects (more about how to stretch reveal photos into evergreen content in our latest post). When you’re sharing other designers’ work that often, it’s so important that you give proper credit (check out our guide to Instagram etiquette here). If you’re an established designer, your feed should be closer to 80% original work and 20% others’.