How to Find Your Instagram Niche and Stick With it!

Last Updated on 3rd March 2023 by Sophie Nadeau

Instagram. In the past few years, the Social Media platform has gone from a place for your grainy smartphone photos to a professionally curated feed. And part of getting that ‘look’ on your feed comes not only from consistent branding but from having a good ‘theme’ or an Instagram niche.

It’s no secret that Instagram is by far my favourite social media platform. I mean, who doesn’t like looking at pretty photos of faraway places, food that makes you drool a little and cute puppy videos?!

And besides, once you get into the swing of things, you can easily post once or twice on a daily basis and share your (beautiful?) snaps with the world. But the best thing about all the accounts I follow? They have an Instagram niche.

Otherwise known as an Instagram theme, if you want to stand out in the social media universe, then having a theme or niche is vital. Here’s how to find your Instagram niche and create an Instagram theme with your handle!

When I first got onto Instagram, I had no idea what I was doing! I’m sure that some (if not many) of you are reading this and thinking, “But Sophie, you still seem to have no idea what you’re doing!”

Okay, okay, I get what you mean. But if you look at my feed, then you might start to notice that there’s a little bit of a theme running with the colour choices, subject choices etc.

For example, have you ever seen me post a selfie? Or pictures of my vegan burger dinner? No, of course you haven’t. And that’s because I found my Instagram niche and stuck with it.

Whether you’re a food blogger, nature lover, succulent grower or travel writer, there’s truly an Instagram niche for everyone to find- you just need to find it! So without further ado, here’s how to find your very own Instagram niche in three easy steps:

How to find your Instagram niche

Find out what you like & what interests you

The first step in finding your Instagram niche is finding out what you like (and deciding what you don’t like). I don’t know about you, but I tend to find that if something doesn’t interest me, then I’ll get bored easily. It sounds cliché, but if you’re not passionate about what you’re taking pictures of, then people of the internet will sniff you out straight away.

That’s not to say you shouldn’t try new out new things. In the beginning, try out multiple styles of photography; minimal, black and white, saturated, moody, landscapes, portraits- whatever.

Try everything if you have to! But once you’ve got past the initial stage of finding what you like, then stick to it because chances are, once people start following you, it’s because they like the style of photos you post.

So to summarise on this, if you’re not enjoying the style of your photography, then it’s not going to stick. Find something you like and stick to it. Be authentic and be yourself. Another cliché, but it’s true.

Find a colour scheme

When people are deciding if you’re worth a follow or not, or even if it’s worth liking a couple of your photos, you’ve got maybe 0.5 seconds to impress them! So make it count.

People will most likely look at your profile through that little grid format and decide where to go from there. When someone’s got a million other things to do in their day, they’re not going to have the time or energy to work out what you’re posting about, so make it easy for them. Make sure that you can always tell what the post is about in that little thumbnail that’s visible in the grid.

Be consistent when posting

Just like with blogging, being consistent is a surefire way to add credibility to your brand. Whether you want to post once a day, once a week, or even once a month, make sure to post at similar times each time so that your followers know when to expect an update from you.

If you don’t post every day, make use of the new Instagram stories feature to promote new snaps to your feed and to let your followers know when to expect a little something from you.

I find personally, my account seems to work well if I post between 1-3 pictures spread out throughout the day. Although saying this, try not to post more than once every 6 hours; no one likes to be spammed! And even then, post no more than three times a day.

How to maintain an Instagram theme

Branding: Keeping up with your brand is key!

The main reason you’ll want an Instagram Theme is to ensure consistent branding. Just like your website has a consistent font, look, and colour scheme (and if it doesn’t, I highly recommend you do this), you’ll want people to look at your photos and recognise them as yours. Whether it’s a place, style of photography or way of editing, keeping up with your brand is a great way to start building an audience.

Decide what you want to do (and make sure you stick with it)

This is the most important aspect of creating an Instagram theme. Are you all about food, travel, cats… or succulents? When you’re first starting out, it’s fine to experiment with your feed and try new things. Scratch that, it’s always worth trying new things with photography.

However, that being said, once you’ve got an audience, they’re going to expect a similar quality of photos each and every time. So for me (and my travel/ history/ dreamy places theme), that means things like no selfies with my dog (no matter how cute he is) or overly grainy images. Over time, you’ll be able to work out what your audience likes and doesn’t like.

Remember that collages DON’T work well

Part of having a theme means that all of your photos have a similar look and feel. It also means that when your feed is viewed in the ‘grid format’- where all of your photos can be seen at a glance on your profile, you have a certain ‘look’ that your audience can expect if they choose to follow you.

Collages, no matter how pretty they are, don’t really work in this format as the individual photos are too small to be seen. Try to avoid collages if you can. Luckily, as of 2022, if you want to include multiple photos in a post, then you can use the Instagram carousel feature!

Only post your very best photos!

Notice how I highlighted the word ‘best’. It’s because I mean it. And I mean it very much.

Practice editing (on a daily basis if possible)

And while we’re on the subject of the photos themselves, make sure that you’re constantly improving, practicing and reading up on photography. If you’re short on time, consider practicing your editing skills on your morning commute or during your lunch break. You don’t need a whole load of time, only a bit.

To filter (or not to?)

Some people swear by filters. They maintain a clean and consistent look by constantly using the exact same filter. Personally, I don’t really like using photos, preferring to edit everything ‘by hand’. Until recently (a month or two ago) I edited everything on my phone using these free smartphone apps.

Now, I’ve started using Lightroom and I’m noticing a huge difference in what I can do. If you’re able to, download Lightroom and edit photos in RAW. They have student discounts available and there’s a free trial available for if you’re not sure whether you’ll like it or not.

Plan your feed

If you’re really serious about curating your Instagram theme, then you may want to consider planning your feed. I don’t really do this, preferring to post whatever I like the most, or what I think people will find most interesting.

However, I have plenty of friends that plan their theme out in advance, to make sure that they get the right look. Although I don’t really have time for this (and it’s only Instagram, after all) I’ll try not to post very similar images in a row. For example, I wouldn’t post two sunset pictures of the Eiffel Tower close together!

Perfect your caption & complete the story

Perfection your caption is key to creating your Instagram theme, and yet it’s something that many people miss out on. A picture may tell the story of a thousand words, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t write anything.

Add information in your caption that will enhance the story your images are telling, or simply write a small comment that gives people an idea into who you are or what your brand does. Again, adding a caption is all about branding.

Personally, my theme is all about travel, history, and culture. I try and include some information on the history (a quirky piece of memorable information) or things you can see nearby each time I post a picture. Use emojis, tag people and just generally let your personality dictate how your caption reads.

Enjoyed reading about how to find your Instagram niche? Pin this article now, read it again later:

Need help with editing your snaps? Check my guide to the only three apps I use to edit my photos!

Sophie Nadeau loves dogs, books, travel, pizza, and history. A Francophile at heart, she runs solosophie.com when she’s not chasing after the next sunset shot or consuming something sweet. She splits her time between Paris and London and travels as much as she can! Subscribe to Sophie’s YouTube Channel.

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