The emphasis in this challenge of my 52 Assignments book is not a fact-filled primer on how to perfect your cat ‘composition’. It’s all about how to create a really strong and distinctive identity for your account. This quick post shows you how the focus on this element is one that each cat (or other pet) photographer needs to get absolutely perfect to be a magnet for followers.
Creating a distinctive identity can be the hardest thing to do with your cat’s instagram account and finding a focus and a genuine personality is tough. There is no insta-easy answer.
Like much of social media, you can experiment with different types of posts and monitor the results. What worked? Was it the cute kitten photo or the serious portrait? What did you like but others didn’t? Be inspired by other kitty Insta accounts but remember what you like matters as well, the ideas and stuff close to your heart will help you geerate your best content.
The distinctive identity you create for your cat on Instagram
- There is no fun is running an IG account with a zillion followers if your heart isn’t in it. Find what you love and see how you can use it.
The Instagram Brief
Compose images with ‘pet personality‘ using a consistent theme or tone.
How would you do this for your cat’s Instagram account? Be alert for silly and special moments. Use Burst mode on a smartphone or DSLR to capture several shots (then choose the most fun one). Anything that makes your cat look almost human is something many people can relate to. Add text, maybe create a simple Reel movie and capture hearts by the bucket load.
Explore other cat accounts on Instagram and see which ones appeal to you. Why do you like them? Is it a colour scheme, graphics, quirky cat behaviour, a courageous CH cat or the weekly #wickedcatwednesday they do brilliantly well? Absorbing inspiration from the cat accounts you like the most, be inspired and get inventive.
How Do You Make Your Account Distinctive?
The opportunities are limitless, but this doesn’t help those of you setting out to give your cat account a focused identity. Let me kickstart your thoughts with a few prompts:
- Use a particular prop.
- Use a particular set of colours that identifies your brand.
- A specific filter or photography style like black and white.
- A distinctive backdrop.
- Something ephemeral like humour or gentle mindfulness.
With your idea create a series of portraits for your cat composition for Instagram project, this idea of a consistent theme or tone is great focus to help you find the personality and feel you want your cat account to have. It keeps you on a path and lets you discover what you like, and what you didn’t. For this post I created three images using Dash Kitten brand colours and our cat theme in Canva Pro but I confess that DashKittenPhotos our IG account has a way to go before it looks unique enough!
Cat Composition Hashtags
Hashtag tips include:
- Specific: #cat #Bengal #rescuecat #reptile
- General: #cats #blackcatsofinstagram #ratsofinsta
Finally, Adam Juniper, author of 52 Assignments, Instagram, advises you to post regularly to help boost your success. How you post will depend on any scheduler you have access to.
Instagram Scheduling Resources
- Buffer social media scheduling tool (Aasic) Allows ten posts for free and three channels for your scheduling. Simple to use.
- Hootsuite Free account – 1 user. 2 social accounts. 5 scheduled posts
- Creator Studio – Free content management tool lets you create and schedule content for Facebook and Instagram through your own Facebook account.
