5 Lessons Learned in 5 Years of Managing Instagram for Brands
Lesson #3: It all goes down in the DMs.
Photo: Smith House Photo
Nostalgic for the days when Instagram was simply a place where you posted unfiltered party photos with friends? You’re not alone in missing the era of pre-curated feeds.
But that oversimplification doesn’t give credit to how much Instagram has grown up with us to support storytelling for business in a way that seemed unfathomable a decade ago. Today, the platform holds proven power to humanize brands, create lasting connections and drive sales.
With five years of experience running Instagram accounts for global travel brands in tandem with coaching entrepreneurs to show up authentically on the app, I’m breaking down five lessons learned to help you demystify Instagram for business.
Lesson #1: Bucket Your Content
If you’ve ever felt confusion around what to post, chances are, you haven’t outlined your content buckets just yet. These six to eight categories are pillars that drive engagement and impact within your niche. Aim to make these buckets as specific as possible to create visual consistency as your audience grows; for example, a hotel bathtub versus a general hotel room shot.
When creative blocks inevitably creep up during the content planning phase, buckets help to clarify your mission and purpose on the platform, bringing you back to basics. Be sure that as a business owner, you are one of your pillars. Your story is the fabric of your company’s DNA and oftentimes, the reason that followers will be compelled to buy from you in the first place which is why it’s critical that you keep yourself woven into the storyline.
Lesson #2: Personal Stories Outperform Product Posts
With you—and your team—build out as at least one dedicated pillar of your content strategy, your community will be granted the kind of behind-the-scenes access that brand evangelists crave. Telling personal stories around your mission, day-to-day operations, and the unique magic that you bring to your business consistently outperforms posts that hard-sell a product. Ultimately, your goal is to let the story do the soft selling for you.
Depending on the nature of your business, weaving client stories into this category also presents an opportunity to deepen the narrative. If you’re a service-based organization, consider tapping into testimonials around the impact that your company was able to create for a client. If you offer a product, consider including some kind of call-to-action on your packaging asking customers to post and tag when they receive their order. Prompting the capture of this user-generated content deepens brand awareness and in turn, provides you with unique imagery to repost while showcasing gratitude for your community.
Lesson #3: It All Goes Down in the DMs
While we are often preoccupied with vanity metrics (likes and comments), it bears mentioning that the engagement that goes down indirect message is equally vital. That’s right, DMs aren’t just a place where an old Bumble match can be found sliding in to remind you they’re alive; it’s also where business relationships are built and sales ultimately convert. As a business or creator account, you should be actively checking not only your primary and general inboxes but also your requests where messages from users who you don’t follow will be filtered.
Depending on the size of your audience, replying to every single DM may seem unscalable. But like all aspects of social media marketing, this component of your workflow should be batched for optimal productivity; set aside a portion of your day solely dedicated to replying to messages. Over time, if you find that you’re receiving a high volume of DMs that warrant similar answers, cut down on your response time by creating Quick Replies with a space to customize each response.
Lesson #4: Adopt Usage of New Features Early
As marketers, we would be lying if we didn’t admit that there’s a collective sigh of exasperation each time Instagram launches a new feature. The gut reaction is often, “Really? something else to add to our plates?” But, what if we instead reframed each additional feature as an opportunity to serve our audience in a new way? Being an early adopter of these enhancements to the app not only challenges us to creatively tell our story in new ways but can also pay off when the algorithm pushes forth accounts actively testing out new features.
We’ve seen this in a measurable way with creators like @ofleatherandlace, @bsquared.social, and @rebellenutrition who’ve amassed substantial followings in recent months predominately their savvy usage of Reels. While video may not feel like an area of genius for you (did someone say perfectionist?) simply showing up and sitting in discomfort has the potential upside of gaining higher reach and being discovered by new users if you’re featured on the Explore page.
Lesson #5: Be Human and Stand for Something
It’d be simple to say that the fifth and final tip is to “be consistent.” But at this point, that should be more than obvious, so let’s instead take it to the next level and address the expectations for brands to take a stance on social issues. While it may have been possible to fly under the radar on potentially divisive subjects in pre-pandemic times, 2020 taught us that the internal conversations transpiring offline about a brand’s values need to translate to their content online. But, be sure posts aren’t performative–back your stance with action.
Whether you opt to donate a portion of your proceeds to a specific nonprofit or simply create a space for conversations around topics like equity and inclusion, your Instagram offers a unique place to speak to your values as an organization. With so many choices in the consumer marketplace, customers understand that how they spend their money matters. Make your brand the kind of place they feel good about spending their hard-earned money. And above all, ensure that your intentions align with your actions.
“Telling personal stories around your mission, day-to-day operations, and the unique magic that you bring to your business consistently outperforms posts that hard-sell a product.”
—Kayla Douglas, Marketing and Social Media Manager at SmartFlyer
About the Author: A knack for storytelling and community building blossomed into Kayla Douglas’ work in marketing within the travel sector, a space perfectly aligned with her skillset and passions. In her role at New York-based luxury travel agency SmartFlyer as marketing and social media manager, Kayla is steadfast in her mission to empower the team’s ever-growing community of advisors to approach social media marketing with creativity, authenticity, and consistency. These days, Kayla calls the West Village neighborhood of New York City home, though her most beloved place to be found is nestled into the window seat of a flight, off for a new adventure. For inspiration from fellow creatives, you can subscribe to her weekly newsletter that drops every Sunday featuring interviews with powerhouse women.
About SmartFlyer: SmartFlyer is a full-service luxury travel agency built for curious travelers. Their global team specializes in creating exceptional experiences around the world through curated recommendations and continuous boots-on-the-ground research activated by decades of trusted relationships. SmartFlyer travel advisors understand that the finer details make a world of a difference when it comes to your travel arrangements, so they make it seamless to book the experiences you can’t miss–all vetted by a community of trusted experts whose tried and true recommendations span from Manhattan to Melbourne, and everywhere in between. Their consultative approach to travel planning ensures that your travel advisor gets to know you and your preferences before providing recommendations, in turn creating an itinerary built just for you whether it’s a honeymoon, multi-generational family trip, bucket list safari, or quick romantic escape. Just like no two clients are identical, no two trips are the same.
Headshot Credit: Leila Brewster Photography
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This Female Entrepreneur Built a $500K Company Helping Women Grow Their Businesses on Instagram
Here’s how she did it.
“No one can do it alone. The most important part of entrepreneurship is knowing when to ask for help.”
—Madison Tinder, Marketing and Visibility Coach
As I write this, I’m sitting on the porch of my home, which I bought on my own at 25 years old. If you had told me a couple of years ago that I would be able to buy a home in a new city and not only be financially independent but thriving, I wouldn’t have believed you.
Back then, I thought my path was clear, a bachelor's degree, a master’s degree, then working in the sports industry in my dream city, Dallas. Things didn’t go as planned. I graduated with my masters and, despite internships, classes, and a 9-5 job throughout my program, when I graduated, I didn’t get my dream job at my dream team. I was crushed.
But I pulled myself together and got a job. It wasn’t “the job” but it paid the bills. I decided to start doing social media management on the side as a way to bring in a little extra income. I never thought it would grow into anything more than a side hustle. I quickly went from one client to eight and realized that maybe I could really do this.
Fast forward to today, I transitioned from social media management to marketing coaching online for entrepreneurs. For the past two years, I’ve been growing my business and helping women all over the world grow theirs. My business has become so much more than I ever imagined. I could say it was luck or any other cliché thing people attribute to success, but that’s not the truth.
The truth is a six-figure business doesn’t happen overnight, and there is no formula that you can follow. However, there are a few lessons I’ve learned along the way that I believe helped me reach $500,000 in sales in only one year and launch my first product-based business, Soulful Scrunchies.
Tip #1: Own Your Confidence
No one wants to buy from someone who doesn’t believe in what they are selling. If you don’t believe in your product or service 100%, you should reevaluate. I fell into imposter syndrome when I first started out, it’s normal. But, once I took a step back and looked at the results of my clients, it reminded me that not only are my skills valuable but that I deserve to be in this space.
For me, a huge step was realizing that I didn’t need to be someone else. When I first started as a marketing coach, I didn’t fit the mold of the other coaches in the space. I was younger, didn’t show up on Instagram with perfect curls and cute blouses, I was much more comfortable in a scrunchie and top knot. Being confident in yourself and your business is an ongoing process but it is one of the most important pieces to success
Tip #2: Trust Your Gut
You know how doctors say that you know your body best? Well, the same goes for business. You know your business inside and out. You might get to a point where you aren’t involved in every single aspect of your business, but there are always going to be decisions that fall solely on you. It can be easy to wobble back and forth on big decisions, second guess yourself, and let others' opinions influence you. You have to trust your gut.
A potential client is giving you red flags? Worried that someone on your team isn’t a good fit? You are probably right. Sometimes the best decisions for our businesses are not ones that we stew over, make pros and cons lists for, and are super logical.
Tip #3: Know Your Audience
The key to growth is focusing on your target audience. You need to speak to your audience in a way that is aligned with where they are at. You need to know everything about your audience, beyond demographics. You are going to have to dig deeper to find their story, their struggles, what they are looking for, and their goals. If you don’t have that information, you might as well be speaking to a wall.
Tip #4: Serve First
So many people in the online space get caught up in the next sale that they forget your most important asset is a happy client or customer. They are a walking billboard for you. Showing up and giving them your all should be your number one priority always. Not the likes on your Instagram photo or the sales numbers on a launch but the questions people ask and going above and beyond for your people always.
Tip #5: Invest in Support
No one can do it alone. The most important part of entrepreneurship is knowing when to ask for help. The type of support will vary based on your business, but I suggest taking a look at where you are spending your time and reflect on what is draining you. This may mean deciding to hire help for social media, client management, accounting, design, etc. Or it could mean realizing that you need a mentor to get you to that next level. Having a community will help you prevent burnout, feel less isolated, and have people you can bounce ideas off of.
There is no one-size-fits-all model for building a six-figure business. If anyone tells you otherwise, run the other way. But, through my time as an entrepreneur I’ve learned how helpful and important the tips above can be. If you are feeling frustrated and like your business is not having the momentum that you hoped for, be patient, take action, and remember that no one’s entrepreneurial journey is the same.
About the Author: Madison Tinder is not like most 25-year-olds. Instead of stressing about finding “the job” or making rent, she is a homeowner and runs a six-figure business. She is a marketing and visibility coach based in Louisville, Kentucky, and helps her entrepreneur clients grow and market their brands through Instagram. She’s an Instagram story pro and launched her first product-based business this fall, Soulful Scrunchies.
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Ask an Expert: How to Boost Your Engagement and Build a Following on Instagram
Engagement isn't what you think!
We’ve been spending a lot of time at Create & Cultivate HQ discussing how we can best show up for and support our community during this uncertain time. Community is at our core, and connecting with others through one-of-a-kind experiences is what we love to do. While the world has changed, our mission has not. We’re committed to helping women create and cultivate the career of their dreams, which is why we’re proud to announce our new Ask an Expert series. We’re hosting discussions with experts, mentors, and influencers daily on Instagram Live to cure your craving for community and bring you the expert advice you’ve come to know and love from C&C. Follow Create & Cultivate on Instagram, check out our Ask an Expert highlight reel for the latest schedule, and hit the countdown to get a reminder so you don’t miss out!
Photo: Create & Cultivate
Have you ever found yourself on a rollercoaster of emotion when it comes to Instagram? One day you’re flying high and people are clamoring to engage with your content—and the next? You’re shouting into the void with only crickets to respond. It’s time to ditch the not-so-fun ride and cruise into sustainable growth, engagement, and community building.
In this installment of our Instagram Live series Ask an Expert, Dre Fox, the CEO and founder of TimeOfDre Media, lays out a framework to follow to boost engagement, build sustainable growth, and cultivate a community on Instagram. Scroll on for her tried and true tips and be sure to follow Create & Cultivate on Instagram to tune into our next Ask an Expert Live.
Why Does Engagement Matter?
Instagram is a fickle platform that judges success by your ability to create conversation and interest amongst your online community—a.k.a. you keep people on the platform. So IG favors those that receive high engagement as a way to incentivize that creator to keep going, but also the platform reaps the rewards of your community building.
In short, the more engagement—likes, comments, and shares—you get, the more Instagram will push you in front of new eyes.
Engagement Is Not What You Think!
Creating an online community is not a product of spending 10 hours a day on the platform dropping “cute pic” comments on everyone that you see, it’s the product of alignment.
Here is how I like to break it down:
When your message, your audience, and your content are all aligned, you can easily boost your engagement, your following, and your impact within the online space.
So, Let’s Break It Down
Find Your Niche
The specialist advantage or “your niche” is the most critical piece to nail on your Instagram page, because if your profile is hard to understand, most won’t click “follow,” which results in lower engagement.
So ask yourself, what topic or area can I provide the most insight or help to someone else in the online space? This doesn’t mean you need to be an award-winning expert or a top person in that space, but where can you draw the most insight and knowledge?
We want you to be a “go-to” or a wealth of knowledge to one group of people!
Attract People Who are Invested in You
If you truly want more engagement, you’ll want to have an audience of people that are invested in your content and inspired by your words. That can’t be created when your audience is filled with the wrong people.
So your first task is to revamp your bio to be geared towards your new topic and the people that would be interested in your niche. The goal here is that once you’ve made over your bio, you can hand your phone to a stranger and they’d be able to clearly state what you do and what you talk about!
Create Valuable Content
Think back to the best friend or mentor you ever had. They likely helped you, made you feel good about yourself, made you think deeper and pushed you to be better. This is your job on social media as well!
People are HIGHLY attracted to those that add value to their lives, for free.
So, identify the top 10 problems someone in your niche is having and break it into the following categories:
Tips
Example: 3 tips about (problem 1)
Advice
Example: Ways to avoid (problem 2)
Resources
Example: Struggling with (problem 3)? Here are some apps for….
Once you start creating value-driven content for your aligned audience, engagement will naturally increase without having to spend hours a day engaging.
Be a Champion of Others
Picture this, you get a nice comment, a thoughtful comment on your post from someone, you take a look at their profile and realize they’re speaking about topics you have interest in—you are clicking follow and bingeing their posts.
Conversely, you get a “cute pic” comment from an account that has nothing to do with your topic. You’re not going to follow them, right?
It’s pretty simple really, engagement is most effective when your heart is actually in the game and you’re trying to build an audience of like-minded people, not collecting likes.
Some best practices around active audience building is to comb through related hashtags and competitor accounts for people that will LOVE your content. Reach out, leave them a nice comment, engage with their stories and encourage a future relationship!
Once they are able to pop over to your page and see that you have amazing and helpful content, they’ll click that “follow” button and become a long term fan.
So What Does This All Mean?
It means that engagement is not about working more or working harder to scour the internet, it’s about being intentional and thoughtful with the relationship we are building. Having that narrow focus and an audience full of excited fans will carry your account much further than one full of thousands of dead accounts.
It’s time to niche down, create more value for others and spend your time creating relationships—the true secret to increased engagement!
“T
he more engagement—likes, comments, and shares—you get, the more Instagram will push you in front of new eyes.”
—Dre Fox, Founder and CEO, TimeOfDre Media
About the Expert: Dre Fox is the founder and CEO of TimeOfDre Media, a Forbes and Washington Post featured social media agency located in Austin, Texas. After many years of helping Fortune 500 companies improve their social experience and brand awareness online, Dre was inspired to focus on building the brands of small businesses and public figures. Her core passion is helping people just like you, realize their dreams online.
Right now, TimeOfDre is offering 30% off The Elevated Instagram, a foundational Instagram course using code: CC30 for all readers of Create and Cultivate. Please check out Dre over at Instagram for more free social media advice each day.
Psst… Want more intel on how to build a following on Instagram? Buy your ticket for C&C’s Digital Beauty Summit on Saturday, July 25th to tune into Dre Fox’s IG workshop.
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How to Make Money on Your Social Channels
One pro shares her money-making trick.
Whether you are an entrepreneur launching the next great news content site or a blogger with a huge social following, making recommendations for things on your social platforms encourages your audience to click and buy. We covered the basics of affiliate marketing in an older post, but for a short refresher, affiliate marketing means you can earn revenue by placing trackable links to get paid when your users shop. But once you’ve got the basics down, what’s next?
Know Your Platform!
Social media is arguably the most challenging way to convert users to make a purchase. Why? While perusing Instagram and Snapchat, users want to be inspired and see their friends and family alongside inspiring images. When users are in the mindset to consume content on these platforms, they don’t always want to be immediately directed to a new page to make a purchase. With that in mind, using social media to direct people back to your site is a great way to drive traffic and allow the user to know where to shop a little later.
Instagram Posts: Include “Shop link in bio” in your caption and direct your followers back to a page featuring Instagram posts tagged with the products you are featuring. ShopStyle Collective has a tool called Looks & Collections which makes it simple! The best part? You can link to multiple items, making it even easier for fans to shop your entire look.
Instagram Stories: Swipe up to Shop! For those that have the ability to link in stories, it’s simple to create a shortlink via ShopStyle Collective and direct users to swipe to shop. ShopStyle’s tools auto detect that the user is coming from Stories and offers them the option to enter an email to get a link to shop, or to shop immediately. We’ve seen a huge increase in conversion on “Swipe up” by giving users the option to enter their email and stay within Instagram, or to shop immediately.
Facebook: Yes, that’s right: Facebook. It’s may not be as cool as Instagram, but Facebook is the silver bullet of driving shopping through social. It’s easy to link out and engage with your community — and it’s easy to do targeted advertising to get links in front of the right people. Focus on building your Facebook community by engaging users and seeing what works organically in order to diversify ways to monetize through social.
Hilary Sloan is a director of business development at ShopStyle, the leading fashion search destination, in charge of ShopStyle Collective, the fastest growing network of top fashion and lifestyle influencers worldwide, currently 14,000 strong. Sloan’s team works closely with influencers to successfully monetize their digital shopping content. In addition, Sloan works closely with ShopStyle’s product team, identifying and innovating against future trends and new platforms to create proprietary tools that influencers can use for revenue generation and brand building. When not at ShopStyle, Hilary can be found applying all her skills to her own mini influencer, her dog, Ella Bean.
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How to Avoid the Social Media Comparison Game
Even Selena Gomez just called it torture.
photo credit: Jessica Bordner Photography
You’re on Instagram and notice a photo posted by a fellow creative entrepreneur of a beautiful dinner party filled with people laughing and smiling, a table covered with food and candles and a perfect city skyline in the background. A wave of envy passes over you.
Welcome to the Social Media Comparison Game. In a world where Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest, and many other social media platforms dominate, it is trickier than ever to not compare yourself to others. Feeling “not as good as” or “not having enough of” ultimately causes fear and self-doubt, which leads us to staying right where we are. Not ideal. We end up putting our own personal thoughts and projects on hold, and not sharing them with the world.
Even with the best of intentions to connect with new people and share your adventures in business and life, it is often unavoidable that at some point you will find yourself entrenched in this [not-so-fun] game. As someone who works persistently on keeping my eyes on my own page, here are my tips and tricks that help me navigate social media comparison.
GET GOOD AT IDENTIFYING ENVY
Start noticing how you feel when you are on social media. Are there certain people or pictures that trigger feelings of envy and jealousy? What does it physically feel like in your body? For me, I start to feel flushed in the face, a little hot around my neck and chest, and want to withdraw immediately, usually in the form of avoiding my own work. It’s important to know how envy shows up for you so that you can better recognize it and intervene before it stops you in your tracks.
FOLLOW, UNFOLLOW
Once you identify the envy, you’ve got to check in with yourself and ask if following this person on social media is good for you and your business. If you find yourself feeling down most of the time when you see their photos, it is likely a sign that you should stop following this person right now. Sure, they post beautiful photos. Sure they seem great. Sure you love their vibe. But the reality is that it is vital you treat your social media network just like your network in real life. You wouldn’t keep people around on a daily basis who zap your energy, so why allow your social media network to do it? Follow and keep people close who light you up, and inspire and motivate you to keep at it. Drop and unfollow people who don’t.
CREATE WHAT YOU ARE CRAVING
Even when your network is made up of people you admire and love, it is inevitable that you will find yourself feeling envy from time to time as people promote and celebrate their lives and businesses. Even though a part of you is absolutely happy for others’ success, you still may not be able to shake that slight feeling of jealousy. Use that feeling to understand yourself a bit more. What is it that you are craving or wanting? Let’s go back to the dinner party scenario. Instead of feeling down and discouraged after seeing the photo, you could ask yourself in your mind, what am I really wanting? It could be that you want to attend a dinner party just like that. Now it’s up to you to create what you are craving by getting out there and hosting one yourself. The key is to become intentional about the life you want to create by treating your feelings of envy and jealousy as personal-research for understanding your own wants and desires. I know it’s not an easy
process, but with time and practice it is possible to have a thriving, inspiring social media network while keeping your eye on your own page.
Jen Wille is a Certified Professional Life Coach for vibrant women who are ready for more. Her warm approach, unique flair to self-development, and desire to help people bridge the gap from where they are and where they want to be is always at the center of her work. Find her at jenwille.com and on Instagram.
The original version of this article appeared on Blog Society.
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Flatlay The Right Way with Bar III
The 5 keys to help you nail down your flatlay.
Behind every outfit flatlay, there is a simple science to follow to make it the best styled flatlay you can create. More often that not, flatlays either include WAY TOO MANY OBJECTS, objects aren’t placed symmetrically or have a rhythm, have too many colors going on, or just looks like a closet threw up.
Just in the way you would get yourself Instagram ready for a photo, give the same love to your clothes when styling a flatlay. We took a few styling tips that we’ve learned from Paola Alberdi of Blank Itinerary and Bar III’s Instagram feed, that will amp up your flatlay game 100%.
STYLE YOUR OUTFIT AND SET THE THEME.
Before you start styling your flatlay, first style your outfit. Once you have your whole ensemble ready and have set what the theme it is that you want for your outfit. Is it a daytime outfit, or something a little more elegant? Do you want to stick to two or three colors to give your outfit a cool feel, or so do you want to show that it’s a perfect summertime outfit?
Whatever theme you choose, keep that in mind and start framing your flatlay around that.
CHOOSE A PLAIN CLEAN BACKGROUND.
TGIF
Dress: Bar III Three-Quarter-Sleeve Split-Neck Shift Dress
Shoes: Bar III Wiley Cutout Ankle Booties
You already have your outfit set, so the second most important factor is your background. You want to make sure that it’s clean, bright, and won’t distract your flatlay with the background. It’s best to stay away from pattern backgrounds, so if possible, use a plain background, a wood or concrete floor, or even a marble top.
DECOR & ACCESSORIZE.
Just because you’re styling a clothes flatlay, it doesn’t mean that you have to decorate your flaylay with just clothes and accessories. Remember to stick to the theme of your flatlay and decorate with pieces that bring out certain colors in the flatlay, and complete the look.
For this look, which is a daytime office piece perfect for a client meeting, we added a planner to bring out the blue hues of the heels, along with some blue marble coasters because #whynot.
Client Meeting
Top: Bar III Lace Fringe Crop Top
Bottoms: Bar III Culotte Pants
Shoes: Bar III Suede Pumps
STYLE TO FRAME YOUR INSTAGRAM FEED
Since most flatlays are restricted to squares and portrait frames to fit your Instagram feed, feel free to play around with the space and fold your clothes in a way that still show how the outfit will look. Play with the shapes of the clothes and set it up like a Tetris block so everything fits on a 4x4 or 4x6 frame.
If your outfit is only a dress or jumper with shoes, feel free to add more props and accessories to fill in space to the frame to still make it look balanced. However, make sure to not overload your flatylay with too many props any products. You always want to make sure there’s a safe amount of space that doesn’t leave the flatlay looking too busy and chaotic.
For example, this outfit and shoes are all black, so don’t be afraid to pop in one prop that sticks to the theme and has a pop of color that will make the look even more dynamic.
Cocktails After Work
Jumpsuit: Halter-Top Wide-Leg Jumpsuit
Shoes: Hillary Ankle-Strap Asymmetrical Dress Sandals
USE NATURAL LIGHTING & THE OVERHEAD SHOT
For the perfect shot, always use daylight natural lighting if the photography Sun Gods allow. Make sure that’s the lighting isn’t too blown out, and if you do decide to use artificial lighting, try to use other sources of light than than the flash from your phone.
Also, always make sure to get an overhead shot. For a flatlay, you want to make sure that every piece is visible from one POV, so if you’re doing an angle, it might obstruct from the details of other pieces within the shot.
Now you’re ready to style and shoot your flatlay! If you have any other tips, or have used these tips for your own flatlay, let us know below!