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Author: Ebonie Fogerty

5 Instagram Tips to Create a Great Grid

Written by Ebonie Fogerty on . Posted in Marketing.

In the world of Instagram, first impressions matter. Your Instagram grid, also known as your feed, is a powerful visual tool that represents your brand or personal aesthetic. A cohesive and engaging grid can attract new followers, retain existing ones, and increase overall engagement. Here are five tips to help you create a stunning Instagram grid:

1. Choose a Consistent Color Palette

One of the easiest ways to make your Instagram grid look cohesive is by using a consistent color palette. A well-thought-out color scheme can tie all your posts together, making your feed look more organized and aesthetically pleasing. Start by selecting a few colors that represent your brand or personal style. Use these colors consistently in your photos, graphics, and backgrounds. Tools like Adobe Color or Canva can help you pick and stick to a color palette.

2. Plan Your Content in Advance

Planning is key to a successful Instagram grid. By planning your content in advance, you can ensure that your photos and graphics are visually appealing and align with your overall aesthetic. Use apps like Later or Planoly to schedule and preview your posts before publishing. This allows you to see how each post will look next to the others and make adjustments as needed to maintain a cohesive grid.

3. Use a Consistent Filter or Editing Style

A consistent filter or editing style can make your Instagram grid look polished and professional. Whether you prefer bright and airy or dark and moody, using the same filter or editing technique across all your posts can help create a uniform look. Many photo editing apps, like VSCO and Lightroom, allow you to create and save your own presets, making it easy to apply the same edits to every photo.

4. Mix Up Your Content Types

Variety is the spice of life, and the same goes for your Instagram grid. To keep your feed interesting, mix up the types of content you post. Combine photos, videos, carousels, and graphics to create a dynamic and engaging grid. This not only adds visual interest but also caters to different types of content consumers. Remember to keep your content relevant to your brand and audience, and ensure each type of post still aligns with your overall aesthetic.

5. Tell a Story with Your Grid

Your Instagram grid should tell a story. Each post should contribute to a larger narrative that reflects your brand or personal journey. Think about the story you want to convey through your feed and how each post can add to that narrative. This can be achieved through the use of thematic content, sequential posts, or even just a consistent message or tone. A well-curated grid not only looks good but also provides value to your followers, encouraging them to stick around and engage with your content.

Conclusion

Creating a good Instagram grid is about more than just posting pretty pictures. It’s about creating a cohesive and engaging visual story that represents your brand or personal aesthetic. By choosing a consistent color palette, planning your content in advance, using a consistent filter or editing style, mixing up your content types, and telling a story with your grid, you can create a stunning Instagram feed that attracts and retains followers.

Start implementing these tips today, and watch your Instagram grid transform into a visual masterpiece that not only looks great but also enhances your brand’s identity.

10 Tips on Creating a Content Strategy

Written by Ebonie Fogerty on . Posted in Marketing.

Often a small business will neglect its marketing strategy because the benefits of it aren’t necessarily going to be seen quickly, all of the focus goes on what is going to make you money. As a result, growth can become really difficult for the company to achieve, and they stay in the place of chasing the next invoice. To break out of that, you need to start dedicating some time to your marketing strategy. A key and easy first step to this is building brand recognition and sales through an active and fruitful social media presence.

Your content strategy is the foundation of your content marketing efforts. It will help you determine what kind of content you need to create, who it’s for, and how you can distribute it effectively. When developing a content strategy, there are a few key things to keep in mind:

Define Your Goals

What are you hoping to accomplish with your content? Do you want to increase brand awareness, drive traffic to your website, or generate leads? Be specific about what you want to achieve.

Know Your Audience

Who are you creating content for? What are their needs and wants? What kind of language do they use? The better you understand your audience, the more effective your content will be.

Choose the Right Format

Not all content is created equal. Some types of content, like blog posts, are better suited for certain goals than others. For example, if you’re trying to generate leads, a white paper would be a more effective format than a blog post.

Choose Your Topics Carefully

You can’t just write about anything and expect it to be successful. You need to choose topics that are relevant to your audience and that will help you achieve your goals. To come up with ideas, start by brainstorming a list of potential topics, then narrow it down to the ones that are the most relevant and interesting.

Make a Calendar, But Be Flexible

Creating a content calendar can help you stay organized and on track, but don’t get too hung up on it. Things will inevitably come up that will cause you to deviate from your plan. The important thing is to start creating quality content regularly.

Analyse Your Results

After you’ve been creating and promoting content for awhile, it’s important to take a step back and analyse your results. What’s working well? What could be improved?

Add Visuals

People are more likely to remember information if it’s presented in a visual way. So make sure to add images, infographics, and other visuals to your content.

Be Consistent, but, Don’t Post For The Sake Of It

The key to any successful content strategy is consistency. Clearly define how frequently and when you want to be posting, and stick to it. You may post more often than scheduled if something comes up that you want to share with your audience, but having a baseline is important.

If you want to create content that has an impact, you need to be adding value to your audience’s feed. Make sure that when you post, you’re posting with something you want them to know. This may seem like a contradiction to the point above, but if you find yourself posting without having anything to say, it’s time to revaluating your posting schedule.

Put Some Effort Into SEO

If you want your content to be successful, you need to make sure it’s optimised for search engines. This means doing things like using the right keywords and linking to other relevant articles.

Repurpose Your Content

Don’t let your old content go to waste—repurpose it into new formats, like infographics or videos. This will give it new life and help you get more mileage out of it.

If you are looking for more advice on how to grow and run your small business, check out our small business advice section.

5 Time Saving Marketing Tactics

Written by Ebonie Fogerty on . Posted in Business Advice.

Marketing can feel overwhelming when you are running a small business. With limited time and budget, trying to do everything often leads to doing nothing well. That is why adopting time saving marketing tactics is essential. By focusing your efforts on high-impact activities, you can achieve better results in less time. In this article, we share five time saving marketing tactics, 5 proven strategies to help you streamline your marketing and spend more time growing your business.

First time saving marketing tactics: Prioritise the right marketing channels

Most small businesses will be limited by two key resources; time and budget. Trying to stretch either of these over doing a full holistic marketing strategy is unrealistic and will lead to ineffective marketing. By trying to do everything, you’ll end up doing nothing.

Instead, choose marketing activities based on your business goals. Want more brand visibility? Prioritise social media marketing. Seeing traffic but low conversions? Improve your website and landing pages. Choose what moves the needle – don’t try to do it all.

2: Focus on results, not content volume

Many small business owners feel pressure to post constantly. However, frequent posting without purpose leads to weak content and wasted time.

Focus on creating high-quality digital content that supports your marketing goals. One strong social media post or blog per week with valuable insights can outperform daily low-value posts. It’s about effectiveness, not volume.

3. Create evergreen content to maximise ROI

Content creation takes time, so make it count. Instead of chasing short-lived trends, build a content strategy around evergreen topics – content that stays relevant for months or even years.

    Examples include how-to guides, industry insights, service breakdowns, or customer FAQs. This kind of content improves long-term SEO performance, builds trust, and supports lead generation over time.

    4. Outsource where it counts

    Trying to do all your small business marketing on your own is not sustainable. Outsourcing tasks like blog writing, email campaigns, or social scheduling can free up time for higher-value activities.

      Platforms like Upwork, Fiverr, and Bark offer affordable support. While outsourced content may not be perfect, it is often good enough – and better than doing nothing at all. Focus your energy where it has the greatest impact.

      Last time saving marketing tactics: Track and measure your marketing performance

      Whilst measurement of your marketing efforts might not seem like the best way to invest the limited time you have, it is possibly the most important element. Without proper measurement, you don’t know if the things you are spending your time and energy doing are having the impact you want them to. Proper measurement can help you focus on the areas that are making a difference and stop spending time on things that aren’t.

      Make sure as a minimum you have Google Analytics for your website for example so you can see if digital marketing is doing what you need it to.

      These five time saving marketing tactics are a smart starting point to ensure your marketing efforts deliver results, without taking time away from other critical areas of your business.

      The Importance of Succession Planning in Your Business

      Written by Ebonie Fogerty on . Posted in Business Coaching.

      One of the most important aspects of being a successful business is having a succession plan in place. Inevitably, you and your executive team will move on at some point in your career, and it’s essential to have someone ready and able to take over. This ensures continuity for your business, but it can also help keep things running smoothly in the event of an emergency.

      There are also positives to having a succession plan in the short term. This gives you the confidence to step away from your business for a holiday or an event with the confidence that there are people in your business capable of stepping up. This will also be an excellent test to see how your company runs without you and gives your 2IC a taste of what to expect.

      There are a few different ways to go about succession planning. One option is to create a formal written plan that outlines who will take over each role in the company in the event of a vacancy. This can be helpful if you have many employees or if your business is complex. However, it can also be time-consuming and challenging to manage.

      Another option is to identify potential successors informally. This can be done by talking to your employees about their career goals and identifying those who have the skills and interest to take on a leadership role in the future. This approach is less formal, but it can be more flexible and easier to update as needed.

      Before you can start having conversations about succession planning, you need to make sure you have a good foundation with your employees. This means regular check-ins and open communication about their career goals and development.

      You should also be clear about what your company’s succession plan is and how it works. Once you’ve done this, you can start having conversations with employees about their roles in the plan.

      Be sure to ask questions and actively listen to their answers. This will help you better understand their career goals and how they see themselves fitting into the succession plan.

      Regardless of which option you take, having a clear map of each employee’s roles and responsibilities gives you the foundation you need to build your plan. This is naturally important for every company to have so that your employees are clear on what it is they’re meant to do and so that you can measure their performance. However, it is just as crucial for succession planning as it gives you an understanding of what skills gaps they will have when taking on a more significant role.

      A critical error many companies make when giving people roles with more responsibilities is not training them on the new responsibilities of their position. This means that as they take on more responsibility, such as managing a larger team, finance, or strategic planning, they become ineffective, and you can end up losing a really valuable employee.

      Furthermore, it’s essential to keep your succession plan up-to-date. Regular reviews will help ensure that the plan still reflects the current state of your business and that the right people are in place to take over when the time comes.

      You should update your succession plan whenever there are significant changes in your business. This could be when you have a change in leadership or ownership, changes in the economy or the industry you’re in, or changes in the law or regulations that affect your business.

      If you need to update your succession plan, the first step is to review the current state of your business. This will help you identify any changes that need to be made to the plan. Once you’ve done this, you can start making changes to the succession plan itself.

      It’s also a good idea to review your succession plan on a regular basis, even if there haven’t been any major changes in your business. This will help ensure that the plan still reflects the current state of your company and that the right people are in place to take over when the time comes.

      As a business owner, succession planning should be one of your top priorities. By putting a plan in place, you can ensure that your business will continue to thrive long into the future.

      There are many things to consider when creating a succession plan for your business, but the most important thing is starting early and keeping the plan up-to-date. If you don’t know where to start, book a call with one of our executive coaches to discuss how we can help you.

      Problem Solving in Executive Leadership: Why Timely Decisions Matter

      Written by Ebonie Fogerty on . Posted in Business Coaching.

      Effective problem solving is a core skill in executive leadership development. As an executive, your team depends on you to recognise issues early, take decisive action, and keep operations running smoothly. Leaders who can confront and resolve challenges with clarity build stronger teams, higher trust, and greater business resilience.

      Recognising problems as a leadership skill

      Identifying problems quickly is not always easy. Sometimes leaders are in denial, hesitant to admit something is going wrong. In other cases, early warning signs are simply overlooked until performance begins to suffer.

      However, in high-pressure environments, timely problem recognition is essential. As part of executive leadership training, learning to spot risks before they escalate is a skill that directly impacts business outcomes.

      A real-world executive leadership challenge

      One of my business coaching clients, a commercial manager, was responsible for overseeing contract administrators. Like many leaders today, they were trying to retain talent during a time of workforce instability.

      To avoid upsetting high-performing staff, they held back from following up on overdue contractor deliverables. Their fear? Being seen as micromanaging. Unfortunately, this hesitation had a ripple effect: tasks were left incomplete, project milestones were missed, material costs increased, and trust in their leadership declined.

      What started as a people-pleasing decision turned into a leadership credibility issue, demonstrating how hesitation can carry a heavy cost.

      Why timing matters in leadership decisions

      After identifying a problem, how long should you wait before acting?

      This is a common dilemma in executive roles. While acting quickly can help prevent further damage, it may leave you without enough data to make the best choice. On the other hand, waiting too long risks damaging morale and making the issue worse.

      In executive leadership development programs, we teach leaders to weigh both speed and strategy. The goal is not to act hastily, but to act wisely—and without delay.

      A balanced approach to executive problem solving

      Successful leaders apply a strategic approach to problem solving. They do not avoid tough issues. Instead, they:

      • Recognise problems early
      • Understand the context
      • Communicate with clarity
      • Build a clear, practical plan
      • Involve the right people at the right time

      In our business coaching sessions, we emphasise that context matters. Before jumping into solutions, you need to fully understand the scope and impact of the problem. This includes hearing from your team. Often, open conversations lead to better outcomes and reveal root causes that were not obvious at first.

      Communicate with transparency and intent

      Good communication is at the heart of strong leadership. If a challenge is affecting your team, be transparent. Let them know you are aware of the issue and working on a solution.

      This not only builds trust but invites others to contribute their insights. Many executives feel isolated in decision-making, but collaborative problem solving often leads to faster, stronger results.

      Elevate your problem-solving skills through executive coaching

      Whether you are a seasoned leader or new to the executive level, problem solving remains a constant challenge. It is not just about reacting, it is about responding with clarity, confidence, and structure.

      If you are looking to strengthen your leadership capabilities, our executive leadership development coaching can help. Together, we will build the mindset and skills you need to lead through challenges, make strategic decisions, and earn long-term trust from your team.

      If you are interested in developing your problem-solving skills, book a call with me, and we can discuss tailoring our executive coaching to your needs.