How to Make an Instagram Moodboard in 2024

What Is a Moodboard?

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A moodboard is a collection of photos, videos, and other visual elements that fit a theme. Think of it as a collage or an inspiration board that reflects creative ideas for a project or campaign.

With a moodboard, you can share design concepts, get clear on a creative vision, and zero in on the feeling (i.e., mood) for the project. It's an essential tool for guiding your creative process.

You may think of moodboards as tools for designers and artists. Yet this tool is useful for anyone in a creative role—including advertisers, marketers, and creative directors.

Why You Need a Moodboard for Social Media Campaigns

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If you've never created a moodboard for a social media campaign, you may be surprised to learn how much this tool can transform your creative process. Here's why you should start using boards to plan social media campaigns:

• Improve Communication With Creatives: Make sure designers, photographers, and video editors truly get the campaign concept. Share examples of Instagram ads and posts to show creative teams the style to emulate and the mood to evoke. Show color palettes and typography with photos, and express movement and music with videos.
• Share Your Vision With Clients: Get clients on board with your creative vision. A written creative brief can tell them what you're thinking. But a moodboard can show them what you have in mind and communicate ideas more effectively. After all, a pitch that's both convincing and easy to visualize can be the ticket to getting buy-in from stakeholders.
• Focus Your Team Around a Central Vision: Moodboards can keep your team on the same page throughout ad campaign planning and launch. With a great ad inspiration board, you can rally your entire team around the campaign concept. As your team plans creative elements and ad copy, everyone can stay on track by referring to the board.
• Experiment With Ideas and Aesthetics: Moodboards can also function as experiments or works in progress, which is helpful for brainstorming and exploring multiple concepts. For example, you can create separate boards based on different keywords. Then you can review them side by side and decide on the best creative strategy to pursue.

How to Save Videos and Images From Instagram

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From posts and carousels to stories and reels, Instagram is filled with creative inspiration. But if you've ever tried to save Instagram content to use or share, you've likely been frustrated.

Sure, you can bookmark posts and reels in your account or send content to colleagues via DM. But you can't get saved videos and images out of the app easily.

So how can you grab Instagram content and add it to a moodboard instantly? Let's walk through two ways to save Instagram posts and ads using Foreplay.

Install the Foreplay Chrome Extension

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Prefer to find and organize creative inspiration on a desktop device? You can save Instagram content directly in your browser using the Foreplay Chrome extension. Here's how.

To get started, install the Foreplay Chrome extension. Click the "Add to Chrome" button.

Confirm that you want to give the extension required permissions. Click "Add Extension."

Then open Instagram in the same browser and scroll through the posts feed. When the Foreplay extension is enabled, you'll see a blue "Save to" button below each Instagram post or ad.

The Foreplay extension automatically saves Instagram content to your default board. To select a different board, click the arrow to the right of the button. Then click "Save to [board]."

You'll see a green "Saved" confirmation when the content has been added successfully to your Foreplay board. Click the arrow to open the board in Foreplay or keep scrolling and searching to find more inspiration.

Note that you can save images or videos using this workflow. It also supports both organic and promoted content—which means you can save competitors' Instagram ads too.

Save Content From the Instagram Mobile App

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If you're a typical Instagram user, you'll probably open the mobile app much more often than the browser version. Now you can use Foreplay to save Instagram ads on mobile too.

That means you can grab current ads, organic posts, and even stories or reels as you're scrolling. As a result, you can find and save ideas more efficiently, making the creative process more organic.

To build an Instagram moodboard on mobile, start by installing the Foreplay app. It's available in the App Store and in the Play Store.

After installing the mobile app, sign into your Foreplay account. Open the menu in the top left corner and select "Account Details." Input your Instagram username and tap "Save."

You'll see a popup like the one below. To verify your Instagram account, tap to copy the code and DM it to @foreplay_co.

You'll get a confirmation that your Foreplay account is linked to your Instagram account. Now you're ready to start saving Instagram content to Foreplay boards on mobile.

Foreplay's mobile workflow uses Instagram DMs. Whenever you want to save a post, reel, story, or ad, tap the paper airplane icon to share it. Then DM it to @foreplay.co.

You'll get a DM response confirming success. From there, you can view your moodboards in the Foreplay mobile app or on the desktop dashboard.

Check out our complete tutorial and video walkthrough to see how to save Instagram ads on mobile.

How to Share Your Moodboard in a Grid Layout

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Once you've created a moodboard using the desktop or mobile workflow, you can send it to clients or colleagues. Foreplay boards are easy to share with internal or external stakeholders.

Go to your Foreplay dashboard and open the board you want to share. Click the "Share" button in the upper right corner to copy the link to the board.

Then paste the link into an email, Slack message, or DM. Any team member with the link can view the board as-is, apply filters to see certain formats, or use the search bar to find specific content.

Viewers can see much more than just ad creatives and captions in the grid layout. After clicking the eye icon above an image or video, viewers can see detailed data like:

• Brand name
• Content format
• Platforms
• Call-to-action (for ads only)
• Landing page (for ads only)

Note that your team can add tags and ratings to Instagram content for even more in-depth organization. You can also provide additional context in the comments.

Benefits of Using Foreplay for Your Instagram Moodboard

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Are you using a design app to make custom moodboards or building them manually? Here's why you'll want to consider switching to Foreplay instead.

Creating Video Moodboards

Foreplay supports much more than just static images and feed posts. All Instagram content saved to Foreplay boards is playable.

That means you can create video moodboards featuring Instagram reels and short-form video ads. Just tap play from your Foreplay board to watch the full video.

Adding Interactive Carousels

Discover an eye-catching carousel ad or post as you scroll through your Instagram feed? When you save carousels to Foreplay, they remain interactive.

That means you can scroll through each carousel card and use the entire concept as inspiration. You can also filter Foreplay boards by format to zero in on carousels.

Saving Instagram Stories

Want to grab an Instagram story before it disappears? With Foreplay, you can save any kind of content to a board—including ephemeral content like stories.

Just tap the share button and DM it to @foreplay.co. You'll see it on your board instantly, and it'll stay there until you remove it (i.e., much longer than 24 hours).

Combining Organic and Paid Content

Foreplay is great for creating your own custom ad library with paid content from competitors and brands that fit your aesthetic. But you aren't limited to ads alone.

Instead, you can save any combination of ads and organic content to a Foreplay moodboard. Can't remember if a photo or video is an ad? Click to open any creative asset and review the metadata.

Detailing Your Creative Ideas

Moodboards mainly focus on visual content. But when you create boards with Foreplay, you can easily add thoughts or ideas to any saved item.

Open any item on your board and add some context or insert a link in the comments. Anyone who views the board will be able to read your notes.

Sharing Ideas with Colleagues and Clients

Great creative ideas may start with you. But in most cases, you'll probably want to share them with your team. Foreplay makes it easy to share any moodboard.

Since you can share boards via a link, you can send them to virtually anyone—including both internal and external team members. That way you can communicate ideas and get buy-in much more easily.

Getting Input and Fine-Tuning the Concept

The first version of your moodboard doesn't necessarily have to be the final version. Foreplay boards can be works in progress that continue evolving.

As you get input from team members, you can refine the content or add more organic posts and ads. Anyone who views the board will automatically see the current version, so you can ensure everyone is always on the same page.

Integrating With Foreplay's Creative Briefs

When you're ready to move forward with a campaign, you can easily add content from your Foreplay boards to a creative brief. Just click the "Add to Brief" button below any image or video.

Then prepare a creative brief for your campaign directly in Foreplay. Since you can attach brand profiles, creative inspiration, and even storyboards to briefs, you can build and share campaign ideas quickly.

Instagram Moodboard Template

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Technically, a moodboard can take any shape or form. Some may have a completely freeform design with layers of photos, swatches, and textures. Others have more structure and use an easy-to-read grid format. 

When you use Foreplay to create moodboards, you don't have to invest additional time or resources into developing a custom design. Instead, you can use Foreplay's built-in template to organize visuals in a grid.

Foreplay boards automatically display paid content and organic posts in the order you add them. But if you need to reorder, you can sort content or apply filters to view specific post, story, reel, or ad examples.

Want to include additional information for team members or clients? In the board description, you can add insights like:

• Company name
• Industry or niche
• Campaign goal
• Audience targeting
• Platform (e.g., Instagram)

Tips for Creating an Aesthetic Moodboard

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When you save Instagram content to an inspiration board, you want it to capture the style you envision and be pleasant to look at. Follow these tips to create an aesthetic moodboard:

• Define the theme: Start by deciding on the core style for your campaign. For example, are you planning a colorful, high-energy promotion for an activewear line? Or are you going for a retro vibe that evokes a sense of nostalgia?
• Align colors and tones: After you add content, review the board to make sure the visuals fit the theme. Remove any content that doesn't work with the concept. With Foreplay, you can delete content entirely or move it to another board.
• Distribute images and videos evenly: A great moodboard should balance static images with videos that create movement. If yours doesn't, head back to the drawing board (i.e., Instagram) to source more inspiration.
• Use white space strategically: To avoid over-designing your moodboard, leave room for white space. Negative space gives visual elements room to breathe so each can make an impact. When in doubt, use a template like Foreplay's.

Final Thoughts on How to Create and Share an Instagram Moodboard

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A thoughtful, well-designed moodboard is a critical part of the creative process. With the right template, you can save and organize Instagram content quickly and share campaign concepts with your team.

Ready to build a moodboard for your next project? Sign up for Foreplay and start simplifying your creative process.