Instagram Guide – How to create a strategy

Instagram is one of the most used social networks in the world. If your personal brand or company does not have an Instagram account, you may be losing potential customers, reach or visibility. Read this Instagram Guide! 

But being a social network used massively and worldwide also has a downside … Standing out among all the users that already exist is complicated.

However, in the marketing world everything is possible, and this is why it is crucial to build a good Instagram strategy to achieve the goals you have set for yourself.

Let’s start at the beginning…

Optimize your profile

Users first see three things when clicking on your profile:

• Your profile picture
• The bio
• The link that appears in your account

Your Instagram bio is one of the most viewed sections by users, and it should explain everything about your brand. Also, it is recommended to add emojis and hashtags to attract more attention.

If you have a business account, make sure that the profile image is that of your logo or that of any other photo that perfectly relates to your company. This will convey trust and credibility.

Note that the only clickable link that you can add on Instagram is the one in your bio. If one of your goals is to drive traffic to your website or blog, include your URL in your profile or use other types of links to be able to add clickable links to all your publications. 

Be clear who your target audience is

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Therefore, before advancing to another stage of the strategy it is essential that you know who your target audience is. 

• To whom are your posts directed to?
• Who do you want to see the images you post?

Once you have the answer to these important questions, you can move on to the next step to build your Instagram marketing strategy.

Define your goals

A good Instagram strategy needs to be planned thoroughly from start to finish.

so to get started you have to think about the goals you want to achieve with your Instagram account and then determine how to do it.

Develop your content strategy

It’s obvious that visual content is the essence of Instagram. This is why it is crucial to have a content strategy in place to succeed. 

To develop this section you have to base yourself on what you have been determining previously:

• Your target audience: To whom the content you publish will be directed.
• What goals do you want to achieve with the content you are going to publish.

Let’s get started 

#1. Create a content list

It may be more difficult  to develop content ideas for Instagram at first, but once you get started, you will come up with ideas when you see the trends and the type of content that other brands make.

For your first publications, always keep in mind the objectives that you have previously set and mix it with the aspects of your brand that you want to highlight in this popular social network.

I’ll give you some ideas for your first posts:

⚡️ Introduce the team behind the Instagram account

⚡️ Present the brand or company: what do you do?

⚡️ Share posts about your different products or services

⚡️ Create tutorials of your products or services

⚡️ Offer tips about your sector

Once you have created the list with the ideas that have arisen, you have to move on to the next stage.

#2. Choose the type of content

Instagram started as a photo sharing app with filters, but right now Instagram offers multiple and different ways to publish your content.

Among them are: images, carousels, videos, stories, reels, guides or IGTV.

So now is the time when you need to decide in which format you are going to share all the ideas on your list.

➡️ It is recommended that you use all formats to give variety to your content. However, always with a meaning.

➡️ Always bear in mind that the quality of the content on Instagram is very important.

#3. Create a content calendar

There is no magic behind the success of an Instagram account. If you want to achieve your goals, you need to establish and maintain an active presence without being overwhelming. 

The best way to do it is through a content calendar and determine how often you are going to share your publications. 

➡️ There are external tools such as Metricool that allow you to schedule your content in an orderly way to know when each publication is due.

 

 

➡️ Keep in mind that something that also stands out on Instagram is spontaneity. That is to say, even if you have your content strategy well planned ahead, it is ok to post some things more spontaneously such as event or team stories. 

#4. Other ideas and tips to apply to your content strategy

Beyond the content calendar that you can create and plan, there are other types of publications that you can make on this social network and thus, give diversity to your profile.

✅ Use a style guide

Your style guide should determine your approach to each of the following points:

• Brand aesthetic
• Composition
• Colors that you are going to use in the Instagram account

 

✅ Include user-created content

If members of your community share photos using your brand’s products or services, you can share them too.

This will increase the credibility of your community and will boost the participation of all your followers.

✅ Encourage audience interaction

Apart from creating a brand identity with your photos and videos for your followers to see, it is important to encourage them to interact with your account. 

For this you can take different actions: 

• Ask questions in the caption of the photos you share
• Run contests or giveaways
• Ask Q&As in your stories

Analyze the results of your strategy

The analysis should be present in each of the previous stages. It is the best way to know if your strategy is on the right path and allows us to act on time in case we deviate from our objectives.

Monitoring the performance of your content and the evolution of your community on Instagram will allow you to know if you are meeting your goals and if the money and time you invest in this process is well spent.

In addition, knowing the data of your content allows you to adapt your marketing strategy to new trends and the needs that your customers are asking for.

With the analysis of your account and strategy, you can find out the type of content your community likes the most so you can replicate it for future publications. Furthermore, you can quickly identify the type of content that is underperforming and eliminate it so you keep meeting your audience’s expectations.

As you develop and implement your marketing strategy and analyze it, you will know what works for you.

Conclusion

Instagram is the most used social network of the moment and this is why having a strategy with everything in mind is essential.

As you use the platform and enjoy the content of other people or businesses, your creative potential will also be unleashed. 

Hopefully these tips will help you build a successful marketing strategy that makes your business thrive.