You probably already think or even heard people say Instagram is biased, this has made lots of individuals conclude that Instagram auditing isn't necessary. We may feel this way because it's almost as if Instagram tends to favor certain accounts or creators more than others.
Look, I understand how frustrated you feel every time you spend energy creating awesome content, you put it out…and then, it isn't appreciated enough. You're not the only one facing this, but I can tell you how others who have been in your shoes found their way out.
The only way you can solve this is by auditing your Instagram.
I'm not here to tell you Instagram isn't biased, it is…and you know why? This is because Instagram is a business just like your business. Therefore they are in favor of pushing the content that gets the most engagement out to more users. It 's in their best interest as a business to help accounts that keep users on the app longer more visibility.
This is why failing to audit your Instagram is one of the biggest mistakes that businesses make. In fact, it's one of the top-ranking social media marketing roadblocks for many small businesses.
Having an in-depth knowledge of Instagram auditing will take you a long way and in turn, save you countless hours of wasted effort.
Here, you'll learn everything you need to know about auditing your Instagram. It can also be substituted as an Instagram audit checklist.
What does it even mean to audit your Instagram?
Instagram auditing is a thorough evaluation, assessment and survey of one's Instagram platform in order to filter out unnecessary content that is not aligned with your goals.
Take a look at it from this angle:
Imagine your goal is to gain 3 pounds of muscle every week. I mean, you could go on eating the same regular foods, doing non-targeted exercises and you'd probably notice results-very slow and discouraging results. However, when you set up a healthy planned diet along with a targeted workout plan, your muscle gain would be noticeable in a matter of weeks.
That's how Instagram works!
Instagram auditing helps you ensure that every piece content you put out there on your page is targeted and brings you high conversions. It allows you an opportunity to see where your content isn't connecting with your community so you can make that adjustment.
Do I have to audit my Instagram?
Instagram auditing isn't compulsory for everyone, but if you fall into any of these categories, then it's advisable you audit your Instagram.
You feel your posts aren't getting the attention and appreciation they deserve.
Your brand feels all over the place.
You lose followers much more than you gain them.
Even when you do gain followers, they do not interact positively with your content.
You've been shadowbanned for using Instagram the wrong way.
You are marketing your product with Instagram but your sales conversion is poor.
You've been doing what the Instagram experts say and yet your engagement is still low.
Most creators aren’t happy with their results and engagement. Yet, they keep using the same strategy so they don’t risk having to change. I know how scary change can feel, it's hard, but being stagnant is even worse.
If at all, you do not face any of these problems, auditing your Instagram is necessary for your feed because Instagram evolves every single day. Now I don't know about you, but I don't think anyone would want to be left behind on that.
How do I carry out Instagram auditing?
If you do not know how to properly conduct an Instagram audit, my team and I at Media Mayhem 247 have got you! Here's a 7-step checklist for auditing your Instagram, you would definitely want to use this checklist before you put out any content on Instagram.
The Instagram auditing checklist includes 7 simple tips, to enable you to become more successful on the platform.
Define your aim & Analytics
Understand your audience
Bio Optimization and clear highlights
Audit your posts and have an aesthetic
Communicating with captions
Draft a Content Calendar
Ask for reviews
Define your aim.
Generally, if you wish to achieve progress, you need to set your own goals. This also applies to Instagram auditing. Have a clear aim and objective in mind on why you're on Instagram in the first place.
Most creators and brands open Instagram without having a purpose on why they should be there. This can lead to you getting lost in an endless cycle of futility.
To help you set your goals, ask yourself:
What is the purpose of me being here on Instagram?
Who is my target audience?
What do I want to achieve with this page?
Where can I find my target audience?
(Mention your goal) how do I go about it?
What's stopping me from achieving my goal?
In this light, let's see an example of a clear goal.
Wrong: I want to get more sales
Right: I want to increase my sales conversion by 25% next month. I can achieve this by creating amazing content, communicating with my audience properly and reaching out to influencers.
What about analytics?
Analyze the content you have been posting in the past and get your bearings on what posts did good and what posts did not do good.
It helps a lot to know what your analytics looks like because it gives you an understanding of what you need to focus on and what you need to improve.
Examples of analytics to monitor are:
Average engagement rate
Followers growth
Applause rate
Post insights
Conversions rate
Click through rate
The Instagram app includes an embedded section to monitor your page analytics. Although, I'd also recommend you use notjustanalytics as it gives a simpler and more detailed analysis.
Understanding your audience
This is another crucial aspect of auditing your Instagram.
Instagram is a great place to connect and engage with people, but you need to be careful when posting. It’s important to know where your followers are coming from, and what they like to see on your page.
Believe me when I tell you that no matter how good your content is, if you do not know your audience's pain and needs, you wouldn't get engagements on your posts let alone conversions.
Say you're a dermatologist, your audience's needs would be how they can get rid of skin diseases and overall have healthier skin. Now, your focus would be to post content that solves their problem.
You'd lose engagements if you post anything aside from what your audience needs.
Some factors to look out for while getting to know your audience are their age range, gender, attitudes and opinions, hobbies, lifestyle and location.
A nice tool that can help you understand your audience better is Google analytics. They provide you with extensive data on your audience demographics, location, interests, etc.
Bio Optimization
You know what they say; first impressions matter…
Your Bio is the first place everyone who comes to your page would look at. It gives them a brief introduction of who you are and how you can be of help to them.
So if your bio determines whether a person would choose to follow you or not, you do not want to mess things up.
Your Bio should communicate your brand and what makes you stand out from others.
Another thing to keep at the back of your mind is to make sure your profile is set on public and not private
How can I improve my bio?
Include your name
Use a clear image of yourself or your logo as your profile picture (users tend to trust brands with images of themselves more). I suggest using pfpmaker to improve your profile picture's look. It helps you remove an image background so you can use a color that corresponds with your brand.
Set your Instagram to a business account.
Include your area of expertise eg. Entrepreneur, Clothing brand etc.
Use branded keywords to further communicate better what it is you're offering
Add a link to your main business website or newsletter, you can shorten your link using rebrandly.
Use emojis as bullet points in your bio for increased readability.
Add your location and specify if you work locally or internationally.
Have contact info that people can use to easily reach you.
Organize your Highlights so a user would easily locate whatever information they want.
Let me give you a better idea of what I mean….
Take a look at how Oparlor's bio (shopoparlor) on Instagram is amusing and engaging. Although they did not include emojis in their bio, it was made up for with a short and captivating bio. This is the same way your bio should arrest a visitor's attention.
I am extremely keen about you having a remarkable bio. This is why I've included a link containing a free and interesting bio ebook to guide you in updating your bio. This way you can turn your profile visitors into followers and customers.
To further optimize your bio, you should check out this really cool article on hootsuite. They've provided for you, with over 10 bio templates for you to get ideas.
Posts and Aesthetics
Before posting, I assume you now know what your audience wants to see on their feed.
Your feed shouldn't look like junk or disorganized information. From foresight, it should give off an organized look that welcomes whoever takes a peek at it.
This is why having an aesthetic look on your feed is necessary.
Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying you must make your whole feed look purple or green, or anything like that. Instead, your page should feel like home, it should be neatly organized and easy to glance through.
Post content with high quality and include images where necessary.
What sort of image should I include anyways?...an image that resonates with your content and stops your audience from scrolling.
A picture, they say, is worth a thousand words. So, your page should be worth a novel.
Make sure your posts are customer centric because apparently, your audience will only interact with your content if it benefits them.
I'm not stopping you from posting other fun times you have in your life or things that interest you, but overall, 90% of your post should be focused on achieving your goals.
Apps and websites that help your feed look better:
Communicating with captions
It's one thing to get your audience's attention through your post and another to keep their interest. A great way of doing so-using captions.
Interacting with your audience is best done using captions. The easiest way to do this is to ask questions relating to your post and turn your comment section on to improve interactions.
Your captions should be friendly and easy to understand.
Let me show you exactly how this works…
On my Instagram page (simplyalete), I love using my captions to speak to my audience and further explain the content I've put out.
I first ask a question that I know most of my followers relate to and immediately followed it up with a solution.
The result?
Increased feedback!
Make sure you reply to meaningful leads and conversations to keep your engagements high.
Your caption is also a good spot to insert a call to action button that promotes your services.
If you still find it difficult to generate captions, a reliable website to help you generate captions for Instagram is flocked. It assists you in providing intriguing captions to increase your engagements.
The result?
Increased feedback!
Make sure you reply to meaningful leads and conversations to keep your engagements high.
Your caption is also a good spot to insert a call to action button that promotes your services.
If you still find it difficult to generate captions, a reliable website to help you generate captions for Instagram is Copy.ai. It assists you in providing intriguing captions to increase your engagement.
If you're one out of the hundreds of people who find it difficult to post consistently on Instagram, then you need to get a Content Calendar.
Plan and schedule ahead, this means planning your content for weekly, monthly and yearly goals.
It is easy to get overworked and create content only when you feel less tired and busy. Having a content calendar helps you plan and avoid relying solely on motivation to post.
A lot of people make the mistake of posting too often in a day on Instagram, this may annoy most of your audience and might even lead them to unfollow.
Our free content calendar(insert a link to the content calendar article) is specifically designed to assist you in being consistent with your content while enabling you to accomplish your goals.
Yes, I want a free content calendar(insert a link to the content calendar article)
Ask for reviews
Most times, when I advise creators to get reviews on their page, the response I get is:
"Oh no Alete, I'm sure my feed looks great. Who wouldn't love my feed?"
Have you ever dressed up to go out and you're so confident in your outfit, then the moment you step out, someone goes "Hey there, your outfit is torn" or "Excuse me, there's a big stain behind your shirt".
Your Instagram feed could look great to you and you might feel as though there's nothing wrong. But remember it isn't just about you or what you think is right. The backbone of your page is your audience, without them, your page is…sorry to say, nothing.
Sometimes, you might receive a negative review and that's totally fine. The main thing to carry with you is how you can improve your page and become better at what you do.
Start auditing your Instagram now!
Now, you know how to use Instagram in your favor!
I can as well assume you have a basic knowledge of Instagram auditing and I'm pretty sure you're ready to take your page to a 100 with this information.
But there's one last important piece of information you do not want to miss out on…
If you know me well enough, you would have guessed by now that I wouldn't leave you to go figure out Instagram auditing yourself.
There are so many other tested and proven ways to audit your Instagram I haven't yet mentioned.
These include utilizing stories, influencer marketing, competitive analysis, content creation, headings, organizing contests for your followers, auditing your fake Instagram followers, hashtag research etc.
The best part of this article is that you have an opportunity to book your own Instagram audit.
You run the risk of losing your engagements if you keep using the same old strategy.
Whether you're just starting out, or you've been posting for a while, we have a plan that will help you grow your following. We understand how hard it can be to grow, so we've made it as easy as possible to find the plan that's right for you. See why users like you trust us!
Your Instagram analytics are guaranteed to skyrocket because my team and I don't just approach your audience in a general sense. We prioritize your audience before anything else and approach them in a personalized manner.
With our help, you'd save up to 20hrs each day of content work. So you can make more sales (money) and still have time for your needs including having FUN.
Book an audit for your Instagram today and –VOILA! watch your reach grow.
Conclusion
Satisfying your audience has to be your number one priority. Except that, nothing else matters if you wish to progress in your business.
Auditing your Instagram helps you satisfy them faster, better, and overall…uniquely.