You’re doing Instagram marketing by the book. You’ve created a long-term strategy, you’re balancing the use of Instagram features, you’re engaging your followers without being too aggressive, you’re cool, yet approachable. All that and more. And you’re always going that extra mile to find out what new strategy or Instagram update you should implement next for better results.
Congrats! Now…
Stop.
Breathe.
Have a cup of coffee (or is tea more of your thing?)
We’re glad you’re so up to date with everything and, by all means, keep assimilating info. However, gaining new insights will do you no good if you don’t also look at the insights you already have. That’s why an Instagram Audit is mandatory. You must carefully analyze all your Instagram content and marketing efforts to see what works and what doesn’t. Not only that, but you must also carefully look at your followers and at what is being said about your brand. Phoa, that’s a lot, isn’t it? But a PRO Instagram Audit is a must. Do it now and then do it at regular time intervals. Here’s how to do it like a PRO.
1. Understand what a PRO Instagram Audit really is and why it’s useful
If you want to be a professional social media manager, whether you’re handling your own account or various, you need to understand every bit of Instagram. That includes the fancy marketing tools and names. They’re not only fancy, they are necessary. Being a PRO also means to fully understand the strategies, tactics or tools you are using in relation to the results they are yielding. This is the only way to make the most out of them. So, here goes:
A PRO Instagram Audit is an in-depth analysis of your Instagram content, followers, profile, and branding. It implies gathering data that is internally connected to your account (produced by you) but also external data (produced by third parties connected to your account, be these parts followers, bloggers, influencers, partners etc.).
The usefulness of an Instagram Audit goes further than “right here, right now”. It will help you:
- see if your goals/objectives are being met
- tweak your overall strategy and content by interpreting the analytics
- gain a deeper understanding of your target
- produce content that’s better fitted to the needs of your followers
- discover how your brand is seen and perceived outside your sphere of influence
2. Revisit your goals and objectives
Before you start doing a PRO Instagram Audit, you need to establish the parameters you’ll be measuring your results with. And that starts with your objectives. To make sure your Instagram efforts are leading somewhere, you must post content that aims to achieve a goal. Pretty it must be, but with a purpose! Thus, think about what goals you had so far and what campaigns or Instagram initiatives these were linked to.
Keep in mind that your goals might have changed. And, since you’re already in the “Goals” department, make an effort to also establish your future goals. It’s a good time. So think! Maybe now you want to drive followers to a landing page or convince them to subscribe to your newsletter. Whatever it is, map it.
With your goals clearly linked to campaigns, think about which indicators (KPIs) will tell you whether or not you managed to reach your objectives. You can also establish KPIs for your newly set goals and keep them close for future use. The “future you” will be grateful.
3. Dive into the THREE aspects of a PRO Instagram Audit
We’ve already mentioned them, but it’s never too many times to repeat a good thing:
- Your content
- Your followers
- Your business/brand image
Let’s take them one by one!
3.1. Audit your content
And when we say your content, we mean all of your content. From your profile to your feed, Instagram Stories, Highlights, hashtags, and captions. This might be a lot to look at, but it can actually be a fun process.
BIO
In regards to your profile, make sure to go over your Bio once again. We’ve written an in-depth article about how you can craft a winning Bio which you might find useful now. Go over your description again and see if it contains the appropriate keywords/hashtags and if it sends the right message. Here are the key questions to answer:
- Does your Bio contain important keywords and hashtags?
- Does your Bio score points on message clarity?
- Is it visually appealing? Are emojis strategically placed to draw attention?
- Do you have your contact info on display?
- Is your Profile name recognizable so that followers can find you?
- Does your profile picture reflect your brand’s identity?
- Is your link redirecting users to a campaign you’re currently running?
- Along time, have you changed your link to suit your goals over time?
If you can, conduct a small research among some of your followers (or even friends) to see what they think about your bio. Make smart use of their input and adjust accordingly.
FEED
Have a long and thorough look at your feed content. Here is where the most important insights can be found. First, have a look at your feed’s overall aesthetics. Does it come together nicely? Is it pleasing to look at? If you think you could definitely improve coherence, read our pro tips about how to create a cohesive feed and then let Preppr help you visually plan in advance.
Next, dig into the insights of every post. Our article on how to get the best insights can help you find the exact KPIs you need to assess the success of your campaigns. However, don’t just look at the stats. View them in direct relation to what the post visually displays and figure out what type of photos, filters, media appeals most to your followers. Is your content in line with your brand visual credo? Does it reach its desired audience?
Make sure you identify your top-performing content and your low-performing content to extract some useful best practices to stick to in the long term.
You must also pay close attention to your posting schedule. Have your posting times paid off? Have you found the sweet spots for posting or should you keep trying? Luckily, Preppr can help by offering you suggestions for the best posting times.
STORIES AND HIGHLIGHTS
No PRO Instagram Audit is complete without a look at your Instagram Stories. Especially since this feature is continually gaining relevance and attention. We can’t get enough of it and if you haven’t done it yet, you should make the most out of it.
When it comes to Instagram Stories, you should be looking at the Insights, just like in the case of your feed content. Also, make a comparison between the different types of Stories you posted. Which format worked best? Photos, videos, boomerangs, stop motion, something else?
If your Stories are not hitting enough views, you should consider a number of factors:
- are you using all the tools in Instagram Stories to expand your reach?
- are you leveraging the Stories’ format and creating Stories that are authentic?
- does the content of your Stories bring followers something extra from the content of your feed?
Once you’ve got these things figured out, also have a look at your Stories Highlights. And if you don’t already have highlights, start creating them.
On it? Good.
Okay, so we were talking about your already created Highlights. Are your categories relevant and cohesive? Do you have any more Stories in your Archive to add? Answer and implement at the same time.
CAPTIONS AND HASHTAGS
If your content is great, that’s awesome! But make sure your captions and hashtags are too. Otherwise, your efforts will be in vain. Okay, so let’s do this.
Start reading through your captions. Don’t stop. Read on. Because after reading a few, you must sincerely ask yourself if your tone of voice is consistent with the brand. Next, keep questioning:
- are the captions engaging?
- are they reaching their desired audience speaking on their tongue?
- are your call to action exciting?
- are you sprinkling fun and targeted emojis when needed?
If you want to step up your game in the future, find more info about how to craft a perfect Instagram copy.
Of course, any great caption is also made out of great hashtags, helping you to reach and expand your reach to your desired audience. Browse through all the hashtags you used and make a list. Have these hashtags attained their goal? Have the followers these brought been relevant? If not, keep in mind that nice hashtags are better than generic ones because they’ll certainly hit the nail with your desired audience.
To get more hashtag ideas, you can turn to Preppr and its suggestion feature. Inspiration is on the way!
2. Audit your followers
A big follower base is awesome, BUT (there’s always a BUT) it must also contain relevant followers that can turn into customers. Thus, a PRO Instagram audit must also look at the quality of a follower base and not only at the numbers at hand. What to do? Have a look at the analytics regarding your followers and their profiles. Do they match your ideal customer in demographic terms and otherwise? Next, begin a hunt for fake followers. Bots and spam won’t do anything for your business. To spot such a fake follower check for:
- low follower to following ratio
- low engagement rate
- empty accounts
Once you removed these accounts, it’s time to have a better look at the real and useful accounts you have. Make a list of all the important data regarding your real audience, such as the time they are most active and, most importantly, how they interact.
A great pro point tip here is to go and identify influencers that are either already in your follower base or are followed by your followers. Start with the first category, since they are already familiar with your brand and will hence be more open to collaborating.
3. Audit your business/Brand Image
A PRO Instagram Audit must mandatorily take into account the brand image. Some aspects of how your business is perceived are in your firm grip: your Instagram bio, your logo, your tone of voice etc. If you’ve done your audit right so far, you’ve already checked these. However, other aspects of your brand image might be second-hand effects. Think about the way your followers talk about your brand on social media or the content they share that’s related to your business. Here’s where things can get more complicated.
Thus, go ahead and do an Instagram search to see exactly how followers use your branded hashtags for example. What are they saying? Is it good, bad, neither? Also, see if on your side, you’ve always taken the time to address their questions or concerns whenever you were tagged or mentioned. If any of these aspects fall under your line of expectations, make sure to establish a future engagement strategy that will correct them.
Ready to do a PRO Instagram Audit?
It was a lot of info, we know. And you’ve got a lot of work to do, so get to it. There’s no other trick to get it done faster than to start faster. You’ve got the tactics, you’ve got the tools, all you need now is to get to your results. And we’re eager to hear them too.
And, don’t forget, you have a sidekick you can count on for great planning and content:
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