Decoding the Instagram Audit: Unveiling Your Social Media Strategy

An audit is similar to a check-up for your marketing account to determine whether or not it is performing. You look at things like follower growth, how engaged your followers are, what kind of content you're posting, who your followers are, and even what your competitors are up to. The goal is to figure out what you're doing well, what needs improving, and how you can make your marketing account even better. So, it's basically going through all your content posts and marketing strategies to see what's working and what's not. By doing this, you ensure that every audit and content post you share actually helps your business in some way.

To keep track of your progress, here are eight stages for conducting your own audit:

Before diving into your Instagram audit, take a moment to think about your Instagram marketing goals. Your Instagram account should reflect your brand's overall strategy. Your goals should be specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and timely (SMART). Whether you're a creator aiming to boost engagement or a brand focused on generating leads, aligning your goals with the SMART method will guide your strategy effectively.

Once you've nailed down your goals, it's time to refine your visual branding, tone of voice, and overall Instagram aesthetic. These elements create a strong first impression and encourage users to follow you. Conduct an audit and pay attention to details like your profile picture, Instagram Stories highlight covers, and pinned engagement content posts. Keeping a human touch in your content allows people resonate with your brand. Sharing your authentic story can foster empathy and attract more potential customers. Consistency across all social media platforms is key for establishing a recognizable brand voice.

Are you conducting an audit to ensure you're leveraging all of Instagram's post types to your advantage? From Stories and Reels to feed posts and Lives, your content mix should be diverse to engage and retain your followers. It's essential to provide content that aligns with your follower's interests. When you do your audit, analyze your top-performing content posts and audience demographics to understand the engagement and what resonates with them most.

Engagement is an important indicator that shows the connection your target demographic is to your content. Monitor actions like comments, saves, link clicks, direct messages, and user-generated content tags and posts as part of your audit. While keeping clients satisfied is important, don't lose sight of your brand's identity and purpose. Strive to build a marketing business that is genuinely meaningful to you rather than solely seeking applause. Utilize social listening tools to gather feedback from your followers and improve your content posts accordingly. Their insights can be invaluable for your growth and refinement.

Love them or not, hashtags and keywords can get you noticed by your ideal audience, bringing in a bunch of new followers. If you're using hashtags, pick the popular ones in your industry that match your products and interests. They're like the magic keys to open new doors and opportunities for your content posts.

Using a mix of niche and branded hashtags can make your brand shine. If you're unsure whether to put your hashtags in your caption or the first comment, don't worry, either way works. Just remember to use community-oriented and industry-relevant hashtags to get noticed by your target audience and followers. Keep an eye on your hashtags to see which ones work best during your regular audit.

A good bio can make all the difference between someone hitting the follow button or moving on. With only 150 characters, keep it concise yet informative. Two main things make a great bio:

• Clearly communicate who you are and what you do through your name, bio description, and category feature.
  
• Encourage users to take action with a compelling call-to-action (CTA) to your website or a branded hashtag for collecting user-generated content (UGC).
  

Having the right marketing tools can help you achieve your SMART goals effectively. Here are some top Instagram audit tools:

• Socialinsider: A top-notch analytics tool with a massive database for thorough social media audits.
  
  
• Brandwatch: Offers insights on best posting times and hashtag usage according to your niche.
  
  
• Sprout Social: Helps assess your Instagram engagement performance based on specific time frames.
  
  
• Iconosquare: Provides insights and sends reviews about your brand's strong and weak points.
  
  
• HypeAuditor: Offers in-depth information about your brand's accounts for Instagram and YouTube audits.

Once you've gone through the previous audit steps, the final piece is to dig into your performance with analytics. Review your Instagram Insights weekly to see when your content is resonating and if you're progressing toward your objectives. This allows you to adjust your marketing technique as needed to keep growing.

By conducting a comprehensive Instagram audit, you can gain valuable insights into your account's content performance and identify opportunities for engagement and improvement. Use these insights to refine your audit, optimize your content, and maximize your impact on the social platform.