How to Run Your Own Instagram Audit (+ Free Checklist)

8 Steps to Conduct an Instagram Audit in 2023

Comply with these eight steps to conduct your very personal Instagram audit, and use our free guidelines to trace your progress: 

1. Outline Your Instagram Targets

2. Verify Your Branding, Voice, and Aesthetic

3. Evaluation the Content material You Share

4. Assess Your Engagement Ranges

5. Consider Your Hashtag and Key phrase Technique

6. Elevate Your Instagram Bio

7. Evaluation Your Advertising Instruments

8. Stage-up Your Analytics Reporting

Step #1: Outline Your Instagram Targets

Earlier than you begin your Instagram audit, it’s essential to take a step again and take into account your Instagram advertising and marketing targets.

As a result of when it comes all the way down to it, your Instagram account needs to be an extension of your total model technique. 

To drive success, it’s essential that your targets are each aligned along with your model and SMART:

1. Particular 

2. Measurable 

3. Achievable 

4. Related 

5. Well timed 

If you happen to’re a creator, you could be seeking to enhance engagement. 

If you happen to’re a model, producing leads could also be high of thoughts. 

Defining these targets utilizing the SMART technique will show you how to create, monitor, alter, and drive your technique ahead. 

TIP: Discover ways to set intentional, SMART targets once you audit your Instagram utilizing our free Instagram audit guidelines.

Step #2: Verify Your Branding, Voice, and Aesthetic

When you’ve bought your targets down, it’s time to hone your visible branding, tone of voice, and total Instagram aesthetic.

That is the magic that creates a powerful first impression and convinces customers to comply with you. 

Focus in your profile image, Instagram Tales spotlight covers, and pinned posts.

Is it apparent who you might be and what you must provide? 

If you happen to’re a creator or entrepreneur, draw inspo from Vic Types:

Vic’s use of soppy, impartial colours and relaxed tone of voice is felt all through her profile.

For manufacturers, Marlow’s visible branding is one to look at. Discover how the colours, fonts, and merchandise used all through their content material is constant:

Ethical of the story? No matter course you resolve to take your Instagram in, ensure that it matches your model technique.

TIP: Use the identical title and profile image throughout all platforms — this may enhance your discoverability and create a cohesive expertise to your viewers.

Step #3: Evaluation the Content material You Share

Are you utilizing all of Instagram’s submit varieties to your benefit?

From Tales and Reels to feed posts and Instagram Lives, your content material ought to embody a well-rounded combine to have interaction (and retain) your viewers.

And when you’re particularly targeted on progress, prioritizing Reels and carousel posts generally is a large benefit for reaching new eyes on the platform.

Proof: creator Michell C. Clark’s Reels technique grew his Instagram +900% in simply 18 months. 

Like Michell, be intentional with on-brand backgrounds, fonts, and modifying kinds — and don’t overlook to be constant. 

TIP: Schedule your Instagram content material prematurely with Later to get probably the most out of your technique.  

Step #4: Assess Your Engagement Ranges

Engagement can imply one thing completely different to everybody — however in the end, it comes all the way down to how engaged your neighborhood is.

Is your viewers commenting in your posts or saving them for later? Clicking the hyperlink in your bio? Sliding into your DMs? Are they tagging you in user-generated content material?

Most significantly: are you having a two-way dialog along with your neighborhood? And are you preserving monitor of your most engaged followers?

Whether or not it’s spending half-hour answering DMs each morning or blocking an hour each week to work together with comparable accounts — a thriving neighborhood comes all the way down to the relationships you construct. 

Step #5: Consider Your Hashtag and Key phrase Technique

Love them or hate them, Instagram hashtags and key phrases can put you in entrance of your audience — providing you with entry to tons of recent followers.

Our recommendation? As a substitute of utilizing the preferred Instagram hashtags and key phrases, use smaller ones which have an engaged viewers related to your area of interest. 

That approach, you’ll be able to attain and construct a neighborhood of followers who will really interact along with your content material. 

Plus, the extra you utilize area of interest hashtags and key phrases, the extra the Instagram algorithm will be taught who you might be and what you provide — thus serving your content material to related customers. 

#Jackpot.

Step #6: Optimize Your Instagram Bio

A very good Instagram bio can imply the distinction between a customer hitting comply with, or tapping away.

And with solely 150 characters to set the stage, the secret’s to maintain it quick, candy, and informative

There are two parts that make for a terrific Instagram bio: 

1. Talk who you might be and what you do through the title subject, bio description, and class function

2. Encourage customers to take motion with a compelling CTA to your web site, or a branded hashtag for gathering UGC

Try how the Sure Wellness account does it flawlessly: 

Between speaking what they’re all about in a single concise sentence and utilizing Linkin.bio to drive customers to their web site, Sure Wellness’ Instagram bio is chef’s kiss. 

The takeaway? Motion + your model’s story = the proper Instagram bio. 

Step #7: Evaluation Your Advertising Instruments

With the proper advertising and marketing instruments underneath your belt, you’ll be able to put your SMART targets into motion.

The query is, are you utilizing the proper ones?

There are tons of useful instruments that may assist streamline your workflow — saving you effort and time.

Fortunately, social media administration app, Later, has nearly each function you’ll want to enhance your processes, together with:

• Schedule Instagram single-image posts, movies, carousels, Reels, and Tales

• Preview your Instagram feed prematurely with the Visible Instagram Planner

• Acquire user-generated content material by mentions, tags, hashtags or profile search

• Write captions (with areas!) in bulk 

• Monitor in-depth analytics in an easy-to-use dashboard

• And tons extra!

Deal with the essential stuff and go away the heavy lifting to us. 💪

Step #8: Stage-up Your Analytics Reporting

When you’ve bought steps one by seven down, the ultimate piece of the puzzle is to dig into your efficiency with analytics. 

By reviewing your Instagram Insights on a weekly foundation, you may see how your content material is resonating and whether or not you are monitoring in the direction of your targets.

TIP: Later’s Analytics device is the only method to monitor in-depth information in a single easy-to-use dashboard 🙌

And that’s that — your Instagram audit is formally full.

Did you test off all of the packing containers? Obtain Later’s free Instagram Audit Guidelines and begin auditing what you are promoting or creator account at the moment.