Intentional social is successful social. If you're hoping to build a photo album of your perfect child and post for the sake of it - GO FOR IT! There is absolutely nothing wrong with that. But if you are trying to achieve growth or a specific result, we need to be intentional about what we are communicating to our audience. Often times, when I speak to someone about a strategy, their eyes glaze over and they get overwhelmed. It can be a big concept, so I want to share the FIRST THREE things you can do to start a thoughtful Instagram Strategy.
Step 1: Nail down your ICA. (Ideal Customer Avatar).
Important Tip: The more detailed you can be about this person, the better. This is a bit like your Target Market, but an even more detailed look into one person within that Market (you should know your target market, too). Knowing the exact personality of your ICA is going to help you find direction with what type of content to create. What do they want to see? Where are they looking? How do they interact with you? Etc. Here are a few questions you can answer about your ICA:
Name, Age, Gender
Occupation
Where do they hang out in their free time?
What books do they read?
What inspires them?
What hobbies do they have?
What does an ideal day-off look like?
Do they belong to any organizations?
What are they most worried about?
What do they do and who do they look up to for professional development?
Do they have any kids? Any pets?
Make sense? Really get in the head of this person, write down as much as you can about them, and save it!
Step 2: Set Goals!
Your goals are (most likely) going to be different for each social platform you're on. If you don't have a goal, you may not know what direction to go in with your strategy. I like to set a short term (3-month) and long term (12-month) goal for myself and each of my clients. Goals don't have to be complicated; it can simply be a goal to post 50 times in 3 months, for the purpose of gaining platform experience. Here are a few other examples of common goals:
Direct sales conversions
Generate website/blog traffic
Increasing brand awareness
Event promotion
When you're trying to figure out your goal, be realistic. If you're only going to post once a week and neglect your stories, getting 10,000 organic followers in 3 years is going to be next to impossible.
Step 3: Audit your Current Strategy
How is your profile looking right now? What's making you unhappy about it? Now is your chance to dig into those insights and start tracking what worked and where opportunity lies. Is your bio up to snuff?What about your profile photo? Are your hashtags working? What type of content is getting the biggest response? Are certain types of photos a bust? All of these questions are going to help you craft the perfect strategy moving forward. Looking to complete an Audit of your Instagram? Click HERE for our FREE Instagram Audit Checklist! You'll be an Instagram Pro in no-time!
Done is better than perfect. I know an entire strategy can be overwhelming, but start with these 3 steps!