Tips for Auditing Your Instagram Account

Conducting an annual Instagram audit can help you ensure that you are putting your best look forward on Instagram. The audit can also help you reach the goals you’ve set for your business or creator account. You don’t have to hire a company to conduct the audit for you. Instead, you can follow some tips to audit your account. Keep these tips handy, so you can go back and conduct an audit each year. 
 

Start By Defining Your Goals

If you’ve yet to define goals for Instagram, do that before the audit. Your goals on Instagram should align with your goals for your entire marketing strategy. For example, assume that you just launched your business and you want to get more exposure. Increasing your engagement levels would be an excellent goal. Once that’s accomplished, though, getting more revenue through sales could be your goal. 

Spend some time thinking about what you want to accomplish and break it up into measurable goals. Then, you can use Instagram analytics to see if you’re on track to reach your goals.
 

Review the Quality of Your Content

You likely try to post high-quality content, but poor-quality images or videos might sometimes slip through. You might miss it at the time, which is one reason performing an audit is so important. If your content looks grainy or pixelated, it could come down to using the wrong image size. Your profile picture should be 320 x 320 pixels. Landscape photos need to be 1080 x 566 pixels. Portraits should be 1080 x 1350 pixels, and square images need to be 1080 x 1080 pixels. Images used in Stories should be 1080 x 1920 pixels.

If adjusting the image size doesn’t fix the problem, you might need to use better editing tools and filters. Also, make sure you follow the best practices for taking Instagram photos. Use the appropriate mode for the photo you’re taking and avoid using the flash. Also, use a grid feature to separate your photos into thirds. These tips will help you improve your photos.
 

Check the Types of Content You Share

Instagram allows users to share posts to their feed, upload Instagram Stories, create live videos, and so much more. You can even create shoppable posts and Guides. When you run your audit, examine the kind of content that you’re sharing. Are you regularly sharing one or two types of content without branching out? If so, it’s time to change that. The top accounts provide a mixture of content. This is much more engaging than posting the same images over and over.
 

Make Sure Your Content Is Relevant

Your content should be relevant and appealing to your audience. You can determine how relevant it is by reading comments and looking at engagement levels. When you look through the comments, you can see if people find your content relevant and valuable. By analyzing engagement levels, you’ll know if your content compels viewers to take some form of action.
 

Make Sure You’re Engaging With Followers 

Social media networks like Instagram have broken down the walls between consumers and brands. Now, you can engage with your audience in real-time, and it’s expected. During your Instagram audit, check to see if you’re engaging as you should. Look through the comment section to see if you’re regularly replying. Also, go into your DMs to see if any are sitting there without replies. In addition, check for user-generated content. Are you collecting it and adding it to your page after getting permission from the author? If you aren’t commenting, responding, and getting content from followers, you need to adjust your strategy. Make engagement a priority for your page.
 

Remove Fake Followers

You want to have lots of followers. However, fake accounts won’t help you out at all. Instead, others might think you’re running a spam account if you have lots of fake followers. Plus, fake followers don’t engage with your posts, so your engagement levels will take a hit. Fortunately, you can remove bot accounts from your list of followers.  

You can use a tool to identify fake followers or go through your account manually. If you do it yourself, look for accounts that don’t contain images and never post. Bots likely run these accounts.

Once you identify a fake follower, press on the three dots to the right of the name and select “Remove” to clean up your list. Repeat the process until your page is free of bot accounts. 
 

Review Your Posting Schedule

You need to examine your posting schedule, checking for consistency and timeliness. If possible, you should post on Instagram daily. However, do not exceed three posts a day. You also need to post at optimal times. Begin by posting between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. CDT. Then, review your analytics to find the specific window that provides the most engagement. 
 

Check Your SEO Strategy

Instagram displays results based on various factors, including keywords. Review your SEO strategy during your audit to see if you’re using keywords in your bio, captions, emojis, and hashtags. If you are, make sure you have a nice mix of keywords to expand your reach.

Click here for more digital marketing strategies that you can use for your financial business.
 

Review the Overall Look of Your Feed

Finally, you need to review the overall look of your feed. Does it fit in with your brand and align with your personality? If not, focus on changing the look so people will associate your page with your brand and personality. People should get a good feel for your brand as soon as they visit your page. By making a few tweaks, you can accomplish that.
 

Don’t Put Off Running an Instagram Audit

Running an Instagram audit can take some time, but it can help you boost your marketing strategy. Go through the process slowly, taking in all the details. Then, incorporate changes as needed. Don’t forget to run another audit down the road to ensure that you are still following the best practices for your Instagram page.