As with so much else on social media, to achieve success on Instagram you need to plan a strategy for what your posts will contain. If you just post a series of photos on your grid at random times, you will likely be disappointed with the results.

When done well, a winning Instagram content strategy can not only induce more people to buy from you, but also reinforce your brand, build trust with your customers, and cement your reputation as a professional in your field.

 

Why are you on Instagram?

First of all, you need to ask yourself why you’re posting on Instagram in the first place. Most likely, you’re hoping to increase sales.

Other possible reasons include:

  • raising brand awareness
  • driving traffic to your website, blog, and landing pages
  • increasing customer and audience engagement
  • raising your SEO score
  • creating a relationship with your current and prospective customers
  • connecting with Instagram influencers

Any and all of these goals are fine, as long as you keep them in mind as you create and implement your Instagram content strategy.

 

Create a content theme

Once you’re aware of your primary objective for using Instagram, you can develop a theme or throughline for your content. This is similar to the way you’ve planned your Instagram aesthetic, and it has the same objective: a consistent “personality” for your posts.

Remember above all: When people buy your products, they want to use them to further their dream lifestyle. So use your grid and captions to tell a story.

If you sell kitchen items, for instance, you can feature recipes that incorporate them, or little-known shortcuts in the kitchen, or ways to set a stunning table. In other words, you’re showing them how to be the next Martha Stewart.

And don’t forget that this lifestyle they’re seeking may be all in their heads.

For example, they may have never been in a yoga studio in their lives, but they intend to . . . some day: because they want the sculptured body or peace of mind that accompanies regular practice.

So, if you sell incense, singing bowls, and crystals, share tips on how certain yoga postures can help with weight loss, or inspirational quotes and testimonials about the ways meditation can lead to a calmer mind and lower blood pressure.

Bottom line: Know your audience!

 

Capture them with captions

You’ve seen it since the dawn of the Internet: the ad that promises “one weird trick” to lose belly fat, or make big money, or whatever. It’s called a “teaser” in advertising, or “click-bait” online. The reason this sort of thing has been around so long is because it works.

So don’t be afraid to steal the idea of a teaser for the captions on your photos.

Create a teaser by knowing your goals for your posts as well as your audience, and use that knowledge to induce them to click the “read more” button on your headline.

  • “Veterinarians say this dog is the worst breed to adopt . . . read more”
  • “The latest research shows this will increase your chances for skin cancer ten-fold . . . read more”
  • “For the perfect wedding, the one product you need is . . . read more”

Then follow through, finishing the story about your teaser that your audience wants to know.

“For the perfect wedding, the one product you need is . . . a scheduling app. This one that I found saved me untold hours of confusion and headaches, along with several thousands of dollars. Here’s how . . .” and so forth.

 

Know when to post

Once you have your content in hand, you have to know when to post it. There’s a sweet spot between posting too frequently and not posting often enough.

Too often and you risk becoming an annoyance. Too seldom and you risk having your fans forget about you between posts.

Also keep in mind that Instagram’s algorithm will toss old content in favor of new posts, so if you post too frequently, your previous posts will end up getting lost in the shuffle.

So aim for three to four quality posts each week. As for when to post, different surveys will show different results, based on sample size and other factors. These are all geared to the average audience.

But for you, the best time to post is when most of your fans are online and scrolling their feeds. You can find out when that is by using Instagram’s native analytics tool, Instagram Insights.

We have many more ideas on ways to enhance your Instagram content and strategy to optimize the return on your time investment. So contact our social media management experts today!