How to Create an Instagram Strategy (That Really Works!)

The competition for attention on Instagram is fierce.

From Instagram posts to Live video, Stories, and IGTV… audience attention is more fractured than viewer opinions after watching the final episode of Game of Thrones.

That’s where a solid Instagram strategy comes in! Creating an Instagram strategy will streamline and maximize your marketing efforts.

More than that, it creates a cohesive plan that will help you drive awareness, increase engagement, and build powerful relationships.

But knowing where to begin is sometimes easier said than done. That’s why we invited Instagram Expert, Jenn Herman and Social Media Examiner’s Instagram Manager, Jeff Sieh to our latest Tailwind Live Show to dish on the topic.

Together, we shared how to navigate the ever-changing Instagram world by creating your own mind-blowing Instagram strategy!

Listen in and read an excerpt from our conversation below.

1. How to Create Your Instagram Strategy

Q: Setting up a successful Instagram business account is a mix of art and science. How can you create an Instagram presence that makes your audience clamor to follow and engage?

Jenn Herman:

There are a couple of things that you have to do before you even look at your Instagram profile. One of the first things is to know your why. Why are you using Instagram? Why are you there, what’s your end goal?

Is it brand awareness?
Is it sales?
Is it engagement?

You need to know your end goal for using Instagram, why your audience is on Instagram, and how that ties into your end goal.

For example, if your end goal is brand awareness and you’re not trying to push sales, you’re going to have a different strategy than someone who’s trying to boost revenue by 20% by the end of the year.

Then knowing why your audience is there will also shift your use. Let’s say your audience is 25 year old women who are fresh out of college, starting new careers and they want to look luxurious but don’t have the income to support luxury brand purchases.

Your strategy will differ significantly from the 45 year old business woman executive who’s got kids and a family and a totally different income level.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BxlMW5Tg-Bc

Pssst… how about the best of both worlds? Beth Djalali of Style At a Certain Age shows women how to enjoy their retirement years with style…and we’re living for her fierce looks!

The point is, every post in your strategy has to serve that ultimate end goal in some way. When you can speak directly to your audience, sharing with them why they should follow, you grab attention even before they look at your content.

2. Designing Your Perfect Instagram Theme

Q; Instagram is pretty: how can you create a seamless feed with a theme that screams YOU?

This is easier for a personal brand. If you are your brand, it’s easier to develop that branding because you just do what works for you.

You talk the way you talk, you write the way you write, you edit photos the way that you like them, you wear what you wear. Problem solved.

You see that in someone like my friend, Amanda Robinson, The Digital Gal and her branded use of pink.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BxjCLieA62J

But for a bigger brand or for a team of people it can be a little bit harder because you’re like, “Okay, well, I’m creating content on behalf of Rebekah, but I’m not Rebekah and I don’t talk the way she talks. So how do I create content that reflects her brand?”

https://www.instagram.com/p/BxINk20Ay3T

It can be a little bit harder as you get bigger.

To get started:

Define your voice. Do you use certain slang words or do you have catch words or catch phrases like … I use the word “amazing” like a bad drinking game.

I will say amazing probably 30 times at least in this show. So if you throw amazing in every one of my captions, it immediately sounds like me.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BwbJmI_jqC1

Write like you talk and you’ll never need to question whether your feed screams you.

Define your style. As humans, we want to see the aesthetic and the style of the people we’re following.

We’re inquisitive by nature and our Instagram theme gives anyone an instant sneak peek into who we are, what we like, and how we view the world.

Pick your colors, fonts, overlays, and more based on your branding, personality, and individual outlook on your industry or niche.

3. Formatting Instagram Captions

Q: Are there ways to format your captions to draw the attention of potential followers and keep your audience interested and coming back for more?

Jenn Herman:

There is no one-size-fits-all. Test out a variety of layouts and lengths.

For me, I had to condition my audience over time. I now use Instagram as a microblog with really long captions.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BxOazeoCw8a

But, when I first started writing longer posts, it wasn’t working because people were looking for short form content.

So, you have to give your audience time to adapt to your changes. Give it a month to test. If you’re still not getting a ton of engagement, make a change. That’s okay to do.