On Instagram, nothing is ever the same, so why should your strategy be any different? You may have noticed a slowing in your rate of growth. It might also be that your postings are getting less attention than they used to. Take a step back and do an Instagram audit before implementing a new approach.

An Instagram audit looks at your account as a whole. Instead of questioning if the captions or the visual branding are to blame, conduct an audit.. Going over your Instagram account one section at a time will help you identify areas that need improvement.

Get ready for the Instagram audit

In order to begin the Instagram audit, you’ll need a few items. Write out the objectives on a copy of your Instagram marketing plan. After the audit, you’ll know if you need to make any adjustments to your strategy based on your goals and KPIs.

What if you don’t have any specific objectives in mind at all? Instagram may play a role in achieving your overall company objectives. It is impossible to analyse your audit results without having a plan in place.

While an Instagram audit may appear to be a big task, it is actually rather simple. Focus on these 10 steps for some time, and you’ll be ready.

1. Check your IG branding
   What’s the first impression visitors get when they visit your Instagram page? Take a peek at your profile page to get a sense of who you are. Try to put yourself in the shoes of a first-timer. What are your first stops and what are your go-to links? Is it clear what your brand stands for?

Keep an eye on both your web and mobile profiles.

Instagram profile and bio should be updated
Your profile is made up of all of your account’s Highlights and higher. And your bio is the first thing people see when they arrive at your profile page.

To begin, make certain that your login and name match your company’s logo. Instagram’s search results make use of both of these options. The name section should contain all of your company’s name, even if it is a shorter version.

2. You’ll also want to take a look at your category and website. Utilize a tool like SproutLink in Bio to make the most of Instagram’s one hyperlinked field.

Now comes the biographical part. Is it apparent what your company stands for? Do you use custom hashtags for your business? If you don’t have a well-known brand, you should prioritise information above minimalism. Why? Because your social media SEO relies heavily on the content you include in your profile.

Highlights and call-to-action buttons are the last touches at this phase. It is important to make sure that the buttons and the Highlights are still up to date. Use Highlights and Covers wherever necessary.

Tips to help you improve your bio: Create a powerful Instagram bio for your business. Verify your Instagram account to boost your visibility in searches and reassure clients that you are who you say you are.

3. Take a look at all of your Instagram images and make sure they’re up to par.
   It’s time to take a look at your Highlight covers, profile picture and posts. Is the overall tone and feel consistent? You don’t have to have a perfect grid, but the overall look of your profile page should all be consistent with your brand.

Unbirthday manages to maintain its brand constant even while posting in a variety of formats.
Insights about the material on Instagram
It’s time to get down to business. In this section, we check at the quality and mix of your material as well as your captions. Content auditing is a useful tool for evaluating the effectiveness of your content marketing plan. As a bonus, it helps to keep your material fresh and relevant.

4. Verify the relevancy and quality of the content
   Instagram is a very visual medium, thus the quality and relevancy of the material is critical. Your captions won’t be read if your postings aren’t eye-catching enough to be noticed. You’ll lose followers quickly if you don’t post anything of interest.

What kind of graphics and videos do you utilise on your website? Are they Instagram-friendly? Use Sprout’s Asset Library to keep track of your photographs and retrieve them quickly. To modify and utilise them on numerous social networks, you don’t have to leave the app.

Sprout Social’s Edition XVII: Accelerate found that 46% of customers believe that a brand’s ability to engage its audience sets it apart from the competition. Content that is relevant to your audience’s interests will keep them interested. Look at the demographics of your most popular pieces and see what you can learn from them. Are you providing them with the information that they want to see?

Your Instagram content mix should be analysed.

The themes and forms you pick for your Instagram feed are all part of your content strategy. Educate or promote sales in your company’s postings on social media?Carousels and Instagram videos may be found in a variety of feed posts.

You may use Instagram in a variety of ways because of its wide variety of media types. Video marketing is a tactic that other firms are prioritising, and you don’t want to fall behind. You may pick from a variety of forms, including Reels, Shoppable posts, Lives, Stories, and more.

Check your Instagram captions to make sure they are up to par.

Using high-quality images with a well-written caption is the best way to get your message across. Consider revisiting the most popular content on your site to see what connects with your readers. Finally, ensure that it suits your brand’s voice. Your brand voice or your caption writing style may require some tweaking if it doesn’t happen.

Each of Grove Collaborative’s postings includes a combination of thought-provoking questions and informational text. Line breaks and emojis break up their captions, which may include a lot of words.

If you’re having trouble coming up with creative caption ideas, try out these examples.

Examining Instagram’s backend and reporting data.
The audit concludes with a look at Instagram in further detail. In this section, we’ll go into further detail about how analytics influence your account. Here, you’ll find solutions to questions such as:

• How often should I be posting?
• Which hashtags are genuinely gaining traction?
• What’s the point of doing an audit of my employee engagement?
• How can I do an audit of my Instagram followers?

7. Pay attention to how often you publish and when you post.
   Posting at the right time is essential to keeping your audience active and interested. The best times to post on Instagram, according to Sprout, are 11 a.m. on Mondays, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, and 10 a.m. to 11 a.m. on Thursdays and Fridays.

Sprout’s ViralPost algorithm advises you when the optimal time to post is for you, making it easy for you. ViralPost recommends the best times to send your messages based on your individual account’s engagement metrics. An audit is necessary since these times may alter as you obtain more followers.

Your time will be freed up and cooperation will be encouraged if you schedule your Instagram posts.

Step 8: Review and Analyze Hashtags

Hashtags on Instagram can help you build your business.

Sprout’s Instagram Business Profiles Report lets you evaluate how well each of your hashtags fared in the real world of social media. Take a look at popular hashtags and see if there are any resemblances between them. You may use these trends to discover new content ideas.

It’s no secret that the Bullet Journal is a popular way of journaling, but it’s also a trademarked
name. The hashtag is used to document whether or not a brand’s product is being used.
It’s time to take a closer look at your Instagram following.

Have you noticed a decrease in your level of interest? As a result, you miss out on the potential to establish a following and boost your brand’s visibility.

• Are you following and commenting on relevant brand accounts?
• In both comments and DMs, are you responding to each one?
• Do you have any queries for us during the engagement audit?
• Do you engage in dialogue on the postings of other people’s accounts by leaving comments or starting a discussion?
• Do you keep track of and gather stuff that other people have posted about you?
• If so, are you keeping an eye on your most loyal customers?

Storytelling for the brand’s Stories is informed by a combination of user-generated content (UGC) and influencer partnerships. Anyone may see these saved in Highlights and be inspired by what other people have done with their Edible Arrangements.

Check out what your rivals are doing to boost their own Instagram engagement for ideas.

Ten. Check your Instagram followers.

Instagram tries its best to curtail the use of bots and false accounts, but it isn’t impossible for them to get through. An audit of your Instagram followers examines their interests and whether or not any of them are bogus accounts. Additionally, you’re on the lookout for influencers to collaborate with.

Instagram’s native Business Profiles Report provides you with demographic information about your Instagram account’s followers. With the help of the Post Performance report, you’ll be able to see if your content resonates with your audience.

You don’t want a group of robots following you everywhere you go. Fake followers may be found by entering your login into a tool such as Modash’s. As a bonus, you’ll get a heads-up on possible influencers.

Setting up an influencer marketing plan is a good idea now that we’re talking about them. There are accounts you may wish to work with based on the results of the follower audit. Involve content producers and micro-influencers in your marketing plan. Both of these methods have been shown to raise consumer awareness of your brand.

Perform an Instagram audit on your own

So there you have it. You’ve just finished your own Instagram audit in just ten simple steps. Every now and again, an audit is necessary to ensure that your approach is working as intended. An out-of-date profile and phoney followers are only two examples of the kinds of problems that are discovered during audits.