An Instagram content strategy can make all the difference when it comes to your Instagram success. Having an Instagram content strategy will keep you on track, and will make sure that you’ve outlined the goals that you’re hoping to achieve.

Creating an Instagram Content Strategy

Before you create an Instagram content strategy, there are a few things to think about. Like, have you investigated Instagram thoroughly? Knowing that Instagram is a large platform with millions of active users is not enough to make your presence successful.

The most important part of having a successful Instagram account is posting consistently. This is something you might not know if you haven’t checked out Instagram before making an account.

Posting only occasionally will make it so that other users become less interested in your posts or forget about your account altogether. If you post too frequently, your followers will grow overwhelmed or annoyed. This will lead to them unfollowing you.

Once you’ve looked into Instagram, you’ll be able to know where your weak points are and how to fix them. This is where an Instagram content strategy comes into play.

Creating an Instagram content strategy will make sure that your posts are as successful as possible.

Create an Instagram Content Strategy

A casual individual using Instagram can find success by sporadically scrolling through Instagram, randomly liking photos, and posting their dog’s portrait for the fourth time in a week. However, this won’t give you the results you’re looking for for your Instagram Brand.

Finding Instagram Brand success will require that you create a deliberate marketing plan specific to Instagram. This will be necessary if you want to build an active community and see real results for your brand.

There are four key things your strategy should include.

1. When to Post and How Often

Your Instagram Brand will need a regular posting schedule to stay relevant, but be careful not to bombard your followers with too many posts. To figure out what will work best for your brand you’ll need to test posting at different intervals and times and then check out the results. When you find what works for you, then you can create a shared content calendar to keep track of what you want to post and when it will go out.

SEE ALSO: How Often to Post on Social Media

2. Content Themes

Different content themes can keep things interesting for your followers and help you to achieve different goals. For example, if you were looking to increase awareness and attract new followers, you might include contests, stories, and examples of your brand life as part of your central content themes.

3. Specify Your Style

How do you want to be seen by your followers? Will it be okay to use emojis in your captions? Do you have specific grammar guidelines for your brand? What kind of hashtags will you use? What types of photos do you post? Creating a particular style and a corresponding style guideline will cover all the ways your brand is distinct and consistent.

4. Guidelines for Engagement

Your engagement guidelines should include how your brand will interact with other accounts on Instagram. This means how you will like and comment on other people’s photos and how you will handle the incoming comments on your account.

Your engagement is not a place where you can cut corners. Don’t try to automate your engagement; it won’t work.

Because Instagram is all about the visuals, you’ll need to aim to create a cohesive and recognizable brand identity. There are a few fundamental ways to do that.

Have Visual Consistency

60% of the top brands on Instagram use the same filter for every post. Using the same filters over and over will establish a style that will be recognizable to your followers.

With one of your goals being to get Instagram users to stop scrolling when they see your image and then to engage with it by liking or commenting, the more instantly recognizable your photos are, the better off you’ll be.

Using mobile photo editing apps like Enhance or VSCOcam can give you additional filters and editing options to help you find your style. If you choose this option, remember that photos that have been edited or filtered somewhere else can still be imported into Instagram.

Focus on Your Subject Matter

Your Instagram Brand will have to decide what posts to focus on. Sometimes this is obvious. A restaurant will post pictures of its food; a clothing line will show off their clothes. However, your brand might not have such a distinct target which can feel confusing.

It’s important to remember that you don’t have to be a lifestyle brand to post lifestyle content. Your Instagram feed may differ from the other content you post on social media. On Instagram, you can post pictures and videos of your staff members, your pets, or your offices. It depends on what you want and the look you’re going for.

Create a Branded Hashtag

This is one of the non-visual elements that you can include in your Instagram Brand. Adding a branded hashtag doesn’t necessarily mean using your company name as your hashtag. Creating a branded hashtag is about creating a hashtag that will embody your brand and encourage your followers to share photos that fit the same image. Find the niche in your brand and use it to inspire your branded hashtag.

Remember Your Audience

Mimicking the strategy of other brands is not a way to guarantee your success on Instagram. What works for other brands won’t necessarily work for you, especially if the other brands are not related to yours.

Focus on your audience and make sure that you are catering to their interests and expectations. Take what’s working for your business on other social media accounts, look at what other content your audience shares on Instagram, and find the middle ground to use on your Instagram Brand account.

Get Creative With Your Instagram Content

Your Instagram content strategy will require some creativity to stay relevant. When Instagram was still in its infancy, you could take a picture, add a filter, and post right away, but that doesn’t always work anymore. Instagram has matured,  which gives you plenty of opportunities to stand out from other businesses.

Sharing different types of interactive and attention-grabbing content are a must to stand out.

Don’t Forget Your Captions

Instagram focuses more on its images, but that doesn’t mean you can neglect the captions you post with each photo. These captions are an excellent opportunity to tell your brand’s story.

Adding a caption allows you to expand on your image. Here you can give it context and tie it back into your business.

Utilize Photo and Video Albums

Instagram allows you to add up to 10 photos and videos to a single post. This gives users the ability to swipe through and see each piece of content. Adding albums offers businesses a way to combine their photos and videos to tell stories that convey information in a more engaging way.

Use Instagram Stories

Instagram stories have 250 million average daily users. Businesses and individuals can use them equally, making them a no-risk way to get more attention from your followers.

Instagram stories feature disappearing content and live broadcasting features. This makes them a great way to add attention-grabbing photos and videos.

Work with Influencers

Find the influential people on Instagram that are relevant to your brand and begin building a relationship with them. Working with an influencer can be a great way to grow your brand and find new followers.

Give an influencer control of your account for a day in a takeover, or ask about supplying them with sponsored content for their account. These little changes can pay off big time because of how many new people will be exposed to your brand.

Some influencers will charge for their services, but working with local influencers may allow you to sidestep this charge. Finding someone within your budget can make working with influencers a possibility for small and medium businesses, not just big companies.

Use Instagram Ads to Boost Business

Social media has already proven itself to be useful when it comes to generating new business. Instagram has not been the exception to this rule. Using Instagram ads can build brand awareness, get more website visits, and increase the downloads of your mobile app.

Instagram ads can give you access to a vast, engaged audience. Plus, they’re easy to use.

Final Thoughts

Adding Instagram to your social media marketing can boost your brand if done correctly. Creating an Instagram content strategy will help you to avoid some of the early pitfalls that many brands find themselves in, while helping you to stand apart from your competitors. Remember your strategy and write down your goals. This will be the best way to keep track of where you’re at and the next step to where you want to be.

Have you created an Instagram content strategy before? What did you include in it?