The Instagram checklist is a list that can be used to check the profile for proper organization. Some authors make gross mistakes, which leads to low levels of visits and sales. The checklist allows account owners to fix shortcomings and reach a new level.
What is it? Purpose and application
A checklist is a list of sequential actions that need to be taken to achieve a result. People use this tool regardless of their profession or age. For students, it’s a diary with a schedule of classes and a list of homework. For vacationers, it’s a list of things that are important to take with them. For business people, it’s a list of tasks for today.
In the context of Instagram, this term is used in two senses. The first meaning is a paid educational product written by a blogger. The product is usually aimed at the author’s target audience, on a topic that corresponds to the blog. The second meaning is a work plan that is important to complete for the proper organization of a profile on the Instagram platform.
They are used by both the audience and the bloggers. Instagram users buy blogger products to get the necessary information on the topic of interest. The owners of popular profiles themselves use them to promote their own account and ensure proper formatting.
Well-crafted lists allow you to conduct business in social networks without formality, that is, to be close to your own audience.
Stylish profile completion
A stylishly filled profile has become an important element of successful sales.
- The username should be memorable and easy to pronounce, and should correspond to the content of the account. It’s recommended to avoid difficult-to-pronounce and two-syllable usernames. When setting up an Instagram shop, it’s important not to use words like “shop”, “online”, “buy”, etc. to avoid negative emotions from potential customers.
- The profile picture is the face of the profile, so it’s recommended to choose a high-quality photo that reflects the essence of the account. A personal photo from the front is the best option, as Instagram users are more interested in following a real person rather than an abstract shop. Adding a border to the profile picture is not a good idea. You can find tips for designing your profile picture here.
- The bio is where the author should provide information about their business in 150 characters or less. Avoid using complex sentences and terminology. Make the information accessible to ordinary customers to create a clear understanding of the company’s work. Use emojis to structure the text. Hashtags in the bio are unnecessary. You can find detailed instructions on how to create a bio here.
- The page – plan the photos for your Instagram profile in advance. It’s best to create your own style and color scheme. Don’t post random photos, only special ones that reflect the content of the account.
- The captions under the photos are a way to not only tell about the company, but also to make the profile more interactive. Asking followers for their opinion creates an opportunity to communicate with them in the comments.
- After completing the profile design, move on to promoting the profile through active advertising.
Thematic content for publics
To promote your Instagram account, plan ahead the content that will be regularly published. Users will learn more about your personality or company through the information received.
To manage your profile effectively, it is important to create a content plan:
1. First, decide on the basis of the information: personal experience or specialized information known to a narrow circle of people.
2. Don’t be afraid to mix content with stories from life that are indirectly related to the main profile information.
3. Don’t forget to regularly post and monitor statistics to determine audience preferences.
Interesting ideas can be found here.
Customer feedback: in comments and direct messages
Communication with subscribers is a key factor that affects the activity of a profile. You can chat and discuss in comments and direct messages.
Under posts, subscribers have the right to leave personal opinions, ask questions, and share stories. It is important for the author to communicate with the audience and respond to comments, even with just emojis. This increases the level of trust that subscribers have in the profile owner, which in turn increases product sales.
Comments can be used to choose a winner in a contest. Read how to do it here.
Subscribers have the right to contact the author through direct messages. Respond to potential clients within a day to avoid making them wait too long. If the message flow is large, hire a special person who can dedicate a whole workday to it.
How to use direct messages is described in detail here and here.
Note! Among shop owners, the policy of not displaying prices for products that are not directly available, but only after a user writes a message in direct messages, is popular. This scheme is considered the most annoying and can provoke people to unsubscribe.
Special services for posting on Instagram
The delayed posting function is not available in the application itself, so blog owners have to use third-party certified services for scheduled publication. This is important for saving time.
List of popular online services:
- Kuku.io. Convenient to use from any device, payment in dollars, a trial period of two weeks.
- RePublic. Works simultaneously for four social networks, including Instagram, the free period is three days, then payment is 100 rubles per month of use.
- SMMR. In addition to the ability to delay posting, the service has a built-in local photo editor, the cost of use is 150 rubles.
- SMMPlaner. A free and convenient service for delayed post publication, but the number of posts per month is limited.
Study your competitors – become better
Studying competitors is an important part of setting up an Instagram profile.
The algorithm for the platform is as follows:
1. It is important to enter the account’s keywords in the search engine and add the name of the platform.
2. Exclude abandoned and artificially inflated profiles, and only study active ones.
3. Pay attention to the usernames of competitors. It is not worth making a similar one to avoid confusing potential customers.
4. The same goes for the profile picture. They cannot be too similar in color.
5. It is important to thoroughly study the profile header, post content, and feed style. It is okay to design the account differently, but borrowing a few liked features is not prohibited. The main thing is not to resort to plagiarism and to rework the idea.
Update profile design, add visual effects
If, while studying competitors, the author feels that their profile is not aesthetically pleasing enough, they should update the design.
- Style. It is important to have a consistent design for the feed in the account. The color scheme should be uniform so that the photos harmonize with each other.
- Layout. To add bright accents, it is important to carefully consider how the photos will be arranged. A checkerboard pattern or a straight line are popular placement schemes.
- Text. Adding captions to photos is a good way to attract customer attention.
- GIF images. This won’t be visible in the general feed, but when a user opens a post, they will see the flicker of glitter, swaying grass, and much more.
Adding bright visual effects to the design of an Instagram profile feed is an excellent way to stand out among competitors.
Track your statistics and step up your game
Creating a profile on Instagram is just the beginning. Following the further instructions on the checklist, it is important to monitor statistics and actively post content.
Statistics are data that authors use to learn generalized information about their audience and activity. They can be viewed in a separate tab within the app. It is important to track statistical data in order to create a proper content plan and be interesting to the audience.
Activity on Instagram also affects the popularity of an account. Regularly posting content and stories allows users to see the profile in their feed and interact with each other by liking, saving, and leaving comments. It is important to fully develop all the points listed in the account header.
The Instagram checklist is an important tool for promoting a blogger or shop’s profile. It allows for proper and customer-oriented account creation. Thanks to the checklist, owners can develop their profile in a short period of time.