Have a caption? If so, does it make you want to know more?
Use hashtags? If so, how many?
Go through this set of questions with several of your competitor’s posts. Note which of them received the highest engagement (most likes and comments). Also note the posts that received low engagement.
If you'd like to get more technical, set up an Excel spreadsheet using the preceding questions as column headings and note similarities between winning and losing posts. Repeat the process with other competitors. Then use the information to craft posts that are more attractive to your target audience.
FIGURE 3-5: A business profile can display buttons for Contact or Email, and other action items.
Determining post content
If you did the research described in the last section, you’ll have a good idea of what content is working (and what’s not) for your competitors and other brands. Now that you have the data you need, plus the work you’ve done on your brand, you're ready to go!
You should now know the following:
Your brand voice
Your color palette
Whether you'll be using photography, illustrations, video, or all three
Whether text overlays will be used sometimes, always, or never
Whether you'll be using a filter and, if so, which one
Your caption style
How many hashtags you’ll use (for information on hashtag research, head to Chapter 9)
If you're still struggling for content ideas, think about the following quick, effective content ideas for your posts:
How-to articles related to your industry (by using a link in the bio)
Product or service success stories and testimonials (by using a link in the bio)
Case studies (by using a link in the bio)
Weekly hashtag themes, such as #TBT (Throwback Thursday) or #WCW (Woman Crush Wednesday)
Holidays
Behind-the-scenes photos of your staff
After you have the type of content for your posts figured out, the next step is creating a content calendar.
Creating a content calendar
A content calendar is an excellent way to get your content organized. It forces you to think strategically, which is far better than putting last-minute random content on your profile. It also provides an easy way to share plans with your team and offers a complete snapshot at the end of the year for planning the next year. An Instagram content calendar should
Include one to six months of planning.
Tie in with your other marketing functions and campaigns.
Account for holidays (including wacky ones such as #NationalDonutDay) if you choose to celebrate them.
Account for major industry events.
Include dates of product or service launches.
Include space for regularly scheduled tips, articles, and how-to's.
Save space for curated content from others.
Set aside dates for tying in Instagram stories and video with your regular Instagram posts.
Note whether a post will be a paid ad and how much you’ll spend.
If you want to start simply, set up a content calendar in Excel or Google Sheets. Create a worksheet for each month of the year, and then type each day of the week across the top. On the left, separate the rows by weeks, for instance, September 1 — September 6, 2020, as shown in Figure 3-6. Add a row below each date if you also plan to do Instagram stories on a regular basis.
FIGURE 3-6: A simple content calendar set up in Excel.
After you set up the framework, start filling in known items, such as holidays, events, promotions, and contests you've planned. You’ll be surprised how quickly your content calendar fills up, but there will still be several empty spaces. These empty spaces are the perfect spot for setting dates for tips, articles, how-to's, infographics, and curated content from others. See Figure 3-7 for an example of a content calendar for an outdoor equipment retailer.
If you've been on other social media platforms for a while, you may have tons of this content waiting to be reformatted for Instagram. But if you're new to social media, a brainstorming session is helpful for thinking of creative new posts.
FIGURE 3-7: This content calendar shows a one-month plan for an outdoor equipment retailer.
Now that you have a plan, you can move on to creating the content. Chapters 4 and 5 have in-depth information about taking photos and creating videos. If you plan on creating posts with text overlays or other designed images, dozens of apps make it quick and easy for anyone. Here are some to try out:
Adobe Spark (https://spark.adobe.com): Social media graphic templates to repurpose, including one for Instagram stories
Canva (www.canva.com): Social media graphic templates, photography, fonts, and images available for free or $1
PicLab (http://museworks.co/piclab): Features for creating photo collages and specialty sticker overlays
PicMonkey (www.picmonkey.com): Templates, design elements, and collages
Typic (www.typicapp.com): Filters, creative text overlays, and stickers
WordSwag (http://wordswag.co): Backgrounds and free photography plus several fonts and suggested