Instagram is our #1 focus this year. We’ve been using it for almost four years now and each year we’ve devoted more and more time to it. This year, with the ability to get so much engagement from our audience on our Instagram stories, we’ve decided to make it our social media focus for the year. We’ve had a lot of success with Instagram, especially over the last few months and we wanted to share our tips with you to help you have an excellent year with Instagram, too.

Make sure you are following us on our @classycareergirl Instagram account so you can see how we are using Instagram this year.

Here are the five things you need to know to have Instagram Success. We recommend breaking this down into five days to give yourself a five day Instagram Challenge.

1. PLAN YOUR TIME: We are kicking it off with the foundation of Instagram success, PLANNING YOUR TIME.

You don’t want to waste time on social media. You want a plan and schedule, so you get results with the limited amount of time you have. You want a business that makes a difference in the world and we are going to use Instagram to do that.

If you are stuck figuring out how and when to post, use these five tips:

1) Quality is better than quantity. Post on your profile less and your Instagram stories more.

2) Batch your content creation once per week and give yourself a short amount of time to do it quickly.

3) Scheduling systems like Planoly and Later can be really helpful.

4) Take the time you spend scrolling every day and start using that time for engaging with other accounts instead.

5) To save time each week, document what you are doing instead of creating brand new content.

2. PLAN YOUR BRAND: We are moving on to an essential part of growing a business–a great BRAND.

If you are stuck figuring out how and when to post, here are five tips for when to post on Instagram:

1) Think of words that you want to communicate in your stories and pictures.

2) Identify the different categories and topics your posts will be about.

3) What is your why?

4) Think about what you would say to your followers if it was the last thing you could say on social media. What final message would you want to leave them with?

5) Find an Instagram Role Model. Not someone who makes you jealous, but someone who makes you feel good and that you would love to model (not copy) in your style, branding, posts, and photos.

3. PLAN YOUR BIO. It’s time to create an elevator pitch to attract your ideal clients and make them want to stalk you on Instagram.

If you are stuck figuring out your bio, here are five tips to get you going:

1) If you were riding an elevator with your ideal client, what would you want them to know about who you are and what you do? It can only be a sentence or two. (That’s why they call it an elevator pitch!)

2) How can you connect with your ideal audience in your bio and let them know they are in the right place?

3) How do you serve others and why is it important?

4) What page on your website can you link to so you can continue to build trust and a relationship? Note: This is advanced if you are just getting started but something you want to start thinking about. We use www.linktr.ee to link to multiple URLs.

5) How can you use the NEW Instagram Stories Highlights feature to show the categories you talk about on your Instagram feed? (See @classycareergirl and @annarunyan for examples) This helps people see immediately what your page is all about. Note: This is advanced, so don’t worry about this one if you are just getting started.

4. PLAN YOUR CONTENT. It’s time to figure out what to actually post on Instagram.

If you are stuck figuring out your content, I have five tips to help you figure out what to post on Instagram.

1) Is there a time in your life where you experienced what your audience is going through right now? How did it feel and what did you do?

2) Check out my social media writing prompts for questions to help you create your story. They are totally free and just what you need to get inspired.

3) Have you done a survey? What questions does your ideal audience have and how can you answer those questions and show your expertise on Instagram?

4) Do you like talking, writing, connecting or planning? Pick an Instagram feature that will work for you to create content!

Writing: Post blog posts on your profile.
Talking: Do Instagram stories throughout the day and share what you are working on.
Planning: Plan out 10-minute how-to videos, record them, and post them on IGTV.
Connecting: Host regular Instagram Lives and engage and answer questions from your audience.

5) Make a list of your favorite quotes and post them. Quotes get the most engagement on our @classycareergirl Instagram profile, and everyone needs a little positivity in their life. You can’t go wrong with quotes.

5. PLAN YOUR ENGAGEMENT STRATEGY.

It’s finally time to figure out how to find more customers on Instagram.

If you are stuck figuring out your strategy, here are two tips:

1)FIND: Are you spending as much time networking on Instagram as you are creating content? My favorite strategy is:

-Go to an Instagram profile with a similar target audience to mine.
-Check out their latest posts and find the people who are commenting on their posts.
-Leave comments, ask questions, and start genuine conversations on their profiles.

I also often go to similar accounts to mine and click the followers button. Then, I find people who look like they might be my ideal clients and start engaging! (Here are some more tips for getting more Instagram followers.)

2)ATTRACT: Are you using hashtags in all your posts? Using relevant hashtags in the first comment below your post will help other people find your profile. If you click the # button and start typing, it will allow you to see all the hashtags that are popular. I usually mix it up and choose different hashtags on all my posts depending on the topics I am talking about.

Note: Want to learn how to go from Employee to Entrepreneur? Join me for my upcoming free webinar. Grab your spot here.