The end of the year is often a time for big plans and self-reflection: what has gone wrong? What can be improved? How much reality differs from the stellar steps you wanted to take?

So, is it a good time to analyze your Instagram strategy? Absolutely, so grab your chai-tea latte, thick socks, and let’s go!

All kidding aside, it’s time to get really focused. Yes, it’s time to get serious about your Instagram marketing strategy! You’ve been creating content, reading about reels ideas all day long, and observing your competitors with tears in your eyes, but are new to the Instagram world or are not getting the results you dream of. You’re sick of Instagram things moving slowly and really want to crank things up a notch to lose the frustration. 

So, you may be asking yourself these days if Instagram is truly worth all the work? The short answer is a loud yes. And no, no, don’t make quick assumptions: we’re not just saying that because we’re Instagram marketing specialists and strategists.

Let’s make it clear: the first step to creating an effective Instagram strategy is to examine your account to identify what’s working and what’s definitely not.

You can’t go on making plans based only on your assumptions. We need to think about creating a strategy that will finally take you from where you are now to where you’d love to be, right? Not someday. Not “one day in 10 years from now”. Somewhere in the near future – the sooner, the better.

No matter how much you try to teach yourself all the Instagram tricks to being a better content creator, no matter how many hours you spend reading about the perfect growth methods (sad truth: they actually don’t exist, because the ideal strategy should be highly personalized, and it depends on so many factors), there will come a time when you’ll definitely hit a plateau. As aspiring entrepreneurs in-spe, and busy content creators, we can’t be objective towards our own content; our ego will find its way!

There’s a dangerous trap to fall into: you may find yourself thinking your content and your hashtag strategy is better than it really is.

Or, the opposite can happen as well! It happens REALLY OFTEN. You can become too critical of what you’re creating and publishing and lose your sincere motivation here in the process.

Instagram audit – what it really is 

An Instagram audit is an opportunity to investigate your Instagram efforts and find better ways to improve it all, and be closer to stellar growth you dream about. 

Good Instagram audit (and by “good” we mean: personalized and created by a certificated Instagram strategist or a great marketing specialist who understands all marketing practices) can help you point out your profile’s and your content strategy’s weaknesses and give clear hints on how to the power or your strengths, giving you the push you need to take your content creation to new, upper levels. That’s the main problem; we simply can’t always be objective toward our own content and our own accounts! When you decide to invest in an audit, you’ll have a chance to discover what you’re missing. And that’s one of the most game-changing benefits of having a professional marketing specialist look over your Instagram growth and your strategy. 

When the word “audit” is used, it may come out like one of the overly serious, only theoretical knowledge from thick books that no one wants to get involved with. Yet, an innovative Instagram audit is surprisingly far from this, you don’t have to worry!

We have invested in our blog audit and Instagram audit as well, so we can tell from our own experience: it’s mostly about strategizing, analyzing the steps you’re taking, and taking precise shots to see improvements. Auditing your Instagram profile will most probably help you discover:

• What exactly is working and what is not
• What is hindering your growth
• Which parts of your Instagram do you need to modify and repurpose
• What new opportunities can you explore to quicken growth, attract your target followers, and engage your audience?

So it really can be both fun and eye-opening.

Audit is all about improving your existing strategy. 

Because let’s be honest: what’s the primary goal of us all, all content creators and aspiring entrepreneurs? Optimizing accounts (so nothing is standing in our way or reaching new people), as well as building a strong data-driven strategy. 

When your Instagram isn’t growing the way you’d like, it can get overwhelming and frustrating – we know it TOO WELL. It takes an insane amount of energy to get an Instagram profile to a profitable level as well as maintain the current audience and grow it.

So if you feel that you’re not using your Instagram to the best of its capabilities in your business, you may need to ask someone who’s much more pro, and can objectively analyze what’s right and what’s wrong. From our perspective – it’s totally worth it. When we got our blog audit, we analyzed the insights we received and started implementing them. Have we seen the results? Oh, loud yes. Many times small changes make a BIG DIFFERENCE. That was our case. It was an investment, but the ROI (return on investment) is still highly satisfying, so we’d lie if we said it’s an expense. It’s an investment. 

Is an Instagram audit the right solution for you? Should you actually think about it?

Each case is different, but we gain a new perspective after having the audit of our blog: 

If you’ve been doing your own Instagram strategies, having an expert look at your profile is a smart way to get fresh ideas and improve your strategy. An audit will definitely help you recognize your shortcomings as well as your greatest strengths.

Your job? Take all the pieces of advice from the audit and implement them in your content strategy. 

Ask yourself these fundamental questions:

• Am I trying to improve as a content creator and Instagram entrepreneur?
• Am I creating for the right audience ? Am I sure I’m attracting them as effectively as possible?
• Am I trying to make money with my Instagram presence?

If you answered “yes” to all the questions, then we’d say you need an audit, to be 101% sure you’re on the right track. 

The best solutions on the market? Where to find the most comprehensive audit? Are all the audits SO EXPENSIVE? 

So if you find yourself needing an Instagram audit, you may lose your enthusiasm after seeing the average cost of one.

“I don’t make enough money to afford an Instagram audit”

This is sadly the most common and highly legitimate reason for not seeking help from marketing experts. We know it – they don’t come cheap. We’ve seen audits for 6 000 $. That’s totally insane.

But a really good audit doesn’t have to be expensive to such extremes! In our opinion, the rational cost is anything between 100-400 $. When you start attracting your future clients, or people interested in your services, the return of this investment will come remarkably quickly. IQ Hashtags offer a genuinely comprehensive one for 89 $ – and that’s a great deal because their Instagram strategists are extremely good at what they’re doing. 

When you think about it this way and start seeing it as an investment for a brighter future, the couple of hundred bucks that you may spend on a professional Instagram audit sounds totally fair and justified, right? 

From our own experience: you may hesitate if you certainly need it for a long time. So did we with our blog audit! Maybe it’s the ego, and perhaps it’s the judgment we all fear. Maybe we’re all not very good with criticism. But we need it, because wasting time on the wrong solution is an enormous waste of energy, and we don’t want that. You don’t want that either. 

It’s a strategic idea to get your Instagram strategy and your content checked by professional Instagram strategists whose job it is to help you improve your follower-attracting methods and be able to achieve stellar growth. 

So in our opinion, it’s totally worth it.

Alright, that’s all for today. What do you think? Was this of any help? Are you planning on investing in an Instagram audit? Let us know in the comments, and if you need some guidance (regarding your profile, attracting targeted followers, hashtag research, or some other Instagram-related advice), we’re always here to help. 

Till next time!