A few words about content strategy: How to boost your Instagram

We talked to a growth coach Romane Nouri to explore how to make the content strategy more effective and how to help brands become visible on social media. Romane helps brands with marketing and content strategy, provides expertise in online visibility. And also shares her knowledge on her Instagram @romanenouri.

How can entrepreneurs increase their Instagram audience? 

Audience growth on Instagram is mainly due to two factors: high-quality content and consistency. 

Today, many people want to grow on Instagram but don't have a precise goal in mind or an Instagram strategy for how to get there. If you want to grow your audience you need to create content your ideal customer or client would want to see. Ask yourself the following: What are their problems? How can you solve it? How can you show them the solutions? 

Valuable and high-quality content is 50% of the whole Instagram strategy. The other half is accomplished by serving your followers exactly what they want by creating valuable and problem-solving content so they are more likely to stay, and also share it. The Instagram algorithm promotes under hashtags and the explore page, content with a high engagement. That's why you want to make sure your content is always relevant! Another factor - which is often overlooked - is consistency. Whether we are talking about posting, showing up, engaging, etc you want to be consistent. Instagram rewards users who are active on their platform by increasing your reach and visibility, so make sure you post often. If you don't, think about interacting with your old and new followers!

What are the main features and strategies for an effective Instagram profile?

When I do Instagram audits, there are 3 main profile features I look at first: the bio, the branding, and the highlights.

In your bio, you want to be really clear about who you want to serve and what is your mission/message. You also want to add extra info that could be beneficial for your potential followers eg. an achievement, a certification, the fact you are shipping worldwide, etc. Always add a call to action before your link in bio, to direct people to it. You need to think of your bio as a virtual business card, your potential followers and customers need to know everything about you and your business at first sight.

Branding is absolutely key for a successful Instagram profile. As you would recognize a Starbucks cup from miles away, you want people to be able to do the same with your business on Instagram. With a massive flow of visuals and information, it is always beneficial to stand out from the crowd and be recognizable. Choose a color palette, up to 3 fonts, and your own style.

As for the highlights, not many people consider them an important part of their Instagram profile, but they are highly convertible. For example, I converted many new followers into customers just thanks to my highlights. My offers were displayed and in a few clicks and one DM I got new customers - it’s definitely a feature you don't want to neglect.

What methodologies are you currently using, thinking over a strategy, and Instagram profiles developing?

It totally depends on the business and what has been done before, but generally, I go through the same process: making sure all the foundations are set in the profile and content - I’m talking here about branding, perfect bio, highlights, content, visuals, and captions. 

Once all the criteria are met, I next focus on my clients' target audience. I make sure they understand their clients' pain points and how they could solve them through their content.

We then work on a bespoke content strategy built around their goals, launches, sales, and other events. The goal is always to maximize the opportunities for conversions, growth, and revenue. 

The remaining step is to build an engaged and targeted community by interacting with them in the right places. It can be on Instagram but also on other platforms. 

I am always thinking outside the box and try to maximize their visibility through collaboration, multi-platform optimization, advertising, and so on.

What strategy should entrepreneurs use to encourage their visitors and followers to interact with the brand or product?

I think it is super important to provide a lot of value and give your audience the opportunity to express themselves. I advise all the time to create tutorials / ‘how to’ videos, educational content to show people how to use a product or benefit from a service. 

It can be done through posts, Instagram Lives, IGTVs, Reels, etc. You should also use interactive Instagram Stickers in stories to ask your audience's opinion on some topics, launches, and offers. You want them to participate and feel part of your team.

Talking about the team, you want to make sure your presence or at least your team's presence is noticed throughout the whole Instagram page (personal replies in comments, etc). People connect better with other people so be authentic and show them who you and your brand are.

How do you get inspired, coming up with ideas for effective content?

At the very beginning, I was getting inspiration from other people's content, I was picking up the topic and doing it my own way. I was checking Instagram, Pinterest, and YouTube for what content people liked. Step by step I started to really know and understand my audience so I was able to come up with my own content ideas. 

I tried to stand out from the crowd and offer different kinds of tips and advice. This is when my account started to grow really quickly.

Do you want to turn your content strategy into real interaction with your audience, get clients, buyers, and subscribers? Just sign up for UniLink and get the opportunity to test all our features.