Instagram has come a long way since it was founded and, what started as just another photo app, is now one of the most popular social networks, and on top of that, one of the most powerful marketing tools for businesses around the world. This is because it has created endless opportunities for reaching specific types of people. With the right strategy, it allows businesses to establish unique and meaningful relationships with their audience, so much so, that it can grow to be their main source of prospects.
However, without knowing how to set and accomplish goals, it’s impossible to create and execute a powerful and winning strategy. Your Instagram goals should be aligned with your general business objectives, both in terms of profit and the image of your brand. Here are four tips that can help you get there the right way.

1. Create SMART Goals for Growth
There are many ways to define goals for your Instagram growth but learning how to set SMART goals can be a useful tool not only in running your social media strategy but also in many other aspects of your overall marketing and, even, business strategy. SMART stands for Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound.
Some typical examples of such goals businesses set for their Instagram account, all in the interest of growing and truly reaping the benefits of this active social network, include:
- Increase brand awareness and reputation;
- Show company’s values;
- Boost participation and interaction with clients;
- Grow a community around your brand;
- Drive traffic to the official website;
- Find new clients;
- Connect with influencers or other businesses;
- Increase sales.
2. Focus on Quality Instead of Quantity
Anytime we talk about someone’s success on Instagram the first question that comes to mind is: how many followers do they have? But when you are setting any goal that relies on a notion of growing your audience, instead of focusing on the number of followers you should focus on the number of real people who genuinely pay attention to you. Because the only way you can achieve any Instagram goal you might set is if people take interest in what you are offering.
And this doesn’t necessarily refer to your products or services. More than anything, people follow accounts that can give them something they need. In other words, accounts that offer content that’s valuable to them – motivates them, inspires them, teaches them something, makes them laugh, gives them hope, makes them feel understood.
So, your task is to determine what type of content will appeal to those Instagram users that might be interested in your brand, find your authentic way to approach the relevant topics, and create your content.
3. Spread the Word About Your Account
Even though attracting people through your content and a high engagement rate is great, most likely it won’t be enough to reach your goals. This is why you should find other ways to promote your Instagram business account.
For instance, add your Instagram URL to your other social media accounts, share content you create for Instagram there, or even ask followers to follow you on Instagram, through a post or a direct message. Also, don’t underestimate the power of Instagram ads, and their ability to accurately target your ideal clients.
4. Measure, Analyse, Optimize

Sometimes we may be lucky and the results may turn out exactly as we planned. But the reality is that this isn’t likely to happen often. Simply defining clear, realistic, time-bound goals and creating a strategy to achieve them, will likely not be enough. This is why it’s important to constantly follow the metrics . They will show you how well your account is performing, by measuring things like engagement (likes, comments, shares, mentions…) audience growth rate, bounce rate, conversion rate, etc.
The point of measuring and analyzing is to learn how you can optimize your account. For instance, it can help you determine what type of content performs better or what time is best to post.
Bottom Line
There are many reasons why it’s crucial to know how to set clear Instagram goals and learn how to recognize which actions can help you achieve them. And one of the most important reasons is that without them you won’t be able to know how successful your account is.
This is because they will allow you to decide how you are going to measure your success, and giving you the ability to measure and analyze your results is one of the best things about Instagram.
Finally, your Instagram goals will help you create and execute a winning strategy, define the message you want to convey, identify the audience that you are addressing, determine what type of content you should post, and so much more.
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