Free Instagram Audit for CPG Founders: 8 Steps to See What’s Working

While Instagram strategies get all the buzz, you can’t create an effective strategy without an Instagram audit.

An Instagram audit shows you what’s working and what isn’t. It helps you understand your customers, what they want to see more of, and how you can improve your marketing to better support them.

You’ll know it’s time for an audit when you’re already showing up, but you feel like you’re shouting into the void. You might be seeing…

• inconsistent views
• “meh” engagement
• content that looks good but doesn’t convert
• and a growing sense of “I’m doing a lot…but is this even working?”

There’s two parts to an Instagram audit: your profile and your content. 

I recommend auditing your Instagram profile at least once a quarter. I review my social media marketing client’s profile anytime we know we’re going to have an influx of views.

The Basics of an Instagram Audit

Your Instagram account should always be complete, consistent, and searchable.

Complete

A complete Instagram profile shows that you’re a reputable, reliable, legitimate business. Which is so important as an early-stage CPG brand. You’re just starting out; you need people to quickly see you’re legit. Especially when you don’t have a lot of followers.

A complete profile also streamlines your customer’s experience. We want it to be easy for them to find the information they’re looking for.

Consistent

An Instagram profile that’s consistent with your website and other marketing channels helps you present a strong brand across platforms. Hello brand awareness!

Searchable

An Instagram profile that’s searchable helps customers find you before they even know they need you. For example, if you sell a line of adaptogenic powders, you’ll want your account to appear for searches like “adaptogen”. This is one of the biggest benefits to becoming Meta Verified, by the way.

Part 1: Your Profile

Step #1: Audit Your Username

In an ideal world you’ll be able to use your exact business name for your Instagram username.

But that’s not always possible, especially if your business name is common.

• Add periods or underscores
• Add verbs at the beginning like shop, drink, sip, or eat
• Add official at the end

What’s most important is using the same username across social media platforms so it’s easy for customers to find you.

Step #2: Audit Your Profile Image

Your Instagram profile image should be eye-catching, easy to read, and on-brand.

It should be the same for each social media platform.

For most businesses I recommend using your logo or a recognizable brand mark.

Step #3: Audit Your Bio

Use your Instagram bio to communicate who you are, what you do, who you help, and what sets you apart from the competition. Add a call to action like “shop the new collection” or “sign up for the waitlist”. 

For CPG food and beverage brands, my favorite Instagram bio “trick” is to tag 1-2 of your biggest retailers. I personally found this brand on TikTok, read their bio, saw they were at Walmart, and added them to my weekly grocery order. It took less than a minute and boom, they got a new customer.

Get my step-by-step process for creating a profitable Instagram bio in Scale on Socials.

Ensure it’s consistent across the social media platforms you’re using. You might have to shorten it depending on the platform’s bio length restrictions, but keep it as close as possible. 

Step #4: Audit Your Instagram Story Highlights

Your Instagram story highlights should be just that: highlights. Don’t save every single Instagram story you’ve ever posted. That’s so overwhelming to a new follower.

Instead, save the most valuable information that a new follower absolutely needs to know. Here are some examples: 

• About the Brand
• Product Information
• Recipes & Tutorials
• Customer Reviews

Update them at least quarterly to ensure the information is relevant and on-brand. You can have fun with the cover images: try colour blocks, graphics, photos, whatever is most consistent with your branding. 

Step #5: Audit Your Pinned Posts

Similar to your Instagram story highlights, these posts will be viewed by a new customer who’s just visited your profile for the first time. They should be relevant, up-to-date, and provide important information to your new customer.

Here are some examples: 

• About the Brand
• Newest Product, Sale, or Campaign
• Educational Post About the Products

Get my 3×3 Pinned Posts framework here.

Part Two: Your Content

I think one of the most important parts of your Instagram account is your profile. It’s the foundation. Even when you aren’t posting new content, it’s being viewed so you want to make sure it’s set up properly.

Once your profile is set up correctly, audit your Instagram content.

Step #1: What’s Working

You can tell what’s working by viewing your Instagram analytics. View the content you’ve posted for the last 3-6 months. Sort it by the amount of organic views each post got. The top 9 posts tell you what’s working for your account.

Note the patterns you see. What content formats are working well? Are there certain visual patterns like photography, colors, or design style? What content themes are you seeing?

Step #2: What’s Not Working

You can do the exact same thing to tell what’s holding you back. View the content you’ve posted for the last 3-6 months. Sort it by the amount of organic views each post got. The bottom 9 posts tell you what’s hindering your growth.

Once again, note the patterns you see. What content formats are working well? Are there certain visual patterns like photography, colors, or design style? What content themes are you seeing?

Step #3: Where You Can Improve

At its core, updating your social media strategy is about doing more of what is working and less of what isn’t. Write a list of the content you need to create more of and the content you need to phase out.

If you don’t want to do any of this, book your Make it Make Sense Instagram Account Audit.

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Wait, Who Am I?

Hiiii! 👋🏻 I’m Sarah, a CPG social media strategist with over 10 years of experience. I went from starting a clean beauty blog right out of high school to managing social media for Canada’s largest wellness retailer. Now I live in the middle of nowhere in North Carolina, helping high-growth entrepreneurs get SEEN so they can build a crazy fun life their business supports, and not the other way around.

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