What New Visitors See on Your Instagram (and What to Fix)

Here's a simple exercise I think every business should do once in a while.

Ask a friend who has never followed your business on Instagram to look at your account for five minutes. Better yet — ask someone you don’t know really well. Don't give them context first. Don't explain the backstory. Don't tell them what they're supposed to notice. Just send them your handle or hand them your phone and let them look around.

Tell them to pay real attention to two spots people usually skim past: your bio and your story highlights. That's where a new visitor decides what you're about in about three seconds. And have them look at your grid as a whole, not just post by post. Does it feel like one brand, or does it feel like five different people picked the fonts and colors?

Then ask them:

• What do you think this business does?

• Who do you think it's for?

• What seems most important to this business?

• Does the account feel current?

• Does it feel like there are real people behind it?

• Does the grid feel cohesive and on brand, or do the colors and fonts feel scattered?

• Does the bio actually say what you do?

• Are the story highlights useful, or leftover from two years ago?

• If you wanted to learn more, where would you click?

• Could you get to our website easily?

• Could you book a service, make a reservation, shop a product, join a wine club, or send an inquiry without hunting around?

• Was anything confusing?

Then ask them to actually take the next step you want a customer to take. If you want people to book a service, ask them to book a service. If you want people to buy a product, ask them to find it. If you want people to make a reservation, join your wine club, or visit your website, have them do that.

Pay attention to:

• How many clicks it takes

• Whether they know where to go without you telling them

• Whether the link works

• Whether the page they land on makes sense

• Whether it's obvious what to do next

• You might be surprised by what you learn.

You Know Too Much About Your Own Business

You know what every photo means. You know the history behind the business, the people in your posts, what you offer, and what you hope people understand.

A potential customer doesn't know any of that.

They're making a quick decision based on what's directly in front of them. If they land on your account after hearing about you from a friend, seeing an ad, reading an article, or searching for something local, they should be able to get a basic feel for who you are pretty quickly.

That doesn't mean your Instagram needs to explain every detail about your business. It does mean a new person shouldn't have to work hard to understand the basics.

Your Instagram Is Not for You

A business Instagram account isn't a scrapbook, even though it can have personality. It’s also not a bulletin board to simply post every special or upcoming event. It should help people understand what you do, why it matters, and whether they want to learn more. If a new person can't tell what you offer after a few minutes, it doesn't matter how nice the grid looks.

Anyone can open an Instagram account. That doesn't mean anyone has marketing skills. A business account needs some thought behind it, needs to reflect your brand, and needs to make it easier for someone to take the next step. Not every post has to be perfect. There just needs to be a reason behind what you're posting.

What Someone Should Understand After Five Minutes

After spending a few minutes on your account, a person should have a reasonable sense of:

• What you do

• Who you're trying to reach

• What makes you different

• What working with you, visiting you, or buying from you feels like

• What matters to your business

• What they should do next if they're interested

They don't need to know everything. But they shouldn't leave wondering what you actually offer, or whether you're still in business.

Can Someone Actually Take Action?

Your Instagram account doesn't have to do everything. But it should make the next step easy. If someone is interested after looking at your posts, they should be able to:

• Visit your website

• Book an appointment or service

• Make a reservation

• Shop a product

• Join your wine club or email list

• Send an inquiry

• Find your location, hours, or contact information

This sounds obvious, but it's worth checking.

I've seen businesses post "link in bio" constantly, then send people to a page with six unrelated links, an outdated website, or no clear way to buy, book, or contact anyone. You don't need every possible link in your bio. Too many choices can make it harder for someone to decide what to do.

Think about the one or two actions that matter most right now:

• If you're trying to fill a class, make registration easy to find.

• If you're selling a product, take people directly to it.

• If you're booking services, don't make someone click through three pages before they can see availability or send an inquiry.

The easier it is to take action, the less likely someone is to leave and forget to come back.

Things That Often Get in the Way

There are a few things I see often when business owners run this exercise:

• The bio doesn't clearly say what the business does.

• The account is full of trends, reposts, holiday graphics, or announcements that could belong to almost anyone.

• The posts look nice, but the captions don't say anything meaningful.

• The account feels like it's being run by a different person every week.

• There's no clear link or next step.

• The business posts for a few weeks, disappears for a month, and comes back only when there's something to sell.

None of that means you're bad at Instagram. It usually means you're busy, marketing keeps getting pushed to the bottom of the list, or no one has stepped back to look at the account from a new customer's perspective.

Don't Overcorrect

Don't delete your whole feed after this exercise. Just listen for patterns. If they couldn't explain what you do, start with your bio and pinned posts. If they couldn't figure out how to take action, simplify the link in your bio and the path to booking or buying.

You don't need to become a different business online. You just need to make sure the business you already are comes through clearly.

Your Instagram is often one of the first places someone looks after hearing about your business. Make sure it answers the basic questions before they have to ask them.

If you need help getting your social media where it needs to go, check out our digital marketing services or get in touch.