If anything is all the rage in households these days, it’s organization. Anything to organize the chaos of daily living!

If you’re a fan of organizing, you’ve probably heard of Marie Kondo. Originally from Tokyo, she started a home organizing brand, KonMari, to rid your daily life of clutter, piled up messes, and anything that doesn’t “spark joy”. Two best selling books and a Netflix special later, she’s a household name. People are applying the KonMari method everywhere in their lives, from their home office and desk to their email subscriptions.

Nothing is safe from being KonMari’d!

The KonMari method of cleaning house isn’t just for households – ecommerce business owners are applying it to their social media channels too.

While it’s easy to update your business information on Facebook and upload a new logo to your profile on Pinterest, things are a little more complicated on Instagram. Let’s go through some of the most common items that are looked over and are in need of a KonMari treatment.

KonMari’ing your Instagram is a practice that should be done often. Businesses tend to change with the seasons, so we suggest performing this clean-up method at least quarterly.

As things are always evolving in business, it’s easy for the information in our social profiles to become outdated in a matter of days or weeks. We created this simple checklist to help you clear out old information and content that might not fit your current brand or brand aesthetic.

Step 1: Check to See if Your Instagram Name, Profile Photo, and Category is Correct.

Have you rebranded? Were you strictly ecommerce but now have a brick and mortar? Does your profile photo still have a Christmas tree in it?

Ensuring your name and category is correct on Instagram should always remain priority #1. (You want your customers to find you, don’t ya?) If you have or manage a profile that uses seasonal profile photos, ensure you’re rotating your profile photo WITH the season and not after.

To make these changes, go to your Instagram profile and click ‘Edit Profile’. Make your appropriate changes under Business Information and click ‘Save’.

Step 2: Is Your Instagram Bio Up to Date?

Instagram bio’s are an ever-changing highlight for your business. Ecommerce business owners can highlight anything from listing sample sales to limited time offers and even shop announcements or event information.

It’s an easy-to-forget asset for your digital profile. Skim through and make sure there aren’t old offer codes or old sale announcements, and update it with new information. Including your branded hashtag is a great way to encourage UGC (user generated content) and reposts.

Remember, you can have up to 150 characters in your Instagram bio.

To make these changes, go to your Instagram profile and click ‘Edit Profile’. Make your appropriate changes and click ‘Save’.

Step 3: Is Your Website Link or Bit.ly Link Accurate?

Adding a “link in bio” has been around since Instagram businesses received a dedicated profile classification on the platform.

Customizing a link is easy, and something businesses do often to promote offers, ticketed or RSVP required events, or drive conversions for products and categories.

What we see most often is business owners and media managers forgetting to update the link after the sale or event. Set a reminder to update the link in profile at the beginning and end of every promoted sale or event.

To make these changes, go to your Instagram profile and click ‘Edit Profile’. Make your appropriate changes and click ‘Save’.

Step 4: Is Your Contact Information Accurate?

Updating your contact information seems like a no-brainer, but it’s the number one thing we see overlooked in Instagram business profiles. There are a few options for business owners to include (and you don’t have to include all of them). Let’s go down the list:

• Phone Number: Listing a phone number for a business is necessary for some businesses, but not for others. Businesses with call centers, physical locations, or medium-large ecommerce businesses should list a phone number. Smaller sized businesses without a physical location, or who operate out of a location not accessible to the public, don’t necessarily need a phone number as long as there are other ways customers can contact you. If you are utilizing this feature, ensure you have a voicemail messaging system enabled so customers can leave a message for you if you’re not available.
• Email Address: Every business, no matter the size, should list an email the contact section. Check to make sure the email address is updated and works.
• Directions: The directions tab is great for business for physical locations or customer facing centers. But what if you have more than one location? We advise NOT utilizing the directions tab if you have more than 1 brick and mortar location or if you’re strictly an online, ecommerce business. Listing locations in your bio is a great way to let your customers know you have more than one location! If you have multiple locations (three or more) consider creating separate IG Accounts for each location.

To make these changes, go to your Instagram profile and click ‘Edit Profile’. Make your appropriate changes under Business Information and click ‘Save’.

Step 5: What is Lurking in Your Tagged Photos?

Skimming through tagged photos on your business instagram account should be something business owners weed through weekly or monthly (depending on the popularity of your business). Here are some types of photos you’ll want to weed out:

Personal Photos

Some business owners have converted their old, personal Instagram accounts into their business instagram account. While this practice is totally fine, if you don’t skim through your tagged photos, those embarrassing photos from that one trip to Cabo remain in your tagged photos. Yikes! While having some personal posts is okay for some business models, for the most part personal posts should be kept to personal accounts.

Mistake Photos

It’s happened to us all: we’re tagged in a photo and it turns out it was a mistake.. Often times users will tag a business based on the name, and not check to see if it’s the actual business they mean to tag. Removing them relieves any confusion.

Hateful/Hurtful Photos

It’s hard to control what others post about you, and even harder if the message is damaging to your brand. While business owners should be honest with their customers, it’s easy to remove these hateful posts by simply untagging your account.

We do, however, suggest messaging the user directly to resolve any issues between them and your business.

To untag your business from a photo in your tagged photos, click on the tagged photos tab then the 3 dots on the upper right corner of the photo. Select ‘Photo Options’, select ‘Hide From My Profile’ and click ‘Done’.

Step 6: Are the Photos in Your Feed On Brand?

Scrolling down in our personal Instagram feeds always feels like a walk back in time – from embarrassing hairstyles to those embarrassing filters that were all the rage.

If you’ve converted your personal profile into your business profile, those personal photos should get the axe. Setting a clear brand tone and aesthetic is important in the game of Instagram.

If you have always had a dedicated business profile, you might notice your posting style has changed since you first started.

Are we saying to go delete 400 photos that don’t match your aesthetic now? No!

But we are saying if the brand message you were portraying is no longer the brand message you’re currently portraying, it might be time to weed out some of those posts. An example could be a skincare company that went from glam to holistic- posts about false lashes and caked makeup really don’t fit your message today, so some of those posts may need to be deleted or the captions edited.

Do you have any old giveaway posts that don’t clearly indicate the giveaway is closed?

Nothing is worse than having a customer enter an old giveaway and now you have to inform the customer the giveaway closed, 4 months ago. Instead of deleting the photo, try editing the caption instead. This way the engagement the post cultivated stays, but an altered caption sets a clear and consistent message across your platform and brand.

To make these changes, go to the photo you want to edit and click the 3 Dots in the top right corner. Click ‘Edit’. Make your appropriate changes and click ‘Save’.

KonMari’ing your Instagram account is as simple as walking through our 6 steps above, and asking these 3 simple questions:

1. Does this fit within my brand or message?
2. Does this provide a clear message or provide valuable information?
3. Does this fit my brand’s aesthetic?

If the answer to any of these questions is no, it probably is not a keeper and should be edited.

Have you followed the steps above and still need help growing your business’ Instagram profile? The Studio Social Team is always here to answer questions and point you in the right direction. Call us today to find out how we can help you!