This Simple Exercise Will Help You Use Instagram Intentionally

If you’re keeping up with my personal branding series, then you probably know about my summer plans to boost my business. One of the top things on my agenda was to complete online courses. As an advocate for education, I love to learn. Whether it’s online or in person, I’m a sucker for a good class.

Gorgeous smiling woman looking at her mobile phone. Woman texting on her phone, isolated over white background.

Last week, I had the opportunity to attend a 2-hour workshop focused on using Instagram with intention. As someone who has dealt with social media burnout and comparison syndrome on the apps, I thought this was the perfect opportunity to learn from an expert about how to use Instagram in a way that is more purpose driven.

Quinn Tempest is a digital strategist and Instagram pro. She’s constantly educating her audience about everything from entrepreneurship, social media, and discovering your purpose. While there are a lot of takeaways from her workshop, my favorite was the importance of your ethos.

If you’re not familiar with what ethos is (no judgment, I wasn’t completely sure about it before this class), it’s simply the characteristic as manifested in its beliefs. That’s a summary of a dictionary definition. I like Quinn’s interpretation a lot better.

“Ethos is the characteristic spirit of your brand purpose as manifested in all your content and communications.” – Quinn Tempest

According to Quinn, you can create your own content ethos by answering the following three questions:

  1. What does your audience care about?
  2. What makes you unique?
  3. What does your brand stand for?

A simple, yet mind-blowing approach at using Instagram with intention.

Now, granted, these answers might not come to you in seconds. It might take days, weeks, or months to truly understand your audience and brand. However, constantly coming back to these three questions is sure to give you clarity and understanding of your brand and values.