platform-instagram

Instagram Presence Plan

Plans how a brand uses Instagram formats, discovery, creators and DMs to move buyers to a sale or booking, for the client owner and delivery team.

Use When

The client wants a clear mix of Reels, Stories and carousels, how often to post each, and the Instagram numbers that matter.
Follower growth or reach has stalled and the client wants a diagnosis and a phase-based test plan for Reels, hashtags, collabs and broadcast channels.
The feed needs a planned grid, mood board, colour palette and editing preset, with a visual standards brief for the designer.
Instagram DMs, shopping links and profile proof need to turn interest into sales or bookings.

Do Not Use When

playbook-paid-social-advertising for Instagram and Meta ad campaigns.
strategy-video-content for a video approach shared across several platforms.
caption-writer for the captions themselves.
Stop before posting, starting collabs or changing the live account without client authority; deliver the plan for approval.

Required Inputs

Artefact	Source/provider	Required?	If absent
Objective, audience, offer and intended next step	Approved brief or client interview	Yes	Stop; do not choose formats before the buyer and next step are known.
Account insights, top posts and profile screenshots	Account admin or supplied audit	Conditional	Mark the baseline `not assessed`; return a set-up plan, not a growth diagnosis.
Brand assets, usage rights and production capacity	Client marketing lead	Yes	Limit the plan to formats the team can produce and label rights gaps as blockers.
Current format, account, hashtag, broadcast-channel and link features	Official Instagram help or the account itself	Conditional	Omit volatile specifications or flag them for live verification.
Creator quotes and agreed deliverables	Creator or agency, in writing	If collabs are planned	Hold the collaboration; obtain current quotes rather than using a generic price band.

Workflow

Confirm objective, buyer, decision owner and permission boundary; stop if the objective or owner is missing, or if the job is paid Meta campaigns.
Review identity, description, proof and destination for buyer comprehension, and verify current searchable fields, profile limits and link options.
Choose formats and series with the format, discovery and sales method; specify each video's opening, visual evidence, explanation, ending, audio, captions and destination.
If growth or reach has stalled, place the account on the phase ladder and diagnose the plateau with growth diagnosis and experiments before adding volume.
If a grid or visual standards brief is needed, write it with grid and visual system and route visual execution to chwezi-design-engine.
Design the route to sale (enquiry, product or service page, booking or permissioned resource), test fulfilment and handoff, and agree creator terms in writing.
Plan one learning cycle with defined measures, then run the quality and anti-slop gates; correct any failed check and rerun it before handing over for approval.

Outputs

Artefact	Consumer	Acceptance condition
Instagram channel plan: profile, format mix, series and cadence	Client owner and delivery team	Each format choice states the reader's job and the production evidence behind it; no format is claimed to always win.
Growth diagnosis and one-lever experiment plan	Client owner	Account placed on the phase ladder; each experiment changes one lever and has a stop rule.
Visual standards brief (grid, mood board, palette, preset)	Designer via chwezi-design-engine	Brief is implementable without further instruction; no rigid alternating grid or single filter imposed.
DM, shopping and route-to-sale map with creator terms	Sales or service lead	Destination and handoff tested; fee, deliverables, approvals, disclosures and usage rights agreed in writing.

Evidence Produced

Evidence	Format	Acceptance condition
Feature verification log	Table: feature, source, date, account eligibility	Every volatile claim has a dated source or is marked `not assessed`.
Rights and creator agreement record	Table per asset or creator	Commercial rights for sound, likeness and creator material recorded before use.
Pilot review record	Table: attention, saves/shares, qualified actions, accepted opportunities, contribution	Metric definitions and tracking limits stated; stages reported separately.

Capability and Permission Boundaries

Read and search only; analysis is read-only. Publishing, spend, live account changes, outreach and personal-data processing need explicit, action-specific client authority. DM automation needs an authorised integration, a current policy check, limited scope and human recovery.

Degraded Mode

Without account insights or a confirmed offer and next step, return the narrowest qualified result and mark the affected checks not assessed. A profile review, format rationale and pilot template can still be delivered with assumptions labelled.

Decision Rules

Condition	Action	Failure or risk avoided
The objective needs discovery and proof	Pair Reels for reach with carousels or Stories for evaluation	Reach without a conversion path
No account exists or insights are not accessible	Produce an account set-up plan with assumptions labelled	False optimisation against invented history
Insights show an established account	Prioritise measured gaps and keep what already works	Destructive reset of working assets
A format, hashtag, broadcast-channel or link feature is time-sensitive	Verify it against official Instagram help before stating it	Stale platform advice
Follower growth or reach has stalled, or a growth plan is requested	Place the account on the phase ladder, diagnose the plateau and run one-lever experiments with growth diagnosis	Adding volume into a suppressed or mis-targeted account
The client needs a feed grid or visual standards brief	Write the planning brief with grid and visual system; route visual execution to chwezi-design-engine	Unbriefed creators or consultant-made visual assets
A piece repeats claims without substantiated product proof	Reject it; replace repetition with a genuine comparison or demonstration and check the destination	Attractive content that sells nothing truthfully
A resource is requested in DMs	Deliver the resource only; do not treat the request as broad marketing consent or send unsolicited follow-ups	Consent and spam breaches

Quality Standards

Each unit makes a distinct point, with truthful visuals, cleared rights, readable rendering and an accountable next step.
Still, carousel, Reel, Story and collaboration choices each state why that format carries the point.
Video briefs specify opening, visual evidence, explanation, ending, audio, captions and destination; crops and UI obstruction are checked in the intended surface.
Hashtag and discovery advice uses accurate descriptive, location and topic cues without arbitrary counts or size tiers.
Guides, broadcast channels and other features appear only after current availability is verified.
Creator evaluation cites audience fit, actual work and commercial evidence, never a follower threshold alone.
Measures separate attention, useful sharing/saving, qualified actions, accepted opportunities and contribution; no universal save, completion, follower-growth or profile-to-click rate is used as a standard.

Anti-Patterns

Claiming only two profile fields are indexed or that a profile change guarantees discovery. Fix: verify current searchable fields and state the limit.
Imposing a rigid alternating grid, one filter or a luxury colour formula. Fix: brief intentional art direction through chwezi-design-engine.
Using trending sound as a reach guarantee. Fix: choose sound for meaning and commercial rights.
Reviving Instagram Guides from a historical book. Fix: verify availability or use an owned website resource.
Diagnosing a restriction from a missing interface tab. Fix: diagnose with account data and the growth reference.
Defaulting to a named automation vendor. Fix: specify the authorised integration, scope and human recovery route.

References

Instagram format, discovery and sales method: read when reviewing the profile, choosing formats and series, planning discovery, creator partnerships, the route to sales or the pilot review.
Growth diagnosis and experiments: read when follower growth or reach has stalled or a phase-based growth plan is needed.
Grid and visual system: read when briefing a feed grid, mood board, palette, editing preset or visual standards document.
Channel creative and service lab: read when planning production, creators, community, paid readiness and commercial measurement.
caption-writer: read when the captions themselves are needed.
Anti-AI slop production gate: read when drafting captions, briefs and DM replies.
East African English standard: read when setting tone and spelling.