Smart Works — Instagram Strategy
From reactive posting to purposeful content

I was brought in to develop a more purposeful and strategic approach to Smart Works’ Instagram presence. Previously, social content had largely been driven by reactive needs and immediate opportunities, without a consistent framework guiding what was published and why.

My role was to create a clearer content strategy that would strengthen the charity’s identity, give each type of content a defined purpose and create greater consistency across the channel.

The strategic opportunity
Smart Works already communicated its impact strongly through client stories, fashion, events and organisational updates. I identified an opportunity to go further: shifting the channel from simply showing audiences what Smart Works does to allowing them to experience the expertise behind the service.

The strategy
I refined the content framework around four key areas: Raise Our Voice, Fashion with a Purpose, Smart Works in Action, and a new pillar I introduced: Authority.

The Authority pillar brought the organisation’s expertise directly into its social content through practical advice around interviews, CVs, employability, workplace styling and professional identity. This gave Smart Works a new way to provide ongoing value beyond its physical service while reinforcing its position as an authority on women’s employment and confidence.

What I delivered
I developed the Instagram strategy and content framework, introduced the new Authority pillar and a new stream under the Fashion with a Purpose pillar, showcasing workplace styling advice. I created the content to bring it to life across video, photography and carousels. I also refined the planning process and built reporting dashboards to analyse performance by content pillar, creating a more structured approach to planning, publishing and optimisation.

The shift

FROM: Reactive content driven by immediate needs and opportunities
TO: A purposeful, pillar-led strategy where every piece of content has a defined role for the audience and the organisation.

Since launching the strategy, average engagement rate increased from approximately 3.9% to 6.1%, alongside stronger meaningful interactions, with save rate up 28% and comment rate up 95%, indicating that the new, more purposeful content is encouraging deeper audience engagement. The introduction of pillar-level reporting has also created a more measurable approach to content, allowing performance insights to inform ongoing planning and optimisation.