Are you an aspiring Instagram influencer? Then, you probably realize how valuable Instagram is in promoting your personal brand. You certainly want to use all its features to the fullest, but it’s also important to avoid common Instagram mistakes that could hinder your growth.
However, more and more students complain that they invest a lot of time and effort into blogging but see no results. The reality is, that they make common Instagram mistakes and therefore, can’t achieve what they want.
If your Instagram promotion doesn’t convert into profit and people unfollow you, don’t rush to abandon the platform. You need to be aware of the many pitfalls to succeed. Today, we will guide you through some of the most common difficulties. So, without further ado, let’s get started!
#1 Relying On Bots Tops The List Of Terrible Instagram Mistakes
The first common and worst mistake is buying bots. Under no circumstance should you do this. Instagram can distinguish a bot in no time, so cheating will be obvious. There are many sanctions for cheaters, including profile removal. In addition, a so-called shadow ban may be applied.
Another sanction is a temporary reduction in audience coverage. In fact, by buying bots, you are killing the future of your blog. The principle “the more audience you have, the more popular your posts get” no longer applies. On the contrary, low audience quality leads to reduced reach.
Instead of bots, it’s better to use honest promotion methods. And if you don’t have enough time to try something new, take advantage of outsourcing. Trustworthy dissertation writers certainly know how to make your college assignment perfect.
And while they are working on your paper, you can devote more attention to your blog. This is a win-win situation.
#2 Mass Following, Commenting and Mass Looking Are Instagram Mistakes That Result In Shadow Ban
The second mistake that is often made at the start is mass following, mass commenting, and mass viewing of Stories. For a long time, Instagram didn’t fight these tools, but since 2019, the situation has changed.
Such instruments are hostile to the Instagram ecosystem itself. Plus, their effectiveness has dropped significantly. If earlier the percentage of return followers reached 45%, now this figure has dropped to 4%. In fact, you can get banned for a strategy that doesn’t bring any results.
#3 Giveaways
The giveaways usually get you an audience that is far from your target one. Moreover, such an audience is passive. These are profound Instagram mistakes to avoid: you don’t need to attract users who will unfollow in a week.
The main thing is that the outflow after a giveaway can be very sharp – up to 70%. For Instagram, this is an indicator that something is wrong with your blog.
Imagine that 10 thousand people unfollowed you in a day. For Instagram, this means that people aren’t interested in your profile, and the platform will reduce your reach. If the account is new, such actions can lead to a prolonged shadow ban and other sanctions.
#4 Low-Quality Visual Content
Popular Instagram marketing mistakes cover posting too polished content and thinking that you will be considered sincere. There is a trend towards live content rather than studio filming.
The picture should be realistic yet of high quality. And remember all key elements, namely frame composition, layout, colors, and so on.
The same goes for videos. While Stories are a situational format, Reels or videos for the main feed must be of high quality. This doesn’t mean that you necessarily need to hire a professional photographer or videographer.
You can shoot the content yourself, but you must have an understanding of the basics of composition and be able to edit the final result.
#5 Lack Of Strategy
If you start promoting a profile without a strategy, you are making another common Instagram mistake. You must work out a plan in advance and it should cover:
- Audience segmentation;
- Content calendar;
- Performance evaluation.
Only with a well-developed strategy will you hit the needs, motives, problems, and concerns of your audience. In this case, your content and your ads will work effectively.
To begin, choose the main goal of your promotion, conduct competitor analysis, and highlight the target audience. This way, you will know how to measure your growth.
Do you want to drive traffic to your website? Are you hoping to attract new followers? Increase sales in your Instagram store? It’s hard to succeed if you don’t know what you’re trying to achieve.
If you get into a car and go on a road trip without thinking about your destination, you will have an amazing adventure… but you might end up in a place that doesn’t meet your expectations. The strategy has always been and remains the key to avoiding serious Instagram mistakes.
#6 Lack Of Metrics And Knowledge
It is necessary to carry out promotion based on specific digital indicators, the so-called KPIs. They will help you see which content category is successful. Also, consider such metrics as
audience coverage, engagement rate, number of transitions, etc.
Even if you have a person who helps you with analytics, it is also better for you to know how the algorithms and metrics work in order to evaluate the effects.
If you don’t understand the mechanism, how can you point out the manager’s Instagram mistakes? Whoever owns the information owns the world.
#7 Same Type Of Content
Many Instagram profiles look the same. In fact, they have two or three categories of content, and this is wrong. In order to interact with the audience, you must interact with it from different angles.
Different people have different motivations: some look at photos and videos analytically, some want emotions, while others rely on your expertise and adore educational content.
Take all behavioral patterns into account. Otherwise, you will only interact with one of the audience segments.
#8 Ignoring The Profile Description
You can’t leave the profile bio blank. People always do a quick scan of your profile, so make sure you let them know what you do and what your profile is about. And don’t forget to add a link if you want to drive traffic to your site.
#9 Posting Too Much Or Too Little
Publishing the right amount of Instagram posts is a fine line. Post too little and you risk losing relevance or being forgotten. After all, people sign up to follow you and your content, and you should keep in touch.
Post too much and you will seem annoying. People will unfollow you for overposting.
In simple words, your content will no longer be of high quality. After all, a large number of posts require more time to generate. So, you risk losing your audience’s interest.
The optimal amount always corresponds with the users’ habits. Be sure to keep track of when your followers are online, pay attention to analytics, and experiment with your posting schedule.
#10 Posting Things Randomly
Many influencers make the mistake of posting random content that doesn’t align with their vision and values. People follow your page to stay up to date with the latest news about your personal brand.
Posting content outside of your niche can confuse the followers. It’s also important to stay away from controversial topics, such as religion and politics.
Instead of posting randomly or guessing what content your audience wants to see, you should rely on your data. To do this, start by analyzing your past content.
Compare your audience’s reaction to different types of content (photos or videos), topics (business or entertainment), and results (comments, likes, or shares):
- What visual/text content is your audience already interacting with?
- What topics resonated with the followers?
- Is there a particular filter, background, or style that your audience prefers?
Once you determine what is effective, you can make your content much better.
#11 Ignoring Paid Advertising Opportunities
Some novice influencers are confident that using free methods can break them into the top 1%. But it proves quite difficult without ads. First of all, study how much Instagram ads cost in 2023. Then, allocate the amount available to you and see how the campaign goes.
Most likely, new people will come to you and the next task will be to make them stay. If you let go of control and forget about introducing yourself to the newcomers, you’ll make one of the popular Instagram mistakes.
Yes, paid advertising on Instagram doesn’t give quick and cheap results at the very beginning. However, it gives you the ability to target specific users who are more likely to get interested in your advertising.
You will reach a wider audience who will have similar values and hobbies. If you set up targeted advertising correctly, you will save a lot of time by avoiding profound Instagram mistakes.
#12 Ignoring The Engagement
Engagement is the locomotive that pushes your account forward. Unfortunately, some influencers are busy creating polished content and they totally forget about feedback.
To increase loyalty, understand why your current followers are with you. What makes you stand out from the crowd? This way, you can hold their attention and boost engagement rates.
#13 Sell In Every Post
Instagram isn’t a marketplace, although some of its elements are present here. Traditionally, people go on Instagram to view pictures, videos and chat. Buying things isn’t really the main goal here. Once you realize it, you will avoid plenty of Instagram mistakes.
If followers shower you with compliments under every post, this doesn’t mean that they will happily buy what you advertise. The trust of active followers is fragile. You won over their hearts with sincerity and now, you suddenly turn into a person who has endless advertising campaigns. Sounds sad, right?
People don’t like it when their trust is taken advantage of. This works both in real life and online. And losing an active share of followers is tragic as they are the ones who create coverage with their likes and comments.
#14 Not Making A Content Plan
When posts are written without a serious approach, followers notice your Instagram mistakes. They can see that you are in a rush and don’t devote enough energy to come up with quality content. So, planning publications is a must-have for Instagram.
If posts are made up on the fly, when you have a free minute, they will turn into chaos that you will still have to delete or edit later. Why not rely on a content calendar? It will simplify your life greatly.
#15 Not Replying To DMs
If you don’t have the ability to respond to direct messages quickly, just set up an autoresponder. Let it be something like “Hi, thanks for the message, I’ll answer as soon as I’m free.”
It is better to indicate a specific time period in the auto-reply text. This ensures that you are polite and the follower won’t get offended or disappointed.
#16 Neglecting InstaStories
Stories get large coverage due to time limitations. You can check it by tracking your reach statistics. Stories are necessary and important and if you are ignoring them, you are about to make two Instagram mistakes. Why?
First, followers are intrigued to see what you’ve posted, creating anticipation. Second, Stories let you interact with followers more frequently. To make your Stories unique, try two or three main text design options, and consider incorporating creative Instagram story ideas.
Choose a few colors for your account and be sure to highlight important words or key ideas using the background or font color. Of course, the quality of the picture should be perfect. And don’t overdo it with the text. Users’ attention span is quite short and too much text can scare them away.
#17 Copying Other Influencers
You shouldn’t write a strategy for your project without analyzing your competitors first. You need to understand and study influencers who have grown a long time ago and are more successful in your niche.
Yes, you can be inspired by certain approaches. However, the audience will notice it if you straight up copy someone.
#18 Not Using The Power Of Words
Text is an important component for engaging followers since the publication must provide value. Gross Instagram mistakes include writing huge, unstructured texts without a clear idea. Thus, use storytelling techniques, explore different topics, and share your expertise.
Once you’ve created an effective caption, check your text for punctuation and spelling before publishing. In addition, take care of its readability – divide it into paragraphs. And don’t overdo it with emojis.
To Wrap It Up
Only a systematic approach will bring you the desired result. Without analyzing reach, conversions, traffic, and audience segmentation, you won’t understand what works better. This means you will waste energy on less important audiences and advertising formats.
Also, be aware that promotion may not be super fast at first. The process is always slow at the beginning, but you can protect yourself from common Instagram mistakes and move forward gradually but confidently.
