Who’d have guessed that Instagram will have over a billion users? Isn’t that a fantastic way to establish a reputation and expand the brand? Why not you, because social media influencers, clever entrepreneurs, actors, and top brands have been using Instagram since its inception? Read more to know how to avoid Instagram Marketing Mistakes.
You can advertise your brand name on Instagram by creating a free company profile. It just takes a few simple steps to set up your account and make it available to anybody who is involved. Create an account, upload photographs, develop a friendship with your fans, and convert them to customers.
It becomes, as soon as you avoid making any of the very common Instagram marketing mistakes detailed in the following article. Avoid these Instagram marketing mistakes to help the company reach a large portion of your target market.
Common Instagram Marketing Mistakes To Avoid
1. Making Your Instagram Account Private
By setting your account as private, you restrict the options available to you. It makes sense for the personal account to be private, but not for the company account, which must be publicly open.
Keeping a company account public increases the likelihood of attracting new customers and reaching out to a large audience in order to maximize the number of followers.
Users who are interested in your product or service will assume you don’t want them if your account is set to private, or they will have to wait for you to find the time to log in to your profile and consider their message.
Users would most likely avoid a private profile after seeing it. What’s more, why wouldn’t they be? You don’t want them, as shown by the private symbol. To stop making an error like this, double-check your company account status in the profile settings.
2. Using Low-Quality Images And Posting Insignificant Content
Instagram is mostly a multimedia platform. So, if you’re going to share something, make it beautiful—or at the very least fascinating! Shot with natural light or on neutral backgrounds if you don’t have access to advanced photography experience or a high-end camera.
You’re better off not sharing a picture than posting a negative one. Still, with so many excellent photo editing and graphic design resources available, there’s no need to post anything shoddy.
And if you want to be social, posting a picture or a random photo won’t fit on a company site. Note, this isn’t a personal account where you can share anything you want.
Serve the best appearance possible, make minor adjustments, and post images that are important to the brand; anything less will seem unprofessional.
While it’s fine to be personal every now and then when it comes to a company site, attempt to strike a balance between random and important tweets.
Again, to be professional, you can post high-quality photos and videos that speak to the quality of your company’s goods and services. Prospects assess the brand name and its content in a variety of respects, so images and videos should be of high definition and perfectly sized.
3. Purchasing Followers and Likes
Going on a shopping binge is a quick way to get more fans and followers. That’s right. You can literally rent guests for your Japanese wedding, much as you can buy friends for your Instagram account.
The issue is that when you buy likes and followers, you get quantity rather than value. Sure, the figures can look fantastic, but what good are they if your audience is made up entirely of robots that say nothing useful?
Paying for automatic outgoing feedback is the same thing. What good is it if you don’t have a genuine bond with your fans?
Brands that engage with real people on social media are successful. Your money will be best spent on retargeting advertising to similar markets or holding a contest to increase the number of people who are involved in what you do.
Buying Instagram followers or shares is the same as cheating on yourself. It not only tarnishes the brand name, but it also tarnishes the reputation of the company. Create a group by engaging with the right people; it takes time, but it pays off. A contest or promotion may be a more successful way to gain more fans. Run commercials to promote the name.
4. Use of Incorrect Hashtag
To make hashtags more accurate, make sure you use them correctly. The key concept behind their use is to make them searchable. The use of hashtags incorrectly or excessively will damage a brand’s reputation on Instagram.
Hashtags are an important part of Instagram marketing. They can be used to keep track of and promote the brand. When you use hashtags correctly, customers who are involved in your goods and services will be able to identify you quickly.
There is no one-size-fits-all approach to hashtag use. It requires a content marketing strategy, as well as monitoring how the hashtags work and tracking which ones are contributing to improved audience and interaction. Everything you need to do is be precise and keep it clear.
Don’t be tempted to ignore them; this is one of the most common Instagram marketing mistakes made by many companies and brands. Hashtags act as a doorway for new users who watch your posts on a regular basis.
On Instagram, one business account is permitted to use 30 hashtags; treat them as if they were gold. Tag the most relevant audience, and they will recognize you by your brand name in the future.
5. Least or No Engagement With Audience
User engagement leads to retention and, ultimately, advancement.
Engaging with the listener allows them to better understand and know you. Furthermore, you will have the ability to learn what they want and need from you. To communicate with your viewers, be creative; it’s more successful than postings that look like straight advertisements.
When users are interested in your product or content, they like the post or leave feedback. They should still get an answer because it gives them the impression that their contribution is valued. To grow a business and endorse a brand, an Instagram business account requires followers. Users can not post again if they do not get a comment.
Users who leave comments or suggestions on your post indicate that they want to engage with you, so answer to them. Instead of staring blankly before they leave, you can answer to a user who is able to tell others about their experience reading your messages, collaborating with you, or browsing your account.
If it’s a good comment, appreciate it! Take that as a chance to change if it’s bad. Respond to user feedback to let them know you’re willing to talk about it. If you don’t react, your followers will stop engaging with you.
6. Inconsistent Posting
Choosing the appropriate number of Instagram posts—or every other social media site, for that matter—is a delicate balancing act: a social soothing, if you will. If you make very few updates, you risk being out of contact or overlooked. If you make so many entries, you can come off as desperate or irritating.
So, how many do you share on Instagram? You can see the most recent results here, but keep in mind that the sweet spot shifts over time as consumer preferences alter. It all depends on your personal brand and the number of followers you have.
Several times a day might be appropriate for a news source, but a few times a week would be more appropriate for a beauty company. But keep an eye on when your fans are online, pay attention to your metrics, and play around with your posting schedule to figure out when they’ve reached their content tipping point.
To fully explore your options, you can also simplify your schedule using the Hootsuite dashboard. Who knows, maybe the audience enjoys some late-night action.
7. Ignoring Analytics
Consistently pay attention to the analysis of your company’s Instagram account. You must be aware of analytics in order to determine which content is working for you and which is wasting time and other resources.
You can overlook crucial details that could aid in the promotion of your brand, the expansion of your market, or the planning of promotions. You will make more content to keep them entertained if you know what kind of posts they want, what they’re most interested in digging into, and their online shopping habits by analyzing details.
Consider it as if you were a football player watching a replay of a winning game. How can you prevent being tackled the next time? How are you going to replicate the win?
How do you replicate your successes if you’re trying to increase your participation levels but aren’t tracking your stats? Consider the truth, as well as your goal and the course that will take you there. Keep track of web traffic, audience development, and ad performance, and use analytics tools to improve your market.
8. Failure To Have A Goal Driven-Approach
The objective is an essential component of any mission or policy. Talking about Instagram marketing without a clear goal in mind is a waste of time, money, and energy. You should have a clear idea of what you’re aiming for.
A company should strive to expand and become sustainable at all times. Look at your enterprise from a five- to a seven-year viewpoint, rather than considering a macro view, which lets you see it from a market vertical, competitive, or economic angle, to have a good way to evaluate progress beyond the tactical level. You should have a clear idea about what you require and how to go about obtaining it.
9. Sharing Monotonous Content
Posting dull or spammy posts is the most serious Instagram offense, according to the public court. Offer consumers more to engage with if you want them to engage with your company. Don’t just write for the sake of writing. Create posts that would pique their interest—something intriguing, educational, or entertaining.
Give your fans something of worth in exchange for their comments, likes, and shares… and, hopefully, a deeper friendship with your brand. Providing high-quality content would also encourage new audiences to join you.
10. Omitting Relevant Links
To drive traffic to your website, you must add your website link to your Instagram account. Take advantage of the opportunity to have one connection in your Instagram profile.
Users will follow you if they like your brand, but if they can’t find the connection to click on, you’ll miss out on the chance to grow your following. This connection in the bio can be used to run a huge portion of Instagram sales. Most Instagram users don’t even consider adding links to their company accounts, even though Instagram recommends it in its marketing tips.
Go to Instagram’s ‘Edit Profile’ option and paste the link into the ‘website’ box. Only if you run Instagram ads would you have the option to add a link.
11. Ignoring Proofreading
It takes a long time to figure out what type of content you’ll be posting this time. How long does it take you to double-check the text for errors and make any necessary changes?
Proofreading should be a part of the social media plan on a daily basis. Using grammatical errors, skipping punctuation, and spelling errors are all simple ways to be unprofessional. They easily spoil first impressions in front of a huge crowd. A social media content deficiency can affect a company in a variety of ways, particularly in fields such as marketing, healthcare, banking, and many others, where the customers’ trust in you is essential.
Correcting them gives you a chance to make a positive first impression on potential users and a lasting impression on your existing followers. It retains the brand’s reputation in all online experiences. On the internet, you can find a variety of proofreading methods. Start using them right away to prevent common writing errors.
12. Inconsistent Branding
Your Instagram profile is just a small part of a larger brand network. You most likely have a forum, other social media accounts, and maybe even a physical bookstore. To ensure that the brand is solid and straightforward, all of these components should be connected by a single thread.
Every profile should have your logo. The graphic style and editorial tone of each element should be consistent. There could be small differences in the types of content you post or the experiences depending on your audience for each platform—maybe you’re all about the memes on Twitter—but ultimately, all of your channels should feel linked.
Conclusion
You may be making some of the aforementioned Instagram marketing mistakes, but it’s never too late to correct them and get back on track.
Follow the advice in this blog to prevent common Instagram marketing mistakes. You could miss a valuable prospect due to basic Instagram marketing mistakes. Make a mental note of what not to do while promoting on Instagram, and you’ll be fine.
Instagram is a fantastic forum for promoting your brand and achieving your market goals if used correctly.