With 700 million users strong, Instagram remains one of the most powerful story-telling tools for marketers and brands. So, if you want to keep your audience engaged with your content, don’t drop the ball with these simple mistakes.
1. Too Much Focus on Promotions
Sharing too many products or images with your own logo isn’t the best way to present your brand. People want to see lively content that portrays the value of your product without the spamminess of offers and promotions. Images of employees, work in the community, and other lifestyle content can build your brand’s reputation in no time.
2. Buying Followers
Growing your business on social media isn’t always easy. And while some consumers may be turned off by a low count of followers or fans, it’s best that you keep it honest in the end. So, instead of strategizing, planning, and sharing great content to better their presence, some brands are purchasing a false sense of popularity.
When you purchase followers, you’re purchasing a number. A number that, for a glance may look nice and legit, but really are fake or inactive accounts. These accounts WILL NOT engage with any of your content. So, why risk the integrity of your business because of a follower count. Instead, continue to follow your brand strategy and post relevant content to the REAL audience that you do have, and you’ll soon reap the (legitimate)rewards.
3. Not Engaging With Your Audience
Many brands have adopted the “point and shoot” attitude towards their Instagram strategy. Meaning, they post frequently but aren’t very involved with the fans that are engaging with the content. Make sure to set aside time to regularly check your posts, and follow back new followers. Also, reach out to your followers by liking and commenting on their photos!
4. Misusing Hashtags
If you are like many users that spam their posts with irrelevant or too many hashtags, you’re at risk of losing credibility and may come off as a bit desperate. Hashtags should be used to enable discovery from people interested in a part of your brand’s story. According to Adweek, ninety-one percent of Instagram posts contain between one and seven hashtags, so they are a powerful tool, you just shouldn’t overvalue irrelevant ones.
5. Not Editing or Using High-Quality Photos
Instagram doesn’t give you countless combinations of editing tools for no reason. Utilize your knowledge of simple photography and try to take the best pictures you can, so you don’t run into over-editing. You can even use camera alternatives like VSCO cam on the same subject to compare the image quality with your native ones.
