In the 7 years that Instagram is around, it has grown immensely popular, seeing more traffic per day now than anyone could have imagined in 2010. It has a user base of 800 million active users who generate more than a thousand comments every second, and as many as 1.2 billion likes daily. Part of the reason behind its success is the fact that it is a purely visual medium, so users are faced with content which is inherently simple and appealing instead of walls of text.
This meteoric rise in engagement has made it a very valuable tool for social media influencers, marketers, and entrepreneurs. More and more businesses are trying to use it to boost their bottom lines, but since it is a new marketing platform, rookies might be making decisions that don’t really work out in their favor. If your marketing efforts on Instagram are failing, it could be because you are making these mistakes.
Private Accounts
This is as big an issue as there can be, but a very easy one to make. Instagram has an option to set your profile to a private setting, which is good for personal accounts because it gives you control over who gets to see your posts, but it is the biggest mistake you can make for a company account, the main purpose of which is outreach. Your profile should be visible to anyone who is looking for the products or services you might be offering. In this sort of a situation, setting your account to private severely limits your opportunities to attract real Instagram followers.
Irrelevant or Poor Content
It is important for your business profile to be approachable and engaging and not feel like a corporate entity, but that does not give you the license to use it like your personal account, posting pictures of dogs and coffee mugs. As the person in charge of the corporate social media profiles, you are representing the entire company, so maintaining a fine balance and a professional tone is important. It’s also important that you proofread. Correct use of grammar is important to make a good impression.
Inconsistency
Consistency is most definitely the key factor when it comes to social media marketing. You should be posting quality content at regular intervals. This adds a dimension of predictability to your profile, which is actually a good thing in marketing because your followers know what to expect. This does not, however, mean that you can spam your followers. Spread out the quality content that you have over a time period.
Misusing Hashtags
You need to use hashtags properly. They must be searchable, memorable, and relevant. You can’t overload people with hashtags- making every word of a sentence into a hashtag is pointless and irritating. You must use them but use them wisely.
Conclusion
Instagram is extremely useful as a tool to drive people to your profile and learn more about you- but the extra attention it gets you also puts you in the spotlight.You are under constant scrutiny and must ensure that you are putting up quality content that is relatable and effective. Social etiquette like following back and engaging the audience through contests, surveys, and the like are imperative as well. A small mistake could lead to a big setback in your efforts.
Author Bio: Harris is a leading blog writer and content marketing professional with thousands of real Instagram followers for his postings.
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