Instagram has over a billion active monthly users. The potential advertising reach of this social media platform is 849.3 million users.
The above data is enough to make Instagram, one of the most popular social media platforms for marketing purposes.
You might be struggling day and night to keep your Instagram marketing game on-point, yet you fail, every single time. If this is the scenario, it’s time to dig within yourself and look for mistakes that are invisible to the naked eye. Taking care of these mistakes will help you get more real IG followers.
A single mistake while marketing on a platform as huge as Instagram can prevent you from maximizing your outreach. I am providing you with a list of mistakes I find common in most of the unsuccessful IG campaigns to help you understand if you are committing one of them:
Using all hashtags
It is a common misconception that the more the number of hashtags on your post, the higher will be its reach.
There is no doubt that using hashtags increases the discoverability probability of your posts. But the quality of your content and the relevance of the hashtag is what matters the most to get your posts on the coveted Explore page.
If you repeatedly use the same hashtags, Instagram’s algorithm might mark you as spam which can get you shadowbanned. Using hashtags that are too long or those that are not relevant to the post cause equal harm to your credibility.
Thus, in my knowledge, it is best to use a maximum of 5-6 hashtags for every post. Ensure that these hashtags are catchy, relevant and short.
Being boring
Yes, you read that right. Only putting in hard work and following all the tricks in the book will not give you the awesome results you desire. You need to take risks on Instagram.
Aim to be time-relevant. Create posts based on recent events to increase engagement. Try to create new hashtags. Start a viral spree. Do anything that can help you stand away from the crowd. Doing these things might not always turn out the way you want them to but it will definitely increase the engagement of your followers. Trust me, there’s nothing more appreciated than creativity.
Choosing the wrong influencer
Influencer marketing is the talk of the town right now. After all, you just have to pick some people with a considerable number of following, ask them to give your brand a shoutout on their profile and pay them in return, right?
It is, however, not that simple. It might be possible that you have tried to get influencers to promote your products but did not receive any traffic on your account. This is because you are choosing the wrong influencers.
You need to do thorough research on all the influencers you are willing to reach out to. Check their profile for some meaningful interactions with their followers. Keep a track on them for some time, if you find the following authentic and genuine – go ahead, and seal the deal.
Having too many strategies
All of us have heard of the phrase, ‘Jack of trades, master of none’. This is exactly what happens when you want to gorge onto everything. Develop one solid strategy that will help you achieve your target and stick to it.
Don’t keep making new strategies. Implement, observe and adjust a single strategy to achieve your goals. Your Instagram marketing strategy should always be centered around your primary goals.
The next time you face trouble in reaching the audience you desire, look closely into your strategy for these mistakes and then rectify them immediately.