Instagram has more than 300 million users. We have so many smart entrepreneurs, social media influencers, and top brands that are taking advantage of Instagram marketing. The platform came into existence in 2010 and it has been transforming social media marketing in several ways.
Human beings love visuals and this explains why the popularity of Instagram has been on the rise. Sharing of images has now gone beyond sharing your selfies with friends. Currently, you can plan campaigns to drive more qualified leads, site visitors, and revenue to your business.
Instagram marketing creates one of the highest levels of engagement in comparison to other social media networks. However, there are some Instagram marketing mistakes that you are bound to make when using this social media marketing tool. These include;
Lacking a Goal-Driven Strategy
Goals form the basis of your strategies and plans even though most people tend to neglect them. Instagram marketing will be a waste of effort and opportunities if you don’t have a goal-driven strategy. You may end up concluding that this branch of social media marketing does not work.
However, this mistake will purely rest on you. We have so many brands that are using Instagram in marketing and they are highly successful. In fact, it is one of the most powerful social media platforms in the market. Just implement a goal-driven strategy and you will succeed in all that you do. You may want to use Instagram to drive more traffic or create brand awareness using social media. There is so much that you can achieve with Instagram marketing when you set the right goals.
No Link in Bio for Driving Traffic and Clicks
The lifeblood for any website is traffic. You need to include a link to your actual business on your Instagram page. Websites that don’t have traffic fizzle over time. Instagram generates over 1,000 comments and 1.2 billion likes per day and you would like some of them to visit your website.
How will this happen unless you provide a link on your social media page? You can also include a call-to-action in the bio. Don’t be among the Instagram users who overlook this critical element.
Posting Random Photos
You could be the only social media marketing expert for your company. Don’t share random photos of your pet, mug, or new place where you visited.
Even though you want to be social, you are dealing with a business and not a personal account. Only post pictures and videos that are relevant to your brand. Strike a clear balance between relevant and random posts.
Making the Instagram Account Private
If you make your Instagram account private, you will end up losing so many free Instagram followers. There is no problem to make a personal profile private. However, business profiles should be publicly accessible. Remember you want people to share, like, follow, and even recognize your brand through your social media marketing efforts.
If potential Instagram users see the private icon, they will steer clear. Making your profile private will tell them that you don’t want them to follow you. If you have a private Instagram profile, make sure that you edit it to the public.
Posting Duplicate Photos Continually
Loyal Instagram followers will quickly unfollow you if you constantly post duplicate videos of photos. There may be a good reason to repost a photo once in a while but this should not be a habit. You need engaging and unique content to motivate people to buy your products or services.
No one, including Google, likes duplicate content. Your followers on Instagram want to see something that is new. Avoid by lazy and take another shot while at work instead of just re-sharing. The secret is to get a video or photo that is relevant to your goal.
Failing to Respond to User Comments Promptly
Google keeps looking out for comments as part of the user engagement metrics. The reason is that user engagement results in retention and hence growth.
When an Instagram post has so many comments, it tells Google that your users love it. Google has a lot of passion about the content that your users read, like, share, and comment on. No one wants to waste his time on generic content that is of no help. Therefore, learn to respond to all comments and you will be safe.
Low-Quality Photos
Businesses should appear as professional as possible. Prospects judge your brand quality in several ways. The quality of your photos will send a strong message about the quality of your products and services.
Your audience associates high-resolution photos with professionalism and quality. Therefore, don’t include any poor quality photos in your Instagram marketing strategy.
Focusing on Quantity and Not Quality
Instagram is a unique app for sharing images. You can learn so much about Instagram marketing by studying the top brands and how they get their followers. One of the secrets is focusing on the quality of the videos and photos and not the quantity.
You can increase your following significantly when you post high-quality photos even if they are few. On the other hand, posting so many photos that people don’t like will pull them away from your social media marketing page. Therefore, quality matters and you cannot overlook it if you want to succeed in Instagram marketing.
Misusing Hashtags
We have so many people who are misusing hashtags on Instagram. The creation and promotion of hashtags form part of the goal-driven strategy. However, be keen to stick to a few simple rules as you create and use these hashtags.
A good post should have close to 11 hashtags even though Instagram allows up to 30 of them. Don’t use so many or too few hashtags in your post. Both can have adverse effects on the performance factors of your marketing strategy.
The hashtags should relevantly engage the right users. The hashtag should promote your vision to help your loyal followers to attain their goals.
Not Following Your Followers
You need to get to know your Instagram fans as best as you can. Therefore, it is good to give a follow back to anyone who chooses to follow you. However, it does not imply that you communicate with them in their personal accounts. When you follow your followers, you will know them better and get to understand their interests.
Conclusion
Instagram marketing is among the most effective social media marketing strategies. It is good to avoid the above Instagram marketing mistakes if you want to succeed on this platform.
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