Instagram Mistakes That Keep Your Brand from Growing

As one of the most populated social networks of the world (over 1 billion active users), Instagram is also considered to be one of the most engaging. People love to post, chat, share, and follow, which is of huge importance for brand managers who want to see growth.

However, given the vastness of this channel, it can be tricky to get the right people’s attention. Furthermore, if you don’t know how to use all its tools, it’s rather easy to make mistakes that can prove costly for your brand development.

We did the research and found out the mistakes that can put even the most well-detailed campaign to the ground. So, make sure to read carefully and follow our tips!

What are you trying to achieve with your Instagram campaign? Is it brand awareness, more popularity, improved sales, or something else entirely?

To succeed in your goals, you first need to know what they are and how to get there. So, before you even create an IG account for your brand, sit down with your thoughts and make a list of things to achieve.

Goal setting is only the first step in your campaign. You also need to define the steps needed to reach them, the time it will take, and the resources involved. Otherwise, according to specialists, your campaign will lack motivation and drive.

Finally, a goal-driven strategy is the perfect start for a high-quality content strategy that will yield impressive results.

How do you measure the success of an Instagram campaign? Well, several factors indicate a successful campaign, but the most convincing one is engagement. If people interact with the content you post (shares, likes, comments), it means they are interested and actively challenged to participate.

If we consider the staggering amount of content (only on Instagram) created every hour of the day, this is an impressive achievement!

However, some marketers still fixate on numbers. While numeric metrics such as likes, followers, or viewers do indicate progress, you may not see an increase in conversion. This happens because all those followers are not aligned with your brand and your business goals. Maybe they clicked the Follow button, but they don’t interact with your brand and don’t go through the sales funnel.

If you’re interested in learning more about how to improve your Instagram campaign, we recommend this success story on Gleam. It shows the power of having an audience that pays attention and describes the techniques used to get there.

Hashtags can be a godsend for your campaign, but they can also bury your content if not used right. Not to mention that, #hashtags #can #be #annoying #when #overused!

The purpose of a hashtag on Instagram is to make it easier for users who are not following your account to find the necessary content. As such, make sure the ones you are using are searchable.

The first and most sure way is to search for the hashtags you want to use and see if they are popular (the number of followers does matter here). And, while doing this search, you may find other tags that fit the campaign.

The second way to make sure the hashtags are good to use is by doing some research. There are lots of sites and apps that promise to give you the most popular hashtags to use based on a quick search.

However, once you identify several relevant keywords, it’s time to move on. Instagram prioritizes content quality over hashtag use, and most followers frown upon content that has too many of them, so you shouldn’t spend too much time on this.

If you’re wondering why your following is slowly decreasing, this may be one of the reasons.

Yes, you are trying to sell your brand, but you need to be clever about it. Make sure to create some balance between self-promotional posts and the value your channel can deliver.

Brands who want to tell stories about their products, without boring the audience with the same topic in every post, use the Stories feature or go live and let followers drive the discussion. There is also the Ask Me Anythingfeature that lets fans ask questions whenever you have the availability.

These features are perfect for delivering more information about the brand without sounding self-promotional.

If people don’t engage with your content, it’s because it doesn’t challenge them to do so. Instagram is not just about perfect visuals and magazine-level photos; it’s about communicating the right feelings.

Instagram is an interactive platform where people like to see authenticity and real moments. As such, if your posts look too perfect, people won’t be able to relate and share.

Furthermore, to spark engagement, you need to create it. This means finding other accounts with a similar following and interacting with their content. While it’s not a guarantee, some of these accounts will reciprocate, and you’ll enlarge your network.

Many online marketers avoid Instagram because it doesn’t allow them to use links that will send traffic to their pages. However, there is one link you can use, and you should be harnessing its power!

Start by posting the right link. Most users put a link to their site, and that’s it! But this is a mistake if you want the focus to be on getting more sales or subscribers to an event. Since IG lets you change the bio link as often as you want, always display a page that’s of importance.

This can be your latest blog-old post, the newest campaign, or even a product lunch. Similarly, an interesting bio copy that guides the viewer towards the link is just as effective.

It’s easy to fall into the trap of posting as often as possible, especially with a network like Instagram, but quality should always come first.

Given that each audience is different, there will be some trial and error until you find the ideal number of posts per day and the best time in the day to post something. Of course, this also depends on your availability and goals.

Regardless, your posts must be relatable and create value. Furthermore, once you find a rhythm, it’s best to remain consistent. This way, your followers will know when to expect new content from your channel.

Now that you know some of the most common Instagram mistakes that can affect your brand’s growth and development, it should be easy to avoid them. Stay clear of them, and your campaign should be a success!