Instagram has become one of the most prominent social media platforms to connect and engage new audiences who share the same interests. For aspiring business owners, this presents an opportunity to find your audience and market your products and services to them while collecting their feedback.
As easy as this may seem, using Instagram for business can be challenging to manage and thus many brands get it wrong sometimes. However, you can use these common pitfalls as learning curves or practices to avoid stifling your growth on the app.
Here are four Instagram marketing mistakes every entrepreneur should avoid:
- Low Engagement With Followers
Establishing a trusted relationship with your followers is essential for your account and business growth. Thus, it’s important to stay engaged with all of your followers by liking and responding to their comments and queries. This can also help build a community around your business on the platform and remain favorable on Instagram’s algorithm.
If you’re concerned about getting the messaging right, make sure your content strategy contains guidelines for your community manager to follow—with instructions about using the most suitable tone and wording that reflects your brand. If your engagement rate is low because you’re still starting out, you can buy organic Instagram followers in the meantime while you grow your account.
In relation to this, slow responses are also another point to avoid, as this can diminish trust, credibility, and leave an impression on your followers that your business account isn’t always active. This in turn can stifle your business growth and even affect your exposure on the app.
- Posting Low-Quality Content
Unfortunately, many marketers make the mistake of posting low-quality content in an effort to increase frequency and presence on the platform. But remember that the quality of your posts is significant in setting the standard in terms of your brand reputation and perception. Therefore, to avoid this mistake, you’ll need to invest in creating high-quality audiovisual and informative content.
If you find it challenging to create content that leads to higher engagements and followers, then here’s advice about growing organically. In any case, your content should be appealing and add value to your audience's experience with your brand. Some strategies would include using high-resolution images, videos, and clear audio captured with professional cameras. Infographics should be kept minimal and formatted for readability.
- Redundant Posts
The popular phrase ‘content is king’ is used by online marketers to emphasize the vital role of content on social media and digital marketing in general. But this doesn’t mean you can simply recycle your popular posts or reuse whatever content you created months ago. Your content should be fresh, exciting, and inspire engagement among your target audience and anyone who comes across your profile.
Otherwise, you run the risk of people getting bored and losing interest in your brand. While consistency is necessary for forming a brand identity, you don’t need to repeat the same type of posts continuously. You can change it up by planning your posts in advance and keeping them diverse. For instance, posts can include infographics about each product, Q and A sessions, influencer marketers interacting with your product, and interesting snippets from blog posts that contain useful lifestyle information related to your products.
- Unclear Content Marketing Strategy
Before you begin posting on Instagram, your business should devise a content marketing strategy that has a clear goal. This will make sure that your posts have a purpose, direction, and are effective enough to yield conversions. With a sound strategy in place, you can avoid the common mistakes that were previously mentioned in this article.
Therefore, to find the goal of your content, ask yourself what you want your business to achieve by using Instagram. It can be to convert followers into customers, increase sales, improve brand visibility, stand out against competitors, or establish brand identity in your market niche for instance. Whatever it may be, make sure your goals are measurable, or in other words, they must be attained using data as proof.
Conclusion:
The most common Instagram marketing mistakes to avoid are those that can hinder your growth by driving your audience away and diminishing your business reputation. This can be avoided by using a strategy that creates high-quality, entertaining, and informative content that promotes engagement.
Additionally, you should capitalize on such engagements by responding to comments, messages, and queries promptly. With this advice, you can ensure your social media marketing is tailored to your audiences' interests and your business goals.
