Consistently gaining followers on Instagram is not as simple as just „posting more“ or „using relevant hashtags“ – if it were so, everyone could reach the million follower count pretty easily.
Approaching the platform the right way takes serious social media marketing knowledge and tons of careful planning. To start off, it requires you to stop discouraging new followers on accident!
Here are some things you might be doing that are hindering your Instagram growth in more ways than one.
1. You don’t sound genuine
Yes, your business account is meant to be professional and filled with marketing content – however, it doesn’t mean it should feel completely robotic and artificial either. You’re not a multi-billion dollar corporation, you’re a small business owner – it’s the part of your appeal!
Your promotional posts should make you sound approachable and relatable, not like a tired marketing intern looking for the quickest way to „be done with it already“. Don’t be afraid to show your personality – your brand is an expression of your creativity after all!
Now, we’re not saying you shouldn’t keep it professional, quite on the contrary. But the level of „professionalism“ should be defined by your brand, not by generic marketing phrases and PR terms!
2. You’re not putting effort into your captions
While Instagram is considered to be a visual platform before everything else, this still doesn’t mean you should be ignoring your captions. Trust us – people do pay attention to those details, even if they don’t always do it consciously.
Your captions are a perfect opportunity to tell your brand’s story and do it on your own terms. Don’t treat them as an after-thought, as they add to the quality of your posts in more ways than one.
Be creative and use them to connect to your audience on a deeper level. It’s one of the best ways to attract new followers and keep old ones engaged.
3. You’re not engaging with your audience
If you already have a decent following on Instagram, responding to each and every comment is probably not a possibility for you anymore. However, this doesn’t mean you shouldn’t communicate with your audience at all! Simply liking funny comments, acknowledging the most common questions people have, and listening to the feedback you’re getting is essential to growing your business profile.
Remember to ask your followers engaging questions on your posts, create polls on your stories, invest in giveaways and quizzes, and you’ll quickly see some positive changes on your profile.
4. Overusing hashtags
Hashtags are a useful tool to expand your visibility and reach new audiences, so they shouldn’t be used lightly. If you’re just blurting out random phrases that seem to be popular at the moment and putting them in your hashtags, you’ll only be doing yourself a disservice.
Nobody likes seeing a post with hundreds of hashtags that don’t have much to do with the content in question. It’s annoying, looks visually unappealing, and makes you seem a bit fake.
Even if the hashtags are relevant to your post, don’t go overboard with the amount you’re putting in your caption. It’s simply not a good look – it may even discourage some people from following you.
5. You’re not partnering up with the right people/companies
Your Instagram journey doesn’t have to be a solo ride. There are many companies and influential individuals out there that could help you reach your goals in no time whatsoever – don’t be afraid to look for potential partnerships.
You could also use different online marketing tools such as this website in order to facilitate your marketing processes even more! Don’t be afraid to try out new things – the biggest contribution to your success is going to be a long road of trial and error.
6. You don’t stick to a theme
If your business page looks like your private profile, you’re certainly doing something wrong. Running a business Instagram account means you need to be consistent with everything – the frequency of your posts, the tone you’re using to talk to your audience, and even the way you crop your images!
Your page shouldn’t be all over the place when it comes to the visual design either – make sure you pick colors and fonts that correspond to your brand properly. Don’t hesitate to seek assistance from a graphic designer once you have the budget for it either. It’s an investment certainly worth making, as it will help you grow your following even more.
7. You don’t have a target audience
Market segmentation is crucial to every marketing plan. If you don’t know who your target customers are, you’re never going to reach the right people. You have to understand your target audience well in order to effectively „sell“ your brand to them.
For example, let’s say you sell colorful hand-made jewelry – your average customer wouldn’t be a 60-year-old man, now, would he? There’s no reason why your content should reach those people and their explore feeds either.
So yes, in a nutshell, make sure you know who your main audience is, and try to cater to their needs and preferences as much as possible.
8. You’re only promoting your account on Instagram
Your Instagram profile should be promoted everywhere – your Twitter, YouTube, TikTok, and even Facebook if you still use one!
Creating quality content and hoping for the best simply isn’t enough: you have to be as proactive as possible. If you’re not actively looking for your future customers, you’re likely not going to find them any time soon.
The bottom line
All in all, there are many things that could be slowing your Instagram growth down – make sure you recognize them and deal with them as promptly as you can.
In this article, we’ve listed some of the most common mistakes business owners make on Instagram in order to help you avoid doing them as well. We hope you found our tips to be useful and we wish you the best of luck in all of your future endeavors.
